Is it worth buying a .40?

i have a lot of different calibers, the .40 has a lot more power than the 9mm. Spinning a steel reactive target a hot .40 is almost as strong as the .45, the 9mm will hardly spin the same plate. The .45 is still my favorite round in a 1911 of course! I dont have a 10mm...........Yet
 
Wendall,

I'm a gun magazine READER!!!!:D

But seriously, if all you're doing is punching paper, 9mm does a pretty good job. I don't hit any reactive targets so 'oomph' is not a factor for my fun activities.

I never did buy a .40 as all my favorite guns were in 9mm. I did buy a .45acp to get into the 1911 game. The 1911 is one of my 3 most accurate guns(for me anyway). After I discovered 9mm 1911's I haven't really shot my .45 and don't really feel a need to, overall, cost of ammo is a HUGE factor for me, as well as cutting down on different sets of cleaning tools etc. Shooting just one centerfire pistol caliber also makes stocking up really easy!!
 
hmm...good points all around. maybe I'll just buy one try it and sell it if it doesn't do it for me.

btw do they make 1911's in .40? There's just something about the 1911
 
As a matter of fact I'm receiving my first .40 1911 either tomorrow or Monday. Went with SA hi-cap model.

.40 is marginally more expensive to shoot over 9mm - bullets are ~0.02 more per each, same primer, about same powder load too.
 
Try shooting plates with 9x19. Then shoot them with .40.

The plates will know the difference, and so will you.

Comparing 9x19 and .40 is like comparing .22LR and 9x19.

Funny, I don't have any problems knocking down plates and poppers with a 9mm. I use 147gr CMJ's.

I have 2 .40S&W's. A glock 35 and an STI Trojan.
 
I found this web page with information on "stopping power" of various calibers. I don't know how accurate this is but according to it the one-shot stopping power of various calibers is:

9mm: 79% to 91%
.40: 86% to 96%
.45: 87% to 94%

http://www.internetarmory.com/handgunammo.htm

So they're all in the same ballpark, although .40 seems marginally better. It all depends on which brand and type of ammo you have.
 
"So they're all in the same ballpark, although .40 seems marginally better. It all depends on which brand and type of ammo you have."

Depends more on where the person is shot. All three calibers are 100% when the person is shot in the head.:D

For playing the games I shoot all three of the main calibers. Because I reload and shoot my own cast bullets costs are identical for all three. The .40cal loaded down to the same power factor as the 9MM recoils about the same. The only advantage, if it is an advantage, is the .40cal makes slightly bigger holes in the target, so too the .45acp.

If you don't reload 9MM is much less expensive to shoot.

Take Care

Bob
 
I found this web page with information on "stopping power" of various calibers. I don't know how accurate this is but according to it the one-shot stopping power of various calibers is:

9mm: 79% to 91%
.40: 86% to 96%
.45: 87% to 94%

http://www.internetarmory.com/handgunammo.htm

So they're all in the same ballpark, although .40 seems marginally better. It all depends on which brand and type of ammo you have.

This info means nothing unless the bullet weight is given.
 
RePete

"This info means nothing unless the bullet weight is given."

That isn't the only reason why the information is worth nothing.

The only statistic worth noting is the one situation where you are involved. All the other events that preceded your situation are just statistics. In every stat listed above some were felled with one shot while others obviously took more than two.

Take Care

Bob
ps I can state with some authority that every cardboard target I have managed to hit died on the first shot; some with larger holes....
 
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It's the size of the hole!

My old eyes can see .40 holes in the paper MUCH better then the 9mm holes, especially with semi-wadcutters. Too bad I like my 9mm Grand Power better than the .40s I have!
 
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