9mm or 40 s&w

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mdbuckle

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I am currently waiting for my restricted PAL to arrive and I have been doing an insane amount of research on pretty much every handgun out there. My favorite gun is the Sig P226R but it is a bit to costly for me right now so I have decided on Springfield XD(too bad we can't get the 4" model:( ). What caliber to get is the next step. Price of ammo is important and I don't want a caliber that will leave me wanting more.

What are your opinions on the 2 calibers? I may get into reloading as well...
 
I love shooting downloaded 40SW - lighter than factory 9mm in recoil. Also, if you want, you can load your 40SW to pretty good velocities for when you "want more".

If you are not reloading though, 9mm is probably a safer bet. Or, I think you can get an XD40 and buy an extra 9mm barrel (?).
 
I also prefer 9mm to .40. The 40 seems really "snappy" when compared to 9 and .45 cal.
 
Get the XD in .40 S&W. You won't regret it. As mentioned, a down-loaded .40 will have less recoil than a full power 9mm. The cost difference in handloaded ammunition is neglegible. As a bonus, you won't feel nearly as cheated by our backward mag limit laws.;)
 
Get a 40. You can always buya 9mm retro for it. 9 limits you, 40 opens up the options; higher charges and heavier bullets if you need them. If you reload, ammo price is no issue at all. I have seen 9mm bounce off windshields and not put down animals. True if all you will ever do is shoot paper, ballistics are not an issue, but if you ever have to shoot a predatory animal or two legged animal 9mm, will dissapoint you and may get you dead or injured.:eek:
 
I've put about 400 rounds through my S&W 4006 .40. It's a very enjoyable pistol to shoot and doesn't feel like it has more recoil than my Hi-Power.

I got an excellent price on it which is why I went with the 4006. Otherwise I probably would have held out for a 9mm 5906.

We put a group order together for ammo from candianbdx.com and 1k of .40 was around $160 plus tax, so not too expensive to shoot.:) Of course the 9mm was $140 plus tax so it would have been even cheaper. I've got a S&W Model 39 on the way too, to take advantage of that cheap 9mm.;)
 
safeguardguy said:
Get a 40. You can always buya 9mm retro for it. 9 limits you, 40 opens up the options; higher charges and heavier bullets if you need them. If you reload, ammo price is no issue at all. I have seen 9mm bounce off windshields and not put down animals. True if all you will ever do is shoot paper, ballistics are not an issue, but if you ever have to shoot a predatory animal or two legged animal 9mm, will dissapoint you and may get you dead or injured.:eek:
Click to expand...

wow, I think you may have turned me. It seems to me now that the .40 S&W will suit my needs much better then a 9mm. You guys are such a great help at making these tough decisions;)
 
Just a thought about the pistols, if what you REALLY wanted was the Sig over the XD, why not just save for a little while longer, and get whichever pistol was your first choice.

The cost of the firearm itself is the smallest part of enjoying shooting.

The cost difference between the XD and a Sig is two cases of ammo. Which if the bug has really bitten you, like you say it is, you'll go through that very quickly indeed.

If you end up with an XD, that's also a great pistol too, so no harm done.

However, you will be just that much further away from owning your first choice pistol, after having spent all that money on your second choice pistol...
 
9mm

Pros:
- Availability
- Cost
- No feeding problem on any gun (compare to 40S&W, though I can only base this on "internet talk" which can mean #### all)

Cons:
- Arguably not the best option for competition
 
I have both but if I had to choose only one I would go with the 40 S&W, ammo and reloading components are pretty much equally cheap for both but the 40 has the capability of being more powerful if desired, and really can you have too much power.
 
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