9mm vs. .45 - Settled

[G O B]

A .25 ACP in your hand is better than a .45 ACP in your safe at home.

These pointless discussions about what caliber is "best" are pointless. There is no one "best" round, there are many different ones because people and circumstances are different.

 

[Dmacri25]

I think a .22lr pocket pistol is better then both.

 

[Alan3413]

The lighter 9mm decelerates faster, so is more likely to transfer more of its energy to the target and less likely to over penetrate.

Now that's settled, we need another debate. Glock or 1911?

 

[md123]

Disclaimer- I hereby acknowledge the science of ballistics, shot placement and human anatomy. I know that handgun rounds only "drop" people if they hit particular (small) areas of the body. More rounds are better. God bless America.

With that being said up front. Can someone answer this?

The narrative goes that modern 9mm ammunition has improved vastly and now produces the same terminal ballistics as other larger rounds. But hasn't the same technology benefitted other calibers such as 45acp? If they were both benefitting from +p loads etc, why wouldn't the "gap" in performance be maintained? It's probably the size of the 45 acp round limiting but you'll enlighten me


Personally, I want a variety of calibers for real or political SHTF events. If something bad happens (say some African pandemic goes airborne ) or gun ban panic, I want to be able to shoot whatever ammo I can find on the shelf or in the abandoned Terminus warehouse .

 

[sykesville]

...

without the popcorn, that looks like Brownstain

 

[Shoobedoo]

I agree with the guy that said these caliber debates are kind of pointless. There are just too many variables in a real world scenario to draw any firm conclusions, and they always seem to descend into a never ending goat rodeo of opinions and "statistics" etc.

However, given a choice, if I need to stop a murderous assault with the fewest number of shots placed in to the center of mass I'm going to trust my hide to the .45 loaded with high performance self defense ammo over a 9mm every time.

That being said, recoil can certainly be an issue with the .45, so it may not always be the "best" choice, especially for those with small hands and/or smaller stature, or many women.

 

[alucard0822]

It's not settled, probably won't be till the Gauss vs beam debate takes it's place, nobody can ignore a pointless argument on the internet. Energy in handgun calibers costs a lot in blast and recoil, but still isn't sufficient to cause tearing from shock alone, it can be used to expand a bullet more at the expense of penetration, or with controlled expansion can increase penetration. Momentum, basically the force required to stop a bullet of a certain frontal area is a more important factor, and heavier bullets almost always have more momentum than lighter ones, and tends to produce more consistent ballistics through barriers. There is also sectional density, where a long/narrow bullet with high sectional density might be able to penetrate hard cover better, it has to deform more to reach the same diameter as a larger caliber, and soft penetration can suffer. Simple answer is to factor blast, recoil, and capacity vs diameter, velocity and momentum. More power and weight will always have the capability of increasing performance, and if there isn't much cost in your ability to put rounds on target fast, it is probably worth it, but if that comes at a big expense in capacity or your ability to cope with the added recoil, then probably not.

 

[Vile Shadow]

The 9mm only kills the body. The .45? The .45 kills the soul.

Especially JHP. That sends the bad guys flyin', especially when used in a 1911 with a 7" barrel and a laser sight.

The lighter 9mm decelerates faster, so is more likely to transfer more of its energy to the target and less likely to over penetrate.

Now that's settled, we need another debate. Glock or 1911?

That's easy. Glock.

Because carryin' more boolits is ALWAYS better.

 

[PMD354]

45 ACP because shooting twice is just silly!

 

[BradMacc82]

Meh, any article isn't going to sway what I carry.

 

[BradMacc82]

View attachment 133339

 

[ShoreShooter]

A few years ago a guy on Kent Island was convicted of murder. In a neighbor dispute he shot his neighbor in the butt with a 22 derringer, and killed him.

IMO, it is all about placement and what you hit, not what you hit it with.

 

[sgt23preston]

Location, Location, Location...

A 380 or 38 Special thru the heart or lungs will piss them off enough...

So will a 40...

 

[HeatSeeker]

I actually prefer an .88 Magnum.

 

[VG-10]

In the October issue of Gun Tests, they compare 9mm and .45ACP. They look at bullet expansion, penetration depth and recoil delay.

Their bottom line? The calibers and cartridges are pretty close. Don't worry about the difference.

.45 ACP wins in expansion, .45 decelerates slower but 9mm recoils less. And guns generally hold more of the 9mm.

The 9mm Luger Speer 124-grain +P Gold Dot hit with an initial kinetic energy of 423 ft-lbf, while the 45 ACP 200-grain +P Gold Dot hit at 440 ft-lbf and the 230-grain Gold Dot impacted at 311 ft-lbf. The expanded diameters were nearly the same, but the 9mm was lighter, so it decelerated more rapidly than did the 45 ACP.

So which is better: 9mm Luger or 45 ACP? The answer is that they are functionally identical — the target will not know the difference because the difference is so small. They are certainly better choices than the 380 ACP or 38 Special, but no cartridge will ward off evil spirits or drop a guy with a near miss.

The only people that this is settled for is unlucky perps

 

[VG-10]

I actually prefer an .88 Magnum.

I got shot with an 88 magnum once.........once.

 

[ericoak]

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=77a_1412633094

NSFW

This is an after math video from Brazil of a drug dealer who got shot in the head by an AR-15.

Brain mostly ejected from his head, eye balls completely blown out of the sockets.

 

[swinokur]

I didn't realize drug deal's had that much brains.

i was wrong

 

[sailskidrive]

I like the 45ACP but I'm guessing it moves down the ladder a few notches when body armor is thrown into the equation.

 

[MikeTF]

A better question is will you carry it all the time?

I do.