Thread: Pistol People - 9mm or .40 caliber?

http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/

Great site with useful information with state specific forums.

Love the "True Tales of Self Defense" forum..

Well for my two cents worth, I have owned a few hand guns and sold a few. I have had a couple .45ACP guns one a custom Combat Commander and the other a 5" AMT Hardballer. I carried a custom tricked out S&W 9mm when I was in law enforcement(only because I sold the two 45acp's before I joined) but sold it when I got out(figured with all my rifles and shotguns I wouldn't need a handgun for home defence). Well like all gun people the bug hit me again for another handgun. I first bought a Ruger Blackhawk in 45LC for hunting(which I shoot Buffulo Bore heavy loads in it). I then bought a S&W N frame in 44mag which shoot very well so I guess you could say it is now my home defence handgun. I use 44special hp's in it(they're easier to control than full house mags and I don't want to kill a neighbor with a pass thru shot). Want to talk about getting a burgulars attention try looking down the barrel of Dirty Harry's favorite sidearm. Also for defence in our home, my wife has her own snub nose S&W 38scl that she can shoot better than most men can(this she proved one time at a range we use to go to). There was a group of security guards who were qualifying and she out shot them all. Anyway I agree with Murray. Buy what you can shoot well and use the correct ammo and then later if you want another larger handgun for yourself you have the buddy connection to get another one cheap.

Originally Posted by Mcstrange

My wife shoot better than I do pretty easily.

One of the instructors we had told us that was due to woman having less ingrained bad habits. He said women often times take to firearms training a lot easier than men as men have years and years of 'bad habits' built from running around with your finger out or your toy cap gun and all that built up tough guy wanna be action hero macho nonsense can get in the way of actually learning how to shoot..

Makes a lot of sense. My wife, to this day, can shoot better groups than I at shorter distances when it comes to handguns. With rifles it's a different story, mainly because I can steady the weight easier while standing. I'm proud of the fact that she does know how and is willing to use any weapon available to her for home defense. Kinda hot when she asks for the AK47 to check that noise outside when there are much more practical firearms available.

A lot of good replies here. Its been said before but finding the gun you like the best and feels the best for both of you is going to be the second most important thing. The differance between 9mm and 40cal isn't going to matter as long as the shots are good. Ive never shot anyone with a pistol, but Ive seen lots of people shot with a single round of 9mm and they didn't go anywhere. In the case of a home defense scenario, either 9mm or 40cal will be just fine.
IMO the first and most important thing is finding the most reliable weapon for your budget. As far as reliability goes a sig, glock and walther are both great weapons (the walther p99 is my fav) and are more up to a user preference and feel as to which one is better. Ive talked to a few FBI pistol trainers and they have all stated the same.
In the world of reliability though, revolvers trump autos ever time. Now I'm not saying that autos are junk. 99% of the time as long as you maintain and clean your weapon and use quality ammo you will never have a problem but every once and a while they can jam (bad ammo feed, limp wristing etc) whereas revolvers don't have that problem.
That being said, I still prefer autos because I like the idea of having 15-20 rnds to put down range and the ability to attach a surefire for night engagements can be invaluable (you can't see shit with a surefire pointed at you and it adds to the "pucker" factor).
Basically what Im getting at is that like everyone else, I think that it would be best to take your wife to a range and test out some quality weapons. See what feels good and shoots well and be prepared to spend the cash because you get what you pay for. Good luck!

This question gets asked ad infinitum on gun boards, as you might guess. The consensus answer of the "non-argumentative" crowd on ar15.com and glocktalk.com (another great site) is basically "Get the most powerful caliber you can shoot rapidly and well." As has been said, placement is key, but you do get more margin for error with a more powerful caliber. True "knockdown" power is a myth in handgun cartridges- simply not enough momentum. The extra power is just buying you a larger disruption zone in your target.

9mm is a perfectly reasonable minimum for self defense, and is a ideal choice for a first-time shooter. My personal carry choice is a .40 glock 23 or 27, but I started with .38 special (which is a lesser carry round than 9mm) went pretty quickly to a .357 which I carried for quite a few years, then to the .40.

Once you've been shooting a bit, the .40 recoil is perfectly manageable. But it is more than a 9mm, which is quite mild in a full-size handgun like the P226. The .40 can feel a bit "snappier" than a .45. This is because its pressure rises faster, so the recoil impulse is delivered to your hand in a shorter time. It's more of a perception thing than anything else (since recoil itself is easily defined mathematically as just the bullet weight times it's muzzle velocity- think of the old "equal reaction" physics axiom you learned in school) But it can make the .40 have a longer recovery time shot-to-shot for some folks.

To me, the .40 is a perfect balance because it offers very solid ballistic performance (quite close to a lightweight, higher-velocity .45) in a compact package. I can also drop in a .357 SIG barrel if I'm in the mood for a high-velocity 9mm round. Once you go to .45 you loose magazine capacity and need to have a bigger frame, although you can get a .45 that is still fairly compact.

My personal opinion, 10mm is the ideal defensive handgun round, but it's a bit stiff for a first-timer, and it's a little tough to find a compact 10mm since it's a longer cartridge. For revolvers, the .44 special is a great choice- nice, large diameter without the the slow recovery of a .44 mag. But a .44 spec revolver is definitely a "niche" market and probably more of an "enthusiast's" choice- same as the 10mm in that regard.

Anyway, one other thing to consider before you buy is that if you get a .40, you can also get a 9mm conversion barrel, and then you can go either way if you want to. Note that you'll have to get some 9mm magazines, and maybe a 9mm extractor. The 9mm extractor will work for .40 also, but you might (or might not, depending on the tolerances of your particular pistol) get spotty extraction using the .40 extractor in a 9mm.

Have fun!

P.S. For quality defensive ammo check out www.doubletapammo.com

The guy that runs the place is a fantastic load developer. The .40 stuff from him that I shoot has more juice than the equivalent Cor-Bon (which is a common "hot" load") (still within SAAMI limits, of course) but has a much smoother recoil impulse. Very nice shooting stuff, and very reasonably priced for premium ammo.

www.odcmp.com

Most reputable place out there for Garands, M1 Carbines, and occasional WWI U.S. rifles.