9mm vs 45acp

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Derek Vollbrecht

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Hey guys. I am reasonably new too the hand gun world and purchased a sig p226 a couple months back as a practice rifle.

Now I am interested in upgrading to play with the big boys. To my understanding the 9mm and the 45acp are the easier to find rounds out there. But I don't know what is better. I am looking for a good quality gun that I can slowly sink some money into and the glock seems to be a good option. I like the feel of it and the vast majority of accessories available.

If you could help point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated.
 
I'll assume your 226 is a 22 and your using it as a practice pistol.
Buy a 9.
It's considerably cheaper to shoot whether you buy factory or reload and is usually easier to shoot.
Lots of good options out their- whatever feels right to you is the right gun.
 
wasrupzuk said:
I'll assume your 226 is a 22 and your using it as a practice pistol.
Buy a 9.
It's considerably cheaper to shoot whether you buy factory or reload and is usually easier to shoot.
Lots of good options out their- whatever feels right to you is the right gun.
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Yes sorry the sig is definetly a 22 for plinking. I won't be reloading anytime soon but I'm currently in the process of looking into it for my long rifles.
 
A Glock is easy to clean fix and add accessories that are readily and cheaply available to, but the gun it self is unforgiving to shoot accurately if you don't have good fundamentals.. The SIG is also hard to shoot accurately IMHO because of the height of the barrel to the web of your hand..

They are both military tactical type guns and not Bullseye pistols.. depending on what you want to do the direction can go anywhere.
 
9 is easier to find, and it will almost always take 10 round mags. Some cases (Beretta, Glock others) you can use .40 mags and legally load 14 rounds. .45acp will only take 10 if you have extended mags that stick out the bottom of the magwell.

also, shopping around, you can get 9mm for around 25-30c a round. .45acp is usually between 45 and 75c per round. If you have any budgetary constraints, you will be shooting 1/3 of the time with the big slug.

also the 9mm is easier to control as has less recoil so you can get back on target faster. and, your range bag will be lighter. Not that its a big deal, but carrying a couple hundred rounds of .45acp is fairly heavy :)
 
L1911 said:
9mm is more than sufficient for a hand gun caliber for target shooting. 45ACP is a fun factor (real fun factor which will cost more) caliber.
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I agree with the second sentence. As far as the first is concerned, I would say: .22LR is more than sufficient for a hand gun caliber for target shooting.
I own .22, 7.62x25, 9mm and 45ACP pistols, but I only ever shoot 22 or 45
 
9mm is king because of the variety and amount of R&D manufactures put into the calibre relitive to all other calibers. Most LEO and military uses 9mm and in fact there are videos on youtube explaining why the FBI had decided to switch back from the .40 to the 9mm.

 
Derek Vollbrecht said:
Hey guys. I am reasonably new too the hand gun world and purchased a sig p226 a couple months back as a practice rifle.

Now I am interested in upgrading to play with the big boys. To my understanding the 9mm and the 45acp are the easier to find rounds out there. But I don't know what is better. I am looking for a good quality gun that I can slowly sink some money into and the glock seems to be a good option. I like the feel of it and the vast majority of accessories available.

If you could help point me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated.
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Might be stating the obvious but if you have a sig 226 have you looked into the calibre exchange kits? A sig isn't a bad place to be and if you switch calibre on the same pistol your shooting skills should transfer nicely.
Available in 9mm, .40, and .357 sig I believe.
 
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+1 on the 9mm caliber xchange kit.

The P226 is a nice platform to shoot 9mm, .40 S&W and even 357 SIG from... and 22 with the GS Designs magazine, so you have last round hold open on empty. Where else can you get a 4 caliber handgun? OK, Glock... you can build the same thing, plus .380, from a Glock 19/23 platform, with a lot more effort and expense. There are no Glock "Caliber Xchange kits". The .22 kits are aftermarket.

If you want lots of "BOOM" and laser-like accuracy, try the .357 SIG. Its ammunition costs like a .45 ACP and has similar recoil. The .40 S&W is somewhere in the middle, and the caliber xchange kit for that is probably easier to find, along with a .357 SIG barrel, than the .357 SIG caliber xchange. At least, that's how I did it. I love my 4 caliber P226 ...

I have owned or borrowed and shot ALL the SIG handguns, I had to cross borders to shoot the P238 and other modern guns that are prohibs here, and you can definitely have a lot of fun with SIGs. My SIG collection starts in the 1890s (1882 Swiss Ordnance revolver) and includes several from this century, and a whole bunch from the 20th. For a versatile pistol, the P226 is hard to beat, and the .22 is a fine gun to start with. I just don't understand why SIG didn't bother to build proper mags for the .22 models, but that's the only complaint I've had in many guns and many years.

Good choice! Happy shooting.

vmu3wy.jpg


My "SIG" (Schweizerische Industriegesellschaft) Swiss 1882 Ordnance Revolver, 19th Century, Antique (lettered)
Most of this model were made by Waffenfabrik Bern, but SIG got in there and built some of the early revolvers
 
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Smcx said:
You'll end up with both anyway lol
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The voice of truth.

OP - if you go .45, buy ammo that uses large primer brass cases. Sell your spent brass at about 10cents a case to offset ammo costs. Aluminum is worthless, and most guys don't want small primer brass unless its cheap.
 
Mark-II said:
The voice of truth.

OP - if you go .45, buy ammo that uses large primer brass cases. Sell your spent brass at about 10cents a case to offset ammo costs. Aluminum is worthless, and most guys don't want small primer brass unless its cheap.
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Good info right there.
NEVER BUY SMALL PRIMER 45!!! The guy who came up with this needs a kick in the crotch- twice.
But I bought my brass as loaded rounds then started reloading once I had enough- in a 45 the cases last forever and it doesn't take long to pay back the cost of the reloading equipment.
I suggested a 9 based on my quantity of shooting (2-4000 per year easy) but if I didn't have to pay for it 45 would be my cartridge.
I still have the 45's but 9 is my go to now- half the cost for every bang.
 
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