^I agree with this statement!! I also prefer to cover all the bases, so I have both a 9mm and a .40 barrel for my Glock 32!
Anyone else think: "I should have got a 9 mm instead?"
- Thread starter bushmaster1313
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^I agree with this statement!! I also prefer to cover all the bases, so I have both a 9mm and a .40 barrel for my Glock 32!
BigBill
Absent Comrade
I'm with William Layton on this one through all the hype of the newer, suppose to be better mouse trap I stayed with the 100 year old 45acp.
I understand this post is about I should of purchased a 9mm instead of the 40cal because it costs too much to shoot? Well don't shoot the 40cal as much and buy something cheaper to feed. It took me over three decades to buy a 9mm pistol. The CZ85DB was my first pistol in 9mm luger. It's a amberdexterious cz75. The 1911/45ACP still works for me and what my needs are. It's still affordable to feed wether it's new ammo or reloads.
I have many different 9mm calibers. Like 9mm makarov, 9mm luger, 9mm largo, 380 acp to feed. The 9mm I carry the most is the cz82 in 9mm makarov. For the cheap cost of $200 it's hard to beat the cz quality.
Keep the 40cal and get the cz82 to shoot in between.
My cz85db in 9mm luger is growing roots in the safe. I rarely shoot it. It's an awesome quality pistol in 9mm luger. I can shoot it accurately out to 100yds.
I carried the ruger redhawk in 44 mag for most of my ccw life. I been full circle ccw carrying most calibers. I still feel that six rounds of 44mag is plenty. I have carried the redhawks for many miles on the bike at night too.
It all boils down to its not the caliber it's how accurate you are with it.
Cheap to shoot? 9mm luger but the 45acp is affordable to shoot too.
I understand this post is about I should of purchased a 9mm instead of the 40cal because it costs too much to shoot? Well don't shoot the 40cal as much and buy something cheaper to feed. It took me over three decades to buy a 9mm pistol. The CZ85DB was my first pistol in 9mm luger. It's a amberdexterious cz75. The 1911/45ACP still works for me and what my needs are. It's still affordable to feed wether it's new ammo or reloads.
I have many different 9mm calibers. Like 9mm makarov, 9mm luger, 9mm largo, 380 acp to feed. The 9mm I carry the most is the cz82 in 9mm makarov. For the cheap cost of $200 it's hard to beat the cz quality.
Keep the 40cal and get the cz82 to shoot in between.
My cz85db in 9mm luger is growing roots in the safe. I rarely shoot it. It's an awesome quality pistol in 9mm luger. I can shoot it accurately out to 100yds.
I carried the ruger redhawk in 44 mag for most of my ccw life. I been full circle ccw carrying most calibers. I still feel that six rounds of 44mag is plenty. I have carried the redhawks for many miles on the bike at night too.
It all boils down to its not the caliber it's how accurate you are with it.
Cheap to shoot? 9mm luger but the 45acp is affordable to shoot too.
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I have always had at least one 9 for plinking. My Glock 17 is a very accurate and fun gun to shoot. I made very few trips to the range when it wasn't in my range bag. I never use it for CC though. I know that 9s will kill you graveyard dead and a LOT of LEOs and private citizens use them and trust them and have confidence in them. I know the saying "There is no substitute for a well placed round." And some folks can shoot their 9 very well so that makes it all good. I've just always preferred to carry something with a little more "stank" on it. .40, .45, .44spl, .357mag. Even .38spl +p. It's only my opinion but to me a 9mm is little more than a .38 short and arguably a marginal round. If it was all there was then I guess it'd be okay but I just FEEL BETTER with something bigger. I mean no criticism or offense to any 9mm fans out there. It's all cool with me. Just doin' what I feel as we all must do.
I bought a .40 when the shelves were bare of all other ammo, and kept shootin' away through the 'shortage.'
I used to think the 9 was a bit too weak but I have plenty of confidence in it now. But I still have more confidence in the .40 and the ammo cost is not really not much difference in my area. If I was carrying 9m/m for defense I would only want the really expensive +P+ ammo, but with a .40 any decent hollow point ammo would probably be OK, so its possibly cheaper to shoot than a 9. Also it depends on the gun as to which caliber I would want. A CZ-75 .40 is very soft shooting but a Kel-tec PF 9m/m kicks like a freaking mule! My hand is sore after two magazines so their is no way I would want one of those in .40.
diamonback68
US Veteran
I had never owned a 9mm before and was never sure why. So, late last year I solve the problem and got a Ruger LC9s. Love the the gun, love the caliber and carry it every day. 
venomballistics
Member
nope .. not a moments regret.
my EDC is a 45, which is less economical than the 40.
Economics should play only the smallest part of a defensive caliber decision. That part is that you can afford to shoot it.
Everything else is more important than cost here. Embrace that.
Don't let your range experience confuse you.
Ideal for the range is a 32 cal. easy to cast, reload and cheap as they will ever come to shoot. The street disagrees with these attributes.
my EDC is a 45, which is less economical than the 40.
Economics should play only the smallest part of a defensive caliber decision. That part is that you can afford to shoot it.
Everything else is more important than cost here. Embrace that.
Don't let your range experience confuse you.
Ideal for the range is a 32 cal. easy to cast, reload and cheap as they will ever come to shoot. The street disagrees with these attributes.
amazingflapjack
US Veteran
What I would really like to try now is a long slide 9-maybe one of the high end CZ's, or a S&W 952 6 inch(?).
Wyatt p. Tato
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Faulkner
Member
Nope. Not even once.
williamlayton
Member
Never, hardly never ever trade or sell a gun---keep it to remind yourownself to check your pulse before you pull out the plastic.
That is the reason I still have the Sig 239 with the .40 and .357 barrels.
Actually I like the .38 super and 9x23 much better than a 9mm.
Blessings
That is the reason I still have the Sig 239 with the .40 and .357 barrels.
Actually I like the .38 super and 9x23 much better than a 9mm.
Blessings
I have a 40S&W but started out with a .22 to get my CCW. Some at the range had both a 9mm and a 40 so I got the chance to try both. Turned out liked em both so I decided to go with the bigger one. Traded the 22 in for the SD40VE and have no trouble with CC. I decided to get a back up gun in 9mm so bought a Kahr CW9 single stack for pocket carry, especially in winter as it's easy to carry in my coat pocket, with a DeSantis pocket holster, of course. I know it only holds 6 rounds, but I carry a spare and it's only for back up. Both shoot real nice and I have two different calibers, cos you never know.
Abbynormal
Member
Started off shooting revolvers.
Got a S&W 39-2 in 9mm and had a lot of fun with it.
Buddy had a Browning HP and I fell in love and traded the 39-2 for one. 32 years ago
Years go by and I wanted something easier to carry than the HP and bought a new Sig P239 in 9mm to relieve the BHP from EDC.
Liked the P239 a lot, didn't have any bad things to say about it, but traded it for a P239 in .40.
I really liked the .40, but wanted more than 9 rounds in the gun.
Traded P239 for a used Sig P229 in .40 with 12 rd mags. Basically the same gun only a double stack.
The .357 Sig always interested me. So when I found a used P229 barrel in .357 Sig for $100, I jumped on it. I got the barrel, bought a couple boxes of .357 Sig (1 fmj & 1 hp) and went to the range. I found my EDC and perfect caliber.
The "snappy" recoil of the .40 was gone, replaced by a firmer but slower recoil and the snappy crack of the .40 got overwhelmed by a .357 Magnum boom like report. I found it more managable and easier to shoot. Probably due to my previous experience with .357 Magnums.
Anyway, I found my cartridge. Great velocity, flat shooting, plenty of energy and very accurate out beyond 100 yds off hand. Not bad for a bottom feeder and nearly equal in accuracy to a N frame .357.
After 10 years, I realized I didn't shoot my Browning HP anymore in favor of the .357. The Sig was more accurate and so I sold the BHP and with the proceeds, I got a Bar-Sto 9mm barrel for it too for cheap practice shooting. FYI: The Bar-Sto 9mm barrel in the P229 outshot the BHP!!! My buddies like shooting it too, Both because of the unusual caliber and for what it does, accurately and powerfully. I do better with the Sig P229 .357 Sig in bowling pin shoots and 3 gun matches that I have ever done in .38, 9mm, .40 S&W or .45 ACP.
So now I have a 3 caliber gun that I'm going to stick with and am thinking of getting the Factory Sig .22 unit to make it a true 4 caliber system.
Got a S&W 39-2 in 9mm and had a lot of fun with it.
Buddy had a Browning HP and I fell in love and traded the 39-2 for one. 32 years ago
Years go by and I wanted something easier to carry than the HP and bought a new Sig P239 in 9mm to relieve the BHP from EDC.
Liked the P239 a lot, didn't have any bad things to say about it, but traded it for a P239 in .40.
I really liked the .40, but wanted more than 9 rounds in the gun.
Traded P239 for a used Sig P229 in .40 with 12 rd mags. Basically the same gun only a double stack.
The .357 Sig always interested me. So when I found a used P229 barrel in .357 Sig for $100, I jumped on it. I got the barrel, bought a couple boxes of .357 Sig (1 fmj & 1 hp) and went to the range. I found my EDC and perfect caliber.
The "snappy" recoil of the .40 was gone, replaced by a firmer but slower recoil and the snappy crack of the .40 got overwhelmed by a .357 Magnum boom like report. I found it more managable and easier to shoot. Probably due to my previous experience with .357 Magnums.
Anyway, I found my cartridge. Great velocity, flat shooting, plenty of energy and very accurate out beyond 100 yds off hand. Not bad for a bottom feeder and nearly equal in accuracy to a N frame .357.
After 10 years, I realized I didn't shoot my Browning HP anymore in favor of the .357. The Sig was more accurate and so I sold the BHP and with the proceeds, I got a Bar-Sto 9mm barrel for it too for cheap practice shooting. FYI: The Bar-Sto 9mm barrel in the P229 outshot the BHP!!! My buddies like shooting it too, Both because of the unusual caliber and for what it does, accurately and powerfully. I do better with the Sig P229 .357 Sig in bowling pin shoots and 3 gun matches that I have ever done in .38, 9mm, .40 S&W or .45 ACP.
So now I have a 3 caliber gun that I'm going to stick with and am thinking of getting the Factory Sig .22 unit to make it a true 4 caliber system.
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adam6979
Member
I bought the SD40VE first and could never get it to shoot where I wanted to. However my wife could do great with it so we kept it. I then picked up a 9mm glock and was able to hit bullseye with the 1st round ... I gave up with the 40 refusing to spend that much on ammo to miss all the time. Well its been about 8 months now and I got some reman ammo from Freedommunitions that was actually cheaper than the factory 9mm ammo - so I tried again... I can now hit just fine with the 40 as well and love the extra power of it. I however do not regret having both guns and will be purchasing a 45 as well before too long. If you are target shooting you may want to look at buying some reloads --- at least right now Freedommunitions has the cheapest price - just figure on buying 250+ rounds at once to absorb the $20 shipping cost.
Ok, here's my .40 vs. 9mm story.
My intent for my first handgun was the Ruger SR40C. I saw a Hickock45 video on it and thought it was really great (discovered later he makes a lot of guns seem great - and they are). I mentioned the SR40C to a friend of mine who knows a lot about guns and to my surprise and delight he pulled one out of his holster and let me check it out. I was dead set on on it after that. It seemed to my inexperienced mind at the time to be a good compromise between the big fat .45 ACP (which I love), and smaller calibers. Unfortunately, I could not find one anywhere or even order one because Ruger was not taking orders at that time. I searched and waited a long time. I seethed as all the other ammo disappeared from store shelves, except 40 S&W. While I waited, I fell in love with a new .45 1911 which I figured I would have to have eventually anyway, so I bought that to get in the game while waiting. I didn't intend it to be my first, but what the heck, it was available. Then, still waiting for an SR40c, I discovered the Ruger LCP, much nicer to carry than the 1911 and very inexpensive. Turned out to be a sweet little gun, very reliable and I didn't mind its snappiness at all. By the time the SR40C finally started to become available I had become accustomed to the thinness of the 1911 and the LCP and then the 40C felt too fat to me for comfortable carry. Then the Ruger LC9 caught my eye, slightly bigger brother to the LCP and also not very expensive - and much thinner than the 40c. I thought since I managed to handle the trigger of the LCP just fine, I could do the same with the LC9 and the ammo was actually much cheaper than .380! - and much more potent and effective. Unfortunately, I could not get comfortable with that ridiculously long trigger pull. Then they came out with the LC9s which fixed that. It probably would have been the perfect gun for me because I love everything else about my LC9, but by then I had been bitten by the Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum/.38 Special revolver bug and here I am. Now I'm thinking a 9mm revolver might be nice. And a .45 ACP revolver - oh yeah. Who knows where it might go from here?
So there are many factors that can affect how we end up with the gun(s) we end up with - if it ever ends. But I have learned you can reason and theorize all day about this gun or that gun or this caliber or that caliber, but in the end it takes hands-on experience to really tell the tale. It sure has been fun so far though.
My intent for my first handgun was the Ruger SR40C. I saw a Hickock45 video on it and thought it was really great (discovered later he makes a lot of guns seem great - and they are). I mentioned the SR40C to a friend of mine who knows a lot about guns and to my surprise and delight he pulled one out of his holster and let me check it out. I was dead set on on it after that. It seemed to my inexperienced mind at the time to be a good compromise between the big fat .45 ACP (which I love), and smaller calibers. Unfortunately, I could not find one anywhere or even order one because Ruger was not taking orders at that time. I searched and waited a long time. I seethed as all the other ammo disappeared from store shelves, except 40 S&W. While I waited, I fell in love with a new .45 1911 which I figured I would have to have eventually anyway, so I bought that to get in the game while waiting. I didn't intend it to be my first, but what the heck, it was available. Then, still waiting for an SR40c, I discovered the Ruger LCP, much nicer to carry than the 1911 and very inexpensive. Turned out to be a sweet little gun, very reliable and I didn't mind its snappiness at all. By the time the SR40C finally started to become available I had become accustomed to the thinness of the 1911 and the LCP and then the 40C felt too fat to me for comfortable carry. Then the Ruger LC9 caught my eye, slightly bigger brother to the LCP and also not very expensive - and much thinner than the 40c. I thought since I managed to handle the trigger of the LCP just fine, I could do the same with the LC9 and the ammo was actually much cheaper than .380! - and much more potent and effective. Unfortunately, I could not get comfortable with that ridiculously long trigger pull. Then they came out with the LC9s which fixed that. It probably would have been the perfect gun for me because I love everything else about my LC9, but by then I had been bitten by the Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum/.38 Special revolver bug and here I am. Now I'm thinking a 9mm revolver might be nice. And a .45 ACP revolver - oh yeah. Who knows where it might go from here?
So there are many factors that can affect how we end up with the gun(s) we end up with - if it ever ends. But I have learned you can reason and theorize all day about this gun or that gun or this caliber or that caliber, but in the end it takes hands-on experience to really tell the tale. It sure has been fun so far though.
Meh......buy them all.
And a .40 is snappy? I'd suggest shooting a 3" .44 mag with 300 grainers running around 1100 fps. That is a bit snappy.
All machismo aside, any of the rounds mentioned are fine for self defense. I also used to deride the 9mm. Then, years later, I found myself carrying a little .38 special as my EDC. Ballistics are on a par with the 9, so I asked myself why all the caliber prejudice? My current EDC is a Sig 938. 8 rounds of 9mm compared to 5 rounds of .38. I have the utmost confidence in this little bottom feeder.
And a .40 is snappy? I'd suggest shooting a 3" .44 mag with 300 grainers running around 1100 fps. That is a bit snappy.
All machismo aside, any of the rounds mentioned are fine for self defense. I also used to deride the 9mm. Then, years later, I found myself carrying a little .38 special as my EDC. Ballistics are on a par with the 9, so I asked myself why all the caliber prejudice? My current EDC is a Sig 938. 8 rounds of 9mm compared to 5 rounds of .38. I have the utmost confidence in this little bottom feeder.
Two articles from the American Rifleman.
American Rifleman | The .40 S&W
American Rifleman | 9 mm & .40 S&W Remix
American Rifleman | The .40 S&W
American Rifleman | 9 mm & .40 S&W Remix
HOUSTON RICK
Member
Never bought a 40 but 66% of my automatic handguns are S&W nines, the rest are all 22LR and 45acp.
wyccad915
Member
I treasure my 9mm the most, and it is the one that is on my bedside, not my .45...All the reasons you stated make it a favorite caliber to me.
I like 9mm, I got a couple left but I've never been sorry I decided to depend on a .40 instead. My wife loves her big HK USP Tactical in .40, I have the same pistol in .45 and find I can shoot alot further and more accurately with her .40, I splurged on her and got the factory funnel mag and factory target trigger, its a tack driver. I like the HK USP compact in .40 as well for about the same reasons.
I've had four Browning High Powers pass through my hands and have thoroughly enjoyed all of them, they are just plain beautiful pistols and once you disconnect the mag safety they have decent triggers.
I think the only 9mm I'm sorry I didn't buy was one of those little jewel-like Rhombaugh 9mm pistols, I had a chance a couple of years ago and will likely never get another, at the price he was asking at the time.
So unless another C-code or earlier High Power finds its way into my hands its unlikely I will buy another 9mm, but you can never say never in this game.
I've had four Browning High Powers pass through my hands and have thoroughly enjoyed all of them, they are just plain beautiful pistols and once you disconnect the mag safety they have decent triggers.
I think the only 9mm I'm sorry I didn't buy was one of those little jewel-like Rhombaugh 9mm pistols, I had a chance a couple of years ago and will likely never get another, at the price he was asking at the time.
So unless another C-code or earlier High Power finds its way into my hands its unlikely I will buy another 9mm, but you can never say never in this game.
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