9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

I'm looking to buy a handgun for self defense. I can't decide between 9mm and 45. I'm planning to get a Glock because of their reliability and affordability. But if you think something else is better, post it.

I'm not an experinced shooter, and I don't plan on spending a huge amount of time practicing.

I'm assuming the 9mm is easier to shoot, but the 45 has better stopping power. Is this correct? Are there any other factors to take into account? What's the difference in price for the ammo?

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

9mm has higher capacity magazines.

"Stopping power" is largely irrelevent when you have 18 rounds in the gun.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

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I'm looking to buy a handgun for getting myself into mess I really wished I would not have gotten myself into

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Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

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I'm looking to buy a handgun for getting myself into mess I really wished I would not have gotten myself into

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What the [censored] does this mean.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

Glock 30 is everything you could ever want in a handgun. 10 rounds of .45 caliber stopping power, 100% reliability, and extreme accuracy out of the box.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

Hey, it took until the 2nd reply for this to turn into an anti-gun thread!

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

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I'm looking to buy a handgun for getting myself into mess I really wished I would not have gotten myself into

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What the [censored] does this mean.

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Just ignore it. Anti-gun claptrap. If you rise to it NT! will (rightly) move your thread to Politics. You don't want that, do you?

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

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I'm assuming the 9mm is easier to shoot, but the 45 has better stopping power. Is this correct? Are there any other factors to take into account? What's the difference in price for the ammo?

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Yes, 9mm is easier to shoot. As far as stopping power, for home defense its not going to make a huge difference. If you don't plan on practicing, you may not even be accurate enough with the .45 to hit an intruder anyway. 9mm ammo is going to be MUCH cheaper, and you can find some pretty wicked rounds.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

The difference in price in ammo can be notable, especially since the military uses so much 9 mm you can get it as surplus.

45 has much greater stopping power, but has the downside of being more likely to penetrate walls and shoot someone a room or two over or across the street. This can be a significant consideration if you have kids or just don't want to kill the neighbors.

9 mm is easier to shoot because there is less recoil, but the .45's are more fun. There are endless after-market modifications for .45's, too, and plenty of places with a huge amount of experience accurizing them. There's that for 9 mm's as well, but the options for .45's seem endless.

You might want to ask yourself too, what kind of action do you want, single or double? That might figure into what you buy.

Re not spending a huge amount of time practicing, you might want to reconsider. You will probably be much better at self-defense if handling your gun becomes second nature to you. It's hard to afford lots of practice, though, but you can still get in a lot of practice extremely cheaply if you buy a .22 pistol as well. It's great and non-intimidating to learn on .22's. And many are extremely accurate. Fun at the range, awesome to go out "plinking" with in the woods -- set up some cans to shoot, or just shoot at some random rocks or branches, whatever.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

Seriously I'd prolly get a 40.

As far as which one that depends on many things. The best thing to do is find a range that rents guns and try em out.

A few to look at :

Walther P99
Glock 23
Glock 27
H&k 40 compact
SigSauer P229
SigSauer P239


There are still many more that are of high quality. The list of what to stay away from is smaller than what's of good quality.

But to answer your question if I was buying for myself a 45 I'd get a Glock 30 (which is a 45)

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

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9mm has higher capacity magazines.

"Stopping power" is largely irrelevent when you have 18 rounds in the gun.

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I wouldn't go that far. If you're being shot at too, you need to land your hits firstest and mostest. Plus, you don't want to shoot up the neighborhood, especially if you have kids in the house.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

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9mm ammo is going to be MUCH cheaper

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This is an important consideration if you plan to practice at the range a lot. .45 ball ammo is expensive as hell.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

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You might want to ask yourself too, what kind of action do you want, single or double?

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What's the difference?

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

I'd go with a .50 cal that lights up the night so you can see what you just shot.

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h8...ightfiring.jpg

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

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I'd go with a .50 cal that lights up the night so you can see what you just shot.

http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h8...ightfiring.jpg

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I have shot one of these, gave me a good jolt. If you fired one indoors without ear protection you would be deaf for a good while.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

" Glock 30 is everything you could ever want in a handgun. 10 rounds of .45 caliber stopping power, 100% reliability, and extreme accuracy out of the box. "

How much maintenance is required for something like this?

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

Just what it says. Me being european, I honestly don't understand what makes people buy a gun for self-defense. Must be cultural or something.

I am convinced that walking around with a gun, or having a gun at your direct disposal gets a lot of people into a mess.
When one does not have the gun at his or her disposal one might be more prudent in iffy situations.

Don't get me wrong, I am not judging you. I was in the States (I presume you are from the United States) myself two years ago, and my late uncle took me to a shooting range to shoot clay pigeons, which was great fun.

I was baffled though when on the right side of where we stood there were some dudes shooting with high tech rifles at targets pretty far away. I got into a convo with one of them, and when I asked them what else they would shoot at, they told me they would go hunting with them.
With a rifle that pops you a third eye at a distance of a mile prolly.

I honestly have a hard time understanding this part of american society, and I am on of those persons that thinks that the more guns are out there, the more people will get into a mess thanks to them.

Anyway, not trying to hijack your thread, and certainly not trying to make this a political thread, nor a Europe vs. USA thread.

Out of curiosity, you state you want this gun for self defense, is there any situation in your surroundings that might provoke having to defend yourself?

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

Meh mere guns are for pussies.

What if a robber or even pirates comes packing a tank. What if there is a societal breakdown and everything becomes mad max esque:

Panzerfaust 3.

Tina Turner aint gona feck with you if you have one of these babies.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

Oh yeah. Don't buy a 9mm or a .45 at all if you're not going to spend a lot of time on maintenance. Lots of moving parts FTL. Get a revolver, like a .38 or .357.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

pm phill s. he knows his guns.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

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" Glock 30 is everything you could ever want in a handgun. 10 rounds of .45 caliber stopping power, 100% reliability, and extreme accuracy out of the box. "

How much maintenance is required for something like this?

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There are videos around of people who dropped one in a bucket of sandy mud for a month, dragged it behind a car for 50 miles, dropped it out of an airplane, then racked the slide and shot 10 rounds. You don't even have to clean a Glock, they are manufactured to work forever with no maintenance. If you like the insides all shiny, you can clean and lube it every time you shoot. I can show you how to field strip a Glock in 5 seconds, then you just put a drop of oil on the rails and snap it back together.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

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I'm looking to buy a handgun for self defense

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A shotgun is a helluva lot more effective

Or are you trying to be a tough guy and carry it w/ you?

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

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Meh mere guns are for pussies.

What if a robber or even pirates comes packing a tank. What if there is a societal breakdown and everything becomes mad max esque:

Panzerfaust 3.

Tina Turner aint gona feck with you if you have one of these babies.

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Thanks for the tip. Just ordered a brace of them for the compound.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

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You might want to ask yourself too, what kind of action do you want, single or double?

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What's the difference?

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From Wiki:

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Standard modern semi-automatic pistols are usually double action (DA), also sometimes known as double-action/single-action (DA/SA.) In this design, the hammer or striker may be either thumb-cocked or activated by pulling the trigger when firing the first shot. The hammer or striker is re-cocked automatically during each firing cycle. In double-action (DA) pistols, the first pull of the trigger requires roughly twice as much pressure as subsequent firings, since the first pull of the trigger also [censored] the hammer (if not already cocked by hand). The Beretta 92F/FS, a full-sized, service, semi-automatic pistol is an example of this style of action. A common mode of carry for DA semi-automatic pistols is with the magazine full, a round chambered, and the gun holstered and uncocked with the external safety unengaged or off. An alternative carry mode, and the mode often used after firing just one or two cartridges, is with the magazine partially full, a round chambered, and the gun holstered, and cocked with the external safety engaged or on.

In contrast, a single-action (SA), semi-automatic pistol must be cocked by first operating the slide or bolt, or, if a round is already chambered, by cocking the hammer manually. The famed Colt M1911 is an example of this style of action. All SA semi-automatic pistols exhibit this feature, and automatically [censored] the hammer when the slide is first "racked" to chamber a round. The normal mode of carrying an SA semi-automatic pistol is Condition 1, popularly known as cocked and locked (see photo of Springfield Armory M1911A1 above). Condition 1 (a term popularized by Colonel Jeff Cooper) refers to having the magazine full, a round chambered, the hammer fully cocked, and the thumb safety engaged or on, at least for right-handed users. For many single-action, semi-automatic pistols, this procedure works well only for right-handed users, as the thumb safety is located on the left side of pistol and is easily accessible only for those who are holding the pistol in the right hand.

On many SA semi-automatic pistols, there is also a hammer position known as "half-cocked.". Squeezing the trigger will not fire the gun when it is in the half-cocked position, and neither will dropping the gun in this state cause an accidental discharge. During WWII in the Pacific Theater, an unofficial and unapproved carry mode for the SA M1911 by left-handed US soldiers in combat was carrying the gun with the magazine full, a round chambered, the action in half-cocked position, and the thumb safety (accessible only to right-handed users) positioned in the off (or ready-to-fire) mode. The primary advantage of the half-cocked position versus the uncocked position in that particular scenario was added sound suppression, a secondary advantage being the avoidance of accidental discharges if the gun were accidentally dropped. Cocking the gun from uncocked to fully cocked was much noisier than turning the safety off for right-handed users, or cocking the gun from half cocked to fully cocked for left-handed users. In general, however, single-action, semi-automatic pistols should never be carried cocked with the safety off. Many modern SA semi-automatic pistols have had their safety mechanisms redesigned to provide a thumb safety on both sides of the pistol, thereby better meeting the needs of left-handed as well as right-handed users.


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In double-actions, the first shot can require so much more force than the subsequent shots as to change your grip or style of shooting. It has also been said that they are not as safe as single actions that have their hammer cocked but their safety on. (Jeff Cooper, et al.)

I used to have a single-action 9 mm, the CZ-9 I think it was? Czech gun. I think Cooper said it was the best 9 mm made, at least partially because it was single-action. There are lots of people who are not fans of double-action semi-autos. Since the beretta 9 mm became a standard sidearm in the armed forces, though, more people have gotten used to double-action, and the 9 mm cartridge, and both are a lot more popular than they used to be.

A consideration also is, if married or whatever, if you want your wife or girlfriend to be able to use your gun in self defense too. A big heavy gun may be too intimidating for her to use, and hard for her to control without a whole lot of practice. And one that requires a heavy first trigger pull, like a double-action, may not be ideal either. Plus, you have to account for hand size.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

TDouble, you had me until tough guy.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

Blarg,

The guy is looking for clarification, not obfuscation.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

Stop being negative. Or at least be particular. Otherwise shut up.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

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Stop being negative.

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no.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

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" Glock 30 is everything you could ever want in a handgun. 10 rounds of .45 caliber stopping power, 100% reliability, and extreme accuracy out of the box. "

How much maintenance is required for something like this?

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Very little.

I've owned and carried many guns. The Glock 30 is one of my favs. But I hesitate to say that because there are so many quality guns where it boils down to what fits best, which one you shoot best, and whether you want DAO(double action only), SA(single action), or DA/SA(double action/single action).

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

Well there are a couple of things to consider here. If the gun is strictly for home defense then my recommendation would be a mossburg pistol grip 12 gauge shotgun, as it is what I have next to my bed. Very easy to shoot, just point and pull the trigger. However if your looking for outside the home protection go with the glock 9mm like people have previously mentioned for ease of use and low cost.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

NoPo, you would recommend a pistol grip 12 gauge to a guy who has perhaps never even shot a gun?

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

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Well there are a couple of things to consider here. If the gun is strictly for home defense then my recommendation would be a mossburg pistol grip 12 gauge shotgun, as it is what I have next to my bed. Very easy to shoot, just point and pull the trigger. However if your looking for outside the home protection go with the glock 9mm like people have previously mentioned for ease of use and low cost.

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That's actually a pretty good point. I'm not sure I'd go with the pistol grip though.

One thing people bring up when talking about guns is saying "X" gun kicks too much.

One thing I feel very confident about is if you ever had to use it for fear of your life you wouldn't even feel the kick.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

http://kipin.net/images/walther.jpg

I have this gun (Walther P99 QA model) and I gotta say its a pretty sweet gun.

Very simple to break down, holds 15 rounds of 9mm, and has some cool features not found on a lot of other guns. (Striker fired (walther) vs. hammer fired (almost all other guns)).

It is also very reliable, and has never jammed on me.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

"I have this gun (Walther P99 QA model) and I gotta say its a pretty sweet gun.

Very simple to break down, holds 15 rounds of 9mm, and has some cool features not found on a lot of other guns. (Striker fired (walther) vs. hammer fired (almost all other guns)).

It is also very reliable, and has never jammed on me."

It also has 3 diff rear straps to fit your hand best. Pretty sweet gun IMHO

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

id get a glock 19. 9mm never jams and you can leave it in your drawer and it will be fine. just remember it doesnt have a safety other than the little one on the trigger. all guns you buy must be practiced with or you might do more harm to yourself than any intruder.
other choice is a 357 revolver. shoots both 357 and 38 special. easist to use and very safe with simple care.
both these guns are easy to carry and safe if handled properly.

the bigger the caliber the less likely you will hit what you are shooting at. and hitting is much more important than the extra energy from a bigger bullet.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

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NoPo, you would recommend a pistol grip 12 gauge to a guy who has perhaps never even shot a gun?

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I would because when you make the decision to purchase a gun, the very first thing you need to do is familiarize yourself with this gun. You do this by immediately making time to go and shoot this gun, clean the gun, practice getting it ready to shoot with your eyes closed (this will seriously help you if say your house happens to get broken into at night because it is dark). If you are not willing to take all of these steps to familiarize yourself with your guns then honestly you should not own them. Gun ownership is as much of a set of responsibilities as it is a constitutional right. Oh, and the gun does not kick that bad. My wife shoots it with no problems and she is a little 5'6" 130lber.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

I have a glock 23 (40 cal) and it's a great weapon.

However, for home defense, a revolver (S & W .357) is best. You pull the trigger, it goes bang. That's what I want by my bed at night.

Also, glocks have pretty light triggers, and many people don't like that around the house, and probably with good reason.

Load hollow points no matter what caliber you get.

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

I prefer wheel guns but the one auto that I own is a Glock 27 (.40S&W). With the extended magazine it holds 11+1 and is very comfortable in your hand.

I have had 9mm's and .45's in the past and prefer the .40 as nice mix of ballistic performance and shootability

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

you guys with shotguns next to your beds - where do you put them? propped up in the corner?

Re: 9mm vs. .45 ACP
 

I'm not an experinced shooter, and I don't plan on spending a huge amount of time practicing.




Do yourself a favor and dont get a gun then, this is like saying "Im going to try and fly a plane tommorow, but I dont need to learn how or practice".




For the house, I have a Remington pistol grip shotgun, that I got from a guy that owns a pawnshop, I shoot it regularily, it also has a flashlight. I have a hook behind my "headboard" of my bed, where I keep the shot gun, and a clip of shells.


I dont carry, but if I did Id go with a smith and wesson 640, with no external hammer. revolvers are the best for newbs becuase they are so easy to use, and its just easier to tell if you have bullets in the gun, plus no hammer means you wont get it caught on anything pulling it out.