Cost differential of .40 S&W and .45 Ammo?

J

Jankord

Inactive
I am going to purchase a .40 Cal but was told to consider going with a .45 instead. They told me the ammo is much cheaper than the .40 cal. Is it really that much of a difference?
 
This might depend on where you live but from I have seen, hollow point rounds (the stuff that you would use for self defense) are actually cheaper in the 40 than the 45. When it comes to FMJ, then the 40 is more expensive. Just my observation.

Additionally, unless you are buying the gun for target shooting, the cost of ammo should not be the only thing that you base buying a firearm on. There are a lot of good trends on this board that talk about the different calibers and how they compare for self defense. I think that the .45 is better for self defense but I still prefer the .40 because it isn't that far behind. Just my $0.02 worth.

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Share what you know, learn what you don't -- FUD.

[This message has been edited by FUD (edited February 23, 2000).]
 
I don't know the prices of .40 but for practice in .45 I use UMC 230 FMJ(in a yellow box) 50 rnds for $ 9.95

BEWARE I have seen Wal-Crap and some sporting good stores selling the exact same ammo for $15.95-19.95 !!!!

Always shop around is the motto I guess
 
In south TX, .40 S&W CCI ammo is around $9.50/box, while .45 ammo is around $13/box. I prefer the .40 not only because the ammo is cheaper but because I believe it performs exceptionally well from compact pistols.
 
I second all the above posts. Choosing .40 for my defensive round was based on very careful research I did that last a few months. I weighed ALL the options including (as the least important one though) the price of both practice and carry ammo.

Can anybody out there get a box of .45 TMJ or FMJ for $6.98 per box of 50 including shipping? I seriously doubt it.

I went to a pistol course at my local range recently, and do you want to guess what every single officer there recommends as the best all around defense caliber?

.40 S&W. Period. These guys have 25 - 30 years of experience each in the field, and all carry 1911 in .45 themselves. They don't hide their passion for big, single stack, highly customized .45 1911-type guns, but also admit they've used them for so long it's hard for them to change their deeply rooted personal habits. They also sell .45 and .357 SIG for much more than .40, so they're not pushing it for commercial reasons.
 
Anybody seen the article in the April HANDGUNS magazine: "Top Ten Police & Defense Loads"?

Ok, Plusp..."down boy, down!!!"

The list comes from actual one shot stops in real police shootings. Posted by retired Detroit Police Homicide Seargent Evan Marshal. States that he has spent 20 years collecting the results of over 1,300 shootings from the .22LR to the .45 Colt.

Now, with 20 years of data, doesn't it seem strange that the number one load is the Federal .40 S&W 155 grain Hydra Shok, with a record of 97% one shot stops?

This cartridge has not been around very long, but has surpassed all others in effectiveness. :p

Oh yeah, topic: .40 is about 10 bucks a box here, sometimes find it as low as $8.79
 
Be careful about believing that "One Shot Stop" stuff... the more you look into it the more I think you'll discover that Marshall, Sanow, et. al. are at best practicing bad science and math, and at worst are frauds.

Show me a pistol that will stop violent humans in real life 97% of the time with one shot and I'll show you...a .50AE, maybe?

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CastleBravo
 
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