Which is the more inherantly accurate, 40 S&W or 9mm?

[Knife_Sniper]

Which of the two rounds is the more inherantly accurate, 40 S&W or 9mm?

Is their a reason one or the other is more accurate and why?

Also, which is considered the most accurate pistol round?

I know it all depends on the bullet, but which "Shape" seems to preform the best target wise?

Thanks guys!

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

I'd have to say the 9mm---simply because there is less recoil.

 

[HSMITH]

With qualities of each like barrels and bullets etc the same they will be equally accurate. On average it has been my experience that 9mm guns are typically more accurate and more forgiving of ammunition differences.

 

[10-Ring]

I have no hard evidence, but in my experience, the 9mm is more accurate. This is w/ over 2000 rounds of each caliber shot through a variety of firearms.

 

[Majic]

The 9mm. The 10mm which the .40SW was formed from is a very accurate cartridge, but something was lost in the conversion. It was first speculated that the change from a large primer to a small one with a large case capacity was the culprit. Whatever the difference was, it did drop the accuracy potential. The .40SW is creditied with having combat accuracy, but never reaching match-grade target accuracy.

 

[Ala Dan]

The 9m/m gets my vote also; at least I seem to shoot
guns chambered for it better than the .40S&W.

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

 

[mrapathy2000]

9mm seems to be more accurate though I have yet to hear of someone using 40S&w federal hydrashocks in 135gr which does 1190fps little on the light side and feals like 9mm to me atleast whenever I shoot it in a comparison with 9mm accuracy wise. 180gr is not good round for testing accuracy unless you got gorilla grip and arms. have fun staying on target with that stuff.

it is weird 10mm is accurate.

 

[Gunhead]

I can't notice any accuracy difference between 9mm and .40SW shooting it offhand from 25 and 50 meters.

Recoil has nothing to do with accuracy...

 

[Omaha-BeenGlockin]

Not for the first shot----but definitely ----Recoil matters after that.

 

[Sean Smith]

Not for the first shot----but definitely ----Recoil matters after that.

Sorry, you are wrong. Recoil forces have no impact on accuracy, period, unless the shooter simply lacks the skil to cope with it. More recoil makes you shoot more slowly, but not less accurately.

On topic: 9x19 guns are probably, on average, more accurate than .40 S&W guns. I'd say this is mostly due to the fact that 9x19 guns have been around so much longer that alot more is known about what goes into making a 9x19 gun more accurate (think twist rates and so forth), and how to optimize 9x19 loads for better performance (think bullet design, powder types and charges, etc.).

Alot of .40 S&W guns appeared on the market in a short period of time that were not much more than re-barrels of 9x19 designs. It shouldn't be surprising if a wild variance in accuracy that people saw resulted. I don't think there is any logical reason why the cartridge is bad per se, but it is alot newer than 9x19, and it showed (especially early on). I saw extremely good accuracy from .40 S&W out of a 610 revolver, less so from the autoloaders I had in that caliber, which would sorta tend to support that point of view.

And for whatever reason, 10mm does seem to be accurate as hell even from stock guns like the Glock 20C I had. Not to metion if you go nuts and buy an AET barrel...

 

[DF357]

yup

recoil comes AFTER the shot is fired.

 

[dairycreek]

The question of "inherent" accuracy.............

has been kicked around for as long as I have been shooting which is over 50 years now. All things being equal (which they never are) but just the consideration of caliber does not seem to make much difference per se. Load, bullet shape, firearm used, recoil, shooter's skill, etc. all contribute to accuracy but, just inherent accuracy as a function just caliber - I don't think so. Good shooting

 

[PCRCCW]

Id say its a rough call...Ive shot my share of both and with the right gun/shooter combo....you cant tell a difference.

If I had to pick one....Id probably have to side on the 9mm side.

Shoot well.

 

[mete]

Recoil can move the grip in your hand .Since handguns are sensitive to grip movement of the gun in the hand changes the point of impact therefore affects "accuracy". Checkering the front and back straps is a great help.

 

[Sean Smith]

Since handguns are sensitive to grip movement of the gun in the hand changes the point of impact therefore affects "accuracy".

Not unless the shooter is too inept to get a good sight picture shot-over-shot. Bad shooter technique does not equal "more recoil makes less accurate."

 

[Longbow]

In reloading...

..I noticed that the .40 cal tends to get more accurate as the bullet weight goes down, its the opposite in 9mm's. This is just from my own observation, your milleage may vary.
Factory wise, I also find the 9mm to be more accurate.

 

[seeker_two]

9mm....

Ka-Booms definitely ruin the .40's accuracy potential...

 

[Shake]

I'm in agreement with Sean Smith and dairycreek.

What is the definition of inherent accuracy?

IMO recoil shouldn't even be considered when answering this question. to determine which caliber would be more inherently accurate, you'd have to build special test barrels with optimized twist rates for each caliber that were locked into a vise during firing. You'd also have to determine the optimal bullet weight and profile for each caliber.

IMO you'd come out with a tie. Given ideal conditions for each caliber (i.e. perfect barrels, ideal twist rates, ideal bullet weights and profiles, optimal powder charges, velocity, etc.), I'd be willing to bet the difference would be statistically insignificant.

I think it gets trickier with bottleneck cartridges, because you introduce an entirely different set of parameters, but with straight-walled pistol cases I think you'd come out a tie.

As Sean mentioned, we may be further along in the development of 9mm ammo (and firearms) ecause of its longer existence, but the .40 will get there.

All my opinion. . .

Shake

 

[Ky Larry]

In my experience, there is no difference in accuracy between any pistol caliber. I have missed targets with all of them.

 

[Berg01]

"It is a poor carpenter that blames his tools for his craftsmanship"

I have a friend with a 9mm CZ 75B, I have a .40 S&W CZ 75B. He can outshoot me on a bad day with his 9mm. If we switch guns, he outshoots me with my .40 S&W. My friend is a better marksman than I am, and better than I might reasonably expect to become. If my friend shoots Win whitebox in the corresponding caliber out of either gun, his groups are so close that it is difficult to say which caliber is more accurate in absolute terms. Both guns are combat accurate, with range-grade ammo that is not particularly "accurate". Neither gun is what you would call match accurate, but then again, what kinds of match grade 9mm or .40 S&W are readily available? These are PD calibers most suited for carry guns. The fact that you don't see either cailber used in Bullseye competition obviously tells us something.

 

[Sean Smith]

"It is a poor carpenter that blames his tools for his craftsmanship"

And a stupid carpenter that uses inferior tools.

 

[Berg01]

And a stupid carpenter that uses inferior tools.

I would not characterize a CZ 75B in either caliber as an inferior tool;

 

[Sean Smith]

I would not characterize a CZ 75B in either caliber as an inferior tool

Neither did I. My comment was general, not specific.

 

[Berg01]

Neither did I. My comment was general, not specific.

Sorry for the misunderstanding... Happy Holidays to All the Good Forum Members (& as J. Scoutten says..."Keep 'em in the 10-Ring!!")

 

[Zundfolge]

I believe that with identical guns, you'd probably find both to be about the same.

The problem with .40 when compared to 9mm is that there are a lot more "target quality" guns chambered in 9mm and a lot of the .40s are "duty weapons".

If you compare a tuned Sig 220 sport in 9mm to a Glock 23 w/NY trigger, the .40 isn't going to look as accurate.

In addition, I've read in this forum that "value priced" .40 ammo is not the same quality as "value priced" 9mm ammo.

At any rate, at self defense ranges I'd trust the accuracy of both.