9mm or 40 S&W?

[Chris A.]

Never liked the feel of .40. Too much snap and "twist" with the recoil. Given modern 9mm SD rounds, they will do the job fine as long as you practice and become skilled with hitting your target.

 

[chuck s]

Go with the 40. I have an SD 40 for the stopping power.I

Please, I'm laughing too hard. Stopping power?! You gotta be kidding!

There will never even be a truce in the Caliber Wars. Suffice to say I've never seen a need nor justification for .40S&W (forty short and weak).

.40S&W is a "compromise" caliber between 9mm and .45ACP. If you think 9mm is good enough there's no need for anything bigger. If you think, as I do, of .45ACP as the ideal pistol caliber a "compromise" caliber ain't gonna cut it most of the time. .40S&W is also a more politically correct caliber so city councils and police administrators afflict it upon their policemen because everyone knows a .45ACP round will just knock folks down if they're hit in the hand, and carrying 17+1 rounds of 9mm is just too many bullets to put in anyone's hands.

It's all about the size of the holes. Bigger holes trump small holes.

-- Chuck

 

[sheepdawg]

According to handloads.com the best 40 S&W has 11% more stopping power than the best 9mm, and has 2% less than the best 45 acp round.

Hmmmmmm. 9mm., 45 acp fans argue with them not me.

I am biased though, I own an MP 40 Pro Series.

 

[Lost Lake]

Thanks! This is useful information. Now... I must ask. Have you actually tried this? No feeding or barrel fit issues? I've not seen this information before and consider it important survival knowledge. May be useless... until necessary. What was it L. Pasteur said? "Chance favors the prepared mind."

I have not personally tried this, mainly because the barrels are backordered because so many are getting them. You can get the more expensive barrel from Midway and Brownells or order the S&W barrel from Midway for $65.

There are several threads on this site reporting the swap and how the gun functions including pictures and field trials. The .40 mag is the same mag as the .357. They are stamped .357 / .40 in fact. The 9mm uses a smaller mag that fits in the .40 gun, but the reports on this site are that the 9mm works fine in the .40 mag down to the last round where the slide will lock back.

In an armegedon / end of the world scenario, I think having the slide lock open with the last round is not a big deal, just slap in the next mag and continue on. However for range shooting having new 9mm magazines would be better to get that last round out.

If you buy a compact model you can even use full size magazines and enjoy that flexibility also. The M&P is pretty well thought out, and will take just about anything you want to throw at it.

 

[Jester84]

Get the caliber you feel comfortable with. At the end of the day that is all that matters.

Each caliber is going to protect you and your loved ones when it matters, provided you know how to shoot. The trigger gets pulled, gun goes band and the bad guy falls down....repeat as necessary

I personally have a full size M&P40. I feel comfortable with it and I don't have any problems finding ammo, unless I end up buying it all, then I just have to wait a few days.

Best of luck.

 

[silvercn]

This is a silly thread.

9mm will stop a BG.
40 s&w will stop a BG.
45 will stop a BG.
See the trend here...

But generally ppl get shot and keep coming...
its not black and white...

Personally, I own 9's and 45's...
both have their benefits, and draw backs.
neither is better... given those +'s & -'s.

Obviously, if you can hit your target with a larger caliber
you have answered your own question.
or maybe not....

YOU MAKE THE CALL..................

 

[Red Tex]

In my book, just flip a coin. Either will serve well if needed. If you have a slight preference for one over the other, then that's the way to go. Otherwise, you'll be playing "what if" mind games with yourself for as long as you own it.

 

[Frizzman]

I have an M&P 40c. I have the .40 because I got the best deal on the .40 vs the 9mm. I have several 9mm pistols and a couple of .40's. There are three .45 acp's in the safe too. I don't find that much difference in handling between the three cartridges. I tend to carry the .40 or .45 in the overcoat period of the year. I agree that gaining good skills with the weapon and understanding the capabilities of any handgun(not based on TV and movies) is far more important than the caliber. If you are like the vast majority of the people on this forum, you will wind up with more than one pistol anyway.

 

[Deaj]

I'll echo the responses suggesting to pick the caliber you shoot best with.

I have been carrying 9mm for more than 15 years because I've found in training that I hit more consistently with it than I do with .45ACP or .40S&W under stress.

 

[XAVMECH]

I had much better results shooting .40 S&W in my SIG 229 than I did in my S&W M&P .40 Compact. I finally got rid of the M&P, as I found it uncomfortable to shoot in that caliber. Currently I have five 3rd GEN 9MM S&Ws and a SIG 225 in 9MM. My only .40 cal is the SIG 229. I have no problems with shooting 45ACP in my Kimbers. I just found the M&P compact a bit too "Snappy". If I was going to continue to pursue a 40 cal in S&W, I'd look for a 4006. I think the added weight and barrel length would be make it a nice gun to shoot in that cal.
All in all, I'll likely move out of the 40 cal arena and stick with just 9MM and 45ACP. (Got a lot of 40 cal ammo to burn through in the mean time....)

 

[Reggie Dunlop]

.40 is the most common law enforcement caliber in the U.S.A. for a reason.
The only advantage the 9MM has over the .40 or .45 is cost of ammunition. After that, everything the little 9 does the larger 40 and 45 do better. Simple physics.
My intent is not to sway people who already have an opinion on caliber, but to help the OP in the descission making process.