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 .
secret_agent_man said:
LOL, Alabama remains one of the top three states in the nation for obesity in state residents. You wouldn't think blubber would make that much difference, but maybe.
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No umbrage intended here, but I am not sure of the relevance here. Is there indication that the .45 penetrates better than the .40? I use a 180-grain Federal HST .40, and the results I have seen suggest superb penetration.
 
Federal HST 180gr .40 and 230gr .45 both penetrate exactly the same, with expansion being almost identical.

(Hint: They have the same sectional density).
 
I have a Glock 21 (45acp) and a Glock 22 (40 S&W). I love them both. I have had a lot more experience with the 45 ACP as that is what I grew up with. For a lot of years I thought a Remington Rand 1911 A1 was the best gun around. I have my Dad's and I still shoot it on occasion. I guess I love that gun more than any I have ever had. On the practical side of things, I feel perfectly safe with either gun when I carry. I cannot say one is any better than the other. I work in a place where I see first hand what a bullet wound does. Shot placement is the key to a firearn saving your life, but only if that is the only way out. As a side note, my Dad and I had a very dear friend in the 1950's who was a US Marine sniper in the South Pacific in WWII. He was a very humble man who had seen everything dealing with violence. He carried (daily) a Colt Woodsman 22lr with hollow points.
 
No umbrage intended here, but I am not sure of the relevance here. Is there indication that the .45 penetrates better than the .40? I use a 180-grain Federal HST .40, and the results I have seen suggest superb penetration.
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The ATK workshops show the 230 gr .45 HST expands more than the 180 gr .40 HST. The .45 also penetrates more in all the tests except wall board.

http://le.atk.com/pdf/PierceCountyWorkshop.pdf

The 180 gr HST is still a good choice.
 
No umbrage taken, Law Scholar

I'm just saying that a cop living in a state with a high percentage of obese people and who favors the 45 ACP may be onto something by way of experience most of the rest of us don't have.

That ATK Workshop PDF says it all about the 45. Big, heavy people may need big, heavy bullets to bring them down.

Those HST bullets in the test sure are pretty when perfectly expanded. But notice the Golden Sabers exhibited better penetration.
 
In my reading, the only advantage the .40 S&W has over the .45 ACP is capacity, which may be just what some folks are looking for. Me, I have 1 of each but still prefer .45 ACP.
 
Shot for shot...

It's the 45 but I voted for 40S&W because capacity matters and yes, before anyone asks, i do plan on missing a lot. It's not a bad thing to plan for.
 
One issue here in Kalifornia is the hi-cap mag ban still in effect. I think this has had a huge effect on the popularity of the .45, because if you're limited to a 10-rd. mag, that offsets the only true advantage of the .40.

I'm perfectly happy with my old Glock 19 and its grand-fathered 15-rd mags, but if I were buying today, I might consider a P220 or a Commander-type weapon in .45.

If I lived in a free state and mag capacity was not a restriction, I would get a .40. It's a good compromise of high capacity and stopping power, and probably the best choice.

Truly, though, I believe caliber choice is not a variable that will determine the outcome of a fight, if you choose any of the full-size self-defense rounds and use modern HP ammo (+P in 9mm and .38).
 
Well, I am a little overweight myself, but has nothing to do with 45 selection, nor the size of potential targets, LOL. Just love the 45. What can I say? I'm the chief and carry what I like.
 
My duty weapon is a 1911. I carry 230 +P 45 HST rounds and would not choose anything else.
That said the 40 is a great round but I would rather carry the most powerful round I'm allowed to on duty. You don't always get a second chance.
 
I don't know how well my 1911s would feed hollow points, but I do know my Sig Sauer P226 .40 cal feeds them flawlessly. So, if I had to choose today, I would go with the .40 loaded with hollow points.
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The above is one thing that had occured to me, and one reason that I voted for the .40 - possibly advantageous to have a round that was designed with this specific bullet profile / configuration from the beginning. (However, I don't own a .45 yet, but hopefully later this year.)

As a military history buff though, it's hard not to like the .45 ACP. :)
 
I heard it direct from the seller. That doesn't verify it. Sounded good at the time, but was not a major factor, although I it should have been, if it's true. A semi automatic gun even smells like it might not feed right, that's a really big deal IMHO.
 
I really don't see any purpose in the .40 round personally. I don't really like the way it shoots and if I want to go bigger than 9mm in an autoloader I much prefer .45
 
SecretAgentMan; most LE organizations moved to "new" calibers such as 45 GAP, .357 SIG, etc because they were given the new weapons for free or nearly free by a manufacturer. These manufacturers figure private buyers will more readily spend their money on guns and calibers used by Cops. They want the "AR" effect.
 
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