I've seen guns in news and in movies but I just can't imagine what the difference is. I am sure is the size but I want to know if 0.40 or 0.45 mean 40mm and 45mm or maybe it doesn't have anything related to mm.
2007-03-21 02:01:41 · 9 answers · asked by Kirbylu 1 in Sports ➔ Outdoor Recreation ➔ Hunting
The first answer is generally correct. The 9mm is measured in millimeters. The .40 is called a .40 S&W (Smith and Wesson) and named after the company, but many other brands chamber to this caliber as well. It is a popular round with law enforcement. The .45 ACP (Auto Colt Pistol) has been around for years and was the popular round for the military until about 15 years ago. Guns to shoot the .45 are also made from other brand gunmakers. This is also a .45 Long Colt, which is different and shot in revolvers.
The 9mm is the smallest and weakest of these. However, the number of rounds is a clip or mag is usually 15-17 for a 9mm. The .40 is a compromise between the 9mm and .45. It allows for 13-15 rounds in most guns and has more knock down power and more recoil than the 9mm. The .45 is the most powerful and has great knock down force. However, most guns only carry 7-8 rounds because the bullet is larger. Some guns can carry more, but the grip is very large and somewhat uncomfortable for most people.
2007-03-21 02:59:54 · answer #1 · answered by The Big Shot 6 · 6⤊ 0⤋
Well, if you take a micrometer to a 9mm and a .40 cal., you won't see much difference. For all pratical purposes, they are almost the same diameter as a .38 cal round. (Which, by the way, is not .38, but .357!) Now the .45 is a different animal all together. It's almost 1/2 inch around, and is actually .45 in diameter. (Truth in advertising there.) You have many 9mm and .40's to chose from, along with all the different versions of .38 cal ammo. Since you bring up the .45 cal, which is my favorite, I can tell you a few things about it.
The .45 cal round has been around since the mid 1800's. It was one of the first calibers to be made as a regular cased round. Not the first, but close enough. The .38 (Actually a .35) was the first in major commercial manufacture. The .38 is OK if you are good at a head shot first time out. Well, a heart shot is good too, but when you are tense, and the guns are banging away, you take what you can get. I would rather hit a person with the .45, which makes a much bigger hole, and is lots heavier (.38 round is about 150 in weight, the .45 starts out with 210 and goes up to 240 if you roll your own.) and has what is termed "knockdown" power. You can put a few 9mm holes in a person, and just make them mad. You hit them with the .45 and they ain't mad anymore, just dead.
Everything has a price. The tradeoff is you can carry many more rounds of the 9mm and .40 cal, etc., than you can of .45 cal ammo. The largest handgun magazine I have used in .45 cal was a twin stack, 10 round mag in an Astra A-80. Easy to hide, but nasty to shoot since it was so light. I like a model 1911 since I carried one as an MP, but you get only seven rounds, and it's a pretty big package to carry concealed.
The end result is your 9mm and your .40 cal are pretty much the same, except for bullet weight and powder charge. The handguns that fire them are also a mixed bag. If you want to see a really nasty small caliber round, from a very cheaply made gun, (But sturdy, I have to admit.) get a TT-4 in 7.62 X 25. (7.62 is about .30 cal. Smaller than a .38 or 9mm.) It uses the same round as the 7.62 X 39 in a bottleneck case which holds more powder than a straight case. It has a much higher velocity than the .45 cal (Hell, just about anything moves faster than a .45!) and moves out so quickly that the gun actually twists in your hand! The fireworks from the ejection port are also impressive.
I could go on and on, but am not sure if I am doing a good job at answering your question. As a person that has handloaded many rounds of both rifle and pistol ammo, and have carried many handguns (With the proper paperwork!) I hope this helped. If not, please feel free to contact me to get additional inormation.
2007-03-21 10:17:42 · answer #2 · answered by rifleman01@verizon.net 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
There are three means of measuring the cartridges firearms are chambered for.
1: Caliber - this is the diameter of the bullet, in one-hundreths of an inch. Imperial unit of measure, used in the US.
2: Millimeters - the diameter of the bullet, in millimeters. Metic form, used by the Europeans.
3: Gauge - this is used for shotguns, and has an odd method of measurement dating back a long time ago - I won't go into detail because it doesn't pertain to the question.
The 9mm, .40, and .45 are all different pistol cartridges made for personal defense handguns. Each has different performance, different loads available, and different bullet weights available.
The 9mm is the smallest of the three - the most common 9mm is 9x19 (9mm NATO, 9mm Luger), meaning the bullet is 9mm wide, the case is 19mm long. In Imperial measurement, the 9mm is right around .355-.356 (inches) or caliber.
The .40 Smith & Wesson caliber is slightly larger than the 9mm, has heavier bullets and packs a little more punch. The caliber of .40 comes out to 10mm in metric measurement.
The .45 ACP, is the largest of the three you mentioned, and packs a whallup - it is one of the best man-stopping calibers out there, and was developed for the US military after the .38 Special (acutal diameter .357, and close in performance to the 9mm) proved to be in-effective. There are a large number of .45 caliber bullet weights for the ACP cartridge. The .45 is rarely if ever expressed in metric measurement, but it would be 11.43 millimeters if converted.
2007-03-21 11:33:12 · answer #3 · answered by DT89ACE 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
9 MM is about the size of a .38 caliber which is .357 of an inch in diameter of the slug. The 10 MM is about the size of .40 Caliber or .40 of an inch. 40MM is getting into artillery sizes.
2007-03-22 01:00:16 · answer #4 · answered by .45 Peacemaker 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
the .40 and .45 is an increment of measurement called caliber it is basically a fraction of an inch represented as a decimel. Both .40's and .45's are bigger than the baby 9mm. Pistol calibers range from .22 to .500 and they all vary in terms of size, weight, and powder charge. But for the most part the diameter of the bullet is expressed as the caliber of the gun.
2007-03-21 13:35:43 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
no real diffs....just the 9mm is measured in metrics. the bore is 9mm across. the .40 caliber and the .45 are measured in inches. the .45 is 45/100th of an inch across.
that's the diff between european and american measurements.
the bore is the diameter of the barrel. in a 9mm, you could stick a 9mm rod down the barrel and it would be a snug fit.
a 9mm and an american .38 caliber are the same diameter....though the bullets are radically diff in description.
2007-03-21 09:22:10 · answer #6 · answered by randkl 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
.40 is the 40mm just as .45 is 45mm but there is a huge difference in all of them for qaulity
2007-03-23 05:39:58 · answer #7 · answered by deershootinredneck 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
0.40 and 0.45 calibre are not related to mm in anyway. It is a different measurement. So is gage.
2007-03-21 10:44:28 · answer #8 · answered by ButwhatdoIno? 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
There are .40" and .45" pistols and rifles. A 9mm in inches is .35". A .40" is 10mm.
2007-03-21 10:43:59 · answer #9 · answered by miyuki & kyojin 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋