[Jay Hilliard]

Hello, I am a newbie to the XD world but I am SOLD on buying one after handling one several times and reading threads on this forum.

My question is which one? 40 service or 9mm service?

I thought I wanted a .40 unitl I started reading posts about price of 40 ammo vs 9mm. I plan on shooting alot and thought why not just get a XD-9 then. Then I read the threads about 9mm barrels in 40's. But, why not just get a 9mm then. It doesnt make sense to shoot hundreds/thousands of rounds of 9mm, to then switch to 40 caliper for home defense when I wouldnt be familiar with the 40 ammo's recoil,etc.

Am I making this harder than it should be or should I just pay the extra price of 40 ammo and have the extra power?

Please help!

Thanks in advance.

Jay

 

[scurvyman]

I just bought my first gun. XD 9 tactical.
I went with 9mm because it's plenty for a defense round, and still a great target gun. I pay 11 bucks a box for WWB 115gr. and I keep 147gr hollow points at home.
I'm a little biased becasue I never considered a .40.
Just my 2 cents.
Have fun shopping!

 

[baa]

Modern 9mm hollow point ammo will stop an attacker. Speer, Federal, Winchester all make awesome ammo in 9mm. 40 is probably a "better" caliber for self defensive shooting, but 9mm is certainly more than good enough.

Shot placement is the key to the whole "one stop shot" debate. I go with 9mm simply because the ammo is cheaper (and since I am buying ammo for both my wife and I, even a couple $$ a box adds up quickly) and we get more bang for our buck.

Either way, your getting an awesome pistol which will do its job very well.

 

[jedi573]

I went with the 9mm (4" bi-tone) because as you mentioned, the ammo's quite a bit cheaper. Wal-Mart has 100 round value packs of Winchester 115-grain FMJ for under $12. Loaded with proper duty or defense ammunition, no reason why it wouldn't work well as a home defense gun either.

Andy

 

[jkswiss]

I would go with the 9mm. I would go w. the 40SW if I was a cop or something. For the average shooter w. is in all actuallity probably not going to have to shoot anyone, 9mm would be just fine. The small difference in diameter/power will be far outweighed by the cost/practice benefits gained by shooting 9mm(i.e. you can afford to shoot more rounds, so you'll be a lot more proficient). If I was goingt o put my life on the line each and every day on my gun like police officers do, I would go with the 40SW.

 

[Jay Hilliard]

thanks guys. I am going to go with the 9mm. I do plan on shooting it alot and the price of ammo will make a difference. I can always buy Win ranger load for home defense.

Jay

 

[islandchanel]

GET THE .40!!!!! I had my mind all made up rented the xd 9mm and shot it and loved it. So i special ordered the gun since they were out. The next day after go back to the range and they have the .40 tactical and i was like damn why not try it. So i shot it and damn. This gun is beautiful to shoot. I thought i liked the feel of the 9mm but after shooting the .40 there is no looking back the power is awsome. For some reason i shot it better than the 9mm too. So i ran back in the shop and had them change my order to the .40.

 

[one-eyed-fatman]

Oh hell. Just buy all of them, give me the service in 9 and auction the rest off on this forum. Piece a cake.

 

[oddjob]

In your shoes I would go with the 9mm. Cheaper to shoot...thus you will become more proficient because you shoot it more. Nothing wrong with a 9mm. I carry a .45 ACP 1911 for a duty gun, but my off duty gun is a S&W 640, 38 special....I've shot that 640 alot & feel that good about carrying it.

 

[omegaic]

I've got the .40 myself, which is what I would suggest. You can always stick a 9mm barrel in the .40, but you can't stick a .40 barrel in the 9.

Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[jkswiss]

It doesn't really matter if your not going to shoot 40SW anyways. A premium 9mm is plenty cabable and versatile. I look at the 9mm prices and I'm kicking myself in the nuts for not going 9mm. For some odd reason, I don't like to shoot through a conversion barrel. I hated the fact that my slide says XD40 but I was shooting 9mm. I dunno, I'm wierd like that. Then my 40SW mags wouldn't feed 9mm reliably. I personally thought it was more trouble than it was worth. Like I said before, if I was a cop, 40SW, civilian w/ low risk job, 9mm.

 

[R/T Performance]

Just buy a couple you will just want more any how .If you buy a 40 more reason and better negations with the wife for a reloader.Worked for me
Main reason our local pd switched to fourty was for putting down injured deer 9 rounds of 9mm while a little old lady that hit it crying her eye's out .
1 round of 40 in head and its done

 

[JD McDorce]

Main reason our local pd switched to fourty was for putting down injured deer 9 rounds of 9mm while a little old lady that hit it crying her eye's out . 1 round of 40 in head and its done

You must have some pretty tough deer over on your side of the state if it takes 9 rounds of 9 to the head to put them down. Or were head shots discovered after they switched to .40's? :wink:

 

[R/T Performance]

The police officer in are ccw class told us that story :shock:
He probably missed the first 8 LOL
Must have been one of the posse convert

 

[Jay Hilliard]

Thanks for all the replys. I must say this was a hard decision on which caliber. I ended up going with the 40.

I chose the 40 over the 9mm because its more powerful and if ammo gets to expensive I can start reloading or buy a 9mm conversion barrel.

Thanks again for the replys. Now time to go shoot it. I ended up paying $420.95 +tax (of course) for the blue service package. I got the new frame with the two cross-cuts in the rail.

Jay

 

[R/T Performance]

Thats a good price Congrates and let me know when you start reloading 8)