Decisions, Decisions - 9mm or .40?

[Rick_A]

I'm by no means wealthy, but the ammo cost is inconsequential. A round or two less is not the end of the world.

In full size guns 9mm feels anemic and 40S&W is quite controllable. IMO if it's primarily to be a range pistol 9mm may be more suitable. With my life depending on it I'd rather have the 40.

With the FBI deeming the 9mm "good enough" again and the 40S&W "too hot for women and the small statured to handle" many have wrote off the 40 altogether. I wouldn't be so quick to do so.

As always YMMV.

 

[John R]

That price for a new 40 with three mags, I'd buy it, but that's just me.
All my autos that are not 45's, are 40's.
Don't own any 9mm.

 

[Horn]

Depends On Your Need

Hi guys. I was all set to "pull the trigger" so to speak on an M&P (my first). I was looking at the Compact, or the Full Size, either one brand new with night sights and three magazines at $455, shipping included. The upside is that the 9mm is cheap to shoot and I can also use it for students in training classes pretty easily.

But then I came across the .40 in Full Size, with standard sights, three magazines, also brand new, for $379 including shipping, but in .40 caliber only. This seems like the deal of the century on a brand new gun.

I don't currently have a .40 of any kind, having gotten away from the caliber living overseas the past few years where it is not popular. I never had anything against the .40, and think it would probably be sort of fun in a full-sized pistol like the M&P which was designed for it. I also already have about a dozen pistols in 9mm. They are just easier for others to shoot and cheaper to feed.

What does everyone think? Which would you choose? The only real difference in the deals is caliber and night sights.

If you're intention is a caliber for self defense recent research is favoring the 9MM over other calibers. (F.B.I. switching from 40 to 9MM)
If you live in big animal country check out Buffalo Bore's 9MM Outdoorsman ammo. (Not for SD against people) The penetration isn't in inches. Its in feet! ( 4 to 5 of them)
9MM bullets have advanced greatly in the past five years. Now
equal to not only 40 caliber but 45 caliber for self defense.
Also, cost effective not only bad guy effective.
Stay Safe
Semper Fi

 

[McE]

Roughly speaking, 9mm is 5cents cheaper per round than 40sw.
You'd save $50 in ammo after just 1000 rounds.
5 boxes of 9mm is more practice than 4 boxes of 40sw (same cost)

 

[joeintexas]

Myself I have never felt the need for a 40. I have a few 9s and a few 45s if I feel I need a big bore. 40s are a bit too snappy for my likes. Each to their own.

 

[comiskeybum]

9mm for the cost factor alone.

 

[freetheeagle]

My $0.02 worth. For that price I would buy the 40. The price of an SL conversion barrel is only slightly more than the amount you will save and you will have a multi caliber weapon for only slightly more than the 9. Then you can buy the most available one when another ammo shortage occurs. I have a FS40 plus an SL barrel and am happy with both.

 

[RJJ 1971]

With modern defense ammo....... to me it's no big deal.

I try to stock as few calibers as possible......... prefer one deep pile to many smaller ones........

I follow this creed too!
I've condensed down to 4 calibers - 9mm, 12 gauge, 22lr, and .223.
No more 45's, 40's, 308's, 20 gauge, or 7.62 x39.
9mm ammo is vastly available and cheap.

 

[papersniper]

Hi guys. I was all set to "pull the trigger" so to speak on an M&P (my first). I was looking at the Compact, or the Full Size.....

I don't currently have a .40 of any kind...... I also already have about a dozen pistols in 9mm. They are just easier for others to shoot and cheaper to feed......

What does everyone think? Which would you choose? The only real difference in the deals is caliber and night sights.

I cannot comment on the night sights, but I'd recommend the 9mm by far over the 40 for what I understand your needs/wants to be. First of all, 9mm ammo is much less expensive, so if you plan to practice a lot and carry that pistol, you probably already have a nice stock of 9mm ammo. IMO, the 40 is only a bit more effective for concealed carry SD than the 9mm, and not worth the additional cost if that's your only 40 pistol.

I recently bought my only 380 pistol, and I thought long and hard about it. I have several 9mm pistols I use for EDC, but the 380 will fill a limited need that cannot be matched by any of my 9mms. And now there are issues of stock 380 ammunition along with the 40, 9, 45 pistol caliber ammo, not to mention the rifle caliber ammo in my closet!

 

[scattershot]

A slightly different take on it, but I'd go with the .40. You can convert it to 9mm any time you choose, with a barrel and magazine. Same can't be said of the 9mm.

That .40 sounds like a real buy.

 

[OldCop876]

Thanks guys. All of you have brought up the same sorts of thoughts I have had in making this choice. One more question...does anybody know if the factory M&P barrels in .357 Sig are actually available anywhere? I've seen them advertised for less than $100 but always out of stock.

I used to like that caliber accuracy-wise for a limited amount of shooting, and if I could find a drop in barrel for a reasonable price, that .40 would look more appealing, since I could turn it easily into a 3 caliber pistol and shoot 9mm, .40 and .357 Sig.

By the way, my distributor has a few of those .40's at that low price. They say they cannot move them due to caliber. I guess that might tell me something. Unfortunately for many people, they say you have to have a badge (active or retired) to get that price.

 

[MattO]

Why not buy the .40 and then buy a storm lake barrel in 9mm and have the best of both worlds for about the same money.


Matt

 

[jstanfield103]

I always wanted an M&P Pro. I found a used one at the LGS but it was a .40 I bought it anyway and then ordered the StormLake 9mm conversion barrel and magazine for it. Very glad I did. I really do not like the .40 but I can use it if I want the to fire the 40 cal for some reason. But as far as I can see it is a 9mm now that say's M&P40 on the slide. I will probably never fire the 40 again. Just not accurate with the OEM barrel.

 

[Elliot45]

I'm one who actually likes night sights which I understand is on the 9mm so I would go with that. BTW, I disagree with whoever said the bigger the caliber the better, there have been dozens of reports to refute that idea. The FBI had been the main proponent of the .40 and now has switched back to 9mm. Since I've purchased my 9mm 5" Pro and Shield, I hardly shoot anything else, ammo is cheaper and the Pro is one of the most accurate weapons I own. I had thought about a gun in the .40 but since I have a .45 and .357s, I realy didn't see any point in purchasing one. BTW, I buy my 9mm ammo (124gr.) in bulk from Freedom Munitions and it only costs me about .21 per shot, much less than most retail .40 ammo. But good luck with your choice, it's hard to go wrong either way. Regards, Elliot45

 

[Sigsavvy]

I have .22, .45, 9mm and .40 handguns. All have their purpose and roles. My Shield is in .40 because they don't make a .45. I'm old school and believe that a bigger hole is better if you miss the critical areas to immediately stop a threat. I don't have numbers, real world experience or anything like that to support my choices. Just personal preference.

 

[wingriderz]

Own more than one9mm just bought a m p 40c. I have to tell ya here in Florida the 9 mm vs 40mm . You can buy 9 and 40 rounds for less than a dollar difference.

 

[PirateJim]

A .40 will always recoil more than a 9mm in the same size gun because it is a more powerful caliber. But, in a full size pistol it really isn't bad. I've been using .40 S&W since the early 90's, first in a Glock 22 then a 23, and now in my Pro Series and my Shield. If you shop online sources the price doesn't tend to be that much different than 9mm unless you are getting military surplus or something.

I say get the .40 unless you just want a less powerful caliber.

 

[McE]

I say get the 9mm unless you want a less controllable caliber.


Unless you train to only shoot every target once and only once, everyone is faster with follow up shots with the 9mm, and the more shots you dispense, the more precious time you're wasting with the 40.

 

[shoots]

I recommend getting Shield .40 and a drop in 9mm barrel. Then you get two calibers of your choice. Not much difference in recoil between them.

 

[McE]

What good is a 40 barrel collecting dust and a ccw with erratic ejection patterns because you paid extra just to convert?
If you're the kind to think using reloads or modifying a gun would look bad in court, a conversion barrel is right up there with those slightly possible concerns.