Quote:
Originally Posted by corbach
what are the main difference with these 2 calibers
regarding price firepower etc
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To generalize, about 30 years ago there was an influx of high capacity 9mm pistols in the American market. Gun magazines of the day dubbed them the "Wonder Nine's". Almost immediately there was a great debate of which carry theory was best, the big and slow .45 ACP round in pistols with 7 or 8 round magazines, or the smaller and faster 9mm round in pistols with at least twice the ammo capacity.
Pistols, as well as 9mm and .45 ACP ammo, have evolved and developed greatly in the past 30 years. A big part of that developement was impacted by the Clinton era gun laws and the effect on limiting magazines to 10 rounds. Since magazines were limited to 10 rounds during this period, the 9mm pistols took on a different persona, they became more compact while a gun that could hold near 10 rounds of .45 ACP were naturally larger.
Enter the .40 S&W. (For the sake of the story, I'm going to totally ignore it's development from the 10mm). The .40 S&W round was short enough that it could be used on 9mm sized frames, hence a smaller handgun. Yet the .40 S&W would get you about 85% of the ballistic ability of the .45 ACP. In summary, not quite .45 performance on a smaller 9mm framed handgun, the great compromise.
Personally, I own 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP handguns, and my favorite round is the .40.