An article advocating 9mm

[ChamberedRound]

An interesting article I found when I was deciding on what caliber pistol to buy:

http://www.greent.com/40Page/ammo/9/9mm-advoc.htm

I'm sure there's plenty of people who'll disagree, but an interesting read nonetheless.

[danp]

Heh, oldest debate in the history of firearm forums.

[billamj]

Personally, I love the 9 and will use it to help train my daughter when she is old enough and my wife if she ever decides she wants to learn. Having said that I have .22s. .357s and .45s that I love as well. You can never have enough toys.

[TonyF]

I know Todd and have trained with him. He's a good guy and I happen to agree in principle. Some units in SOCOM are using winchester's 127 +P+ load and have found it to be extremely effective, so says Ken Hackathorn.

Though it is tough on handguns.

[Farbmeister]

Not a really bigpush for the 9mm.

Fact is that a .22 rimfire will kill you dead.

Cheap ammo? He contridicts himself saying that the PREMUIM 9mm loads are comparible to 'traditional' defense calibures, then quotes bargin basement loads/prices. The good stuff is rarely cheap. HE also didn't list the .45ACP+ rounds also available.

I would own a 9mm... based more on mag capacity than any of the reasons he gave. Isn't there a 9mm with a 17 round mag? That there will get you out of a fight just on volume of fire alone.

My defense gun is a Ruger GP100. Reliability is a priority for defense weapons. I can reload after I give the bad guy 6 reasons to think about his next action. If you are proficient a reloading is a matter of seconds.

[dgg9]

Fact is that a .22 rimfire will kill you dead.

Indeed, but the issue isn't lethality later on; it's incapacitation right now.

Cheap ammo? He contridicts himself saying that the PREMUIM 9mm loads are comparible to 'traditional' defense calibures, then quotes bargin basement loads/prices. The good stuff is rarely cheap.

No contradiction at all. Carry ammo and practice ammo are apples and oranges.

Carry ammo is all generally expensive, but you don't shoot much of that, regardless of caliber, so cost is a relative non-issue.

Practice ammo is the FMJ plinking ammo you go though by the case at the range. That's the stuff you build your skill on and what you want to be able to shoot without the price killing you. Here, price is important and does favor the 9mm strongly.

Isn't there a 9mm with a 17 round mag?

A few, the most well known perhaps being the venerable Glock 17.

That there will get you out of a fight just on volume of fire alone.

Only if you get hits!

Actually, it is true that many criminals will retreat upon seeing incoming rounds, but then I think we can agree caliber doesn't matter much there too.

My defense gun is a Ruger GP100. Reliability is a priority for defense weapons. I can reload after I give the bad guy 6 reasons to think about his next action. If you are proficient a reloading is a matter of seconds.

True, but you have to admit that most revolver shooters don't practice reloading from speed-loaders nearly enough. Also, from what I have seen, not enough of them carry the speed loader pouches.

[ChamberedRound]

Fact is that a .22 rimfire will kill you dead.

Can't argue that.

Cheap ammo? He contridicts himself saying that the PREMUIM 9mm loads are comparible to 'traditional' defense calibures, then quotes bargin basement loads/prices. The good stuff is rarely cheap. HE also didn't list the .45ACP+ rounds also available.

Prices on ALL ammo, regardless of caliber or quality, has gone up recently. All he mentions is that in general, a practice load of 9mm is cheaper than a practice .40 or .45 load, and likewise a defense load of 9mm is cheaper than a defense .40 or .45 load. As far as ballistics, all he compares are premium loads, although it is true he didn't include .45ACP +P in the comparison.

I would own a 9mm... based more on mag capacity than any of the reasons he gave. Isn't there a 9mm with a 17 round mag? That there will get you out of a fight just on volume of fire alone.

Aside from the Glock 17, there's also the S&W M&P9 (which I own).

[jack76590]

The 9mm is a good caliber as is the 38 special. I believe for a new shooter a 9mm semi auto or revolver in 38/357 is an excellent choice. Maybe down the road with experience they will want another caliber, but I bet they will still keep their 9mm. This is not to say that the 9mm does not have a lot to offer for the hardcore shooter either.

This the good old USA you don't have to restrict yourself to one gun. I generally carry a glock 27 in 40, but do a lot of practice with my glock 26 in 9mm with same frame size. Yes I believe the 40 gives adequate trade offs for its increased recoil over the 9mm. But I do not feel uncomfortable carry my glock 26 in 9mm either.

While I can't prove it I tend to think that you can be less careful with your selection of Self Defense ammo in 40 and still get good results. Again just a feeling and larger caliber is a bit of security blanket for me.

[Farbmeister]

As a CO your carry pistol for 'trips' was a .357 (S&W) with .38 cal in it. Not a bad choice but a revolver and its more complicated reloading (many more steps that a pistol).

DOC was supposed to go to Glocks or Barreta's by this time... I don't know what they chose.

But for the once a year 'familiarization' and 'qualification' the .38 was more than adequate to make little holes in a big paper target.

I remember females (and quite a few males) having to 'qualify' 4-6 times before they got enough holes ON the paper.... actually IN the target was not required! It was not unusual to have a shooter with 45 or more holes.. when only issued 40 rounds!

[Archiver]

Capacity is definitely a huge part of the debate.
I just really like the nine also because its cheapest,easy to shoot and levels of accuracy are easily acheived.
Its adequate for defense...The likelyhood of going up against a BG with body armor is minute. As for penetration through cars (reason I've heard given for many LEO depts going to .40) can be handled with hardball spare mag. But seriously, who's gonna be in that position of car penetration EXCEPT Leo?

My wife can also shoot it just as well if not better....a great confidence builder.

In many ways 9mm allieves my greatest fears...not hitting the BG and accidentally hitting somebody other than him.