9mm vs 40 cal vs 45 acp

[Mike357]

I know this is an age old question, and a lot comes down to personal preference, what a person plans to do with a gun, how much money his/her budget on a handgun/ammo for practice, etc... I am buying a glock 17, mostly because ammo is so cheap, and that helps in more range time, and after talking to many people ie, turners, and my local shooting range, both agree that 9mm is plenty for home personal protection, but a reloading friend of mine is in the group that believes bigger is better. So, what do you my fellow calgunners think?

[MaHoTex]

[Black Majik]

There's nothing wrong with 9mm. Don't mind the naysayers. I use both 9mm and .45, I feel confident with either. Remember, a hit with a 9mm is better than a miss with a .45

If 9mm is easier and faster to shoot, it may provide more hits on target.

Oh yeah, in before "a 9mm may expand but a .45 will never shrink."

[bak]

Shot placement is the KEY

[killmime1234]

I love my 9mm. As bak said, shot placement is key. Since 9mm is the cheapest ammo of the three, you can buy a lot more of it and practice with more of it than you could for the same price with other calibers. Nothing against .40 and .45--I like them both, and they have their distinct advantages, but 9mm is my choice for HD.

[whobob]

9mm baby gangster weapon of choice. IMO, is worst the defensive or even protection caliber. It will penetrate your suspect.

If you want to do placement shots why not a .22 headshot?

[PsychGuy274]

[Mickael81]

The size of the bullet is not as important as the velocity of the bullet. Ex: .223 traveling at 3000f/s. I carry a Glock 22 at work and i think it's a happy median between the. 45 and 9mm. With that said, I guarantee you my Glock 17 will perform just as well as my Glock 22 and it will kill the target no different than any other handgun with a bigger caliber.
For guys that reload, 9mm is not even worth their time because its cheaper to buy it new. .45 on the other hand is expensive as hell and maybe that's why they prefer to reload those.
Shot placement is key. "Winning the hearts and minds; two in the heart, one in the mind"

[aca72]

Choose the classics...

9mm and .45 ACP.

[tyrist]

I wouldn't want to be shot with either. So I would say all of them are good.

[jermzzzzzzz]

NOOOOOOO NOT ANOTHER CALIBER VS CALIBER THREAD AHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!

[safewaysecurity]

.45 ACP Winchester Ranger T-series.

[PressCheck]

Jeez - Not AGAIN!

[bak]

9mm baby gangster weapon of choice. IMO, is worst the defensive or even protection caliber. It will penetrate your suspect.

If you want to do placement shots why not a .22 headshot?

Sure .22 to the eye socket, but i believe the op asked about 9 40 and 45. Worst defensive or protection caliber...Well you would need to quote stats.

[killmime1234]

All we need now is to add "Vs. Bear" to the title to make this thread complete.

In all honesty, I don't mind beating this dead horse, mostly because of the plasticity of people's opinions on the topic. Granted, you have a few die hard .45's that will never change their mind, but otherwise most people are open to learning more about the actual ballistic properties of the different calibers.