9 or 45...24 hours to convince me!! Help

[Nightwalker65]

please see following post

 

[Nightwalker65]

While I am a die-hard 45 kinda guy,I am warming up to the 9 because there are more and more really good SD rounds for it,at a fraction of the price of the old flying ashtray...with ammo cost being an important factor,I'd definitely go with the 9,sounds like it fits your needs well.........(pardon me while I dodge some lightning bolts from the 1911 gods)

 

[clt46910]

My only question is which one do you shoot better? I would go with that one.

 

[cbseniour]

9mm is much cheaper to buy, has more penetration and the recoil is less. 45ACP has generally has a smaller capacity mag but a lot more knock down power.
Do the math and make up your mind. In any case you will have more weapon than 75% ( guess) of the population.

 

[ltb1]

trade in on the 45 will be higher!!!

 

[msd]

If you're recoil sensitive go with the 9mm. If you'd ever get into a situation where you need a gun, the 45 has more stopping power.

Granted you posted you're not a reloader, so your ammo cost will be lots cheaper with the 9mm over the 45.

 

[the1kidd03]

you want to be proficient with you protection firearms....that being said it takes practice to do so.....9mm will be affordable to practice with....plus I like the faster target acquisition between shots....plus with the 5 extra shots in the 9mm mag you mentioned...it makes it a no brainer for me.....I do like the 45 though

 

[jayhawk]

9mm is much cheaper to buy, has more penetration and the recoil is less. 45ACP has generally has a smaller capacity mag but a lot more knock down power.
Do the math and make up your mind. In any case you will have more weapon than 75% ( guess) of the population.

 

[the1kidd03]

the belief that the 45 actually has more "knock down" power is somewhat false.....while it is a bigger bullet and theoretically makes a bigger whole...this in no way proves any idea of the round dropping an individual with one shot.......the theory largely comes from "jello junkies"......any defense caliber has been proven to have the same effect depending on the load's specifics....also, there is a proven relevance of "neural shock" which is accredited with the dropping of an attacker with one shot and with numerous calibers...but there is no way to know (currently) how exactly this works or affects the body causing immediate incapacitation....they simply know that it does...and through research believe it to be more prominent in round displaying the characteristics of ; slightly lighter bullet and significantly faster velocity usually in hp

works cited from: Masaad Ayoob, Dr. Dennis Tobin, Evan Marshall, Edwin Sanow....whose research comes from actual live animal tests and mass collected field reports from law enforcement, military, and self defense scenarios

 

[the1kidd03]

although some rounds proved to have the same effectiveness with slower velocities.....i.e. 45 230gr LHP traveling at +/- 850 fps....where as the 115 gr 9mm JHP at +/- 1,300 fps had roughly the same effectiveness

you can debate ballistics ALL DAY...from hundreds of sources including your own experiments...truth is it's a matter of preference based on a culmination of information from various reliable sources......the best thing I consider...is to compare the list of "FBI approved" rounds...and cross reference them to other sources and field reports from the previously mentioned works....but again...that IMO to be the best choices of defense rounds

on a side note with the 9mm.....there is a reason that it is the most widely used defense weapon of choice for militaries, law enforcement, rebel groups, and/or criminals around the world....tells me it's effective enough (from a laymens pov)

 

[Jolfe]

although some rounds proved to have the same effectiveness with slower velocities.....i.e. 45 230gr LHP traveling at +/- 850 fps....where as the 115 gr 9mm JHP at +/- 1,300 fps had roughly the same effectiveness

you can debate ballistics ALL DAY...from hundreds of sources including your own experiments...truth is it's a matter of preference based on a culmination of information from various reliable sources......the best thing I consider...is to compare the list of "FBI approved" rounds...and cross reference them to other sources and field reports from the previously mentioned works....but again...that IMO to be the best choices of defense rounds

on a side note with the 9mm.....there is a reason that it is the most widely used defense weapon of choice for militaries, law enforcement, rebel groups, and/or criminals around the world....tells me it's effective enough (from a laymens pov)

Could you keep it quiet, please? If all these 45'ers start converting to 9mm prices will go trough the roof!

 

[gunowner930]

although some rounds proved to have the same effectiveness with slower velocities.....i.e. 45 230gr LHP traveling at +/- 850 fps....where as the 115 gr 9mm JHP at +/- 1,300 fps had roughly the same effectiveness

you can debate ballistics ALL DAY...from hundreds of sources including your own experiments...truth is it's a matter of preference based on a culmination of information from various reliable sources......the best thing I consider...is to compare the list of "FBI approved" rounds...and cross reference them to other sources and field reports from the previously mentioned works....but again...that IMO to be the best choices of defense rounds

on a side note with the 9mm.....there is a reason that it is the most widely used defense weapon of choice for militaries, law enforcement, rebel groups, and/or criminals around the world....tells me it's effective enough (from a laymens pov)

^This is a very good summary on the whole 9 mm or 45 decision. OP, may I ask why you're giving yourself 24 hours to make a decision like that? Also, don't get caught up in the bigger holes=more effective crap. If that were true, a .45 ACP is just as powerful as a 44 Magnum and almost twice as powerful as a 5.56x45, I mean it makes a bigger hole... Data has shown that the 45 and 9 mm are similar in effectiveness, and that effectiveness will vary depending on loads. 9 mm pistols are typically able to carry more rounds, and provide less felt recoil, which allows quicker follow-up shots when all things are equal. But I guess there is something kinda cool about the fat stubby .45 ACP cartridge.

 

[the1kidd03]

Could you keep it quiet, please? If all these 45'ers start converting to 9mm prices will go trough the roof!

lol...good point

 

[Kedric]

.45 for EDC will always be my choice. 9mm is excellent for plinking and for range use, due to the fact that they do have less recoil, more rounds per magazine and the cost per round.

I would pick the .45 every time though.

 

[WebHobbit]

I have shot the XDm 4.5 in all three calibers. They are all three pretty easy to shoot. I like 'em all. But I chose the 9mm when I bought mine. I actually owned a couple Xdm .40s but finally decided to go all 9mm and sold them off. The cost for practice won me over as I don't think picking up brass is at all FUN. And like many have mentioned if you use some good 124 +Ps (Gold Dot, HST, est) the stopping power of the 9mm is more than adequate.

Anyway this info may help - while ALL XDms come with small, medium and large back strap pieces only the 9 and .40 REALLY have the small option. See Springfield for some strange reason decided to use the same magazines in the .45 XDm that they use in the old plain XD line. The .45 is the only SA that share mags from XD-XDm. This makes the grip pretty much the same dimensions. So the sad fact is (at least for us small handed shooters) the .45 XDm wearing the smallest back strap feels EXACTLY the same as as the XD (medium). So the XDm 9 and .40 are MUCH more "small hand friendly" than the .45.

 

[thumperdogg]

^This is a very good summary on the whole 9 mm or 45 decision. OP, may I ask why you're giving yourself 24 hours to make a decision like that? Also, don't get caught up in the bigger holes=more effective crap. If that were true, a .45 ACP is just as powerful as a 44 Magnum and almost twice as powerful as a 5.56x45, I mean it makes a bigger hole... Data has shown that the 45 and 9 mm are similar in effectiveness, and that effectiveness will vary depending on loads. 9 mm pistols are typically able to carry more rounds, and provide less felt recoil, which allows quicker follow-up shots when all things are equal. But I guess there is something kinda cool about the fat stubby .45 ACP cartridge.

I have spent 2 months deciding the gun an almost the whole time debating the caliber part. I am ordering tomorrow and have been back and fourth on the debate too much. S*#! or get off the pot time!! LOL

 

[88E30M50]

I love my 45s but I could not afford to feed them if I did not reload. I'd go with the 9mm as a well practiced 9mm shooter would be more effective than a 45 shooter that can only practice half as much.

 

[gunowner930]

I have spent 2 months deciding the gun an almost the whole time debating the caliber part. I am ordering tomorrow and have been back and fourth on the debate too much. S*#! or get off the pot time!! LOL

haha, well it's impossible to make a bad choice, both will work fine.

 

[charley59]

I really like my .45ACPs, and I own a XD 45 Compact (my EDC) among other full size 45s. And I reload both 45 and 9mm ammo. As such, I would recommend the XDm in 9mm. It will be cheaper to shoot if you do not plan to reload. Even if you do reload, the 9mm is cheaper to shoot. Heck, buy both. Can't have too many guns...

 

[Birds Away]

Competency with your chosen firearm is the most critical element in self defense. 9mm is cheaper to shoot ergo more range time which leads to higher proficiency with your chosen weapon. Added practice leads to more muscle memory which leads to more rounds on target when you need them. Magazine capacity means nothing if the rounds don't hit what you are aiming at. A 9mm with quality SD ammo is more than capable of doing the job. It comes down to the shooter. If the price of 9mm has you at the range more often then that is the way to go.