9 Mm Vs 45 Acp

[bobbyfairbanks]

Ya I like to throw my bullets with my gun. Some times I even get them to bend in the air.

[FNFAN]

When I had to abide by an agency decision on what round would be carried I defaulted to the .45

If I can choose my own round I'm happy with any of the +p+ 9mm's in the 115-127gr range. Winchester Ranger 127's and Federal 9PBLE are my preference.

[G__Fred]

It depends on the objective. If you are looking for CCW, the smaller the better. If you are looking for "the fun gun" find a good fit for the hand and ammo prices you can live with. My "fun gun" is a SR9, a little big for my CCW. My CCW is a PF-9 w/2 mags (& hot re-loads). I recommend a lot of practice with the CCW, since if you have to draw, IT WILL NOT BE IN A FUN SITUATION!

[Bill]

There is talk that law enforcement that switched in the 1980 1990's to 9mm and 40S&W for more fire power 15-18 rounds and up. found that there is no
Substitute for takedown power. So now in the last few years they are switching back to the 45ACP

So I would say takedown power 45acp

[Gcompact30]

My glock 21 carrys 13 +1 and 2+2 makes it 15 and 1. So I think I would carry the 45 if I was looking for stopping power. But 9mm will work to if you have shot placement center mass or in the head. Basically shooters preference right :-)....

What would you prefer to carry. A full size 9MM with 18 rounds or a full size 45ACP with 8 rounds.

Please include the reasons for your choice.

[Tinelement]

I carry all 3! Glock 23, Kimber pro carry, and H&K p30 in 9mm. All depends on what I'm doing and where I'm going. Pretty comfortable with my 9 anywhere with a correctly placed kill shot! Also will carry a LCP main or back up. Always have a problem with "knock down power", a properly placed shot with a 9 at 50ft is as leathal as any .45!

[Zombie Steve]

Ok... I'll play. I'm a sucker for abuse.


First, it's the singer, not the song. Next, I'll say any of the common service calibers will work if you put them in the right spot. Go with the caliber you think is coolest; you'll practice more.

So why have I always leaned .45 auto?

Started in the 80's with being a caliber tard, plain and simple... "if it doesn't start with a four and end in five", et cetera. Since then I've seen how effective other cartridges can be. But I still circle back to the .45 auto and lower capacity for a few reasons...

They all do the job, but the .45 auto does it at significantly lower pressures. One invaluable thing I've learned from an old sage reloader is rather than hot rodding a .357 mag, get a .44 mag and load mid range. You can pull a horse trailer with a 6 cylinder toyota, but you're overworking the crap out of that toyota. A V8 is much better suited to the job. .45 auto can do the same job without all the bang. Easier on your gun, no need to go into the world of +P, +P+, et cetera.

Also, the .45 auto is subsonic / not as noisy as many rounds.

It's also not as dependent on bullet construction as a 9mm. .45 fmj / ball ammo has 100 uncontroversial years under its belt, and with modern hollow points, it's just that much better. Not so with the 9mm. I'm a little more picky what I carry in mine than I am the .45's.

Just food for thought.

[jreifsch80]

Ah I forgot about this thread, I'm glad you guys got as good of a laugh as I did about the "judge" haha maybe if you use cowboy action black powder loads you could make a smoke screen and run away.

Anyway for a real answer I wouldn't care, I'd carry either 9mm or .45acp and just have appropriate bullet selection. Heck if I had a 9x17mm and was most comfortable with it I'd chose it also I would be comfortable with a smith body guard .357 yeah may be only 5 rounds but my personal thoughts are that if 5 rounds aren't enough then I've got a lot more problems than just caliber selection haha

[spyder]

What would you prefer to carry. A full size 9MM with 18 rounds or a full size 45ACP with 8 rounds.

Please include the reasons for your choice.

You know they make double stacked 45's right? They even have double stacked 1911's.

[JlazyH]