Is this 9mm really as good as my .45?

D

Dogger

New member
OK, after cycling through 20 handguns in 5 years I settled on the Colt CCO with Federal 230 grain Hydrashoks as my carry gun. This has been my primary CCW piece for 3 years and I remain unconvinced there is a better combination.

However... Lots of people are confident that, with the right choice of ammo, their 9mm is as effective a self-defense piece as my Colt.

My Colt CCO, fully loaded with 7 rounds of ammo, weighs 32 ounces.

So tell me, what 9mm gun/ammo combination, weighing at or under 32 ounces, is as reassuring as my Colt?

Thanks!!
 
Pick any lightweight 9mm automatic with a good trigger.
Pick any premium 9mm hollowpoint.
There you go.

There are no magic guns and no magic bullets. Whichever gun/ammo you can shoot accurately and handle skillfully, under stress, is the gun/ammo for you.

- Chris
 
Personally, I would feel just a tad more confident with the balloon going up having a .45acp in my hand than a 9mm. However, since I live in an area with relatively few balloons, my choice is a Kahr K9.

Unloaded, my K9 weighs 24 ounces if I'm not mistaken. Being that is was designed to utilize +P ammunition, it is always loaded with seven rounds of Georgia Arms 115gr Gold Dot +P+, with one in the tube during carry.

If you feel content with your .45acp, by all means, keep it! In my case, I just wanted something that would "get me through" if something were to happen. In my neck of the woods, it's ever so unlikely to encounter several heavily armed gangsters or the like, but perhaps a pissed off drunk or rabid dog instead; I am confident my K9 will suffice.
 
Dogger......if your .45 functions flawlessly with your ammo, your magazines and your shooting.........why change ?

Sam
 
SIG P226 or the P228 (smaller), no also issued as the M11. Weighs 26 ozs. plus 3 for the mag.

"During Army reliability tests conducted at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in January 1992, only a single malfunction was experienced in 15,000 rounds among the three P228s submitted for testing."
 
I am a big fan of the most power and capacity with the least size and weight. My fav's include the S&W 340 (5 rounds of 357 in 11 or so ounces), Kel-Tec P11 (10+1 rounds of 9mm), and the P13.45 (13+1 rounds of .45 in a commander sized gun). There is no winner, but just a matter of how big of a gun you want to carry.
 
Dogger, sounds like you have found a great rig.

If my postage scale is accurate, my P-11 with 11 rounds of +p is 21.5 ounces. Ten ounces less, four rounds more. I dunno if that is a good tradeoff for .45 acp stopping power or not. Its just what I do.
 
In my opinion:

A Glock 19 with 15 round mag (31 oz loaded) or Glock 26 with 10 or 15 round mag (with A&G adapter), either one loaded with Gold Dot JHPs, "is as reassuring as " your Colt.
 
Glock 17 or Sig P226!!! 9MM, .40 and .45 are about equal in fight stopping effectiveness. I've seen no empirical evidence to support the notion that any one is better than the other. And the 9MM carries more rounds, and ammo is cheaper so you can practice more,

As for the pistol, ANY double action or safe action design is far superior to the single action.
 
Let's go back to the beginnings of the .45 ACP. The U.S. Army was occupying the Phillipines, and naturally the natives objected. At that time the issue side arm was a .38 Special revolver.
Moro natives would get worked up, and sometimes drugged up before breaking into the barracks and chopping up as many soldiers as they could before being put down. The .38 Specials did not do a good job in stopping them. A cylinder full could be emptied into them and the Moro would keep on going. The troops wanted their "more effective" SA Army revolvers back. It is because of this that the .45 ACP was made, to duplicate the ballistics of the .45 LC.
BTW, the .45 LC was no more effective in stopping a drugged up Moro than the .38 Special. Even the Krag rifle could not reliably do it. It took a shotgun to do it with any consistancy.
The question is not: is the 9 mm as effective than the .45 ACP, but rather, is the .45 ACP measurably better than the 9 mm?
 
As for the pistol, ANY double action or safe action design is far superior to the single action.
Click to expand...

Uh, no. For getting that all important first round on target, the single action beats the others. For safety, one is as good as the other, since a negligent, forgetful, or idiotic person can have a ND with any of them.
 
I've heard the story about the drugged natives not being stopped by 38 so the army wanted 45. But let's look at bullet design from that period comparied to bullet design of today. since bullet designs have improved a 38/9mm can be as effective as a 45.
 
I would have to agree with the Glock 19 vote. 15+1 is alot of firepower and I don't believe in any magic caliber theory. (OK, except the 12 gauge shotgun theory.) But if you are happy w/ your .45 and can shoot it well I would stick with it.
 
The Glock19 with a 15 round high cap is more reasurring then your colt.I just sold my G19 with high caps and am sorry I did!Now I only own a Springfield 45 for carry but for home defense the glock rules!
 
In my hands,

a Sig-Sauer P228, with the Federal "Secret Service"
load.

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member
 
The cartridge that the .45 ACP replaced was the .38 S&W, not the .38 Special.

I carry a concealed .45 on me every day of my life. What makes that cartridge so damned good? Nothing. It has no advantage over a good 9mm but I do have a much sweeter (double action) trigger.
 
If it aint broke !

Dogger
If it works for you, why change? I dont think that the 9 mm guys out there are unarmed by any means but I dont care how you add it up, a 1911 with big ole 230 gr slugs just make me feel a whole lot safer. Single actions are faster shooting than any DA/SA or DAO out there! Sure, some real good shooting can be done with those kind of guns. But usually it is done by guys that have had some politician choose it for them, and they just have to make do! :rolleyes:
 
It has been said people catch more fish with lure that they have confidence in because they fish it longer and better. Find what you are most comfortable with it. No matter what comes out of the end of a gun if you are not comfortable with what is in your hand it is not any good. The best gun is the one you shoot best and have the most confidence in. Just my opinion.


Len S
 
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