Will anything ever supplant the 9mm cartridge?

Conceivably but not for a LONG time...it is in such heavy use that there has been extensive load development over the last 10 years or so, so it has really gotten to be as effective as larger calibers.

Smaller calibers like the 5.7 seem to have issues as per Doctor Gary...you might be able to go a little smaller than 9mm but I'm not sure there's a need.

All handgun calibers have limited terminal effect so I don't expect to see nearly as much change there as in rifles.
 
My personal feeling is that it won't be supplanted until metallic cartridges are replaced by something newer. Same with 5.56x45mm.
 
9mm is just too entrenched in the gun world: translation - millions of guns in this caliber.

Why even bother to replace it? The guns are there, all sorts of ammo are available, the fans are here, the cartridge will get the job done if called upon...so why fix something that ain't really broke?

So the 40S&W has tried and in the last 20 yrs since introduced, it's not likely it has made significant inroads into 9mm territory.

IMO, the lowly, ubiquitous 9mm will be around for a long long time, possibly longer than the 45acp...yeah blasphemy.
 
Lots of cartridges (e.g. .303British, .30-30) are still around a long time after they became obsolete. The 9mm isn't obsolete yet.
 
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Name me a center fire handgun round that is cheaper and which is consistantly available (that's to let out the surplus 7.62x25 :D)..... Can't do it can ya?

And that's why it'll be around until we're shooting guns with caseless rounds or Star Trek phasers... whichever comes first.
 
9mm is excellent in autos or revolvers, but phenomenal as a revolver cartridge, especially in short-barreled revolvers. S&W 940, 547... even some Rugers benefit from 9mm goodness. Cheap and wonderful. Hard to beat.
 
My understanding of the stats re law enforcement is that most forces have converted or are converting to .40 cal from 9mm... Don't have a source, just from stuff I've been reading...
 
9mm does as much as you can expect from a handgun cartridge - and does it in an efficient and economic manner. It's easy to produce a competant shooter in 9mm, and the ammunition is available everywhere. What's to replace?
 
Maybe in Canada it will remain the most popular, but south of the line .45ACP remains king - except in the hands of the police, and anywhere accuracy counts.

Dr Jim (admittedly somewhat biased)
 
Dr Jim, perhaps in the hands of the enthusiasts and the 1911 faithful. But even down there sales of 9mm semis and ammo is far more common than the more expensive .45acp stuff. Remember that they have a huge mainstream gun owning population that bought them as a defensive tool and once they have one don't give the gun or the gun enthusiast lifestyle another thought.
 
I'd happily use 40s&w, 357 sig, 45acp, etc...If someone else (read: department) was purchasing my practice ammo.

For as long as I have to foot the bill, I'm sticking with 9mm for the bulk of my shooting.
 
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