Smith & Wesson M&P Compact: 9mm or 40S&W?

**iMoses14** · February 22nd, 2010, 08:43 AM

My brother is lookin' to get a new carry gun. He's already made up his mind on a Smith & Wesson M&P Compact. He just can't figure out if he should get the 9mm or the 40S&W. Which would you get?

**JCF191101** · February 22nd, 2010, 10:08 AM

What caliber is he more of a fan of? That's really all it comes down to. Both are effective. 9mm is a little cheaper to shoot but 40SW ammo is a lot easier to find at the moment. For me, the 9mm was the choice. Any flavor works though.

**S&WM&P40** · February 22nd, 2010, 10:20 AM

If he was to purchase the 40 I believe it can be coverted to a 9 mm after spending a little over $100 for a Storm Lake conversion barrel and buying a 9 mm magazine. I feel it would be better to be able to choose between the two. A 9mm M&P cannot be converted up to a 40 s&w. Most people shoot the 9mm at the range and convert it back to a 40 for carry use. The 9mm barrel that s&w sells will not work though. You have to get a storm lake 9mm converison barrel. There is no need to replace the extractor or spring or other any internal parts. This has been done by many people and a converted 9mm will shoot as flawlessly as the m&p 40 does in it's factory caliber. There is someone on the M&P forums that shoots a converted 9mm in USPSA matches without any problems. Here is a link to a thread talking about converting an m&p to 9mm

http://mp-pistol.com/boards/index.ph...ake+conversion

**rodder** · February 22nd, 2010, 12:50 PM

I own the 9mm and have shot both calibers. This gun was purchased for my wife so I opted for the 9mm because the .40 is pretty snappy in a gun that size. The 9mm was noticably milder. If it was for me and not my wife I would have gone with the .40 for better stopping power.

A big consideration right now would be ammo availability. .40 cal is much easier to find right now than 9mm. Of course the reason for that is 9mm is a more popular caliber, so you could look the availability as either a pro or con.

**Mtbkski** · February 22nd, 2010, 02:11 PM

9mm

I'm sure you heard all the reason why before.

**jcabin** · February 22nd, 2010, 02:15 PM

If he doesn't get the gun in pink what does it matter the caliber?

Now, tell him to buy what he can shoot most accurately and consistently, and what he can afford.

**rovert97** · February 22nd, 2010, 02:28 PM

for me, i wanted to stay with the same caliber i have now with my other pistol.
so i got the 9mm M&P compact. its easy to shoot, accurate, and small to CC without much hassle.

**Orive 8** · February 22nd, 2010, 02:38 PM

My personal opinion is that the 9mm is ideal for small compact guns (If I'm going to carry a full "duty" size gun, I want it in .45, but that's just me.)

In smaller packages the 9 really shines. It is easy to control for multiple, quick and accurate shots.

Easier to control when you are fighting in a degraded condition, i.e. having to use your strong hand only or weak hand only to fire multiple, quick and accurate shots.

Easier to control when you are moving and shooting at a threat that is also moving and shooting at you; so that you can get your multiple, quick and accurate shots on target.

Hey, I’m beginning to see a recurring theme here.

With that said, your brother's skill level is what he needs to accurately evaluate before he makes that decision for himself.

Good luck with his choice