.45 vs 9mm ?

[hdgirl1340]

I'm just curious. Why does it seem that 9mm is so much more popular than .45? I have been to several gun shops lately and there are always .45 cal ammo but no 9mm. Also there is always .45 guns and not many 9mm. I just recently got a glock 21 that i have not yet fired but am really anxious to get it on the range. I also have a S&W 1911 that i just love! It's probably my fav handgun. I got the glock 21 just because i liked my 1911 so much. .45 seem to just have more ommppphhhh than 9mm and so much more fun to shoot. Oh i do have a 9mm keltec pf9 that i was using as a carry gun but it's just not that much fun to shoot. Just interested in what others opinions are

[Dill]

cheaper to shoot and it's a current military caliber so ammo 'should' be easier to get. Obviously the recent political climate has proven otherwise. New bullet designs make it quite affective for self defense, and the smaller size of the cartridge allow more to be stuffed into a magazine than larger calibers.

[TTS]

In general it has lower recoil, less expensive, higher capacity, offers faster follow up shots and has equal terminal performance with modern ammo.

I love both calibers!

[45Badger]

Ahem..........

[s4s4u]

equal terminal performance with modern ammo

Hmmmm?

[TTS]

Great write up on terminal performance.

http://www.m4carbine.net/showthread.php?t=19887

ETA:

In the last decade or so, ammo engineers have produced a superb generation of 9 mm projectiles that offer penetration in the ideal range and that are capable of good performance after common intermediate barriers. As many agencies are discovering, modern robust expanding, barrier blind 9 mm ammunition is performing on par with larger caliber handgun loads, but offers substantial fiscal and training benefits. In test after test, most officers demonstrate a higher qualification score when shooting 9 mm compared to other common service calibers. Smaller statured officers and those with small hands tend to shoot better with 9 mm. Service pistols tend to be more durable in 9 mm than those in .357 Sig and .40 S&W. In a time of fiscal austerity, 9 mm ammunition is certainly less expensive. For most LE duties, there are a lot of advantages in carrying a 9 mm: easy to shoot-- especially one handed, relatively inexpensive to practice with, lots of bullets immediately on tap. When I injured my strong hand a few years ago and lost its use for several months, I found out how much more effective I was using a G19 weak handed compared to a .45 ACP 1911. I suspect in the near future many LE agencies will shift back to 9 mm given the benefits noted above.

[Holland&Holland]

I'm just curious. Why does it seem that 9mm is so much more popular than .45? I have been to several gun shops lately and there are always .45 cal ammo but no 9mm. Also there is always .45 guns and not many 9mm. I just recently got a glock 21 that i have not yet fired but am really anxious to get it on the range. I also have a S&W 1911 that i just love! It's probably my fav handgun. I got the glock 21 just because i liked my 1911 so much. .45 seem to just have more ommppphhhh than 9mm and so much more fun to shoot. Oh i do have a 9mm keltec pf9 that i was using as a carry gun but it's just not that much fun to shoot. Just interested in what others opinions are

I would tender that the reason you are seeing this is due to the current regulations being discussed at the state and federal levels. It has affected 9mm sales greater than .45.

[XDM45]

I'm glad 9mm is popular because it makes my .45ACP ammo easier to find.

When I bought ammo in stores, .45ACP was rarely around, and when it was, only in small numbers. The most I ever bought at one time from a store (only because it was all they had and it's the most they ever had at one time) was 8 of the Federal 100 round boxes from WalMart. Now i just order it online and buy as much as I want because I got tired of chasing ammo down in stores. I save time, gas, money and frustration.

I think there's good reasons for both 9mm and .45ACP with pro and cons to each; one of them being that 9mm is cheaper to purchase than .45ACP is, but even so, I prefer the .45ACP, but that's just my choice and opinion, so find what you like and what works best for you. 9mm vs. .45ACP is an old and ever-on-going debate and there's a lot of good information out there about both calibers, ballistics, firearms, etc.

The old curmudgeon in me wants to shake my cane and say "Dadgum it boy, 9mm is just a .45 set on stun."; but then my .45ACP would be a joke and it may as well be a .22LR if I was trying to defend myself from a bear If I lived in Alaska, so in that case, a DE 50 cal would be the way to go. So it depends on what you're using it for. No one tool is fit for every job.

[Seismic Sam]

[grousemaster]

I'm glad 9mm is popular because it makes my .45ACP ammo easier to find.

When I bought ammo in stores, .45ACP was rarely around, and when it was, only in small numbers. The most I ever bought at one time from a store (only because it was all they had and it's the most they ever had at one time) was 8 of the Federal 100 round boxes from WalMart. Now i just order it online and buy as much as I want because I got tired of chasing ammo down in stores. I save time, gas, money and frustration.

I think there's good reasons for both 9mm and .45ACP with pro and cons to each; one of them being that 9mm is cheaper to purchase than .45ACP is, but even so, I prefer the .45ACP, but that's just my choice and opinion, so find what you like and what works best for you. 9mm vs. .45ACP is an old and ever-on-going debate and there's a lot of good information out there about both calibers, ballistics, firearms, etc.

The old curmudgeon in me wants to shake my cane and say "Dadgum it boy, 9mm is just a .45 set on stun."; but then my .45ACP would be a joke and it may as well be a .22LR if I was trying to defend myself from a bear If I lived in Alaska, so in that case, a DE 50 cal would be the way to go. So it depends on what you're using it for. No one tool is fit for every job.

Really? I see more .45 ammo then that all the time, even in todays market.

[XDM45]

I'm glad 9mm is popular because it makes my .45ACP ammo easier to find.

When I bought ammo in stores, .45ACP was rarely around, and when it was, only in small numbers. The most I ever bought at one time from a store (only because it was all they had and it's the most they ever had at one time) was 8 of the Federal 100 round boxes from WalMart. Now i just order it online and buy as much as I want because I got tired of chasing ammo down in stores. I save time, gas, money and frustration.

I think there's good reasons for both 9mm and .45ACP with pro and cons to each; one of them being that 9mm is cheaper to purchase than .45ACP is, but even so, I prefer the .45ACP, but that's just my choice and opinion, so find what you like and what works best for you. 9mm vs. .45ACP is an old and ever-on-going debate and there's a lot of good information out there about both calibers, ballistics, firearms, etc.

The old curmudgeon in me wants to shake my cane and say "Dadgum it boy, 9mm is just a .45 set on stun."; but then my .45ACP would be a joke and it may as well be a .22LR if I was trying to defend myself from a bear If I lived in Alaska, so in that case, a DE 50 cal would be the way to go. So it depends on what you're using it for. No one tool is fit for every job.

Really? I see more .45 ammo then that all the time, even in todays market.

Then I'm just unlucky because whenever I went to WalMart IF they had any of the good stuff, it was smaller amounts like 1-2 boxes (UMC 250 pack, Federal 100 pack red box - very rare- or the Federal 50 box). Maybe there's a lot of .45ACP shooters around me in the south metro. Dicks was the same way in Burnsville.

[tazdevil]

Oh GOD NOT THIS AGAIN!!!!!



Here let me save you from my humiliation at daring to ask such a question. Just grab a cup of coffee (or whatever beverage, a shot of whiskey may make this easier to tolerate), a bag of munchies, and read this:

CLICK HERE: http://www.mnguntalk.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=18742&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=9+versus+40+or+45

[Thunder71]

I have handguns chambered in .22LR, 9mm Luger and .45 ACP, I carry a .45 not because it's a bigger round, but I found I actually shoot it better and have faster/more accurate follow up shots with it.

9mm I was all over the place, with .45 and a small frame polymer gun (XD-S) I can get 5 shots in a tight pattern quickly and easily.

Can anyone explain why that is? To me it feels like the .45 doesn't rise as much as 9mm, not sure how to explain it but it seems like the recoil effect is different.

And I just love putting this in caliber threads.

[tazdevil]

I have handguns chambered in .22LR, 9mm Luger and .45 ACP, I carry a .45 not because it's a bigger round, but I found I actually shoot it better and have faster/more accurate follow up shots with it.

9mm I was all over the place, with .45 and a small frame polymer gun (XD-S) I can get 5 shots in a tight pattern quickly and easily.

Can anyone explain why that is? To me it feels like the .45 doesn't rise as much as 9mm, not sure how to explain it but it seems like the recoil effect is different.

And I just love putting this in caliber threads.

You forgot the Blunderbuss, which is a handgun, just the ammo its loaded with may vary greatly (throw in a fork for all it cares!). Very old school too.

Sorry it's from Sons of guns, but the main shooter is a serious shotgunner:

[heavy metal daze]

This is America! We can use both!
I too find the .45acp easier to follow up. Maybe it's the pressures involved that makes the 9mm jump more?