Which Caliber Would You Keep?

[beast1989]

I have 3 handguns in 3 different calibers right now and I want to consolidate to just two. My .45 1911 is staying of course but out of my two XD's, .40cal and 9mm I just dont know which to keep. On my shortlist of handguns I have Glock, M&P, and maybe a Beretta Px4 which will all be range "toys" in the same caliber. (either 9mm or .40)

Im going to get a reloading rig probably this week and want to reload just two calibers and I figured the cost to reload the .40 vs 9mm will be similar but the savings will obviously differ due to their retail cost.

Out of 9 and .40 which would you keep and why? Do the guns I mentioned above shoot more accurately or feed more reliably in either 9mm or .40? If I did have a ccw I would carry a .40 bc its a compromise between 9mm and .45 but that argument has zero to do with this decision since carrying is not in the cards yet.

 

[aeropb]

All of my automatics are in 45. So I have 1 of my 550s dedicated to 45. My other 550 is for everything else.

 

[RKM]

As much as I am a 40 fan, I would keep the 9mm. It's a nato round and if the SHTF the 9mm is going to be more readily available.

 

[redmax51]

9mm....

 

[JCW355]

What RKM said.

 

[Vamoose]

9mm. Not even a contest.

 

[Tampabucs]

9mm is really cheap to plink with and light on the recoil. However, I ditched my 9mm and just went to all 45. If I have to resort to a pistol for self defense I want to throw a heavy bullet. If I had to choose in your situation the 40 would be out the door. You could stick to the 45 for CCW and you could use the 9mm for target practice. Don't get me wrong, the 9mm would work in a pinch, but I'm just not a big fan of it for self defense.

 

[beast1989]

Reasons why everybody?

Some pro .40 arguments I heard from others is that reloading .40 is more cost effective, .40 is more potent round, or just defaulting to the bigger caliber just in case I did need them for HD situation.

Does anyone know if there is an accuracy difference between the two?

 

[Vamoose]

Well, 9mm is and will be easy to find compared to other calibers and it's cheap enough that you don't have to reload in order to shoot it. Those are my reasons. If you already have a .45 why do you need to concern yourself with a mid-range caliber like .40? 9mm for general goofing around because it's cheap and ubiquitous and .45 if you want to knock the crap out of someone. No need for .40. The only reason for .40 over 9mm is knockdown and you have that covered in spades with the .45.

 

[Dr_Mitch]

The size of the bullet is completely irrelevant for "HD situations" or any situations at all. Shot placement matters. If you have a gun that holds 18 rounds of 9mm you have a drastically larger number of chances to place a shot that will make a positive impact versus a gun that holds 10 rounds. You'll only want more power if you're shooting through windshields or car doors. I'm not sure why you'd say it's cheaper to reload .40S&W than 9mm. You should roll with 9mm. Knockdown power doesn't exist. If knockdown power existed, you'd be thrown to the floor every time you fired a bullet. And that doesn't happen.