The .45 acp has nothing over the 9mm that's a fact.

[SDGlock23]

It seems to go both ways, those using a larger caliber might dislike the 9mm for whatever reason, but many with a 9mm are always talking about how it's just as good as the bigger calibers. The thing is, they all kill and we all have opinions and preferences so you're going to hear a lot of stuff, but the truth is, they all kill but they're not all equal either.

 

[Grim Peeper]

45ACP = much much much much muuuuuuuch more fun to shoot!!! 9mm for utilitarian purposes and training only for me anyways. I love both! Don't invest your ego into either calibler and just do what works best for you. Im personally obcessed with 45 and 1911s and that will never change but a 9mm pistol holds a lot of bullets and that's good. Needless to say 9mm just doesn't thrill me to shoot as much as 45 and never will. Theres nothing like a 1911 loaded with 45ACP!!!

 

[JohnnyBravo]

It's about time we had this discussion...




...again!

 

[Hunter2011]

Are the military not supposed to only usu FMJ ammo? Then that is the reason why a 45 is preferred over a 9mm. It is a fact that a 45ACP FMJ is a better stopper than a 9mm FMJ.

But... When you use the latest and greatest 9mm+P JHP ammo, the stopping power between the 9mm and the 45ACP is so close that there is not much to choose between the two. Now bullet placement will matter most. This is my opinion and I don't say period

In 9mm a pistol will always carry more rounds than 45 in a same sized gun. That is why I will myself always choose a 9mm over a 45. If I were allowed to open carry, I would have carried a G21 45ACP. But that is too big to CC for me, so I carry only a 8 shot single stack 9mm. I don't feel underpowered at all.

 

[Deaf Smith]

Deaf Smith, I hear it in gun shops frequently. People bashing the 9mm and saying the .380 is worthless. It's amusing really but it's just not true. So far none of thr people saying this stuff aren't willing to be shot square on the chest with a .380 or 9mm to back up there rant.

Supertec,

Now I don't want to be shot with even a .25, so what?

We have much research from such people as Massad Ayoob, David Spauling, Fackler, etc.. on stopping power and while the .45 is not a lightning bolt it is, in general, a bit better than the 9mm.

One has to balance out how much a gun they can carry and control.

The 9mm, in top loads, is a good round, but cartridges like the .357, .357 Sig, .40 S&W, .45 acp, IN TOP LOADS, are a bit better.

Deaf

 

[Wreck-n-Crew]

The definition of insanity is to repeat the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.

Is that why we continue this debate? (voices are saying yes it is!)

 

[Sol]

Lets say for a minute I worked as part of an SRTMS or to you non-operators, a special response team: mall security.
What pistol round would work best for stopping armored threats and multiple assault teams?

I mean food court sniping is great and all, but what if I have to get in close?

 

[Panzerschwein]

I promise you the .45 has no advantage over the 9mm at all.

Well, that's good enough for me.

Thanks for the enlightenment.

 

[rcmodel]

Yea, me too.

But you ever been hit in the boot by a heavy .45 bullet bouncing back off a target backstop.

Going half speed, about 400 FPS, it will knock your leg out from under you and tear the heel off a good pair of boots.

Light is good.
But heavy leaves a lasting impact.
And a bigger hole.

rc

 

[Cee Zee]

Could it be that the penetration of that truck door is a perfect example of why the 9mm is not always best? Do you want your bullets going through and through and hitting some baby half a mile down the road?

The capacity argument is fairly valid but then there are .40 caliber pistols with high capacity. My .40 holds 16+1. They seem to combine the best of the 9mm and the .45 to me. But what do I know? A .40 will penetrate steel doors also but it doesn't penetrate as much as the 9mm. It hits with more energy than a 9mm and it's a bigger bullet. What's not to like?

 

[Gtscotty]

Sweet, another caliber war thread.

 

[Cee Zee]

Sweet, another caliber war thread.

Just like clockwork. You can set your watch by the amount of time it takes for a thread like this to be closed.

 

[horsemen61]

I believe in the bigger is better theory here so ill take the big ole 45 caliber slug any day you may keep your worthless 9mm

 

[FMJBT]

Or you can just be a real man and carry a 10mm. Superior to 9mm and 45acp

/thread

 

[1911Tuner]

Could it be that the penetration of that truck door is a perfect example of why the 9mm is not always best?

Penetration in hard material doesn't really serve as a performance yardstick for what is intended as an anti-personnel round. Hardball vs Hardball...firing into identical soft material like ballistic gelatin probably won't net results with enough difference to be significant, and if the 115-grain bullet is used in the 9mm...230 hardball may even beat it due to its greater mass.

And throwing the .357 Sig into the argument is akin to comparing the .45 to the .357 Magnum. Apples to grapes.

The reality is that an attacker hit well and truly by the 9 will go down swearing a .45 got him...and vice versa.

 

[Mike J]

For carry I prefer .40 to 9mm or .45 acp. For my own reasons I'm not interested in .357 sig. If I am going to the woods I'd actually rather carry my old .357 revolver because of the wide range of ammo it can use. I do own a 9mm a couple of .40's & a .45acp 1911 clone. I believe if the central nervous system or something vital is hit any of them will do their job. I don't believe someones head will explode if they are hit in the little finger by a .45 acp round.We all make our choices & take our chances. Your opinions are fine for you. Why is it so important to you what some guy in a gunshop or a bunch of strangers on a forum think?

 

[krimmie]

"



"But... When you use the latest and greatest 9mm+P JHP ammo, the stopping power between the 9mm and the 45ACP is so close that there is not much to choose between the two. "

This was my friends argument too, and it can be true given the proper ammo, but you can throw out the "fast follow up shot" argument when using +P+ 9mm.

 

[OilyPablo]

They wet e both purchased by him brand new at the same time.

Holy smokes. I think I found the proof!

Get a 10mm. It's nuclear.

 

[MIL-DOT]

I've never really had a dog in this age-old fight, I like them both, and wouldn't feel under-armed with either.
I currently don't own anything in .45 or even .40, though I do still have a few hundred rounds of ammo (as is my habit) in case one of them falls my way again, which is quite possible given my wheeling-n-dealing habits.
But, in my opinion and experience, the majority of the arguments for the .45 seem to be largely based on things like nostaligia and personal preference, like this comment posted above: "9mm just doesn't thrill me to shoot as much as 45 and never will. Theres nothing like a 1911 loaded with 45ACP!!! "
That's all well and good, but it doesn't make the .45 "better", yet it always seems to comprise a VERRY large portion of the pro .45 arguments.
These days, I've come prefer the 9mm myself, and think it's more practical in some ways, and pretty much, just as lethal, round-to-round. Being cheaper,lighter and often eaier to find, is another plus.
I also think a quality pistol, loaded with a quality 9mm JHP, like Gold Dots, Golden sabres,etc, holding 15-17 rounds, is a significantly more lethal and effective weapon than any .45 holding 7-8 rounds. I don't think this is rationally disputable.
And please, spare me the predictable diatribes about "shot placement". If any of us are carrying the groceries out to the car, and 3 bad-guys pop-up outa nowhere, almost no one here is going to be cool and calm enough to land 3 quick head/heart-shots like Clint Eastwood. Even police officers that live on the mental edge every day, when surprised by a bad-guy, very often go right into the "spray-and-pray" mode, tossing rounds all over the place, and we've all seen countless dashboard cams showing exactly this. It's the REALITY.
The undeniable fact of the matter is that the extra rounds in a modern 9mil offer a SIGNIFICANT tactical advantage over a revolver or 1911, one that in this day and age, is almost foollhardy to pass up.

 

[Mr.Revolverguy]

GTScotty where is that train wreck picture again.

 

[bikerdoc]

These kind of threads bore me.
I could care less what you carry or why as long as you are good with it.
Practice, get training, and hope you never have to use your choice in a SD situation.

 

[CDW4ME]

The .357 sig is #1.

Just that ^ might make for a more compelling argument.
I like the 357 Sig for SD

 

[krimmie]

If you include 9mm with a 15-17 round capacity, it seems you are including a full size gun. It's that's the case, I'll take a 13 round glock 21, or my 15+1 round SR-40. I do carry a 10 round Ruger SR9c on occasion, but it does not(IMO) offer a "significant" advantage over my Kahr 7+1 round .40 S&W.

 

[GBExpat]

<shrug> Represented in my current carry rotation are .45acp, .44spc, 9x19 and 9x17.

I have confidence in each of them.

 

[1911Tuner]

This was my friends argument too, and it can be true given the proper ammo, but you can throw out the "fast follow up shot" argument when using +P+ 9mm.

If a .25 split time isn't fast enough, I don't think that the problem is with the caliber. I'm an old man with mildly arthritic hands and wrists, and I can manage to keep .2 splits in the 9 ring firing GI spec hardball regularly enough to call it good.