Why do people think a 9mm round is weak?

Answer 1

The 9mm round is considered weak due to its performance when using Full Metal Jacket ammunition or a heavier bullet weight (like 147 grain). However, as many others have already pointed out, the 9mm round is very effective when using Jacketed Hollow Point ammunition and a bullet weight between 115 grain and 127 grain. Most importantly, as one person wrote, "shot placement is key."

Now, that's not to say that .40 S&W, 357 SIG, or .45 ACP rounds are a waste of money or not better than the 9mm (.40 S&W gained quite a following in the 90s due to it street performance and the 357 SIG is starting to make its mark too)...but to say that the 9mm is weak or ineffective is wrong.

Essentially it comes down to selecting the correct bullet weight for the type of ammo you want to use. And heavier doesn't necessarily mean better.

Here is a link to an article with a nice history on how Law Enforcement went from the .38 Special to the 9mm and onto the .40 S&W as the favorite round of choice:

http://www.backwoodshome.com/articles2/ayoob93.html

And as the article notes, many depts still use the 9mm and some have moved up to the .45 ACP.

In the end, you should use the caliber that you are the most accurate with...

Answer 2

Most opinions about 9mm parabellum (Luger) are based on experience with full jacketed, slightly pointed bullets that tended to pass, undeformed, through the target. This equated to relatively little tissue damage. Therefore, if a vital area was not hit it was unlikely the target would be quickly stopped. A 9mm that fires a bulled designed to expend all its energy within the target does have adequate "stopping power". By the way, a "man stopper" like the 45 ACP or 44 magnum is also inadequate if it passes through a target without hitting a vital area and remains undeformed. The notion that a 45 ACP, 44 magnum, etc. is so powerful that it incapacitates people hit anywhere in the body is straight out of Hollywood. Hitting an assailant at center mass with a quality expanding bullet--.380 ACP, .38 Special, 9mm parabellum, .40 S&W, 10mm, .41 magnum, .45 ACP, .44 magnum, .50 S&W, etc. will stop them, hitting them in a non-vital area will not.

Answer 3

Hi Mick. You are right Mick, a .9mm round isn't 'weak.' It is a medium bore defensive round that serves its purpose well when the proper loading is utilized. This is the problem...

1. Ball ammo; ball ammo is not adequate for defensive purposes as it does not create enough of a wound channel.

2. Subsonic ammo; the 147 grain subsonic .9mm hollow point ammo was once exalted as the best thing since sliced bread. Simply put, it is not worth the powder it takes to blow the bullet out of the pistol barrel. Recently someone tried to 'prove' that the .9mm was way poorer than the .45 acp by comparing ballistics using the 147 grain .9mm subsonic round to the best .45 acp 185 grain hollowpoints. Why didn't he compare the 230 grain .45 acp ball round to the +P+ 115 grain .9mm? Why not, because then the .9mm would have proven superior. You get the drift?

The .9mm comes into its own as a defensive round using lighter, high performance hollow point ammo. Any quality defensive round in .9mm from 115 grains to 127 grains +P or not, is more than adequate for defensive purposes. Just stay away from ball ammo for self defense and subsonic ammo and you will be well armed with your .9mm.

Good luck.

H

Answer 4

Hmmmm.......

I do not think the 9mm's weak...
...Compared with a .22cal or a .32. But that's not the point...
For me it's all a matter of bullet placement ( and perspective).
A 32 in the head is way more effective than a 44 magnum in your toe...

I personally owned a couple of 9mm's... Had to give them up in exchange for a 1911 colt .45cal. (For legal reasons here in the Philippines...). Not that i find the 9mm a WEAK round... Far from it. I guess i just like the romance of the ole hardball...

Answer 5

Different strokes for different folks. I have a ford pickup that I had a 390 built for that cranks out 385 horses; it will pass anything but a gas station. For some strange reason I think anything less than that size engine is "weak". Same with thundersticks; the owner of a Barrett 50 would look at a 30-06 as "weak". I own pistols in 44 mag, 44 special, 45 auto, 357/38, 9mm, and a few others to boot. Love each and every one of them and consider none of them "weak". I am expecially fond of the 9mm as I can buy lots of ammo for plinking and it leaves me enough money to visit the gas station when I drive that darned pickup.

Answer 6

Dont really know this one but, maybe it could be something to do with the size of the round or the range of it but it is actually quite a strong round..

"Most navy seals carry a 9mm pistol as their sidearm and if they resort to it they will put 2 rounds in the enemy's chest if that dosent stop them then they will get one to the head..it dosent make a difference weather he uses a 9mm or a Magnum hand cannon it still has the same effect

Answer 7

While it's more than adequate with proper shot placement, the fact is that proper shot placement in real-world situations is a rare thing, and real-world statistical analyses show the 45 to be significantly more effective, precisely because of the difference in off-center hits.
The history goes back considerably further than posted by one of the guys. The Army in the Philippines got rid of its 38 Colts as quickly as they could, reverting for a time to the SAA of Peacemaker fame. Granted, the 38 Long Colt was a lot slower than the 9mm, but they're the same size, so the bias has stuck.
If you're sure you're a killer, with a killer's mentality, the 9mm can be a fine choice. If you think you might be nervous when being shot at, and if you can handle the 45, which many can't, it may be a better choice. So you have to think of how you've felt when you've been shot at. If you haven't, then you're just guessing.

Answer 8

Mick J..This is an excellent question. I sit here and I read every ones opinions about which is better the 9mm or the .45 am I think. I wonder how many of the people that have such strong opinions here that don't have anything to base these opinions on but what they have heard from others or read somewhere. I'd be willing to bet good money that dam* few have ever been in an armed life or death confrontation with an armed assailant or criminal. I can tell you from personal experience that once you have lived thru it, caliber won't mean squat to you anymore. It's NOT about caliber or whats more powerful, what has more stopping power over the other, it's about ones personal ABILITY to shoot and use a weapon effectively and accurately. My duty weapon was a Sig P-226 9mm. I thank god every day that I had it, knew how to use it, and to be honest I'm thankful it saved my a** Period....Unfortunately there are situations that you don't get to "freeze frame" and think about what caliber gun you are carrying. I happen to like 45 ACP too, but I have to say again I'm real glad I had the 9mm with those extra rounds in the magazine, and wonder how things would have ended with an 8 shot Colt 45. My point is that EVERYTHING has advantages and dis-advantages. Opinions are everyones right to voice, but maybe you need to see things in the REAL world to make an educated decision that might save your life or the lives of your family.

I fully expect to get thumbs down here, but it doesn't matter to me. My safety and the welfare of my family means more. Again, just another person with an opinion that can be backed up with truth and not just some article read in a shooting magazine. Remember..Paper targets don't shoot back.......

Answer 9

Shoot a Glock 10mm and you will see why people say the 9mm is weak. Nothing I can say here will substitute for actually seeing the difference in what a 9 and a 10mm do to targets like steel silhouettes and milk jugs full of water. The 10mm has more than double the power of a 9, and can only be appreciated by logging off and shooting it.

Answer 10

because it takes 2 or 3 9mm rounds to shoot through a vehicle windshield. so, compared to a .40 or .45 it is weak. remember, a 9mm is just a necked down .357 mag.