Who's King of the hill? .40 S&W or .45 ACP

Who is King of the Hill?

  • .45 ACP

    Votes: 204 77.0%

  • .40 S&W

    Votes: 61 23.0%
  • Total voters
    265
  • Poll closed .
I prefer the .45 for two reasons: I love my Colts and reloading for them is a breeze. OTOH I was wrong about the .40 when it came out. Figured it was a compromise between the 9 and .45 with none of the advantages of either. I think I blew that one, huh?
King of the hill? .45 has my vote. King of the government contracts? .40 with good reason. Choice of old-school defensive handgunners? .45 (or 9), again with good reason. I've carried both, felt well-armed with both. They're both winners.
 
I have both and enjoy them both very much. That being said, I prefer the .45acp. I would by no means feel undergunned with a .40 s&w. I just know that the .45 did the job 100 years ago and it will still do the job now. Both are great. If you have a modern style .45 you can have nearly as many rounds as .40 caliber handguns. (Eg. Springfield XDm, Glock 21, FNP, HK USP, PARA P-14) They will all hold as many or more rounds than lots of other .40 handguns. I am fine with the recoil of either. I love the .40 as well, it all goes down to preference. I love the feel of the 1911 in my hand, so I go with that one.

As far as capacity goes, if 7 rounds of .45 won't do it, you need more practice.
 
Or, if 7 rounds won't do it...

... the other guy is shooting back... or

... the other guy is moving around... or

... the other guy is using cover and concealment... or

... you are moving around... or

... you are using cover and concealment... or

... there is more than one other guy... or

... the other guy is wearing body armor... or

... the other guy is both physically fit and mentally tough, and just won't go down easily... or

... you get the idea.
 
I prefer the .40, since it provides (in my opinion) the same power as a .45 (using JHPs, not FMJ), with significantly higher capacity.
 
In my experience on 'chucks, feral dogs and cats etc I found no difference between 40 and 45. Within each there are many bullet and load choices so take your pick. Don't forget the placement of the bullet is the most important thing !!
 
.45

I like a bullet that I can see.
Just in terms of general popularity....the .45 wins hands down.
SD - energy has little to do with it. Stopping power is a function of shot placement. So...all other things considered....I'll take a .45 any time.
Pete
 
BOTH! Each excels in specific areas, just like they should!

I voted .40, in my opinion the trade off in actual terminal performance is not <30%, yet we get almost 30% more capacity in most platforms.

However, in short the real answer is, "Don't make me choose when we can buy both of them :)."

.45ACP is one of my favorites for open carry and general target shooting, in the winter I do use for Concealed carry. Also great fun blowing large holes in targets that can be easily seen from 25 yds....and certainly clears bowling pins with authority. Larger platforms in weight and length typically bring better inherent accuracy?

.40 is one of my favorite all around CC and SD (Platform sizes of the 9mm, a little larger than 9mm, more capacity than the .45). This is my fall / spring carry weapon. Clears bowling pins with authority, just a hair off the .45.

Honestly I don't think there is going to be a whole lot of difference in any handgun round if needed to deploy against an adversary. In a stressful situation the .40 would give me more shots without reloading in a small package with firepower (if pistol's really have power) similar to a .45.
 
I do love the Glock 19/23 sized handguns, but I just shoot the Glock 21 the best. I found the harshly snappy recoil of the .40 inhibited my ability to be accurate with it. With the G21 I really don't have to try that hard to be accurate with it and recoil is not the issue it was with the G23.
As I was consolidating my caliber choices I thinned the herd a little and the .40 went out the door.
When I owned a 9mm, .40 and .45 I'd hold one of each caliber cartridge in my hand and just look at them........its amazing how small the .45 makes the other two look :o
 
i'm sure many have already commented on the fact that their are only 7 rds for a 45, however, my other argument is gun control, if you can't hit a paper target with a decent grouping at a minimum of 7 yards. What is to say that when you are at a high adrenaline and accelerated heart rate that you are going to be able to handle a 45 during an emergency?
 
I'd be comfortable using either round.....but to answer the question it would depend on the gun it is coming out of. If I only had 1 shot of either round, and I knew it would hit, I would use the .45. All other things being equal, I would probably go with a .40 just because you are going to get more rounds in a mag on an equal sized gun.
 
Chainman wrote:
"BOTH! Each excels in specific areas, just like they should!I voted .40, in my opinion the trade off in actual terminal performance is not <30%, yet we get almost 30% more capacity in most platforms. However, in short the real answer is, "Don't make me choose when we can buy both of them .".45ACP is one of my favorites for open carry and general target shooting, in the winter I do use for Concealed carry. Also great fun blowing large holes in targets that can be easily seen from 25 yds....and certainly clears bowling pins with authority. Larger platforms in weight and length typically bring better inherent accuracy?.40 is one of my favorite all around CC and SD (Platform sizes of the 9mm, a little larger than 9mm, more capacity than the .45). This is my fall / spring carry weapon. Clears bowling pins with authority, just a hair off the .45.Honestly I don't think there is going to be a whole lot of difference in any handgun round if needed to deploy against an adversary. In a stressful situation the .40 would give me more shots without reloading in a small package with firepower (if pistol's really have power) similar to a .45."

Well said. (though I think you meant "IS <30%..." versus "is NOT..." in the first part of your argument.) In some ways the two are like owning an SUV or a sports car; you're always going to find occasions when you wish you had the other, or the one you had could magically "turn into" the other at the opportune moment. Probably an even better analogy for the 9mm vs .40 or .45 debate, but still works.
 
Last edited:
For me, and I own both calibers, it would be .45. But not necessarily for any of the reasons presented previously.

As a sworn LEO, I carry a 9mm on duty. I carry a .40 cal off duty. If I like the EAA Witness in the safe well enough, I will be carrying a .40 cal on duty again. There is a .40 in the nightstand for the wife. So then, why do I think the .45 is KOH?

Because, like the 9mm, it has been killing people for 100 years or so. In FMJ, or HP, or whatever, IMHO, it is far more accurate then the .40 cal round, in the same platform. Meaning my G21/G30 were far more accurate then my G22/23. I still have the G23, but it's not stock, and it still isn't as accurate as my .45 Glocks were.

Because just the other day, with a 1945ish Remington-Rand, I put all 7 shots into a 3'x3' target at 100 yards, offhand. I've since had to turn that gun back in to the department I did work for, lol.

Because it's just my opinion, lol. In all honesty, with current loadings, I don't think anyone can go wrong carrying just about any caliber in a reliable platform. If the person does their job, and places their rounds were they need to go, and caliber might have something to do with how well they do that, then the rest should fall into place. Not always, I won't argue.

Lastly, even with body armor has part of my work related safety equipment, I really don't want to feel how either of them would work.
 
throwing a projectile of larger diameter and larger weight generally is the best formula in my opinion......but in another forum i was shot down for saying that because of a 9mm vs 45acp "knock down power" thread lol people hear knock down power phrase and they think people are gonna fly off their feet or something haha


But for lets say "hitting power" compare getting hit by a 1/2ton Chevy to a 1ton ford f350 work truck....the heavier bigger one usually does more damage


i own both and love both rounds and would not hesitate to use either in defense of my life or others
 
First, my usual caveat: I don't have a lot of experience with the .40. In fact, just about 2 weeks ago, I shot one for the first time, a buddy's Glock 23 at the range. While I did not care for the Glock trigger, nor how it felt in my hand, that has zip to do with whether I liked the .40 round. I did not find the recoil to be "snappy," as I've so often heard it described. I found it to be perfectly manageable. Accuracy was fine, though I shoot a 1911 better. That may also be a function of the pistol and not the round, though. What I did like was the fact that I kept expecting to run out of ammo, . . . but not doing so. I still prefer the .45 acp, but I'd be OK carrying a .40, too.
 
For me, this becomes a "higher-capacity-with-decent-stopping-power {.40} vs. lower-capacity-with-great-stopping-power {.45}" thing. That is, unless you have a hi-cap .45.....which I don't. However, since I don't obsess over magazine capacity, I'll take a single-stack .45, and in my case, that's a Ruger P-90 and also a Ruger P345. :cool: My caliber choice aside, I subscribe to the notion that marksmanship, tactics, and training matter more than caliber.
 
Capacity is no concern if you have a FNP-45 USG with 15+1 of 230 +Ps. I wouldn't ccw .45 or .40 as both are too big if they have ample capacity. For ccw, I would take a 9mm with Gold Dot 124+Ps.

With today's .45s capacity isn't much of a concern as most hold over 10 rounds (non 1911s).
 
I currently own and carry both, depending on the temperature, of course! I first started carrying a .40S&W caliber when I was a U.S. Border Patrol Agent and we were issued the Beretta 96D Brigadeer pistols. I liked the caliber and shot it well.

When I became an INS Criminal Investigator, we were issued HK USP Compacts in 40 cal. Also nice pistols.

When I retired, I still had quite a bit of 40 cal. left over, so I purchased an HK P2000SK in 40S S&W. It's a small pistol so it does recoil quite a bit, but I still shoot it well and used to carry it as my EDC pistol.

Early this year I bought an HK45CT to carry as my EDC now. I like the pistol and especially the .45 round. It's a little harder to conceal, but I've carried concealed for a long time with the U.S. Govt. so it's really not a problem.

I now mainly carry the .45, but only because I like the round better than the .40. The recoil is much less, even though I give up one round over the .40 I have. On occasion though I still put on the smaller pistol. I don't feel either pistol is underpowered, and I feel confident in either caliber also. From a personal standpoint, I just like the feel of the .45 more. It's just a personal decision more than anything else. If HK were to ever make an HK P2000SK in .45, I'd buy one of those in a New York minute, but I'm not holding my breath. :)
 
There are two viewpoints on this:

a) 40S&W combines the BEST qualities of 9mm and 45ACP
b) 40S&W combines the WORST qualities of 9mm and 45ACP

Viewpoint a is like the Subaru Forester, not nearly as heavy duty as a real truck, but with more gas mileage and ease of driving some people think it combines the best attributes of a car and full size SUV

Viewpoint b is like the spork, fails at being a spoon and a fork

There is nothing wrong with 40S&W, but I'd choose 45ACP over 40S&W. While 40S&W technically has less recoil than a 45ACP, the recoil feels more annoying to me (may not be the same with others). Additionally, you get less rounds than you can in a 9mm and less power than in a 45ACP with more cost than 9mm ammo. While 40S&W ballistically beats 9mm, with CAREFULLY chosen ammo the knockdown percentage of 9mm and 40S&W is very close. Even with 40S&W, defensive ammo needs to be chosen carefully. With 45ACP practically any hollowpoint ammo will perform well. I'm sure you have heard the horror stories of 9mm failing to perform. Pretty much all of these stories involve mediocre standard pressure ammo. Heck, I've even heard stories of 45ACP failing to stop a criminal.

Even with all the things I just said, I still plan on getting a 40S&W just so I have a 9mm Pistol, 45ACP Pistol, and 40S&W Pistol.
 
Busting A Gun Bubble

It seems the 45 ACP and 40 S&W were effectively rendered obsolete by the introduction of the 45 GAP pistol. And it trails the 357 SIG. The SIG's attributes include no feeding problems, flat trajectory, excellent accuracy, superior barrier penetration, high round count and stopping power rivaling that of the 357 MAGNUM.
 
Since I am not burdened by an accountant or a liability lawyer on my household staff, I'll defend myself with either the .45ACP or the 9mmP over the .40S&W.

If I want a hard hitting big bore, .45ACP

If I want a quick handling auto with capacity to spare, 9mmP.

I come at this from the view that like many compromises, the .40S&W is a blend of the worst features of the older duty rounds, not the best. .40S&W doesn't offer the best feature of the 230gr JHP, which is its larger diameter deep striking momentum. Nor does it offer enough of a capacity boost or real world results to shooters who don't have to shoot windscreen glass to make it clearly a better choice than the 9mm for those needing shorter grip frames or who desire a high capacity platform.

The .40S&W is neither here nor there in my book. I won't disparage someone choosing it, but I have no real or imagined need for one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top