Does the .40 really penetrate and expand better than the 9mm?

[BrianBeretta]

I have been comparing data of the 9mm and the .40 lately and i noticed the ligher 9mm grain bullets such as the 124 grain etc. are surpassed by the 40 in penetration and expansion. However I noticed that the 147g 9mm is almost identical in expansion and penetration to the .40 165g loads. This i find puzzling as i never hear of anybody caring the 147g to often, yet it shows to give .40 performance out of the 9mm, what edge does the 165g .40 have over the 147g 9mm?

 

[Russell92]

older 147gr 9mm penetrated too much and didn't expand enough (turned into FMJ most of the time). newer designs are better but i still don't trust them as much. i prefer a higher velocity 9mm since it will have a greater chance of expanding. how much penetration do you want? i think the 124gr+P Speer Gold-Dot has sufficient penetration and expansion.

 

[Coop de Ville]

See this link. It gives data for the Golden Saber. It's easy to see just how much the 40 outperforms the 9mm. I was interested in getting a 9mm, but now I'm not so sure. I carry a 40 and 45 and from the specs here, I may want to dump the 45...

http://www.vettechick.com/rem.htm