is 9mm cheaper then .40 cal

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Wacko

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im getting my first handgun very soon. i know what i want but i cant decide on the caliber. This gun is going to be strictly for target and home defense purposes. Im planning on getting a glock because i am eventually going to be a LEO and the glock 22 is what my issued weapon is going to be and I want to be proficient with a gun prior to my hiring. I was told by a LEO to buy a .40 cal so i was use to it. Is there a significant price difference between 9mm ammo and 40 cal. ? i am concerned that the 40 cal. is going to be expensive to take to the range, i live in MA. Also will i see a significant change in shooting the two different caliber

(also plan on buyin a .22)
 
9mm is typically the least expensive centerfire factory handgun ammunition you can buy.

Comparing apples to apples, .40 S&W ammo is about 50% more expensive than 9mm.
 
9 is cheaper but I haven't seen a box on the shelf at my local wally world since a months before the obamanation began....

I have no clue where to get it...
 
before THE PANIC!! hit, the general going rate I saw for range ammo was:

9mm: $12 for 50 (or $20 for 100)
.40: $14-$15 for 50
.45: $15-$16 for 50

this was for stuff like Winchester White Box and Blazer Brass, hardly high-end but also not milsurp, reloaded, or big bulk packs.
This was only in my area and these prices shouldn't be taken for anything but to show the relativity in pricing.

bottom line: yes 9mm really is noticeably cheaper. Maybe not as much as some would have you believe, but enough that it's noteworthy. Also, to my mind, .40 and .45 prices are close enough that I wouldn't choose one caliber over the other based on ammo cost.
 
First of all, we use "than" for comparison. "Then" is for before/after.

Secondly, I think you guys are being very generous with the math. I've never seen .40 for 3x as much, or even double as much. Obviously it depends on where you're buying and in what quantity, but it's usually more like 25-30 cents/round for 9mm and 30-35 cents/round for .40.

Interestingly enough, I just checked Ammunition To Go and Cheaper Than Dirt, and can't find 9mm for cheaper than 30 cents at the moment, while I can find Wolf .40 for 26 (other places have .40 in the 30-35 cent range as usual).

Longer term I'd expect to pay a small premium for .40, but it makes zero sense to buy a 9mm for the 10% cheaper ammo but then buy it in boxes of 50 with gun store markups or separate shipping on each box. The savings of going from one round to the other is less than the savings of buying in bulk, so pick the caliber you like and buy a case of 1000.
 
This gun is going to be strictly for target and home defense purposes.
Click to expand...

Well for target practice the 9mm is going to be the cheapest. A .40
or .45 is a better home defense round but, there is nothing wrong
in having a 9mm for that either. It's really more about shot placement
than anything.
 
Our local Walmart has the Federal 9mm for $9/box of 50. I believe the same in .40SW was $14/box. They have both on a pretty regular basis these days.
 
Even before the panic, .40 ammo was usually only around $2-3 more per box.

In my opinion, a beter round for a little more.

Even now, the .40 only costs around $2 more per box.
 
+1 on what vtrich said. those are the prices at my wally world as well.

so at that price, 10 boxes of 9 is $97.43 and 10 boxes of .40 s&w is 151.55, a difference of 54.12. if you are gonna be target shoting a lot, its easy to use 6-10 boxes a month
 
First of all I'd like to thank BobbyT for the grammer lesson. Secondly, go ahead and get yourself a turret press and start loadin up those .40 s&w rounds.
 
I see plenty of FMJ target 9mm on the shelves around central VA these days, and it's price is still anywhere from $9.99-$15.99 per box of 50rnds (or about the same it was this time last year). While there also is a pretty good supply of other calibers too, they have not come down any in price from their peaks earlier this year (100rnds of WWB .45acp FMJ is around $50-$52 - near double what it was selling for this time last year).

For range sessions, 9mm is still the bargain center fire caliber around here.
 
Temporary thread hijack:

I subscribe to A LOT of forums... firearms, amateur radio, model railroading, photography, LINUX and UNIX forums to name just a few and the universal thing that ALL people hate on these forums... The Grammar Police! No one likes being told they are stupid. For some people (and I am not pointing fingers here!), the only way they can feel superior to other people is to point out the flaws in other people.

If those people didn't pay attention in English class in school, then they certainly aren't going to change at this point in their life! Get over it!

[/rant]OFF

Now back to your regularly scheduled argument!

Scott
 
At one time there was lots of cheap surplus 9MM ammo for plinking, where the 40 is obviously not in that category. Therefore at one point there was lots and lots of cheap plinking ammo for practice in 9MM from that source. I do not see much if any surplus 9MM these days, if there were, it probably is inflated like anything else, so perhaps you should not buy a gun just based on the ammo price diff. Maybe it is not the best time to buy a .380 pistol due to actual ammo rarity on the retail market. Unless some fool is selling his .380 for peanuts out of frustration at not being able to get ammo and shoot!
 
9mm will always be cheaper just because of the number manufactured.
But I would make another reason for picking the 9 over the 40. The 40 is one of the best auto rounds manufactured, the energy level is high but the recoil is also high.
You sound like you don’t have a great deal of experience with guns and for that reason alone I would start with a 9mm. Many people that start out with guns like the 40 or 45 ACP as a starter gun have a lot of difficulty becoming proficient with them and grow very frustrated.
If your experience level is that low, I would start with the 22 in a good quality gun like the Ruger Mark II or III and shoot several thousand rounds for the same price as a several boxes of 40. Once you become proficient then get the larger gun and by then you can decide on which fits your shooting skills and ability better.
Let’s face it, if you can’t shoot a 22 you’re sure as heck not going to be able to shoot a 40 very well.
Good luck.
 
scottaschultz said:
....the universal thing that ALL people hate on these forums... The Grammar Police!
Click to expand...

Not ALL and you don't speak for me. If it were up to me there would be a sticky on every forum regarding "than/then", "your/you're", " sitting/setting" and all the rest. But that's just me and I don't pretend to speak for ALL members.


Now ammo prices.....apparently if varies from area to area so your best bet is to probably just go check it out locally. That said, my local dealer sells Blazer Brass for $9.99 (9mm ), $13.99 ( .40 S&W ) and $15.99 (.45 ACP ).Your results may vary.
 
to buy it--yes, 40 cost more.

to make it the cost of 9mm is 11.5 cents. [ $58/1000 125gr]
40 is 12.4 cents per round. [$67/1000 180gr]

so, reloading cost about $1.00 per hundred more than 9mm.
factory cost closer to $8.00 per hundred more.
 
I just saw 9mm in a gun store for $9.95/50. Last year I bought two cases of aluminum Blazer ammo for $4.99/50. Times have changed. I have a Glock 23 in .40 and bought a G19 in 9mm (same size gun) for practice. You might want to consider getting a G17 in 9mm and use it to practice for the G22 you might have in the future. They're the same size gun and use the same holsters. The .40 has a bit more recoil and blast than the 9mm.
 
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