Why should I choose a 9mm handgun over a 40 caliber handgun?

Question

What are the advantages and disadvantages?

Answer 1

I use both.
But what I have found in like guns is
1- the 9mm has much less recoil as it is pushing a lighter bullet.
2- bullets are cheaper to purchase and reload as they use less lead and require less propellant.
3- the 9mm does not all ways knock down the steel plates at the Steel plate matches I compete at where the 40 always knocks them down even with edge strikes.
4- Have to have a 40 to make major in IPSC matches because the 9mm is hard to load safely to the velocity and bullet weight required to meet major.
5- when loaded with a 135 or 140 grain bullet the 40 cal makes a great flat shooting gun out to 100 yards.
6- With the right bullet the 40 can be loaded and used to take whitetail deer during hunting season, where as I would not even think of using a 9mm.
7- 9mm ammo is always cheap when bought new and can be found just about every where.
8- If I knew I was going to be in a gun fight I would opt for the 40 due to the higher bullet energy compared to a 9mm.
9- in like guns the 9mm will all ways hold two or more rounds than the 40

Answer 2

Well Miss Pretty, only you can answer that question. Both the .9mm and the .40 S & W are defensive calibers. The .9mm has been around forever and is available world-wide. The .40 is a fairly recent development. The .9mm is the standard military/police round in many nations. The .40 is rapidly become the most popular police round in the USA.

How experienced are you with a pistol? Are you recoil shy? Do you flinch at the sound of a gun discharge? If the recoil/muzzle blast doesn't bother you, you might prefer the .40 as it is of a slightly wider diameter and a bit more potent than the .9mm. But if you can handle the .40, you might consider the .45 acp which is ballistically similar. Of course, the .45 acp grip/frame may be too large for your hand, in that case you're better off with a .9mm/.40 S & W size pistol platform.

The nine is actually a decent defensive pistol when loaded with the proper defensive ammo, quality 115 to 127 grain hollow point ammo. I've recently read a 'failure to perform' report on the .40 S & W where two police officers were ambushed by a man with a .45 acp. The officers, both armed with forties, returned fire striking the suspect some 17 times. NONE of the .40 S & W rounds penetrated more than an inch and according to the medical examiner, NONE were fatal or even life-threatening shots. Some other officers armed with .223s ended the gunfight. NOTE: I still believe this was ammo failure, not caliber or pistol type/make failure, The jury is still out on this one but this is one of the reasons I carry a .10mm on duty.

H

Answer 3

There are a lot of factors that will determine which firearm is best for you. The first question would be your build. If you are a small frame girl the recoil and muzzle blast from the 40 S&W may be too much and you may actually shoot better with a 9mm.
I have a CHL in Texas and I normally carry a .45 acp because it has proven stopping power but I also spend a lot of time at the range at least once a month, normally every other week. You want to be proficient at shooting. All the firepower in the world is worthless if you can not hit the target.
The 9mm is more concealable, most people find it more pleasant to shoot, ammo is less expensive, and with loads like the glaser saftey slug which is a fragmentable round it is also more leathel then they were 30 years ago.
Find a local firing range the rents firearms and actually shoot both, but do not just limit yourself to those two as there are other rounds and different actions you may find actually suit you better.
Good luck, and I would strongly recommend a gun saftey or conceal carry coarse.

Answer 4

People are giving you answers that one has greater recoil than the other, and that's a little like saying ice cream tastes better than donuts. Without clarifying the answer, it really is subjective.

Recoil is a function of two properties--the weight of the gun, and the power of cartridge.

Two identical-looking firearms that fire the same caliber cartridges can have drastically different felt recoil. As a general rule, lighter guns have more recoil than heavier guns, and revolvers have more recoil than semi-automatics. In both cases, physics has more to do with felt recoil than the cartridge being fired. A semi-auto has the action of the reciprocating slide and spring to "eat up" the recoil, and the revolver does not. The heavier gun has more mass to be moved, and the lighter gun does not.

Bullet weight and powder measurement can play a major factor in recoil. A powerful charge sending a moderately sized bullet will have more felt recoil than a less powerful charge sending the same size and weight bullet.

All that said, yes a .40 caliber pistol tends to have more felt recoil, but only slightly more, unless you are shooting a very light pistol and a very powerful cartridge.

Don't listen to anyone that tells you a .40 is guaranteed "one shot stop." There's no such thing. Shoot until the threat has stopped. That might be one shot, or six or ten! Ignore anyone that tells you that a 9mm won't stop someone. Rubbish!

A 9mm bullet through an eye socket can kill a person just as dead as a .40 through an eye socket. Bullet placement is far more important than caliber, especially when we're talking about cartridges with such similar performance.

You wanted to know the disadvantages of the .40? More expensive cartridges, less manufacturers making self-defense rounds, and not as great a selection amongst the handguns themselves.

The advantages of the .40? Slightly better performance statistics, and (approximately) a .045 inch larger hole.

The 9mm? Cheaper, greater selection of ammo and ammo manufacturers, and greater selection of handguns.

Good luck.

Answer 5

I have a 40 S&W in an H&K lying around the house, so take that into consideration when you evaluate what I'm about to say. I'm reminded of the story of the old Texas Ranger who held onto his Colt SAA in 38-40 after most of his colleagues had moved to the 1911/45 ACP. Note that the 38-40 is 40 caliber and a little more powerful than 40 S&W. He said it got the job done, and if he couldn't stop a fight with 2 or 3 rounds, it was past time for him to run. So everything you say may be true, but it really doesn't matter that much. By the way, I have a soft spot for the 38-40, too, though I always hated loading the cartridge.

Answer 6

It depends somewhat on the intended use of the gun. For certain types of competition, or just plain old plinking, I prefer the 9MM. Ammo cost less but since I reload the matter is a trifle. I can recover from recoil faster with a 9MM than from a .40 assuming that the guns are of roughly equal weight and that the pistol can be gripped at the same height.

Pistols can be smaller as well with a 9MM, making lighter, easier to carry and conceal.

A .40S&W certainly has more punch to it. Nothing makes up for shot placement however and if you can shoot a 9MM markedly better than you can a .40 then a 9MM is the way to go. If you can maintain marksmanship and speed with a .40 it may be a better choice.

In colder parts of the country where everyone, including the bad guys, wear heavy or multiple layers of clothing, any hollowpoint pistol bullet is in very real danger of having it's hollow cavity filled with fiber and becoming non expanding ammunition. When it comes to non expanding ammo, bigger is always a better fight stopper. A .45ACP is the winner here but I wouldn't feel undergunned with a .40.

Good luck!

Answer 7

I'm not wild about either caliber for myself.

For a young lady, I'd really suggest you go with a .38 SPL revolver, such as an S&W M-60 LadySmith.

If you must have a semi-automatic, I'd think that either caliber would work well enough. It is a matter of fit more than anything else.

For ladies, the 9 mmP has the advantage of being available in more compact pistols and producing less recoil. They generally have lighter recoil springs, making it easier for ladies to rack the slide than pistols with heavier springs.

They are uglier than sin, but you might check out a Glock compact pistol, I believer the model number is M-26 or M-27. Lots of my friends like the Kahr 9 mmP pistols, but my favorite compact 9 mmP is the Star FireStar, but I don't think it is still made and it is a SA pistol.

Doc

Answer 8

Before you think about purchasing a gun for self-defense, try taking a defensive handgun course, somewhere such as Front Sight or Sig Arms.

You'll learn a lot more.

I personally use a 9mm for carry, it all depends on your preference.

I find it easier to but two rounds in the center mass with a 9mm as opposed to .40 or a .45, but like the others said, the .40 S&W round has more stopping power.

There was a Navy SEAL video where the weapons instructor was talking about the Sig Sauer P226 pistol. "Some might say that it's only a 9mm... Well if I put two rounds through your heart and one round through you head, you wouldn't know the difference; and neither will your enemy."

Answer 9

9mm is easier to practice with, easier on the guns that shoot it, and are cheaper on the pocketbook. 40SW is a good round for a reason-it's all business. It does what it's intended to do and is serving le agencies well. I believe that 40SW is the inheritor of all the respect that 38SPL got last century. No two cvartridges have garnered as much respect in law enforcement than .38SPL and .40SW (two S&W shells, by the way).
If you want all business and some plinking-you might want a .40SW. For everyhting else, get a 9mm. 9mm has survived for over 100 years for a reason, because it's a good shell.

Answer 10

Recoil is more manageable.

Ammo is cheap.

9mm guns are usually less expensive than .40 cal. guns.

Despite the complaints about the lack of power, the Europeans managed to kill a lot of people with it over the years.

As a concealable gun, the 9mm tends to be the lightest of the semi autos and still carry more rounds than the others.

With its high capacity, the 9mm is really the only gun in which the "spray and pray" option of marksmanship can work.

Even though my concealed carry gun is a .45 auto. I still, on occasion, drop my S&W, 940, a J-frame 9mm revolver, in my pants pocket. It is an exceptional weapon.