We'll... The State Just Approved My 2nd Amendment Right

I carry .357 SIG. .40 S&W is only a barrel swap away for all of my semi-auto handguns. Brass is easy to find and is an easy caliber to reload.

Handgun calibers are not wonder rounds. They won't work miracles. Shoot what you shoot most accurately and fast.

Be safe.

9mm
.40 S&W
.45 acp

Just three of my favorite calibers! (O.K. Toss in .38/.357 and .44 magnum, too!)


My carry pistol IS .40 S&W Shield. I'm contemplating the .45 acp Shield, also.

I bought a Beretta 92FS many, many years ago, and it is a beautiful pistol, and the slide runs on the frame rails, like they have ball bearing in them.
Smoooooooooooooooooth.

Still, that pistol is one of the least fired pistols I own. I seriously doubt that I have 250 rounds through that piece of machinery.

With today's ammo technology, you'll be well served by the 9mm parabellum.

welder516 said:

Yeah i guess you are correct ,

My opinion is .40 is a fine gun to carry & shoot , i carried a M&P .40 for multiple years and i always renew my permit with my .40 .
But now i carry a .45 daily .

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I wouldn't mind having a CZ Tactical Sport in .40 for Pin and USPSA matches but, for self-protection, I'm like you: give me a .45 ACP.

"hate" isn't the right word. When I first got my hql I got a 40 s&w because I was convinced it was better than 9 mm but then I came to realize they are so similar that I'm better off with the 9 because the ammo is so much cheaper. O rarely shot my 40 but I shoot my 9 all the time.

If you plan on buying multiple guns , plan on getting different calibers . I do that and buy ammo of all the types i have so if certain ammo tightens up you have others to shoot and take to the range . I have been know to carry other things but i do have favorites .

But really variety is the spice of life .

OP, I carried a beretta 92f (I think it was an f...) for the first couple of years on the job, didn't like it. It's a heavy gun and it needs lots of oil. If this is a home defense gun, you'll need to make sure it's constantly cleaned and oiled.

We carry glocks now, and I am a total fanboy of glock. You can abuse them and they'll still work. You can get them dirty, they'll still work. You can shoot it dry, it'll still work. For home defense, you want a gun you can neglect (because you probably will...) and it'll still work.

For caliber I like the 9mm. Plenty of good 9mm rounds are available now. They are cheaper than .40. They are usually more plentiful than .40. You can get back on target easier with a 9mm than a .40. 9mm creates much less pressure in the gun than a .40, meaning it'll last longer with less maintenance.

I've got a cz75bd, glock 19 and glock 43 as personal guns, with an additional glock 19 duty gun.

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I have Glocks in all the calibers they make (except 380). If this is your first gun practice makes perfect. I’d recommend going to the 9mm due to lower cost of ammo and therefore more practice.

With rebates you can find 9mm for .13-.14cpr with 40S&W you’re looking at .22-.23cpr on average.

If you choose a 40, try to see if they make conversion barrels for it like they do for Glock where I could shoot 9mm out of a 40-9 barrel. At one point in time I had a 40-9 barrel, 357 SIG barrel and 22LR conversion kit for my Glock 23C.

First handgun = 9mm, the only other caliber that you might consider would be 22, provided you didn't have any plans for defensive use. It's effective enough, but the main benefit is low recoil, and low cost, both are critical to getting as much practice as you can. Lots of good pistols made, and the Beretta 92 series are fine, it's a good shooting pistol with a good trigger, relatively easy to operate, and an "iconic" design. Only downside is the large grip size(for people with small hands), and DA/SA operation for the most common variants(most have moved on to DAO/safe action).

I have only 9mm pistols at the moment but plan adding st least one .40 and a few .45s to my collection. I’ll echo what others have said and suggest going and shooting all three calibers in various guns and pick the best combo.

Beretta makes nice firearms and I’ve got one or two 92 models on my list to buy, try to find a 96a1 someplace where you can rent it to make sure you actually like it. You might find that .40 recoil doesn’t bother you in most guns but not like it in that specific one. Better to find out before you buy.

Jed195 said:

The 40 always seemed to me at least, a solution to a problem that didn't exist. 9mm too small for "man stopping" an attacker, 45 too much recoil for women/smaller men's hands? I try to stick to calibers used by military or available as surplus.

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I don't think it's a bad cartridge, but I tend to see it like you - it falls in between the 9mm and .45 ACP, and both of those, especially the 9mm with modern bullet designs, negate the need for the middle ground, especially considering that the .40 S&W's felt recoil is equal to that of the .45 ACP.

Let's put it this way - I own a .40 S&W, but the last pistol I bought was a 9mm, and the next one will be a .45, so there you go.

There were two reasons behind the development of the .40...it's a 10mm Lite and pretty much the equivalent to the downloaded 10mm the FBI specified when they issued the 10mm for a period...and it fits a 9mm frame pistol with little to no modifications so the grip size can be easily handled by more people. That being said the .40 is not a bad caliber by any means. Anyone who chooses it will be well served by it for any reasonable purpose. I carried a .40 for a couple of years when a federal officer...liked the round but disliked the boat anchor of a pistol we were issued.

Today things have changed with advancements in bullet technology. It's more or less gone back to the 9mm vs. .45. Since the big law enforcement move away from the .40 back to 9mm manufacturers have not put primary production on .40 anymore...the same with ammunition makers. That doesn't mean the .40 is going away...just that it's not the big deal it used to be.

Basically...the 9mm is where the best bullet technology seems to be today due to the popularity of the caliber. The .45 will always be popular and receive the better technology. The 10mm is big again though not necessarily in the self-defense market...hunting is more its forte. The .40 is more or less being relegated to back bench status whether deserved or not.

Diversity is a great thing. We had several periods during the Obama administration when ammo could not be found on the shelf. Once a week or so a few boxes would show up, and quite often the only thing available was .40.

I keep seeing the same arguments against .40, and none of them make a whole lot of sense to me. Two exceptions that I agree with only in the case of a small, subcompact ccw firearm are lower capacity and higher recoil. The OP isn't asking about a small CCW weapon.

I don't find the recoil to be significantly diffferent between 9 and .40 in a full size or even compact firearm, especially steel or alloy, which is what the OP is specifically asking about... and I'm not a large guy.

Other arguments that have been made here:

Ammo cost - I haven't seen a significant difference in 9 vs .40. In target ammo, maybe a few bucks.. but the difference is less than the store to store difference. IOW, I can get the 'expensive' .40 at Walmart for less than the 'cheap' 9mm at Bass Pro or Cabelas. The self-defense ammo I use is exactly the same price in 9 and .40, and only makes a significant jump in .45.

Capacity - as I mentioned, maybe in a subcompact it might be significant, but in a compact you're talking about a small difference 12 vs 15 in a P229 for example, or 14 vs 17 using the mec gar mags.

Bullet technology - Not sure where this argument comes from... the SD/HD ammo I usually see and purchase uses exactly the same technology in their 9 and .40 rounds. Maybe there will be bleeding edge technology that just came out today in 9mm that won't be out in .40 for 2 years. Don't care, because any SD ammo I use gets tested thoroughly before I trust it, for CCW or HD. I'm not going to buy several boxes of every wonder bullet when it comes out. There are several I've tested and have performed 100%, and I'll stick with those unless very significant new developments come along. If that happens, pretty sure they'll be available in all 3 most popular calibers... even some not as popular ones.

Surplus ammo - When not in a SHTF situation, I can get either caliber equally easily at the local WM or gun show. When the S does HTF, I don't expect to get lucky finding other people's buried surplus stocks, or hitting the local armory in a nighttime raid. I expect I will be using what I've bought and stored when it was available.


None of the above are personal attacks at whoever made these arguments... its just my reasoning on the pros and cons of each point. Feel free to rebut... but I don't need to say that .



My first purchased handgun was a 1911, .45 of course. My 1st HD option is a P229 in .40. For CCW I have a couple of subcompact 9mms to choose from. Like I said, diversity is good.

OP, buy what you like and what fits your needs. I think you'll be happy with a 96, but visit a local range and try one out first if at all possible. Compare it with a 92 to see if the recoil affects your aim or delays your follow-up shots (may be tough to determine if the range imposes a long delay between shots). If you specifically want a full size metal SA/DA, also try a Sig P226 or P229, or maybe a CZ75 variant and see if that fits your hand better.

Magnumite said:

This was helpful?

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Yep....because everyone should be pissed off with 2A infringement....you think the state did him a favor or something?

danb said:

CCW in maryland? Say what??? You've been smoking some glass, when you are sober re-read the OP. HQL is for mere purchase, not CCW.

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I've seen several training adverts that like to make you think that if take their HQL class you can get a wear and carry. There is one on the gun counter at Bass Pro that is very misleading

Muleskinner said:

I've seen several training adverts that like to make you think that if take their HQL class you can get a wear and carry. There is one on the gun counter at Bass Pro that is very misleading

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Bass Pro - BAH! The last time I was in there I was trying to browse the 1911s, and the dude behind the counter didn't know what he was talking about - didn't know the basic features of the stuff in the case or the difference between certain models from a manufacturer. It's SO frustrating trying to deal with a guy like that.

GEt a 45 instead of 40 cal. I think that 40 smith and wesson will be a c&5 by my grandkids lifetime!

Magnumite said:

This was helpful?

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Complacency is killing us. We, none of us, should see this level of harassment and infringement as normal.

I can't vote for the posed questions. I dont hate 40S&W and dont love it. I like it. I would take it over .380 or .25. If you get a good or great deal on a pistol that you like in it, great. I only have one pistol in 40S&W, a P229 ex-leo CPO red box. It's a solid round and capable of doing its job.

While I understand everyone having the idea that HQL is infringement that we shouldn't be happy about, I took the OP's excitement as now being able to purchase his first handgun. If correct, he has a right to be excited and doesn't even remember what it's like to buy when his rights were unabridged.

Welcome to the world of handgun owners!

I can’t speak to the Beretta 96, but I do love the 92–it’s the one I always end up coming back to. Good luck with your search, and remember to visit some Pennsylvania and Virginia gun shows to buy your standard capacity magazines.