9mm Vs 40 s&w Which One??

[Nismogismos]

Recently my buddy and I bought handguns, he bought a Sig 2022 in .40 s&w and I bought an HK USP Compact in 9mm. We are always having conversations as to what a better home defense round is. He swears he will never use a 9mm because for self defense the round isn't strong enough. Anyone have any input on this??

[sephy]

They're not that different. Use a self-defense round in either one and it will do its job. I personally like 9mm.

[SouperMan]

Just Google "9mm vs .40S&W". There's hundreds of threads in dozens of forums about this tired, worn out, beaten to death subject.

^^^Yup

Always personal preference.

[davbog44]

There will be peace in the Middle East, Glenn Beck will be invited to be a God Parent for Van Jones' kids, and CA will have a balanced budget before the 9MM vs .40S&W debate will be settled.

Unless you can find someone who has shot a statistically significant number of people with both 9MM and .40S&W pistols who can tell you differently, stick with what you are most comfortable with and confident in.

Buy quality defense ammo (like what LE uses,) work on your skills, and pray you have the good fortune to never have to find which side of the argument is correct.

[troysland]

Anyone will tell you that shot placement is more important. So, which caliber are you a "better shot" with might be a better question. I prefer 9mm.

[teflondog]

The only reason why I bought a .40 s&w gun is because it was the only ammo that I could find during the shortage period right after the election. If it weren't for that, my only semi autos would be .45 acp and 9mm.

The difference between 9mm and .40 s&w doesn't justify the extra cost for me. When comparing the 147 gr HST to the 180 gr HST in water jug tests, the difference is miniscule.

[Baboosh]

Why does everyone need to justify what gun they bought, what calber they have etc etc etc. This is a hobby where you buy what YOU want, not what your buddy thinks is better, 95%+ of us will never use our guns in a home defense scenario. What matters if you do have to use your gun is can you get to it before the bad guys get to you and how fast and accurately you can get rounds on target.

[norcalcyclist]

All personal pref...both will do the job with the right choice of ammo, as long as you get the shots on target. I started shooting before the 40 was around and first gun was a BHP, so I am partial to the 9mm. Nothing wrong with the 40...I just don't need another caliber in the safe (and ammo to stockpile).

BTW - I absolutely LOVE the USP-c in 9mm!

[MyGlock17]

It's whatever you shoot best with is the best home defense weapon ....For me i like the 9mm since it's less snappy for me which will result in faster shot placements in rapid shooting...Also ammo has changed over the years, JHP has gotten better especially for 9mm...

[PandaLuv]

http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=19887

I've had .40 as my HD round for a year, I swapped to 9mm because I know that I will actually hit something with 9mm.

If you had to compare just FMJ, I'd say that .40 would win. But with JHP, 9mm has the same stopping power and expansion and better velocity. Just because the bullet is big, it doesn't mean it's better. With 9mm you can get back on target faster than .40. Heck, I can get back on target faster with my .45 rather than my .40.

[MyGlock17]

http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=19887




I've had .40 as my HD round for a year, I swapped to 9mm because I know that I will actually hit something with 9mm.

If you had to compare just FMJ, I'd say that .40 would win. But with JHP, 9mm has the same stopping power and expansion and better velocity. Just because the bullet is big, it doesn't mean it's better. With 9mm you can get back on target faster than .40. Heck, I can get back on target faster with my .45 rather than my .40.

+1

I can shoot the .40 really good though but the follow up shots slow me down because of how snappy the .40 is...i agree also with the .45acp that it's less snappy compared to the .40 s&w...My favorite 9mm JHP are Speer Gold Dot +P 124gr...

[corcoraj2002]

http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=19887




I've had .40 as my HD round for a year, I swapped to 9mm because I know that I will actually hit something with 9mm.

If you had to compare just FMJ, I'd say that .40 would win. But with JHP, 9mm has the same stopping power and expansion and better velocity. Just because the bullet is big, it doesn't mean it's better. With 9mm you can get back on target faster than .40. Heck, I can get back on target faster with my .45 rather than my .40.

Do not take this the wrong way, but shoot it more, and it is documented on this forum that you lost confidence in your .40 due to mechanical failures with a light attached (not knocking just stating).

I have multiple calibers and I went with .40 as my HD round, Mostly due to it being the first gun I owned (I bought the 9mm 31 days later) but I find the no manual safety of the XD my best option for HD.

I am also confident that I can hit a target center mass up to 15 yards (at the range) with any of my firearms.

You should go with what you are confident and can hit the required target at a given distance, at least 7 yards.

I put the import parts in bold its all about what you are comfortable with.

[edgalang]

If economics are a non-issue, I'd go with the largest caliber you can still control (especially in CA where you can only hold 10 rounds anyway). But since money and supply does matter, I went with a pistol that was specifically designed to hold 10 rounds of 9mm as my first gun in the event that it may be my one and only gun. The way I see it is, I'd rather shoot a smaller round many times than a larger round a few times (assuming prices remain the same, since obviously the FN five-seven does not fall in this generalization).

[Tee Why]

I think if everything else being the same, the 40 may offer a slight advantage. However, among good jhp cartridges, the difference between a 9 and a 40 is not that big to warrant much concern, except on online forums.

Go with what works for you the best. For home defense, I'd recommend a good JHP +P round for the 9mm.

[tacticalcity]

Mathmatically the 40S&W has the most amount of stopping power vs the amount of recoil it produces. However, felt recoil is different than actual recoil. Many find the 40S&W round to be too snappy and for lack of a better word distracting to shoot. I am among them. It just feels wrong to me. The math on paper doesn't do much to change how it feels when shooting it. So I stopped shooting the 40S&W and now prefer to shoot either the 9mm or 45ACP. I prefer the feel of both to that of the 40S&W.

So it all comes down to personal preferrance.