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Carry Calibers: .40 S&W Vs. .45 ACP Vs. 9mm

youngolddude said:
.380 acp and 9mm Parabellum use .355" bullets, 9mm Makarov use .363-365" bullets. None of them use .380" bullets.
His 158 gr. 45 acp bullet comment is likely misstated since 180-230 gr. bullets are much more common than a bullet of that size.
I enjoy reading about guns and related content but accuracy, spelling and grammar give me more confidence in the source. YMMV
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The 158gr .45 is most likely a transposed 185gr…lazy proofreading.

And…9mm and .380 share a common bore diameter, and you can, if desired use bullets normally used for .380 (ie, 90-107gr) to make a very lightweight 9mm load.

A buddy loaded some 107gr Golden Sabers in 9mm, and they were seriously overdriven…iirc, he was getting close to 1500fps..(been a long time since we did it, so memory might be a bit off).

Then again, did a quick search; here’s a commercial 9mm load with a 95gr JSP clocking at 1350, so…

9mm Luger 95GR JSP Flat w/o Grooves - Magtech

Click to know all the key informations about 9mm Luger 95GR JSP Flat w/o Grooves
magtechammunition.com magtechammunition.com
 
While we're at it, .40 converts to 10.16MM. But .40 S&W and 10MM are the same diameter. So as with many rounds, some rounding error for various reasons is there. But 10MM is a longer case than .40 S&W, meaning more powder and a heavier bullet.

Yes, you can fit a .40 S&W in a 10MM chamber and fire it. Obviously vice-a-versa won't work, you can't close in battery on longer cartridge in the shorter chamber.

Seen debates on how safe it is to do this, haven't heard any stories of someone getting hurt yet, that doesn't mean it's safe, just means chances are, you can get away with it if you try it.

Not to go off topic and down a rabbit hole, but that is the same with the 5.56MM vs .223 debate. And I'm not the only one with a conversion bolt that can be swapped in/out in less than a minute to shoot .22 LR out of my AR-15. I believe .22 LR is .001" less or more than 5.56/.223.
 
This article was written in 2005.


In 2013 I decided to consolidate all my handguns to one caliber.
I decided to limit myself to guns that were on my Employers approved list.

In my city security guards are only allowed to carry a 9mm or a .40 S&W semiautomatic. Revolvers can be .357 Magnum or .38 Special.

Revolvers weren't on my employer's list. So I had to pick between 9mm and .40 S&W.

My wife can't shoot .40 S&W. So I really didn't have a choice but I'm confident that 9mm from a reputable manufacturer will preform just as barely adequately as any other handgun ammunition.
 
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I've seen it claimed several times, the reason the Military went from 7.62MM to 5.56MM was because 5.56 as still a deadly round and servicemen could carry twice as many rounds.

The military going from .45ACP to 9MM may simply be because NATO uses 9MM and there is no NATO .45ACP. But the same logic is there, 9mm is still a deadly round and compare the M1911A1 to the M9, it had more than twice number of rounds in the magazine.
 
RickAnderson said:
I've seen it claimed several times, the reason the Military went from 7.62MM to 5.56MM was because 5.56 as still a deadly round and servicemen could carry twice as many rounds.

The military going from .45ACP to 9MM may simply be because NATO uses 9MM and there is no NATO .45ACP. But the same logic is there, 9mm is still a deadly round and compare the M1911A1 to the M9, it had more than twice number of rounds in the magazine.
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I've read that the change from .45 to 9mm was made because the 9mm had better penetration, was cheaper to buy and the pistols had higher capacity. Of course, if they're cheaper to buy then they're cheaper (and more profitable) to produce - not that I would ever think that any of those extra profits would've found their way to play any part in ANY military spending decisions ...
 
Now that my Hellcat Pro is fine tuned I will be carrying more 9mm for EDC
Barnes TAC XPD 115gr or
Federal HST 147gr
I will carry my Commander 45acp occasionally for EDC
Speer Gold Dot 185gr
 
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