40 S&W vs 9mm

If you don't reload check with your local guns stores about ammo supplies. In my area there are lots of people that shoot 9mm and .45 making it very hard to find while I've never had a issue finding .40.
 
i have well over 60 handguns these days. exactly one of them is 40, and only because i was offered it at a good price, and i happen to like the pistol it's in (4006).
If you want cheap, shoot 9. If you want big, shoot 45. 40 is a hermaphrodite. 10mm is interesting, sooner or later i'll catch one at a good deal. It makes sense ballistically, 40, not so much. I think most folk grab it because the police use it.

The only good reasons i can see for owning one are 1) you need it for major/power factor in IPSC or 2) you carry one for work, and want one of your own to practice with. But whatever floats your boat, we all make our choices and at the end of the day, any handgun is a good handgun. And all it's doing is making holes in paper anyways...............
 
I have the M&P 40. Don't have a M&P 9 and have never shot one. I reload my 40 quite mild. 155SWC and 3.2gr TG. It is much tamer than factory 9mm.

My 40 is very comfortable and very accurate. I have never wished it was a 9, but would like to try a 9 one day for comparison. I have heard stories that some M&P 9s are not accurate. No idea if that is true.
 
I have an M&P9 - I've been shooting pistols since before the 40 was released and never owned one. I almost bought one once because I had a ton of 40 brass and no reason to reload it, but then I gave my head a shake - even for me that was a weak reason to buy a gun. As far as accuracy goes, I've never had any issues hitting with the M&P9 - these days I use a 3x5 card cut in half out to about 15 yards, and can get hits 10 out of 10 if I do my part. The M&P in 45 is actually more accurate than the 9mm, but (same as the 40) the ammunition cost is much higher. If you're starting out, it's more important to get trigger time than power or recoil. Take the difference in ammo costs and put it into instruction - you'll be glad you did.
 
For paper punching whatever is your preference; folks luv/hate both 9 and 40.

Personally I like 45 for the straight back recoil. Find 40 too snappy, 9 kinda boring. Cast and reload my own so price diff is $10 bucks per 1000 so basically the same.

44 Mag and .50 is where the fun begins.
 
I am one of those rare birds who prefers the .40 recoil to the .45. Then again my only .40, a p226 ST weighs 42+ oz so...

I like the .40's ability to be coverted to .357 Sig easily on certain guns.
 
The .40 operates at higher pressure than the 9mm, for what's that worth.

The people I know with .40's wish they had bought 9mm's now, or even .45's.
 
For target shooting it seems that 9mm is the right choice for cost reasons. That it's also what the military uses would seem to be a vote of confidence in the round, even if they do endlessly debate going back to 45ACP as well.

If you are thinking home defense, a shotgun has a lot more stopping power and is subject to far fewer restrictions and regulations than a handgun, it makes no sense to turn to a handgun for home defense in Canada. Even if your act of self defense was fully justified under criminal law, the CFO may use your conditions on your RPAL against you ("that wasn't target shooting"). No such problems with a shotgun, and with a shotgun you certainly brought enough gun to the contest.

The one plus of a 45acp in Canada is you get a gun with the number of rounds it was designed for, especially in a compact. Your gun isn't nerfed by Canadian laws, as it couldn't have held >10 rounds anyway. That said I still chose 9mm for my first handgun.
 
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I kid, I kid... :p
 
I'd go with the 9mm, it's cheaper than the .40 to shoot, has less recoil when shooting, and everyone carries 9mm ammo.
If you want more kick one day you can buy +P ammo for your 9mm, and if you're considering the protection factor in an
emergency, I know the 9mm+P Hornady Critical Duty ammo is in the same ballpark, roughly, as a standard .40 hollowpoint round. It has to be the +P Critical Duty ammo, though, not the non +P Critical Defence, which isn't as strong.
That being said, I have to agree with Martin that a 12 gauge shotgun firing buckshot is going to give someone
defending his family a lot more power and effectiveness than any pistol round.
 
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