Downsizers anonymous: .45 --> 9mm

[FJW]

First thing, GET IT STRAIGHT...I'm not attempting to start your typical .45 vs 9mm debate here. I know it will be somewhat hard for some of you.

What I want to focus on here is the experience of people who have in fact carried .45 ACP as their main caliber of choice for SD and quite possibly still like the caliber greatly...but for whatever reason have decided to switch to 9x19 for EDC.

My first SD pistol was a .45 and I've carried it religiously for 2 years. I love the caliber, regardless of the capacity limitation it has. But recently because of the "summer thing" I went and bought a very compact 9mm Luger pistol...which has unfortunately fallen into a kind of love-triangle between me and the .45! ;-)

I would still prefer a ballsy "faster" +P .45 caliber round with superior mushrooming capability for ending some kind of bad experience with someone armed and dangerous...but this little 9mm is so-o-o-o concealable compared to my .45! A true pocket gun. And it takes 10 rounds at the bare mínimum and 32 rounds at the max! 12, 15, 17 and 20 rounds are some of the more typical mags. Maybe some of you connossieurs are already guessing what I bought. It's got a tighter-than-St.Mary's-blessed-vagina trigger by reputation, but honestly...my 110lb wife thinks it's no big deal. She tried it tonight and told me so. And that's what finally prompted me to write about it.

Tight trigger aside, I can just imagine a mall shooter's expression when he finds that Joe Shmoe the Sears shopper is holding him off with 80 rounds of 9mm from a tiny handgun no bigger than an Android smartphone. Hell, I was even considering buying a second one of these!

I've become so enamored at the thought of carrying a tiny versatile 9 like this, that I'm beginning to consider just making my .45 my backup gun!! Part of this reasoning is something that happened at the Pittsburgh Zoo recently. There was this little kid, see, who was eaten alive by wild dogs which were part of a zoo exhibit. I have a 5 year old son, and that story just changed me forever, especially when we live just a 15 minutes from the zoo. 11 dogs chewed up that little boy. 11!! And while I think a .45 is more likely to shut a canine assailant up, it may take 2 shots to make your statement, and after those 2, most .45 ACP pistols are just left with 5 or 6 shots. With 10 dogs left to go, you'd better start counting your blessings. If you were to jump in there with the dogs and the boy, you'd be shooting at point-range...and I think most SD situations involving a human perp are likely to fall in that category as well. So why do you need a .45? Is it really that much better when you're sacrficing so many rounds? ? I also like to take my family camping. I know full well that some day I could run into a bear which could be agitated or territorial, and in some rare case I might need to put it down before it attacked a family member or friend or ME. From what I've read, .45 ACP is by no means as ideal as a .357 for this...but it will likely do the job if the bear isn't some 800lb west-coast maneater. Maybe a 9mm into the ear canal of an attacking bear is a perfectly viable solution.

So, keeping these things in mind, who has switched from .45 ACP to 9mm Luger for EDC...and why?

[TXDMERC73]

its cheaper and more accurate to shoot and i like the less recoil and more bullet capacity.

a high cap .45 is like carrying a desert eagle.....

[Mitch10mm]

I used to carry 1911s , either in 45 or 10mm. I switched to a G19.

[amnesia]

I used to carry 1911s , either in 45 or 10mm. I switched to a G19.

I petition your name to be changed to mitch9mm!

[spacemanvic]

I LOVE my 1911. But it wrecks hell on my hips (I have a bad back) when I wear it on my days off. Darn thing weighs a ton, as does the extra mag. I was able to conceal my 1911 without issue, but by the end of the day, back hurt and leg felt like it popped out of its socket.

So, I went with a Glock 26 as my EDC. Compact lil fella. I went with 2 G19 mags for 15rd lovin and add this with my Kershaw, Im good to go.

I still have my 1911, and am very accurate with it (more so than with the Glock), but for everyday summer carry, I needed a lighter option.

[Gripsafety]

I used to carry 1911s , either in 45 or 10mm. I switched to a G19.

Be careful, my friend claims to have had his brother kidnapped and de-programmed for doing that.

[FJW]

I kind of figured the posts would start coming quickly! Thanks, guys. But not too many people are talking about what actually made them make the switch. Cheaper ammo was mentioned. Ok. But is this to say you actually said to yourself, "Damn, I'm spending so much to feed this .45! I'd better go with a 9" ...or did you buy a 9 just to try it and kind of fall in love with it the way I did? Like I said, my excuse was that I needed something for summer-carry. My Bersa ultra-compact .45 really ALMOST makes the grade for year-round EDC. I carried it all last summer, but I admit it was a little clunky. I just bought a NIB Kel-Tec P11 (what I was hinting at in my opening post). It will take S&W 59-series mags which can be had all the way up to 30 rounds. I just ordered a 30rd mag, in fact. Unfortunately I won't be able to test it for awhile due to the 6 round rule at the state range.

Anyway, I really want to hear the personal circumstances behind what made you "downsizers" switch calibers. In my case it was that Bersa clunking around while I was wearing light gym shorts, and wearing slightly oversized shirts to conceal it. The fact that I was wearing a belt loosely around my waist in some cases added some awkwardness as well, but it still worked.

[*Klutch*]

I didn't switch to 9from anything I've always preferred it for carry. I shoot it the best and typically there's a good amount of capacity in just about every double stack 9mm out there. I got away from any of the single stack guns or snub nose revolvers due to the mass shootings that were happening and pretty much carried either a glock19 or m&p9c while I lived in Florida. Crime was definitely more prevelent there then here so it made me feel safer to carry something more than a deterant. But after I moved back to pa I was feeling like I developed a gun fighters mentality having to have enough ammo to carry I case I'm attacked by several assailants. But then logic came aboard and said you not a gunfighter and just a civilian and the chances if you having to pull your firearm let alone use it to protect your life are very slim. So I got a nice Ruger LCR and I've been carrying that for the summer cause I don't like pocket 380s much; and I always have an extra speed strip with me for a reload and that gives me 10 rounds of +p 38. But to be honest I do feel under gunned sometimes with it when I go somewhere new or outside my normal jurisdiction. Not because I don't think it's adequate enough but I'm not as proficient with it as I am with my 9mm. I also think that 10 rounds may not be enough for all situations due to the fact of I don't know what the situation will be; and under stress in a life threatening situation will I hit what I'm aiming at? So I am considering a smaller 9mm like an m&p9c to give me 12-13 rounds plus a reload that can happen much faster in any conflict.
Now jumping into the pit with wild dogs to rescue my son?? It wouldn't matter what I was carrying cause I would squeeze til I was empty and then go for the knife to get them off him even if it meant my life my son would live. I don't believe in the great caliber debate as much as I do in training with what you have to be good enough to be protect your life as well as your family. I do however believe more is better for some situations because if the stress factor and you will miss more than once. Just my opinion though which is worth less than my shirt.

[*Klutch*]

Something else I want to mention is comfort. I think we hear that word and think comfortable instead of comforting. A comfy gun to have on you all day is great unless you get into a situation like the zoo then you would rather be carrying an AK with 100 round drum and two extras on your weak side. Carrying a gun for self defense should be comforting so that if your life or the life of your loved ones is in danger you have the means to protect it and be able to go home in the aftermath. Being able to hug your son in the ER vs watching him be torn apart is where the comfort should be looked at.

[philadelphia patriot]

I switched from Glock 30sf to Glock 19 and Ruger SR40c then to Ruger SR9c. For me I liked the ergonomics, reliability, accuracy, ability to carry 10+1 or 17+1 and looks of the Ruger SR9c. I did just order a Glock 30s to carry in more "undesirable areas", but my SR9c will still remain my primary EDC.