.40 or .45 that is the question

[Chad C]

Where are you getting your .380 ammo? ( I'm not trying yo be an A hole, I'm dead serious.) Most places I see .380 is 5-6bucks more than 9mm.


I definitely agree with you on not much difference on the stopping power with 9-45. There's a little difference but not much.


It's mainly personal preference and cost is a big factor for me.


Ike

I shoot Federal Premium Hydra-Shok 90 grain JHP's out of the .380... You can get it for $1 per round or less (factory) I think Midway had it for .94 cents per round. I load it myself... .45 in the same round is $1.40 per round on average or $8 per box (factory).

9mm is $5 more per box, same ammo.

[txdukklr]

.357sig!

always heard this was the shiz, I have one but it's not my carry gun preference

[BigTex.308]

Re: .40 or .45 that is the question

I shoot Federal Premium Hydra-Shok 90 grain JHP's out of the .380... You can get it for $1 per round or less (factory) I think Midway had it for .94 cents per round. I load it myself... .45 in the same round is $1.40 per round on average or $8 per box (factory).

Ohhhh. Gotcha.

I thought you meant ball ammo..




Ike

[Chad C]

Ohhhh. Gotcha.

I thought you meant ball ammo..




Ike

I dont shoot FMJ due to pass through and less shock! At least not out of my handguns...

I'd rather my inteded target feel the full effect of the round as it tears into there flesh and I'd rather it not pass through leaving a tiny hole and risk the chance of hitting someone else.

[Mike D]

.40 or .45 that is the question

I have a 13 round mag for my XD45 and I have the same amount of recoil action using a 45cal 230gr hallow point bullet at has my duty carry 9mm HP pistol, but it all about gun control and the type of trigger. You have to practice and learn your gun action, also more bullets in a mag doesn't help if you can't shoot. Plus why type to shoot at a person with a 9mm that impact hole is the size of a pea and they could live from it and/or may not know they been shot, which you have to aim more. When I can shoot 13 rounds of 45cal that the impact size is the size of a quarter and they person is going to know they have been hit, plus in a fire fight I dont have to aim as much just get the bullet in the general area. Plus I believe throw less lead around, my motto one shot one kill.

Yeah, ok.

Listen I've carried them all. 380, 9mm, 10mm, 45ACP, 357mag.

To say there is no more recoil with a 45 than a 9mm is just silly. It's simple physics.

My Glock 19 carries 15-18 rounds, My G17 carries 17-20 rounds depending on which mag I have in it.

One shot kills with a handgun, that's laughable at best. Unless you take out part of the CNS, the odds are very good there won't be a one shot kill.

[BigTex.308]

Re: .40 or .45 that is the question

I dont shoot FMJ due to pass through and less shock! At least not out of my handguns...

I'd rather my inteded target feel the full effect of the round as it tears into there flesh and I'd rather it not pass through leaving a tiny hole and risk the chance of hitting someone else.

For sure!


When I carry its defense rounds 100% of the time. Never ever FMJs.

But I practice with FMJs. It's too expensive to send hollow points through paper.




Ike

[Felix40]

If you shoot both into a few different mediums you might be surprised. Wet phone book, water jugs, wood barriers etc. A buddy and I had an argument about this last year and his 40 outpenetrated and outperformed my precious 45 in most cases. It wasn't scientific by any means but it was enough to convince me. And he gets a bonus 2 rounds that I dont. My pick if I could do it over would be 40.

[JeffJ]

Recently I ready a comparison of the .357, 9mm, 40 and 45 in regards to felt recoil. The description made sense to me. The 357 and 40 had more of a "snappy" recoil with more muzzle flip. The 9mm and 45 had more of a "push" recoil with less flip.

After shooting a 40 and 45 side by side recently I would agree. The FELT recoil TO ME was actually less with the 45. This might lead to the reason that Glock makes the 36 in 45 and not 40and the same on the XDS.

[Uncle Saggy]

My 1911 .45 is hands down my favorite. Also quite fond of the Sig .40.

That said, I carry a .380

[Chad C]

Recently I ready a comparison of the .357, 9mm, 40 and 45 in regards to felt recoil. The description made sense to me. The 357 and 40 had more of a "snappy" recoil with more muzzle flip. The 9mm and 45 had more of a "push" recoil with less flip.

After shooting a 40 and 45 side by side recently I would agree. The FELT recoil TO ME was actually less with the 45. This might lead to the reason that Glock makes the 36 in 45 and not for and the same this on the XDS.

This is true.

After getting the Ruger LCP, I bought a LC9 with Crimson Trace, Im really diggin' it as well.

[Bill]

My good friend and hunting partner is a Sheriff and goes up against dirtbags every day. He is issued a .40 and his backup and personal weapons are all .40.

You'll find a million threads with the arguments pro and con on gun forums.

[AtTheWall]

Huntmaster - keep CHOOTIN EM!

Nothing better than wild hogs for true performance benchmarks! Human and hog bodies are fairly similar in flesh\fat and bone composition. Many ballistic data tests are conducted with hog carcasses. Good data info right there - thanks for sharing that!

I prefer the 45....hated the 9mm during the years we were forced to carry and shoot them. I shot a crap load through my 20 year military career. One 45 ACP round in the gut = sledge hammer impact coupled with multiple blood channels...meaning they are gonna get THUMPED and then bleed out quicker due to the larger holes...each intestine is an individual hole and blood loss point. Bigger holes = more potential to drain out larger amounts of blood via the wound channel. Massive blood loss = dizzy and or black out in faster time due to blood loss.

We trained for center mass shots with the .45. THUMP EM mid-ships with a 230 hollowpoint = wind knocked out of em with a massive hole! If you survived that...your will to fight was pretty much gone. That slower slug will stay inside instead of blowing out the back side..it may even wedge up into the spinal column on the backside - keeping the legs from working.

[DTala]

It is historically informative in that the Miami FBI shootout led to the invention of the .40S&W.

The rest was just opinion and for the most part unproven or meaningless.

this^^^^

what the FBI shootout proved was that a 9mm was no match for a 223. One man killed and wounded several FBI agents in a shootout, using a 223 rifle against 9mm handguns. it was settled by an FBI agent with a shotgun.

a Glock 40 is easier to shoot than a 1911 in 45ACP . I'd take, and have carried, either gun over any 9mm made.

[huntingjunkie]

Purchased the Springfield XDs .45 today! There is my opinion. Not sure you can go wrong with either though....

[AtTheWall]

.45 has a more controlled recoil due to lesser chamber pressure versus the .40. The 40 chamber pressure is extremely high..even though the round is smaller in diameter, it's faster and sharper in snap versus the 45. Depending on the pistol configuration, some have more rake in the grip than others, weight distribution etc, you can make a .45 easy to control in spite of it shooting bigger and heavier bullets.

Not all pistols handle recoil the same...as well as rifles and or shotguns. A 45 of one gun maker doesn't necessarily recoil the same as another with the same caliber.

This is where shooting a bunch of different pistols makes all the difference in the CONTROL factor. Hand size, grip pressure, arm angles, shoulder and line ups....each has a part to play in between shooters and felt recoil and control.

I used to get paid to shoot thousands and thousands of rounds with combat style handguns. It was part of the job...miss those days!