9mm vs .45ACP

I feel that with modern self defense bullets a 9mm will do the job. I prefere a 45 simply because they don't need super bullets to do their job. Even a plain 230g LRN hits plenty hard at SD distances.
I get the capacity thing but if you need 2 or 3 rnds to stop an attacker what is the benefit of high capacity. Suppressing fire?
 
Exactly. No one has ever complained about having too much ammo. Also, multiple attackers much? Happens a lot brother. True, about .45 not needing special ammo to do the job. Rather have more if I can than not.
 
jason_iowa said:
I have never fired a handgun that at self defense ranges, up to say 20 yards, that was not accurate enough to put the majority of rounds in the torso.....When choosing a combat handgun accuracy is really not a concern
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Hmmm, but it's not really simply about handgun accuracy, it's SHOOTER accuracy with a particular weapon and round.

Btw- I've seen plenty of folks - in even a mild adrenaline rush - miss at 20 yards!
 
Great Thread

I don't think that anyone can make a 'valid' case against .45acp absent perhaps a capacity argument (which is still subjective in nature). A spare mag or two of JMB .45acp in competent hands (IMO) quells such concerns (there is no rocket science pertaining to a reload). However, I also think that a 'valid' argument against 9mm has become antiquated when one considers the technological advancement in SD ammunition/loads. We no longer live in a "FMJ" only world and that changes the entire dynamics of this long debated equation. *Note that I remain unclear as to whether our troops 'strictly' abide by regulations that confine their use to FMJ 9mm only--if that is still the case I am concerned?
 
Constantine

PT-92. YES. It is abided by. If we're caught putting plusses on the FMJ's you can be dishonorably discharged.
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Wow--In that case I personally would prefer to have the bigger FMJ projectile hands down. I would like to see a confirmed/validated military study regarding the use of FMJ combat effectiveness pertaining to the .45acp vs. the 9mm. I would think that they could collect this data with ease from historical archives as well as the contemporary data flowing in from the Mid-East conflicts.

Thanks for that reply Constantine.

-Cheers
 
Penetration and shot placement.

Thats all that matters.

Since they both penetrate almost identically, Ill take the 9mm for all obvious reasons.

It doesnt matter if the gel is a human cadaver or not. What matters is that its a scientific constant, and shows that both rounds when in the same medium have similiar penetration. I absolutely love .45acp, but I have no illusions when it comes to scientific testing and logic.
 
oh no

Even if they penetrate the same distance, the 45 makes a lot bigger hole. therefore bigger wound channel. Which means better chance of hitting something that can take you down.



steve
 
Even if they penetrate the same distance, the 45 makes a lot bigger hole.
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Did you look at the pictures in the post that started this thread?

Here it is again. Which one made "a lot bigger hole"?
13zsi37.jpg
 
Even if they penetrate the same distance, the 45 makes a lot bigger hole. therefore bigger wound channel. Which means better chance of hitting something that can take you down.
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Even if the .45 might make a slightly larger hole, I don't believe that it justifies the lower magazine capacity.
After all, who would shoot a deadly threat only once or twice?
 
"The .45 is like a rhino and the 9mm is like a chipmunk."

:rolleyes:

And if that chipmunk ever gets up your pants leg and starts hunting for nuts you'd probably wish you'd been stomped by the rhino.

Sigh.
 
"People. Size size size. Are we forgetting weight? 115,124,147 vs 185 & 230gr? That plays a pretty big factor as well."

Given that the rounds both expand to an almost identical diameter and they both penetrate to almost the same depth, I'd have to say that no, weight is playing virtually no tangible factor at all.

Especially when you consider that as weight goes up, velocity goes down.

It's a tradeoff.
 
It`s well established that one round of a handgun bullet rarely will stop a assailant so it becomes a issue of the followup shots to get the job done...

In the hands of the vast majority of people the 9mm is the bullet they can effectually and accurately hit their target...on follow up shots..

The 45 is a fine round but it requires far more practice to accurately hit the target on follow up shots... many never gain the ability to control it....
 
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