Very controvercial. 9mm vs .40 S&W.

K0na_stinky said:
I was at the range shooting and there was a younger guy about the same age as me just joining the club. He was doing his supervised shoots. I overheard him say he only had 20 rounds of 9mm left and he couldn't buy another box until next payday. He loaded 10 into one mag and shot all over the target at 6 yards. Pretty average for a guy with a flinch I guess. When he was done I asked if he wanted to try my .22 semi auto pistol. A Norinco Colt Woodsman copy. He told me "no" because "he has no interest in that".

f:P: f:P:
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Lol
 
If you want to relax and shoot bulls-eye Olympic style, by all means get a nice .22 basic target set up to start. Browning ,Ruger etc. Don't buy the center-fire .22 copies for this. Why? They look like their big Brothers, but if their big brothers( center-fires) are what you really want, to shoot IPSC IDPA etc etc, then get the real deal. For a first pistol to do this, a 9mm is a great choice. Controllable, economical and the list goes on.

My son just purchased the S&W M&P 9 Range kit for a really great price for his first pistol, and I am very impressed so far.

I forgot how pleasant the 9mm was to shoot in 124gr, and just how snappy the .40S&W 180gr is in my G22 when compared directly mag for mag. These S&W M&P's really seem to absorb the recoil in their design superbly. I still prefer the Glock, but the M&P seems like an economical great choice for a first pistol.

Sig's are great pistol's too, just be prepared to put out nearly two times the price for the same set up as the range kit cost him.
 
marcham said:
I would suggest away from the Sig as a first pistol. Nice gun, very reliable and accurate in the right hands but the truth of the matter is that they aren't the easiest to shoot well. Same advice for a 1911. Sure they look good, are easy to hold because of the single stack magazine but they are like an Italian sports car, always in need of a tune up! Consider that the 1911 was designed at a time when everything was hand crafted and hand assembled. Craftsmen carefully matched and fitted each part. They weren't designed for massively automated assembly lines. That being said, you can...
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Just wondering what about Sig you find difficult? I'm not disagreeing, since most of my shooting has been on Sig, 1911 and CZ85 in terms of semi-autos, so I can't compare to Glock etc...
 
My first handgun was a 629 bought in 1992. My second was a slab sided ruger government competition model bought in 1993. The 629 has seen plenty of use, it's still one of my favorites. The ruger? It's pretty much been sitting in the safe since 1994. The only other 22lr I've had was a single six that I gave away.

22lr handguns are boring. At least to me they are. Whatever you get you will be a novice with anyway, might as well get something you really want and shoot it until you are a novice no more. At least then you won't have spent money on something you didn't want in the first place.
 
Check out price of ammo, get what you can afford to shoot. Only way to get good is to shoot, and shoot lots. Locally Box of 50 22lr is ~2 bucks, 9mm is $13, 40 is $17. 357, 44, 45 and 50 are affordable only to the rich or reloading.

I have all these caliber, shoot mainly 357 and 45ACP. 22LR gets boring, 44 Mag and 50 gets painfully quickly so don't shoot them much.
 
How did this turn into a 22 thread FFS?...
I had several 22 pistols, one I miss, the others not so much.
My issue with them was nobody at any local (within 500 miles) clubs were doing anything with them.
Plinking is fun but what are you practicing for?
IMO it doesn't matter which CF you choose, you could have issues with anyone of them and the only way to figure it out is to shoot it, lots.
I find a handgun becomes intuitive, use without thought- it's just there at somewhere around a thousand rounds (similar style guns much less so) and caliber has had nothing to do with it.
Want to shoot CF = reload, period. It doesn't matter the caliber.

As for the OP's original question;
I split the difference; 9x40 (or the commercial version .357sig):stirthepot2:
 
Purely for sport shooting, the 9mm is probably the best choice. Ammo is relatively cheap and easy to find, and generally you can find any gun you want in 9mm...not necessarily in .40.

I shoot 40S&W instead of 9mm because it's what I carry. Ammo is more expensive, but I pad out my practice sessions with .22LR Ruger MkII so overall I spend less per shot, per practice session. Gonna get a M&P .22 in the New Year...
 
Advantage of buying a CF frame with 22LR kit: you can practice using the short reset that both Glock and Sig have for pennies. Can't do that with dry fire practice.
 
I bought a Glock 22 and will be purchasing an IGB 40-9 conversion barrel. I also have a G19 for the wife to use. I will be loading up 9mm lead cast for 5-6 cents each (same cost as .22lr).

I don't plan to hand load much .40cal due to guppy bellies on a lot of 1F brass. Redding does have a push through sizer that should correct - but I am not sure how safe the end product will be.

Another consideration would be if you plan to purchase a pistol calibre carbine. Currently, the large difference between US and CDN pricing is keeping me away.

A used non-restricted Kriss V in .45 might be worth the extra vs. a TD or JRC. Decisions, decisions...
 
NaviDave said:
I bought a Glock 22 and will be purchasing an IGB 40-9 conversion barrel. I also have a G19 for the wife to use. I will be loading up 9mm lead cast for 5-6 cents each (same cost as .22lr).

I don't plan to hand load much .40cal due to guppy bellies on a lot of 1F brass. Redding does have a push through sizer that should correct - but I am not sure how safe the end product will be.

Another consideration would be if you plan to purchase a pistol calibre carbine. Currently, the large difference between US and CDN pricing is keeping me away.

A used non-restricted Kriss V in .45 might be worth the extra vs. a TD or JRC. Decisions, decisions...
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Totally off topic: where are you buying your bullets? I need to find some that cheap. With primers, powder and bullets, I struggle to reload 9mm under 20 Cents a round.
 
Primer 3.0-3.5 cents
Powder 1.6-2 cents
1f 9mm brass 1.75 - 3 cents (reload 5-10 times).

I did score some 9mm lead cast for almost free (I am going to melt them down and make 124gr Lee TL bullets) . My main supply is going to be the 200+ lbs of wheel weights that I got free from my local Canadian Tire.

6 cents is not without some labour and after market barrel purchases(s). However, .45acp comes out to pretty much the same cost per round.
 
Take a look at Canadian bdx pricing, 40 is a bit more expensive. Like 28 Bucks per 1000. However, think the difference between the rounds is pretty insignificant. I am shooting a Tanfoglio stock 2 in 9mm as it is suitable for production division ipsc. If I were to go open I would shoot a 9mm in major. However if I were shooting in Standard I would definitely go for a 40 Cal in major.

So my advice is determine what you want to use it for. If you are using it in sanctioned competitions then see what others are using. If for plinking, or for a zombie apocalypse it does not really matter, shoot whatever you like.
 
If you are thinking 9MM consider the CZ 75B/85Combat and buy the .22 Kit. The kit I have is easily the most accurate 22 I have shot due in part to my time on the 9mm I suppose. The nice thing about the CZ kit is it will shoot any type of .22 ammo you throw at it. Some of the kits can be very ammo specific.

I am not ssure practicing with a .22lr helps you much when you move up to the 9MM. The absence of recoil can hide a lot of sins which become magnifed when you pick up the 9MM. The .22's though are fun to shoot and ammo is inexpemsive.

Take Care

Bob
 
NaviDave said:
I bought a Glock 22 and will be purchasing an IGB 40-9 conversion barrel. I also have a G19 for the wife to use. I will be loading up 9mm lead cast for 5-6 cents each (same cost as .22lr).

I don't plan to hand load much .40cal due to guppy bellies on a lot of 1F brass. Redding does have a push through sizer that should correct - but I am not sure how safe the end product ...
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You can get a die that will eliminate the bulge. I can't remember the proper name, but I think it's a crimp die. I bought one in 9mm because I got the Glock bulge on brass coming out of my G17. Put your loaded round in the die and it takes the bulge out. No muss, no fuss, and they are perfectly safe.
 
Skip all the pussy rounds and get a .45ACP

I can't help but feel the need to wash my hands after coming in contact with 9mm or .40S&W rounds...need to get the ### off!!!

FLAME SUIT...IN-GAUGE!!!
 
Chuckbuster said:
You can get a die that will eliminate the bulge. I can't remember the proper name, but I think it's a crimp die. I bought one in 9mm because I got the Glock bulge on brass coming out of my G17. Put your loaded round in the die and it takes the bulge out. No muss, no fuss, and they are perfectly safe.
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Lee calls theirs the "Bulge Buster" http://leeprecision.com/bulge-buster-kit.html

It is important to note, that the "Bulge" isn't the only issue with a factory Glock barrel. The chamber specs are actually looser to insure reliability with a wider variety of ammo, and allow rounds to chamber even if they are contaminated. This means the cases will be stretched more upon firing, which "works" the brass more, and means that some dies may not be wide enough at the mouth to even begin resizing. You can however buy an aftermarket barrel with standard specs which will be tighter and eliminate the problem. FWIW.
 
Fine print:

Glock Cases: We do not recommend "fixing" cases fired in pistols with unsupported chambers, because there is no way to make them safe once they have bulged. The case wall is thinned where it bulges, and resizing the outside of the case back down to the correct diameter does not restore the case back to its original thickness. If this case is fired in a pistol with an unsupported chamber again, and this thinned section of brass happens to line up with the unsupported part of the chamber, there is a high probability that the case will rupture.

9mm is a better first calibre if you plan to reload or shoot reloads.
 
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