.40 vs .45

[Guest truthsayer]

Meh.... I grew up in Midtown Memphis, so it's not a shock to me that it's a dangerous city. Stay on Poplar Ave as much as you can, protect yourself, and be as aware as possible without making eye contact.

[Guest Fastzntn]

To the OP, .40 is a little too snappy for my taste, I find the .45 to have more manageable recoil. If I had my choice narrowed down between .40 and .45 I would choose the .45.

[Kano]

45 caliber. Why? Less recoil makes for better control and faster more accurate multiple shots.......larger diameter wound, and heavier projectile, causes faster incapacitation of an adversary.

[Guest johnmattwill]

I personally like the .45 I seem to contol the recoil much better than the .40S&W.... The difference in effectiveness of the .40S&W and the .45ACP to me, is both are effective and depend on each individual situation and circumstances...... Its like "On any Given Sunday....."

[Magiccarpetrides]

Alright not to fan the fire, but....shot placement...how many cops were at the North Hollywood Bank Robbery and not a single one could manage to shoot the Perps in their heads which were only protected by a ski mask?(one shot himself in the head and the other took 20 some odd rounds to unprotected legs from the SWAT team and then "died" before reaching the hospital) Stopping Power: Countless 9mm rounds hit the perps body armor with no reaction. After the shooting was over it was my understanding the LAPD went to .40cal pistols as did a lot of Law Enforcement Agencies because of this. Even though a .40 or .45 will not come close to penetrating IIIa there is a significant difference in energy delivered when hit which should cause a more pronounced reaction from the BG even if it doesnt drop him least thats the current line of thought im going by. Nothing against 9mm's I just prefer a .40 or .45 but I would take a .22 over nothin. A .22 in the pocket is definitely better then an AK in the safe ;-D

Edited October 28, 2008 by Magiccarpetrides
grammatical errors....

[Magiccarpetrides]

I personally like the .45 I seem to contol the recoil much better than the .40S&W.... The difference in effectiveness of the .40S&W and the .45ACP to me, is both are effective and depend on each individual situation and circumstances...... Its like "On any Given Sunday....."

To me the .45 is more of a push while the .40 is more snappy. My girlfriend hasnt tried the .45 but actually prefers the .40 over the 9mm

[Guest HexHead]

Behind the .45ACP in stopping the threat is the .357MAG. The .357SIG was designed to fill that spot for the auto loaders, but it fell short in performance and had feeding problems because it is a necked cartridge.

I thought .38 Super filled the slot of a semi-auto version of the .357 Magnum?

[DaveTN]

I thought .38 Super filled the slot of a semi-auto version of the .357 Magnum?

No, the .38 super replaced the .38ACP. It’s more of a hot 9mm. It’s not at the performance of a .357MAG.

Honestly I’ve not seen to many people using the .38 super as a defensive round. I’ve seen them mostly used in competition in 1911 target guns because they have a flatter trajectory with less recoil.

I think the closest performance to a .357MAG is a .357SIG. But I’ve never messed with the .357SIG because it’s been plagued with problems.

[DaveTN]

Alright not to fan the fire, but....shot placement...how many cops were at the North Hollywood Bank Robbery and not a single one could manage to shoot the Perps in their heads which were only protected by a ski mask?

“Shot placement� They were too far away and were getting a constant spray of .30 cal rifle fire. I bet they grin when they hear those two words now.

Stopping Power: Countless 9mm rounds hit the perps body armor with no reaction. After the shooting was over it was my understanding the LAPD went to .40cal pistols as did a lot of Law Enforcement Agencies because of this.

Although many departments reviewed their weapons after BOA; I’m not sure any changed their handguns based on BOA.

I think that LAPD added rifles to squads after that and I think that may have been when they bought the Barrett’s.

Even though a .40 or .45 will not come close to penetrating IIIa there is a significant difference in energy delivered when hit which should cause a more pronounced reaction from the BG even if it doesnt drop him least thats the current line of thought im going by. Nothing against 9mm's I just prefer a .40 or .45 but I would take a .22 over nothin. A .22 in the pocket is definitely better then an AK in the safe ;-D

There is a documentary that is about two hours long where they interview some of the Officers from the BOA shootout. If you gat a chance make sure you see it.

The situation had been brewing for a long time. (years). Due to politics cops have been out gunned by thugs for a long time. BOA put it on TV for the world to see.

People were sitting at home wringing their hands wanting to know why no one would do anything. It was because they couldn’t. An old 30-06 or .308 bolt action deer rifle would have stopped them. If a Barrett had been available I don’t think most of would have ever even heard about it; it would have been over quick.

But the Officers did not have the tools they needed.

We have done the same thing to our troops. How many of our troops have lost their lives because they were not properly armed? Many Police Departments have come to the conclusion that the 9mm simply is not an effective round for shooting people. Yet we give them to combat troops. We (Civilians & Cops) have better rifles and ammunition that our troops.

[ninja128]

That is all good information that I was not aware of. I'm really curious about the SIG 357.........I was not aware of any problems with them. can anyone shed more light? thanks

[molonlabetn]

...I think the closest performance to a .357MAG is a .357SIG. But I’ve never messed with the .357SIG because it’s been plagued with problems.

Problems with .357sig? That's news to me. What reports did I miss?

[PaiMei]

Wow...I cant believe I overlooked this whole thread

[Guest rebelyell]

I prefer a 45 for carry, i have both but the recoil of the 45 is more accurate firing multiple shots, that's my experience with S&W,others may be different.

[True Grit]

+1 for the 40 S&W

I carry both calibers (the 40 as a BUG) when I visit Memphis. Ammo is cheaper for the 40 so I practice with it more and also reload.

[Guest Guy N. Cognito]

Wow, old thread!!

[Oh Shoot]

Wow, old thread!!

Well, not now.

You just posted today.

- OS

[Guest Guy N. Cognito]

Yes.......so did two people before me.

[Guest guardlobo]

Well since its active again...

I prefer 40 because of magazine capacity.

[Guest nysos]

I would feel equally comfortable with a 9mm as a 45 as a 40 - each have their pros & cons, but I lean towards the higher capacity calibers due to modern self defense rounds having almost the same ballistics. I couldn't find it right off but there is a picture with cross sections of various loads of 9mm, 40, 45, and 357 sig & all have almost the same size temp cavity & within 2 inches of each other on penetration.

Pistols aren't nearly as good of a stopper as a rifle or a shotgun, and with the ballistics being so similar with good modern defense rounds just carry whatever is most comfortable/reliable in your collection. Shot placement is king, but given the stress I would surely encounter if ever having to fire - I want as many opportunities to land a good shot as possible, so I tend to go with double stack 9mm or 40.

[hipower]

Personal Opinion Only. I like the 45. As an ex-wimp that grew up shooting 22/9/38's and didn't think I could stand the massive recoil of that monster .45 caliber; however, I decided that I liked my bil's Officer's Model Colt and started shooting the 45. I've since shot about 50/50 between the 40 and the 45. For me, I've found the 45 to be much more comfortable to shoot and manage than the 40. But as usual, YOMV. That's why there are so many different calibers available to us.

[Warbird]

The 45 is easier to shoot because it is a much lower pressure round. This is a non-issue anyway. Shoot whichever you like best. I carry 9, 40 and 45. I trust all of them in their respective equipment. I prefer 9 or 45 to 40. Any of them can succeed or fail. They are all reasonable choices for your protection. Shoot whichever you like in guns you shoot well and are reliable. If you carry worry more about tactics, ability and mental state and your ability to win a gunfight than which cartridge is the be all end all.

[Textennian]

OhShoot,

Your email of 10/26 is the funniest thing I've ever read! Read it in bed just now and wife got SERIOUSLY scared I was gonna have cardiac! Unreal funny!

[dralarms]

The 45 is easier to shoot because it is a much lower pressure round. This is a non-issue anyway. Shoot whichever you like best. I carry 9, 40 and 45. I trust all of them in their respective equipment. I prefer 9 or 45 to 40. Any of them can succeed or fail. They are all reasonable choices for your protection. Shoot whichever you like in guns you shoot well and are reliable. If you carry worry more about tactics, ability and mental state and your ability to win a gunfight than which cartridge is the be all end all.

Wow, I'd sure hate to run up on you. Tell me, does all that weigh down your clothing? LOL

[Warbird]

Wow, I'd sure hate to run up on you. Tell me, does all that weigh down your clothing? LOL

Oh no, not at all. I carry it all in one ultra tacticool, high tech gun.

[Guest Scramasax]

First I wil admit I am a middle aged retiree. I read enough of this thread to get bored(short attention span). Here is my take on the semi pistol caliber issue. It doesn't matter if you choose 9/357/10/40/45/50 caliber diamiter calibers. There are plenty of well engineered projectiles available. As to magazine capacity I feel just as well armed with five shots as twenty. With prcatice you can reload faster than your opponents reaction time, why else choose an auto. The key to using a handgun is finding one that you can maximize your ability with.

My personal choices for auto carry pistols are 1911/bhp/p32/Rohrbaugh/P5c/Coonan. My perfect zombie gun Calico 9mm. Perfect travel pistol Inglis hp with shoulderstock.

I know this is a very limited list You also forgot 38 super/357sig/45gap/50gi.

I hope this doesn't seem pompus and please excuse my spelling. There are just so many good choices in caliber and launching platform it would take at least a full day to try and discuss them. I quite often have a problem getting my last two brain cells to work together:).

Cheers,

tad