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9mm vs. 40 – Is the .40 Caliber a Better Handgun Cartridge?

Fred613 said:
That would be ok for civilians, but for police
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This Was a PD of which l spoke , with 300 -ish Ofc at the time .

Fred613 said:
, in a gunfight where an officer may give a magazine of ammo to another officer,
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While a Theoretical " maybe could happen " , the usual reply is to name any documented instance in USA of LEO throwing each other magazines in the middle of a gunfight ?

Complete guns ? Reasonably common , but not just the mags.
 
My Department was over 700 sworn officers. My point was why take any chances at all. We already had instances of husband and wife teams going out for recreational shooting and having one spouse load the wrong ammo in their spouses gun. As for “theoretical,” why take any chances. Why introduce a possible problem when you don’t have to. My job was to train the officers to survive in a deadly situation where everything can go south in a heartbeat. One thing less to worry about is a bonus.
 
TedB said:
A wise friend and mentor of mine once said "a 9mm may or may not expand.... BUT- a .45 will never compress..."

The same can be said of a .40, even though it is only 1mm in diameter larger than a 9mm, it's still 11.2% larger in diameter...

But to be clear, the average police shooting tends to be more dynamic than a civilian self-defense shooting.

However, in both cases only hits matter- AND every bullet that is fired has an attorney attached to it. So whatever caliber & platform that an individual shoots best is the correct choice for what they carry.
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.355 to .400.
 
We forget about other calibers outside the usual conversation. One of my favorite guns is an Sig model 239 in 357 Sig. As an aluminum frame gun it is heavier then the newer polymer frame guns out there, but the slight increase weight helps the hot Sig round to shoot close to the 9mm rounds. The gun is still easy to carry but doesn’t have the mag capacity of the newer guns. But with about 500 foot pounds of energy, the round should do just fine. Remember, having to use your firearm to defend yourself is like going out on a date with a pretty woman. You might not get a second chance to make a good first impression.
 
Hawgleg44 said:
I had an opportunity to shoot a 10mm and I thought, better not. I know I'd end up with one if I did. I like them big punchers.
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I went from a Glock 43X to a M&P M2.0 in 10MM. Let me tell you that I am happy I did. Yes the heavy hitters are fun and 9’s become something like .22’s (.22’s are like a yawn).
 
Got in an argument with a guy that claimed a 9mm with +P ammo was just as effective as a 10mm with full power ammo is against dangerous game namely a bear.
 
Jester560 said:
Got in an argument with a guy that claimed a 9mm with +P ammo was just as effective as a 10mm with full power ammo is against dangerous game namely a bear.
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Evidence shows that he wasn’t wrong….

There was a list of every reported defensive bear shooting using a handgun a few years ago, spanning several years of data; both successful (Bear ended attack) and unsuccessful (human used as chew toy). 9mm’s were represented, and were successful at making stops when they were used, as were .357mag .40, 10, .45acp, .44 mag, .45Colt and .454.

I recall failures to stop by .45axp & .357 Magnum…none by 9mm or 10mm.
 
HansGruber said:
Evidence shows that he wasn’t wrong….

There was a list of every reported defensive bear shooting using a handgun a few years ago, spanning several years of data; both successful (Bear ended attack) and unsuccessful (human used as chew toy). 9mm’s were represented, and were successful at making stops when they were used, as were .357mag .40, 10, .45acp, .44 mag, .45Colt and .454.

I recall failures to stop by .45axp & .357 Magnum…none by 9mm or 10mm.
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Phil Shoemaker took out a bear a few years ago with his 3rd Gen S&W 9mm.

But Phil is the exception to the rule …. A very accomplished and experienced bear hunter to begin wih, and even in the after incident interviews he admitted that a 9mm for bear defense was marginal at best and there are better choices.

Rule 1 is to have a gun …
 
Anchorite said:
Phil Shoemaker took out a bear a few years ago with his 3rd Gen S&W 9mm.

But Phil is the exception to the rule …. A very accomplished and experienced bear hunter to begin wih, and even in the after incident interviews he admitted that a 9mm for bear defense was marginal at best and there are better choices.

Rule 1 is to have a gun …
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To be fair, though, there’s a pretty big difference between a hunting shot and a defensive shot.

When hunting, you pick your shot; you take your time to get the optimal angle/presentation, and placement. If you don’t get it…you don’t take the shot (at least, if you’re ethical).

Defensive kinda takes the choices out if your hands; if you don’t take the shots you are given, and fast—REAL fast—you’re gonna get hurt, probably badly…at best.

Everything being said & done…would 9mm be my first choice if rambling around in bear country? No, it wouldn’t. If I had to, it would by a HK USP running the absolutely hottest 147gr hard cast bullet I could get my hands on/load…but I’d much sooner have one of my N frames chambered in something with the word “Magnum” after it.
 
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