Should I stay with 40 or switch to 9mm????

Thinking of switching calibers from 40 to 9. Ill have it as my CCW and as a all around shooter. What would you do??

Why?

cheaper to shoot

Me, I'd stay with the .40

Do it.

How much do you shoot, and how much would it cost you to make the switch? How many rounds would it take you to make up the difference in cost, and how many years would it take you to shoot that many rounds?

Heck, just get a decent .22. Shoot it to your heart's content and don't worry about the ammo cost.

Look at ballistics on both calibers. I prefer 40 cal. The 9mm is cheaper to shoot but I'd stick with the 40 cal.

Police departments have spent the last 8-10 years going mainly from 9mm to 40 so it seems like you'd be going the wrong way from a defensive ability perspective. (Since it's your carry gun I would assume this would be the most important)

Here's an interesting link that lists several departments across the country and what they use:
http://www.realpolice.net/forums/firearms-4/22684-agency-issue-very-long.html

But if you do switch at least make sure you're loading the premium ammo to help make up the difference.

I would also stick with the .40 for your carry gun

most shooting and practice can be used with smaller and less expensive ammunition, learning gun safety and muscle memory

but you need to shoot what you carry
I like to go out and shoot my .22lr but always follow up with my .40

My chl instructor (police officer) had nothing but bad things to say about 9mm but some others swear by them. Mainly its what is comfortable for you and noone else. Can you handle the recoil? Which gun can you follow up with quicker shots on target? etc..

Yes, you CAN use a .22 as your concealed carry weapon. You cannot use it to qualify for the shooting portion of your testing, but you can certainly legally carry one after you have your permit. Regulations for the qualification test only stipulate that minimum qualification test weapon be of .380 caliber minimum. This does not limit you to actually carrying something .380 or larger.

Having said that, I would not particularly recommend carrying anything less than a .380. However, I have been known to slip a .22 auto in a pocket of athletic shorts. A .22 beats the heck out of nothing if you need one.

Depends on what your looking at. If you just looking a 9 vs 40, 40 has the upper hand, but when you look at terminal ballistics of a good defense 40s&w vs a good 9mm +P (especially +p+) the difference isn't gonna make a good or bad placed shot more or less effective.

If you look at LEO shooting stats the hit % rate hasn't gotten better with the switch from 9mm to 40. In fact for some agencies it's gotten worse.

A Ranger told me that the national average for LEO involved shootings is 35% hit rate. Only 35%

9mm has been around longer than a 40 S&W, fought in numerous wars/conflicts.
It can and will do the job intended IF and ONLY IF you put the bullet in the right place.
Premium Ammo, Gold Dot 124gr JHP +P.

Larger calibre is not the answer for a sloppy sight/shot

I would make the switch. Not because of cost, because of confidence and improved accuracy. 9mm is fine

Considering most LE shooting scenarios occur under the worst possible shooting conditions, I'm not surprised at the low percentage. I wonder how that compares with military and such?

I moved from 40 cal. to 9mm because I wanted a smaller gun. My .40 was a big one and I wanted a medium sized pistol so it was a good time to change cartridges too.

I like them both but I carry a 40 on a daily basis. (glock 23), to me they both shoot great. In a defense scenario I would stay with 40 cause it has that extra ump to it. But you can take care of someone with a 22... Its all about shot placment! work on your shooting skills and it wont matter what you carry.

.40

.40...or upgrade to .45 ACP..

X2

The way premium 40's work, I'm not sure anymore a 45 is Top Dog.
40 Cal 180 GDHP is very formidable. Expansion and penetration, where the 45 will penetrate, but not always expand well.

Fixed it for ya' RW!

+1

hmm, thats still pretty much same size gun, only differance is double vs single stack, and 40 holds less then 9

I used to carry my .40 S&W Glock, but there were times when it just wasn't practical or comfortable even after trying just about all types of holsters.

I now carry a .380 Keltec in a pocket holster and it goes with me everywhere and it doesn't matter what or how lightly I'm dressed.

Bottom line if it isn't comfortable you won't wear it, and that small percentage of time you don't is when you might need it.

As for as my bullet makes a bigger hole than your bullet argument.

I feel perfectly secure with that .380 and show me anyone that would rather get shot in the head with the .380 than the .45 and I'll show you a fool.

I think you may have enough replies, but I'll throw my opinions around too.

I've never understood why people think a 40 is vastly superior to a 9. Personally, not ever being LEO or planning on being one, I think the 9 will more that fit my need in a caliber for CCW. The main point being to make a bunch of noise to either exscape or have that bastard fun. If my real intent was true knockdown power, then I would skip right on over to the big boy 45, which is my night stand gun. And for thsoe who think a 40 is not "that much more" than 9mm, go to Wally and price it out. After over 7k rounds, I'm sure I have saved a ton of money in ammo.

Actually that's pretty generous. NYPD hit rate hovers around 20% and has trended downward over the years. The 9mm has less flash at night and is much quicker for followup shots. If you can get them the 147+P HP's approach 357 Sig ballistics.

I dunno, but I see the whole "9mm vs. .40" thing as a ".38 vs. .357 mag" thing. The big advantage with a nine used to be mag capacity, but now mag capacity with the .40's is upwards of 15 or 16. It really all depends on what you are comfortable with and shoot well. For me, it's a toss up, so I'll err on the larger side with the .40.

Hand size seems to be the determining factor for me. I can carry 8 rounds in my 45's or 14 in my Hi-Powers and have no problem with the grip being too large. My 239 Sig is about perfect but limited on capacity but the Hi-Powers are probably the best feeling of them all. Double stack 40"s are just too wide for my hands. And anybody who thinks a 22 is useless as a defense weapon needs to think twice. 6 shots from a 2 1/2 inch RG and you have 4 people down.

Interesting, an untrained nutcase with a hit % higher than the best LEO agency using the best of weapons.

There's a big difference between staging an ambush and firing into a group of people and taking out one hostile target trying to avoid collateral damage. That's the difference in the percentage.

Shooting is shooting. Chances are Hinckley had such tunnel vision in the process he would have trouble identifying his primary target after the first shot or even before he started firing. It's a very common phenomena in shooting, he had to figure he wasn't going to survive the event.

Right, but he only got one round into his target (Reagan). The others were likely just random hits. 1 for 6 looks like less than 20% to me.

FROM WIKIPEDIA: ... Hinckley fired a Röhm RG-14 .22 cal. blue steel revolver six times in 1.7 seconds missing the president with all six shots. The first bullet hit White House Press Secretary James Brady in the head. The second hit District of Columbia police officer Thomas Delahanty in the back of his neck as he turned to protect Reagan. Hinckley now had a clear shot at the president, but the third overshot him and hit the window of a building across the street. As Special Agent In Charge Jerry Parr quickly pushed Reagan into the limousine, the fourth hit Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy in the abdomen as he spread his body over Reagan to make himself a target. The fifth hit the bullet-resistant glass of the window on the open side door of the limousine. The sixth and final bullet ricocheted off the armored side of the limousine and hit the president in his left underarm, grazing a rib and lodging in his lung, stopping nearly an inch from his heart"

Looks like he was 0 for 6 in striking his intended target. He "lucked out" with a nearly fatal richocet.

10mm > 380ACP, 9mm, 40SW, 45ACP
10mm trumps all in a semi auto small enough to conceal...

Try again...

10 millimeter = .400 inch < .45ACP = .451 inch

So Premium 40's ALWAYS expand well but Premium 45's don't? You lost me there.

Ok, let me try this again

10mm is > (more powerful) than 380, 9mm, 40SW, 45acp...

Capable of over 750 ftlb of energy. Nothing else in a concealable auto comes close.

Nice try. Yes the 10mm is more powerful and yes, it comes in small guns.

The 10mm has a litany of other problems that keep it from being a viable choice when considering a concealed carry weapon...

First, the OP was thinking of changing from 40 to 9 because it is cheaper to shoot... the 10mm is not cheaper.

Second, weapon selection in a concealable size, unless one has large hands the Glock 29 won't do it. Better selection all around in the other calibers.

Third, recoil is tremendous.

Fourth, accuracy for most people is difficult because of the recoil.

Fifth, follow up shots are slower.

Sixth, pass thru is more apt to jeopardize innocent bystanders.

I am curious what 10mm load will give 750 ft-lbs of energy. I couldn't find one close to that. But if the .45ACP kills 'em dead with 475 ft-lbs, why would you need it? After all, the .44 Magnum has over 850 ft-lbs of energy and can hardly be considered a concealed carry weapon though it does comes in concealable sizes. Well, except by Dirty Harry maybe. Bigger is not always better. Sometimes big enough is... enough.

Neither is a bad choice if you need something. I don't use as much ammo as many other shooters, so cost does not enter into it. I am also the one that feels better having several different caliber guns available...in the recent years I've known folks that reduced their needed calibers. I would rather have a better chance of using whatever ammo I ran across, so I put away several different caliber guns. Just a survivor way of looking at it I quess.

All to say that I like the article in the gun mag years ago, when the very respected author said "best gun to have in a fight, is the one you have with you". Good luck on the decision.

Geez! That’s a great post. If the Big R had been waring just a modicum of body armor he would have gotten off without a scratch.

1600fps/767ftlb
http://www.doubletapammo.com/php/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_25&products_id=45
1400fps/718ftlbs
http://www.doubletapammo.com/php/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=21_25&products_id=34

i made the switch last year g19 is now my duty weapon with 26 as back up
i kept the g22 incase i go somewhere that requires 40 or more
when i started there was a reason to carry 40 but todays 9mm has stepped up

Usually if you are paranoid enough to worry about caliber you have more than one gun anyhows. I think a small pocket gun coupled with a hi cap larger caliber in close proximity is perfect.