9mm vs. 45 ACP

[John828]

Look there is a lot of talk about Heller. The way I see it, the Heller decision will come and go, and we'll deal with the ramifications of this case, BUT what really matters is which caliber should I use to accomplish what I need accomplished.

Can a pipsqueak caliber such as the 9mm ever do what the 45 ACP can do? I mean, I don't care how many of the world's military forces think the 9mm is a suitable caliber. Let's be honest, how suitable is suitable? I want a definite stopper?

The 45 is the answer.

 

[Big45]

Heller! Heller! Heller!

 

[Ridgerunner665]

45 Heller...oh, oops...I meant acp.

 

[John828]

Look, this is a serious thread. You guys are acting like this is the last day of school or something.

I need large projectile for maximum stopping power. I do not need 17 little boolets when eight will do.

 

[sailortoo]

You want "a definite stopper". A .357 is the definitive answer - all the rest are second rate imitations. Let the flaming begin! Come on - aren't you tired of the 9mm vs .45 argument yet?
sailortoo

 

[camslam]

Shot placement is obviously the most important variable, not caliber.

That being said, most people in the heat of battle don't always hit what they are aiming at. So my thought process is as follows:

I go with the .45 ACP because it provides the biggest holes, and the best chance to catch something in the body that could be fatal. Even if it doesn't expand, I'm looking at roughly a .45 to .80 inch wound, which hopefully will do the job.

The other thing I look at is momentum, velocity x mass. Sure my 230 grain 45's aren't moving at the speed of light, but they aren't going to slow down or deflect off bone or some other mass, nearly as quick as the 9mm. So the path they are on, is generally where they are going to keep going to. You don't get any better penetration depth with the 9mm, and the wound is smaller, so really, why if you can shoot something bigger like the .40 or .45, would you go with the 9mm?

I have both calibers, but the .45 is on my hip and in my nightstand, the 9mm is for plinking and play time.

Since this is the 1,324,689th thread on this, I would imagine you will get arguments from both sides.

Shoot what you are accurate with, and feel comfortable with.

Good luck.

 

[John828]

Come on - aren't you tired of the 9mm vs .45 argument yet?

Ole Heller will come and go, but 9 v 45 will rage forever. I wish some lawyer would take that case to the court. I bet Ginsburg would carry a nine mm but old Scalia would carry a 45. Souter has a bodyguard and Alito has a Benelli, but what caliber would Stevens carry?

Would somebody please sue 9mm please?

 

[The Tourist]

Now, even you .45 ACP guys have to admit that it's easier to throw a 9mm bullet around Angelina Jolie's head...

 

[John828]

Ibtl

This is drifting

 

[Eightball]

Ibtl

Let that freaking caliber debate die. Or at least use the "search" function.

 

[Bobarino]

blah blah blah. the only thing on everyone's mind is Heller Heller Heller Heller Heller Heller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller HellerHeller Heller Heller Heller Heller. oh and how can i scrounge up enough cash for an EOTech 512 for my AR?

Bobby

 

[gaucho1]

I am having a 1975 flashback.

Or is it deja-vu all over again?

Is there a really old sticky for this?

Oh thats right,no internet when this started.

 

[saltydog452]

Personally, I prefer .50 cal lead balls from a 'Wham-O' sling shot. Thje 'Wham-O' would naturally be equiped with aftermarket extra power tactical surgical rubbers.

salty

 

[John828]

Thje 'Wham-O' would naturally be equiped with aftermarket extra power tactical surgical rubbers.

Surgical tubing is the only way to properly arm your wrist rocket, but...

Did anyone here really think that this was a serious thread???

Let that freaking caliber debate die

Uhmmm...after reading sixteen Heller threads, I thought a caliber thread was just balancing the scales.

 

[gunshow]

The whole gun community is so sick of these types of threads/magazine articles, that it's impossible to describe.

I just got a .17 HMR revolver for carry. 8 shot capacity and some mean ballistic tip bullets from wal mart.

I say there is no excuse for NOT having a 9mm AND a .45.

 

[abrink]

You want a definite stopper an RPG would do you good.

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A DEFINITE STOPPER!!

Carry the highest caliber you can comfortably shoot. (Unless it happens to be a caliber above .44 MAG.)

 

[Lady with a Gun]

I agree with the comment, from camslam, that shot placement is the most important factor.

I do own up to carrying a 9mm Glock. I chose 9mm, a long time ago, simply because I could get very cheap ammunition for practicing.

For 9mm ammunition, I am a believer in premium defensive loads, such as CorBon, or other ammunition with a reputation for stopping power.

No, I do not believe in only shooting one round. If the target is worth shooting, it is worth shooting more than once. Ammunition is cheap, life is not. (I stole that line).

 

[rrflyer]

listen guys 9mm vs 45 isn't even the tip of the iceberg.

What you need to start with is this.

Will a 9mm shot out of a 1911 be twice as powerful or ten times as powerful as one shot out of those plastic fantastics.

Then you can compare 9mm to 45. Apples to Apples here people.


Everyone knows that plastic guns automatically downgrade bullet power by a minimum factor of 5.

 

[saltydog452]

Dang John828, I dunno.

Someone is going to take issue with anything.

Sometimes I get the impression that we're all a bunch of latent Economists.

salty

 

[John828]

listen guys 9mm vs 45 isn't even the tip of the iceberg.
What you need to start with is this.
Will a 9mm shot out of a 1911 be twice as powerful or ten times as powerful as one shot out of those plastic fantastics.
Then you can compare 9mm to 45. Apples to Apples here people.
Everyone knows that plastic guns automatically downgrade bullet power by a minimum factor of 5.

Now we're talking...or thinking outside the box. Would a 9mm shot out of a 1911 platform do more damage than a 9mm shot out of a Glock 19? Okay, maybe I am sobering up because this is not really as funny as I thought it was. But my typing has improved.

 

[jakk280rem]

okay. i'll play. first off, the 9mm luger operates at too high a pressure and is known to kaboom guns. second, there's the overpenatration issue. the .45acp opperates at a more reasonable pressure but you can only get 8 or 9 rounds in the space you can get 15 of 9mm; so that leaves th 45 out as a stopper. so that only leaves one other option. jmb got it right. he designed a cartridge that wont overpenetrate, operates at a reasonable pressure that wont blow up guns, and is compact enough to carry lots of shots so that an atacker can be stopped effectivly, unless he's wearing a denim jacket. therefore i declare the .25acp the perfect manstopper. there. we can finally end the 9mm vs. .45 debate once and fore all. Oh, and Heller.

 

[John828]

Thank you Jack7mmRemExpress, the 25 ACP would be suitable iff we lived in a world governed by ballistic gelatin. Unfortunately, we live in a world that is filled with flannel shirts, adrenalin, windshields, PCP, kevlar, car doors, sheetrock, sunglasses, bones, muscles, fat, and Gecko45's duct taped Level III stuff, so back to the drawing board.

I still think that SCOTUMS should hear this case for October. The Constitutional Amendment is that the 45 is a better caliber.

 

[Treo]

There is a special place in Hell (right next to the antis) for people that start threads like this.

If you dropped a nine and a .45 off the Empire State Building, how many blonds would it take to catch it?

 

[Treo]

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS A DEFINITE STOPPER!!!

I bet an 8 inch howitzer would change your opinion on that

 

[jakk280rem]

If you dropped a nine and a .45 off the Empire State Building, how many blonds would it take to catch it?

54..