Sub-Compact 9mm or .40

[XDAndMe]

Originally Posted by roberto-232

As a lot of instructors say. You need to cause a huge drop in Blood Pressure to shut your threat down. It’s not like the moves that one bullet shuts the guy down, unless if you can do a super shot. But lets be real guys when the SH*&& hits the fan were going to be spraying and praying. The bigger the bullet the bigger the hole. The bigger the hole the more blood lose and subsequent victory in the fight.

I’m a .40 sub guy myself.

That makes sense, Roberto. I agree with the need to drop blood pressure as soon as possible. However, let's be realistic about .40 vs. 9mm. A .40 cal bullet is only 0.05" bigger than a 9mm, unexpanded. That's 5/100th's of an inch.

At least a .45 cal is 1/10th of an inch bigger. That would actually make some kind of measureable difference, but still small in comparison. But the difference between a .40 and 9mm requires a caliper to even measure it. Realistically, you're getting the same performance, just with more recoil.

If I had a choice for a carry round, assuming I could afford the ammo and had the skill to shoot it properly, I would choose .357sig hands down. It's a 9mm on steroids (feels like a .40) and can shoot through barriers that others can't, all without over-penetrating flesh. There's even a story going around about a police shootout where officers were having trouble shooting through a vehicle at the attacker. An officer with a .357sig got the job done

[SoCalXD]

All the real-world police shooting research shows that the good 9mm rounds get the same percentage of stops as the good .40cal rounds do. The FBI barrier tests match up close too. I buy into the velocity+bullet type theory of the 9mm. Check the Gold Dot Specs: The new 9mm, .40cal & 45ACP rounds for short barrel pistols are all listed around 360FPE from a 3.5" bbl.
Shooting skills & bullet placement is far more important that a few extra millimeters and a few extra grams of a bullet. Who's going to survive this hypothetical shootout: Rob Letham with a .380 or a gang kid with a 45ACP? I tell my girlfriend that her 9mm with Gold Dots will do the same damage as my .40Cal will, and I believe it when I say it. So why am I carrying a .40Cal??? Because I'm a guy... I have an ego, that's why!

Recoil & flash of the .40Cal in the 20oz SC is noticeably more then the SC in 9mm, whether it be Ball Ammo or Corbons. Lots of shooters are sensitive to that and it effects their fundamental shooting skills, double taps, and enjoyment of shooting as a whole. Shooting 9mm is cheaper than .40Cal which can really add up quickly in weekly sport shooting (your 9mm XD is free considering ammo savings over 2 years of weekly shooting!).

Only Place 40's & 45's make sense to me is in 4" and especially 5" barreled pistols with their additional weight and longer grips to tame that recoil while providing increased FPS/FPE without feeling it. CCW'ing a 32oz XD-Tactical sucks ass though. I gave it a good try, but I just can't and won't do it. That means it stays at home or in the car or as a duty gun.

9mm is the best round for a 20oz., 3" barreled, 2 finger grip pistol, for the vast majority of shooters, period. I wonder what Rob CCW's around his home town. If it was a 9mm, no one could say he wasn't still the most dangerous man in town to try and car jack.

BE ROB LEATHAM!
Practice Practice Practice!
Reflex-like skills built from years of training will win that multi-perp gunfight, not the caliber of your pistol.

[XDMac]

Here is a PDF http://www.le.atk.com/pdf/Pierce%20C...20Workshop.pdf with ballistics for a few different rounds including 9mm and .40. The .40 is heavier and has a decent amount of expansion and penetration even more noticable when they start shooting through Drywall, glass, plywood and clothing.

Here is one that compares the Gold Dots in .38 and 9mm, I like the 9mm here http://www.le.atk.com/pdf/SpeerTech38_135HP.pdf

9mm, .40 and .45 all seem to perform well enough in the Federal HST round but there some some differences between 9 and 40 as far as penetration and expansion go. It still boils down to shot placement but if you can hit your target with a heavier round then it can't hurt, if you can hit it with a lighter round then that's good too

[propellerhead]

You'll read a lot of arguments for the 9mm from people who carry a 9mm. <shrug>

Throwing the ballistics wars out the door, I'd go with the .40 if you already have the 9mm. I like variety.

Shoot 200 rounds a day with your 9mm for a month. You'll get so proficient at shooting your 9mm that you'll kick ass with the .40. You don't have to train with the .40 to carry the .40. Sure, shoot a box or two of the .40 a month to make sure it still works but shoot the heck out of the 9mm to sharpen your shooting skills. It's cheaper. Then carry the .40 and be good at shot placement. Then you have the best of all arguments.

[speedracer211]

I have a 40sc and love it. For some reason i like the snap of the round. Shooting my 9mm after shooting the xd 40sc feels like shooting a 22 pistol. I have no real preference to either round i carry both guns and shoot both of them often. My gun club is half a mile down the road. I would get the 40 because when efk releases their conversion barrel early next year you will have a 2 for one deal.

[xd357]

.40


I already own two others in .40 and I like the larger hole

[SoCalXD]

Of course, after my verbose support of the XD-SC in 9mm, I went and bought a XD-SC in .40Cal the very next day! Why, becuse I'm a guy, I have an ego to maintain, that's why!