9mm: Pathetic or Awesome

[TXDMERC73]

i voted awesome cuz i can drop more flies with a 9mm then the .40 or .45 needed in a zombie invasion

[RocketFoot]

I carry a 9mm with 15 rounds of Ranger HST's...if I ever have to use it in self defense, some bad guy is gonna have a REAL bad day!

[eXceLon]

Everyone either says it's underpowered and pathetic or its accurate and awesome. I know ex-marines that bitterly resented their M9s. I know ex-servicemen and women (police, armed forces) that loved them. WTF?

As much as we respect the opinion of those who serve, the reality is that even extensive first hand experience is insufficient to make such a determination. You'd have to have a single individual who had shot hundreds of assailants with both rounds, and kept detailed statistics of shot placement and how quickly the assailant was disabled.

The reality is you'll get people who've seen action who can attest that their 9mm or their .45 have dropped a bad guy in one, and those from both camps who will be able to tell you a story about a bad guy shot with either that kept coming. At the end of the day, it's still unreliable anecdotal evidence.

[24/7dude]

Why do people always think bigger is better? In the right hands the 9mm does the job. That's all that really matters.

Yup. But in the same hands a .45acp will do a better job whereas the 9mm will just do it half assed.

[eXceLon]

Some call "the minimum necessary to get the job done" laziness. I call it efficiency.

[knight0334]

I wouldn't classify the 9mm as pathetic or awesome, it just serves it's purpose. Reasonably inexpensive to shoot, wound channel ballistics aren't much different from the .40S&W or .45ACP when using defensive ammo. Now if were using military required FMJ's - well the bigger bullet from a handgun is critical because expansion not a factor, and energy delivery and damage is solely dependent the bullet's diameter.

[ScaredOnce]

Now if were using military required FMJ's - well the bigger bullet from a handgun is critical because expansion not a factor, and energy delivery and damage is solely dependent the bullet's diameter.

Hydrostatic shock? Fragmentation/deformation intended to cause a sporadic wound channel (tumbling, canoeing)??

[H.E. Pennypacker]

I think 9mm is the best compromise between power, accuracy, and recoil. Not to mention it's the cheapest 'large' caliber semi-auto round, and you can carry more 9mm rounds with you than you could .40 or .45. Semi-autos can only go so far with their ammo - if you're really concerned with powaaaaahhh, get a revolver.

[Glockman]

9mm FMJ not very effective.

give it a well designed expanding bullet and load it full power (460-500) foot pounds and it is awesome.

FED 9BPLE or Corbon 100 grain powrball or buffalo Bore 115 +p+

[knight0334]

Hydrostatic shock? Fragmentation/deformation intended to cause a sporadic wound channel (tumbling, canoeing)??

The energy levels between the .45acp, 40S&W, and 9mm are close enough to not even factor. Theres a few gel block images floating around the 'net to show how similar the results are between the 3. Its not like the energy differences between a .44mag and a .38spl to cause such vast differences in hydrostatic shock. Tumbling/canoeing/etc cant be relied on to provide delivery of energy or damages, but with any slug from any caliber they could skew the results when doing comparisons.

Fragmentation/deformation - FMJ's dont deform/frag much at all, even when shooting into things much much harder than human flesh and bone. Theres a .45 ACP slug sitting on my dresser right now that I dug out of a dirt bank after putting it though some oak planks. I'm almost certain I could load it up and shoot it again. Now had we been discuss the 5.56 and its relatively thin jacket versus it's energy levels - fragmentation could be an implied factor.