40 or 45 that is the quedtion I ask of thee....

[justaguy]

Which one is more comfortable for you to shoot?

[goett047]

I personally subscribe to the large things moving at slow speeds make things move idea. 40 has more energy but, Which has more energy transfer?

[Pinnacle]

This is the age old question. Choice of caliber.

I prefer a 40 to a 45 for capacity and I don't love the 1911 or other pistols chambered in 45 due to frame size. As for energy, I strongly believe that is a false premise. Pistols to me are something portable and not adequate for a reliable stop, and have seen people shot with all manners of weapon and caliber and still fight or one shot from a 22 LR dropped in their tracks.

It is less about caliber than marksmanship, and the mindset you have to fight and win. Buy what you feel most comfortable with and shoot the best and don't be too terribly concerned with much of anything else.

[Spike]

Way too much thinking going on here. 45 is a larger number than 40 so it MUST be better!

[Snowgun]

It is less about caliber than marksmanship, and the mindset you have to fight and win. Buy what you feel most comfortable with and shoot the best and don't be too terribly concerned with much of anything else.

+1

With current 9mm SD ammo all three of these calibers are similar enough to make the choice come down to "shootability" and capacity in a carryable frame. Therefore the 9mm wins.

Between 40 and 45, I feel that it depends on the gun and how you shoot it. You are going to be able to place .45 rounds much better with a steel 1911, compared to a plastic .40.

[grousemaster]

Way too much thinking going on here. 45 is a larger number than 40 so it MUST be better!

and it's also larger than .223, so I'm gonna see if I can get an AR upper in .45 to improve the terminal performance of my AR. All kidding aside, I bet the .45ACP out of a 16" barrel would be a thumper

[ijosef]

This is the age old question. Choice of caliber.

I prefer a 40 to a 45 for capacity and I don't love the 1911 or other pistols chambered in 45 due to frame size. As for energy, I strongly believe that is a false premise. Pistols to me are something portable and not adequate for a reliable stop, and have seen people shot with all manners of weapon and caliber and still fight or one shot from a 22 LR dropped in their tracks.

It is less about caliber than marksmanship, and the mindset you have to fight and win. Buy what you feel most comfortable with and shoot the best and don't be too terribly concerned with much of anything else.

Well said. There was a guy in my cell block who shot a kid in the back with one of those crappy little Jennings/Raven/Lorcin autos chambered in .22LR. Apparently he wanted the kid's jacket, the kid refused (must have "disrespected" him I guess) and ran at the sight of a gun. Once lucky shot from a .22LR dropped the kid in his tracks. According to the report, the autopsy determined that the bullet traveled through his back and into his heart.

There's one guy in my prison who took a handful of 9mm rounds to the chest and lived, just like fitty cent! Another one took a .45ACP to the side. He lost a kidney (the round exited out of his back) but lived.

[Snowgun]

There's one guy in my prison who took a handful of 9mm rounds to the chest and lived, just like fitty cent! Another one took a .45ACP to the side. He lost a kidney (the round exited out of his back) but lived.

9mm ball is useless. Like stabbing someone with a sewing needle.

[blacktornado11]

.45 ACP for me personally. My reasoning behind it is that I have enough trigger time with it that I am comfortable with it, something that I can't say with the .40 .
That and I have just under 1k rounds of .45 for plinking

[Muddy41]

Thanks for the info....TO the person that said 9mm is

I personally prefer to carry a .40 over a 45. I'm not a big guy and have a hard time concealing a large frame pistol. You can fit .40s&w into a 9mm frame at the cost of 1 or 2 rounds in the mag.
Some pistols can easily be converted from 9mm to 40s&w with a kit. Do some research and maybe you wont NEED two separate guns.
40 recoil feels very different from 45. Narrow your search to a couple of each caliber, rent them and choose your favorite.

Hope you find my advice helpful in your choice

I have noticed that some manufactures do have kits to convert 9mm to 40 which is kinda cool but I am not letting that be my deciding factor...I am finally getting to hit the range this morning...Everytime I have made plans to hit the range something happens to mees that up...

The last time was very traggic as my buddy lost his sister to cancer the night before so I felt my time was needed more being with him than going to a shooting range..That was a very hard time..His sister was 42 and had twin daughters that are either 13 or 14!!!...Life sometimes is not fair!!!

SO off to the range I go to shoot some guns...Then tomorrow I am hitting the gun show at the convention center..This will be my first gun show..Wished my taxes were back to I could buy a gun tomorrow from the gentlemen that has quoted me the best price..He is on this site alot and I have not found a better price that comes close to his!!! So when I do find the gun I want I will be sure to buy from him..

Have a great day and have fun tomorrow to those that will be at the show..If you see a fat guy walking around with a black spring jacket with a pic of a deer on the back stop me and say hi!!!!! Would be nice to meet some people on here and possibly get together in time when I get my guns to shoot wit others and possibly learn some things from you guys..

Take care
Mike

[plink]

I like the .40. Besides, its personality is more different from the 9mm than the .45 is. Ammo is a little cheaper too.

[Pinnacle]

I like the .40. Besides, its personality is more different from the 9mm than the .45 is. Ammo is a little cheaper too.

You are right about the 40 having a "personality" - SIGNIFICANTLY different than a 9mm or a 45. It is a bitch of misery to shoot as far as I am concerned and this is something else to consider when chosing a defensive pistol.

I shoot a lot - and I mean a lot. Most all of the shooting that I do is with the 9mm for practice. When i shoot a lot of 40 - and I hope that anyone buying a new SD pistol would shoot a lot - stuff hurts fast. I fidn that the recoil of the 40 punishes my wrists and hands terribly and it is simply not fun to shoot casually for me. A larger pistol in 40 would be better for shooting IDPA or playing gun games.

I find the 40 in a standard Issue type pistol difficult to shoot well over a long period of time. I prefer 9mm for the ease on my aging hands. For a self defense pistol - it works, is it the best caliber out there (40) debateable...

It is all in what you shoot the best and are most comfortable with. You may get to the range and rent or borrow a 40 - shoot it and say "This is not for me" Shoot a 9mm and say "Heck, I like this"

Guess which gun will work better for you? The one you like the feel of best and shoot the best and are most comfortable with - accuracy counts - horsepower is nothing without accuracy.

[Pat]

When God and John Moses Browning get behind something, you must take note:

M1911: Our beloved .45 ACP cartridge, shot from a M1911 pistol.
Model 1935: John Moses Browning's last gift to the gun world, the Browing Hi-Power.

[NDB_MN]

A lot of consternation really goes into calibers, that probably doesn't need to. But you really do need to check 'em out for yourself because you may prefer one over the other after experiencing them.

I favor .45 ACP and 9mm, though I do own a .40 S&W and always will own at least one of 'em.

I've also considered buying a .40 S&W if 9mm conversion barrels are readily available for the model - most nowadays can be dropped in with a simple mag change, and maybe a spring change.

It's not that .40 is bad - ballistics will tell you it's not. It seems to me that the recoil on the .40 is more up and down (others have different opinions, trust me!), and that makes my sight acquisition take a little longer. The .45 and 9 both hit me with more of a horizontal push back with less (perceived?) muzzle rise. Obviously the .45 is MORE than the 9, but it feels closer than the .40 vs. the 9 to me.

If I was planning on gun games though, the .40 S&W has a lot of advantages.

[Muddy41]

Well after shooting a few guns up at Bill's on Friday I am pretty darn sure that I am going with the 45..I shot bot the 40 and 45 and had beeter shooting with the 45's

Now this just could be me or this might be the way the calibers are but.......When shooting the 40's I did pretty good with them but found that the way the gun popped up it took me a little more work to get my gun back on point after each shot..I did like shooting it..The groups were not too bad for a true rookie at shooting..

Now with the 45's I truly had a better tie shooting them especially the Sig P220... It seemed to me that after pulling the trigger I was able to get the gun back on point alot faster (or so it seemed) than I did with the 40...My groupings were alot better as well.. It just seemed like I was having a little more fun shooting the 45 than the 40..

Now being a true rookie shooter and I did shout a couple of different guns in both the 40 and the 45 I really liked shooting the 45's better...

Now as I continue my journey ito purchasing a gun I have not totally wiped the 40 off the board but I know if I would have had the cash in hand I would have botten 1 new pistol and then would have wet out looking yet for another....