9mm vs 45s Lets Hear Some Opinions
- Thread starter JK_HVGC
- Start date
No love for the .40?
I'm not a big fan of the 9mm. I do however love my 45s.
Its all a matter what you feel comfortable shooting and if you can control it, which gun and what its being used for.
Stopping power has become pretty moot recently since the advances in powers and bullets. I still would rather put a big dumb slow moving bullet into something than a small fast bullet.
Most 45s are not highly concealable. Although my G30 I do carry quite a bit. Most 9mm are smaller frame guns and easier to conceal.
Its all a matter what you feel comfortable shooting and if you can control it, which gun and what its being used for.
Stopping power has become pretty moot recently since the advances in powers and bullets. I still would rather put a big dumb slow moving bullet into something than a small fast bullet.
Most 45s are not highly concealable. Although my G30 I do carry quite a bit. Most 9mm are smaller frame guns and easier to conceal.
Wait, a Glock AND it's a .45??? Take my money now!!!!
In all seriousness, there's benefits to both. Yes, a .45 makes a larger wound cavity, but moves slower so there's less kinetic energy to transfer to surrounding tissue. The 9mm moves a bit faster with slightly less size but more kinetic energy. The real benefit to 9mm is that most new shooters/front line people that don't practice as often can shoot it more accurately because it has less recoil. Add in the fact that you can carry more 9mm rounds in the same size or smaller gun, and you see why a lot of police departments are switching to 9mm. With my Glock 21, I have 40 rounds in the gun and magazine pouches. A Glock 17 would have 52 rounds carried in the same configuration.
Having said all that, I like my .45 and hope we don't switch.
In all seriousness, there's benefits to both. Yes, a .45 makes a larger wound cavity, but moves slower so there's less kinetic energy to transfer to surrounding tissue. The 9mm moves a bit faster with slightly less size but more kinetic energy. The real benefit to 9mm is that most new shooters/front line people that don't practice as often can shoot it more accurately because it has less recoil. Add in the fact that you can carry more 9mm rounds in the same size or smaller gun, and you see why a lot of police departments are switching to 9mm. With my Glock 21, I have 40 rounds in the gun and magazine pouches. A Glock 17 would have 52 rounds carried in the same configuration.
Having said all that, I like my .45 and hope we don't switch.
Someone selling one?Search said:
My g21 I have a second 10mm upper for. In about 2 minutes I can switch between 10mm and 45ACP.
13 rounds of 45 is nothing to sneeze at and with the 30 round mag in my range bag I'm good to go.
My G30 has 10 rounds with the option of going 13 or 30. Same as the 21 only in a smaller package that can be concealed a lot easier.
Kind of left my 1911s behind as target and comp guns.
Keep in mind that that faster 9mm also is supersonic. Shoot a couple of them off without hearing protection and you will hear nothing for a few days.
At least with my slow dumb big bullet, I can almost get away without any hearing protection. And training offsets recoil.
You really don't need a whole lot of bullets anyway. If you need 17 rounds to take down a perp maybe you shouldn't be carrying a handgun.
I'm a huge fan of 45. I've got an FNX 45 Tactical that I love. My FNX coupled with my SilencerCo. Osprey is so soft to shoot. But I digress... 9mm is a better choice for concealment, like a G43 or M&P Shield. If you're not concerned with concealment, then go with the 45. The only real downside to 45 is that it's expensive to shoot compared to 9. If you want something for home defense exclusively, why not get a shotgun or an AR pistol in 300 blackout? There are lots of options out there. But buying a firearm pretty much the most personal choice you can make. It's like picking your significant other. Haha! A G19 or Walther PPQ are good mediums though. The 19 is versatile, inexpensive, somewhat easy to conceal, it's got a pretty decent capacity, and it's easy to customize! The Walther is a little more expensive than the Glock, but you get a better gun in terms of accuracy and ergonomics. And you can get the PPQ in 45, which hold 12 rds; just as many as the HK USP 45 but at half the price. The FNX, if you want maximum .45 fire power, holds 15 rds, but it's now going for 1400. I got mine for 1100 from GA Fireingling in Marietta, GA when I still lived in Atlanta. Shame the price has gone up so much on such a great pistol. 
Plinking 9mm as you can't beat the price, especially if you are shooting a lot. Though I found some ammo that levels the field a bit 
A 9 is punching through stage three body armor and hitting it a 2000 FPS :twist
A 9 is punching through stage three body armor and hitting it a 2000 FPS :twistI have been in 2 shootings as a cop, both with a Glock .40 and hit my suspect both times. 1 in the head from 10 feet and 1 in the arm from 311 feet. I carried the 9mm in the Marine Corps and and the .45 as a cop for a while. I find the .40 to be the perfect compromise. Not as much recoil as the .45 but better punch than the 9mm. Both shootings I was 1 for 4 putting my rounds on target. The national average for cops is 1 for 4 rounds on target in a real life shooting. I steer most "civilians" who have no shooting experience towards the 9mm because it is easier to shoot do to the lower recoil. A smaller round on target beats a larger round that misses, 100% of the time.
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Other_Erik
Traitor
I love this debate, especially since it hasn't devolved yet. Let's talk civilian concealed carry for a moment, and move on from there.
EveryDay Carry pistols I've toted in this range, starting with most recent:
Colt New Agent .45ACP. Cap 8 rounds (7 in the Wilson mag, 1 chambered), plus an extra mag or two depending on daily config. Love the pistol, hate the trench sight. The fact I can throw it in an inside pocket sticky holster and not worry about hanging on the sights is pretty nice, but the range I'd trust it at is pretty much belly gun range. I'm a couple hundred rounds into practicing with it, and am more or less ready to compensate for lack of sights. Crisp, clean, 1911-style action in a .45ACP Subcompact... you'd think it'd be a wristbreaker but to be honest, it's smooth as butter and target acquisition time is less than you might expect. Real point and shoot with heavy loads and ready out of the box for +P ammo. I like it a lot!
Sig Sauer P938, 9mm. Cap 8 rounds, plus a mag or two or three. Great sights on this thing but those also made it snag all the time when pulling from pocket holster. Accurate at 25 yards, and guaranteed to go bang when you pull the trigger, duty cycle of ~20k rounds before needing rebuilt, and even then will probably just be springs and other small/light parts. Certainly lighter than the New Agent by a significant amount, was still rock-steady as far as recoil management and target acquisition. Biggest complaint was the field strip and cleaning... painful to say the least. Getting it back together took a combination of knowing how to do it and getting lucky when blindly reinserting the takedown pin.
Sig Sauer P239, 9mm. Cap 9 rounds, plus a mag. Got mine as a retired service sidearm and it needed some love to stay on-target. I wasn't crazy about the size and weight, but it had the kick you'd expect from a much smaller caliber. Discontinued EDC status due to size.
Where we have real fun is ammo. On the .45acp front, I've been steady feeding the New Agent a diet of reloaded +P and it's eaten everything I've thrown in it. Gonna have some fun with it at an outdoor range later this year when I test out the Mercury Fulminate filled rounds I wrangled up. The 9's have always plinked ball ammo and had a daily carry diet of self-defense rounds - Federal HST and G2 RIPs. Recently came across a box of black talons that were packed away some years ago, may mix them in if I'm ever desperate to keep it fed.
If I could get my hands on one without a ridiculous markup, I'd consider going for a Colt New Agent 9mm to pair up with the .45. Sameish weight (actually a hair heavier due to shared barrel design), with capacity for 9+1 in a subcompact would be pretty sweet, but I'm not going for broke just to say I've got one of each. It'd give me a common platform for testing ease/accuracy in 45 and 9mm calibers, and of course I'd have to go out and pick up hard parts to keep them both running steady with comparable action...
O_E
EveryDay Carry pistols I've toted in this range, starting with most recent:
Colt New Agent .45ACP. Cap 8 rounds (7 in the Wilson mag, 1 chambered), plus an extra mag or two depending on daily config. Love the pistol, hate the trench sight. The fact I can throw it in an inside pocket sticky holster and not worry about hanging on the sights is pretty nice, but the range I'd trust it at is pretty much belly gun range. I'm a couple hundred rounds into practicing with it, and am more or less ready to compensate for lack of sights. Crisp, clean, 1911-style action in a .45ACP Subcompact... you'd think it'd be a wristbreaker but to be honest, it's smooth as butter and target acquisition time is less than you might expect. Real point and shoot with heavy loads and ready out of the box for +P ammo. I like it a lot!
Sig Sauer P938, 9mm. Cap 8 rounds, plus a mag or two or three. Great sights on this thing but those also made it snag all the time when pulling from pocket holster. Accurate at 25 yards, and guaranteed to go bang when you pull the trigger, duty cycle of ~20k rounds before needing rebuilt, and even then will probably just be springs and other small/light parts. Certainly lighter than the New Agent by a significant amount, was still rock-steady as far as recoil management and target acquisition. Biggest complaint was the field strip and cleaning... painful to say the least. Getting it back together took a combination of knowing how to do it and getting lucky when blindly reinserting the takedown pin.
Sig Sauer P239, 9mm. Cap 9 rounds, plus a mag. Got mine as a retired service sidearm and it needed some love to stay on-target. I wasn't crazy about the size and weight, but it had the kick you'd expect from a much smaller caliber. Discontinued EDC status due to size.
Where we have real fun is ammo. On the .45acp front, I've been steady feeding the New Agent a diet of reloaded +P and it's eaten everything I've thrown in it. Gonna have some fun with it at an outdoor range later this year when I test out the Mercury Fulminate filled rounds I wrangled up. The 9's have always plinked ball ammo and had a daily carry diet of self-defense rounds - Federal HST and G2 RIPs. Recently came across a box of black talons that were packed away some years ago, may mix them in if I'm ever desperate to keep it fed.
If I could get my hands on one without a ridiculous markup, I'd consider going for a Colt New Agent 9mm to pair up with the .45. Sameish weight (actually a hair heavier due to shared barrel design), with capacity for 9+1 in a subcompact would be pretty sweet, but I'm not going for broke just to say I've got one of each. It'd give me a common platform for testing ease/accuracy in 45 and 9mm calibers, and of course I'd have to go out and pick up hard parts to keep them both running steady with comparable action...
O_E