I like to tell people that if they want one-shot knock-down power that's a truly significant improvement over a 9mm, they need a different "forty"- a 40mm Bofors gun..40S&W Overall Advantage - One Shot Knock Down Power.
^^ This.In fact all the service pistol calibers (.38 SP, 9MM, .357 Sig, .357 Mag, .40 S&W, .45 ACP) exhibit a very similar level of performance. Anyone claiming vast superiority of one over the other, knows not of which they speak.
Get some guy to hit you in the shoulder with a slow punch. Now have the same guy throw the same punch on the other shoulder with all the speed he can. Note the difference in energy dump.
As a firefighter/emt I have actually seen the results of people shot with the .40 cal. (Its the favored police caliber for most of my local Law Enforcement agency's)
The results where impressive. I have also done some very informal testing of my own. Like shooting jugs of water and tightly bundled news paper. And everything I have seen is that yes the .40 does have a noticeable/significant advantige over the 9mm when it comes to "power".
Now this dosen't mean squat if you don't hit your target. And frankly some people have a hard time doing this with anything bigger than a 9mm. So for many people the 9mm is a "better" choice.
As for the caliber debate:
The 9mm only really holds 2-3 more rounds than a similar sized .40. When your talking about service handguns in .40 and 9mm they tend to hold 14-19 rounds and that means it isn't as big a "disadvantige" as most people think.
Second the recoil of the .40 has been described as "harsh" or "snappy". This may be true but you have to look at the firearms that people are shooting with. If you have the latest whiz-bang-sub-compact polymer pistol then yea, its gonna have some recoil. But in a full sized/service handgun it is very controlable. I shoot my .40 CZ-75B and the recoil isn't bad at all but then again it is a all steel full sized handgun.(I belive its weights about 34 oz)
The bottom line is use what you shoot well. I would rather carry a smith and wesson model 10 that I could get consistant hits with, then a 10mm that I can't.
Helios, either you are Playboypenguin incognito...or you're ripping off his images!
the 158 grain FBI load did better in 2 and 3 inch guns.
Get some 300 lb guy to hit you in the shoulder with a slow punch. Now have his 98 lb sister throw the same punch on the other shoulder with all the speed she can. Note the difference in energy dump.
On another note:
There...fixed it for you.Get some 300 lb guy to hit you in the shoulder with a slow punch. Now have his 98 lb sister throw the same punch on the other shoulder with all the speed she can. Note the difference in energy dump.
Get some 300 lb guy to hit you in the shoulder with a slow punch. Then get a 290 lb guy throw the same punch on the other shoulder. Now pretend like there is a difference.