.40 or .45

[Dizturbed One]

If your shooting can often be limited by your budget (and pretty much anyone can with enough spare time) go with 9mm, and shoot it as much as possible. Much cheaper plinking ammo for the range, and some good JHP's in 9mm is stopping people, period.

If you can afford to shoot as much .40 or .45 as you want in the spare time available to you for shooting, then by all means go with the most comfortable of the 3 different calibers for you.

My philosophy - Buy what you can shoot the most. Because what you shoot the most will quickly become what you will shoot the best. What you will shoot the best is what you should be shooting when it matters.

All of these numbers fail to show the only statistic that matters... Here, let me fix walmart_ar15's list for you, and show the proper statistics that MATTER

9mm - 95grn +P+ @1550fps - Dead bad guy
40SW - 155grn +P @1300fps - Dead bad guy
10mm - 155grn @1550fps - Dead bad guy
45ACP - 185grn @1150fps - Dead bad guy
45 Super - 185grn @1300fps - Dead bad guy
460 Rowland - 255grn @1300fps - Dead bad guy

[MrBAD]

I think Ive decided to get a glock 20 in 10mm.. and eventually get a 40 conversion barrel for the range

[Mercureality]

Meh, caliber debate is boring. Every caliber has its merits and disadvantages, but .40 is a highly effective round. I trust Doc GKR's opinion:

Basically all the standard service calibers work when using good quality ammunition.

------------------------------------------

The keys are:

-- Cultivate a warrior mindset
-- Invest in competent, thorough initial training and then maintain skills with regular ongoing practice
-- Acquire a reliable and durable weapon system
-- Purchase a consistent, robust performing duty/self-defense load in sufficient quantities (at least 1000 rounds) then STOP worrying about the nuances of handgun ammunition terminal performance.

Because of the 10 round limit in CA, I went with .40. I love my USP 40. Fantastic gun, and if you want to go with 40 S&W I can't recommend it highly enough. .45 is fine, but it's comparatively expensive to shoot, and in free states, the magazines hold fewer rounds comparatively. The evidence gathered by the experts both from the lab and in real world situations suggests that .45 does not offer a substantial ballistic advantage over the other 'service calibers'... though there's the history, myth and psychological comfort involved with having the bigger bullet. If you like it, more power to you, especially if you shoot it well and can afford to shoot enough for adequate training.

All that said, I'm moving to 9mm now, since it's cheaper to train with in high volumes. Now I gotta sell the old to make way for the new. Still... gonna miss my USP. =/

[TripleThreat]

Flip a Coin

Have them both, love them both, in the end it really doesn't matter.

[paul0660]

I will never forget training overseas with a fellow who carried am old Hi Power with fmj NATO ball ammo in His magazines. I would not want to face Him in a gun fight. EVER.

AP, I think I understand your point, are there people you would like to face in a gun fight?

[Cali-Shooter]

Unless you're a huge 1911 fan (and or you reload for .45 acp), stick with the .40. It's cheaper, has good capacity (if you have the magazines), and there are plenty of good firearms for them. Make sure you can handle the recoil though.

[walmart_ar15]

I think Ive decided to get a glock 20 in 10mm.. and eventually get a 40 conversion barrel for the range

If you reload, another possibility is G21 with 400 Corbon or 40 Super Conversions. Google them, they have impressive stats. However, unless you reload, you'll need a trust fund to practice with them. They cost a bit more than 10mm.

[Lu(ky]

More meaningless numbers for a thread with no real purpose

Forget individual mass and velocity, just go with highest energy combination possible for each caliber listed. Use Buffalo again, seems they load their stuff warmer than most and still within SAMMI spec.

9mm - 95grn +P+ @1550fps - 507ft.lbs
40SW - 155grn +P @1300fps - 582ft.lbs
10mm - 155grn @1550fps - 827ft.lbs
45ACP - 185grn @1150fps - 543ft.lbs
45 Super - 185grn @1300fps - 694ft.lbs
460 Rowland - 255grn @1300fps - 957ft.lbs

What does it mean in the caliber debate, nada...

What about a .357 sig round?

[Mr.Do]

45 acp all the way man! But if the budget allows..why not get both a 40 and 45? haha

[shortyforty]

.40 or .45

The cost of .45 ammo these days is horrendous! .40 cal is not cheap either. I guess what it would come down to for me is the intended use of the pistol. In my opinion, it's really hard to beat the ballistics of the .40 cal. It's relatively fast and very hard hitting. The .45 is slower and exerts less ft. lbs of energy. If your looking for a target gun you may consider the 5" 1911 in .45 with target sights. Sweet set up. If you want a gun that you can conceal with relative ease and maintain a 10+1 capacity go with the .40 in something like the XD sub-compact. It's your choice of course and your $$$$. You will probably end up with both...lol------------it just seems to work out that way..

[CerveloR3]

Haha, reminds me of Sunday morning at the range, was picking up brass after shooting my 1911 and I saw another shooter's 9mm brass next to some of my .45 brass and thought to myself "ha, 9mm, that's cute"

To the OP, personally I would go with .45, but that is just my preference. I am selling my .40 because I feel I am able to be more accurate and send a faster follow up with a .45 than I can with the .40

How did you do with your paper target?

[walmart_ar15]

357 Sig

What about a .357 sig round?

I was sticking to more 40 and 45 caliber (9mm as reference) since it was the OP question. As for 357 Sig, Wiki seems to list the load that Corbon. RBCD, and Double Tap makes.

Pending bullet weight and velocity - energy range from 510 - 774 ft.lbs. Typical full power load seems to be 125 grn @1450fps ~ 584 ft.lbs.

Energy is just part of the overall equation. Example, 357 Sig produces large flash and bang from muzzle so prob not suited for HD/indoor applications. There are also zillion of other type of caliber and loads as the ammo makers try to build a better (different) mouse trap to convince folks to part with their money. As long as the shooter does his part, they all pretty much end up with the same result with ammo designed for your 2-legged animal.

9mm and 45 has been around 100+ years and effectively ending arguments between men. The world's military, who specializes in reducing population, seems to feel 9mm FMJ is adequate for the job (granted in +P+ form). FBI felt that US being the most over weight nation in the world, thus, our bad guys are tougher to kill, so they wanted to use 10mm but then realized what folks knew back 100 years ago that a system is only effective as its weakest link. So they down loaded the 10mm. Then smart business folks in SW made the 40SW to sell more guns with the same tooling they had.

In the end, personal preference. It is like which flat screen TV to buy, if the goal is just to watch the News, it really does not matter.

[glock7]

i've owned both calibers, hands down this old guy likes the .45. i have an RIA compact, not snappy unless i shoot off-hand. And i so like the big holes it makes. :}

[Gunner63]

I currently have a .45 and looking for a good round other then ball ammo. DOes anyone have an opinion on the Hornedy .45 Critical Defence round 230 Grain ?

[Siberian23]

I've never left a post in these debate threads before but here is my $.02, you can look at it from newtons law of force=mass x acceleration or as my ol' papi used to say there is no replacement for displacement. Personally I feel very comfortable with my glock 30 and 10 rds of .45 it makes me : )