9mm, 10mm, 40 s&w, or .45 acp?

Question

Which do you prefer?

Answer 1

I prefer the .45acp in 1911 springfield GI, its a cheap no frills gun and is accurate for combat and has never failed me yet, before that I owned a few older colt 1911, my favorite was the officer model but now I have the champion model. The 1911s are easy to point, comfortable and concealable due to the single stack and don't have a big kick. Some 9mms i have shot have had worse kick and muzzle flip. Also, the .45 can penetrate especially with some of the lighter loads coming out, penetration was never an issue when transferring all the weight of the .230 grains to the target whereas a 9mm or .40 might whistle through.

But, it depends what you can shoot good. If you don't carry your gun do to weight or recoil that is an issue.

The next one would be .40 s&w, it is a great round and duplicates the reduced 10mm loads the FBI was using. It offer more power than a 9mm and bridges a gap between the .45 and 9mm in the semi-auto segment, it also fits into pistols made for 9mm. However if you have a 9mm retooled parts will wear out faster. And generally makers just upgrade their 9mm designs and as such some have failings after lots of rounds fired. I have had stuff fail even on the Glock that everyone seems to recommend. It is still a reliable pistol and this only after lots of rounds and it wasn't a major failure.

10mm is a little too hot for concealed carry or defensive use, it is a great round and a manstopper but has recoil and the glock is harder to control in that caliber. Most guns are harder for the newer handgunner to control due the recoil and lots of factory loads are loaded down to even sub .40s&w levels. It is a bit more expensive for ammo too. Plus, I think the .45 does everything this gun does for self-defense, except the 10mm shines more for hunting. I just think you don't need all that power or penetration, i want that energy to stay in the target.

The classic 9mm that has been made popular by the likes of Glock and Beretta is a great round and even better than ever with the good rounds available, but the .45 I can control nice and prefer it over the 9mm. The 9mm gives you mild recoil in some pistols like the hi-power but others it can have worse recoil than my 1911 .45 which some regard as bad, I don't know if they every shot one.

It all depends on your comfortability and what you trust your life with. I usually say carry the best gun you can shoot while tolerating carrying it, because comfort carrying isn't important as comfort shooting. Getting 3 9mms off accurately and fast is better than 1 10mm or missing with a .40 pistol you aren't used to firing because of the recoil. But if you can handle the 10mm and use it well in combat situations then more power to ya.

But I prefer the good ole .45acp never let me down yet.

Answer 2

For capacity and energy the 10mm Glock 20, 15 rounds at near 1300fps and 650 ft.lbs.

For availability and next best thing in power go for a 45 ACP, if your hands are big enough a Para Ordnance 13-45 will near match the Glock for capacity and they are well made guns.

40S&W (or Short and Wimpy) is better than 9mm for both power and stopping ability but isn't a near match to either the 10mm or 45.

I have both the 10mm and a 45 Kimber, the Kimber is a lovely gun but the Glock is a tool for putting holes in things. Like a Stanley hammer, it isn't the poshest thing you can buy but it is solid and reliable and I if I needed something that I could rely on then that's what I'd pick out of the safe. I use Winchester Silver Tip ammo, 175gr hollowpoints. Most manufacturers are loading 10mm down to less than 40S&W standards, so be very careful what you buy. In 11 years of shooting a Glock 20 I have never had a failure with 10mm ammo. I have a 40S&W barrel I use for practice, that has had two failures, both on badly manufactured ammo and both were failures to chamber malformed bullets.

Everyone who shoots my Glock loves the 10mm, but ammo is expensive. It's not quite as powerful as the most powerful 357 magnums, but you get 16 rounds instead of 6 and it's a close call.

Still, 45ACP is cheaper to shoot and you'll never go into a gun store in the US and find they don't have it.

Answer 3

40 Glock model 23.The 10mm and the 45 have to much recoil.The 9mm is a good round but personally I like the 40 a little better.

Answer 4

9MM!! I love the 9. But I also have a .45acp. I can't really choose. I carry the 9 all the time cuzz it's the only one I have a concealed holster for right now but if both were in front of me when I guy broke in to the house I'd grab either

Answer 5

Of the calibers you've mentioned I prefer the .10mm in my Glock 20 service auto.

H

Answer 6

If I carried one for a living, the short 10 (40 S&W) would be my choice. As it is, portability and concealability aren't really issues, so I have wheelguns in various forty-something calibers. I just can't put much trust in a 35 caliber pistol to do anything I'd want to do.

Answer 7

.40 S+W is a perfect "compromise" gun, more stopping power than a 9mm, less recoil and more bullets in the same size gun than a .45

Answer 8

.40 S&W better, more available than the 10mm, more velocity than the9mm, and more stoppingand penetrating power than the .45.

Answer 9

.45acp, but the 10 mm is actually ballistically superior and in fact is more powerful than the .357 mag.

Answer 10

.45 Springfield, classic with a big kick