Why is the 9mm so popular in Europe?

4

45ACPShooter

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I was looking at the latest issue of the magazine Glock autopistols and noticed that almost every law enforcement agency in the the U.S. that is using Glocks, uses some kind of .40 S&W variant. European law enforcement agencies and military personnel appear to only use the 9mm variants of the Glock. So why is this the case?
 
It probably boils down to; it's cheaper, easily available & does the job.
It's not like your unarmed with a 9mm.
The cars they have in Europe are easier to shoot through? (Fiat compared to F-150) ;)
 
Its not just Europe. Basically everywhere in the world police and military use 9mm.

Like a previous post mentions, its not like you are unarmed with a 9mm. Its a pretty decent calibre, even in fmj its a deadly round.
 
I can't say about all European countries, but in Italy civilians aren't/weren't allowed to own a 9x19 or 9mm Parabellum because it's a military round. Instead, there's a civilian 9mm, the 9x21. IIRC the .45 ACP was recently de-regulated so that civilians can own them, but strangely enough .45 Autos never were overly popular in Italy.
 
Round count. its way better to have 15, 16, 19 rounds.
Cheaper is a added bonus.
glock is a lowest denominator gun when it comes to users, "pull the trigger" is easiest to remember - no external safeties to deal with
Also for Europe the 9mm is a European round, they are un likely to give it up anytime soon
 
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I think it has to do with the history of the use of handguns in Europe.

There has never been a "citizen armed is a citizen free" movement in Europe like we are guaranteed under the Constitution here.

Therefore,most police departments have usually been able to deal with the population with mostly using no handguns or what we would consider weak caliber handguns.

The general population has been actively discouraged by all of their governments to own handguns.

Indeed,in most european countries,if you can buy and actually get to shoot on occasion,a 22 lr handgun,consider yourself lucky.

You think some of our handgun laws are a pain?

Europe makes anything we have look positively easy to deal with.

Remember this,for a very long time in Europe,the 32 caliber and then the 380 caliber semi auto rounds were the defacto law enforcement rounds and the general citizenry were simply told they could'nt own wnything mote powerful.

After WW2,things began to change but slowly.

The 9mm was the handgun catridge of war in WW2 and was effective and cheap to produce.

There really was'nt a need for a stronger round.Even today.

It's mostly been determined all along not by what the citizenry wanted but by what the governments ,the military and the police used.

And ,to this day,it's still that way in most of Europe.
 
It was developed in Europe-Germany, IIRC-and since outside of the UK revolvers never really caught on in Europe it was probably the most powerful handgun round many of them fired.
 
Uh, it's a Glock ad.

The most common pistol worldwide is the CZ75 (and clones).

The 9x19 cartridge is chosen for its demonstrated effectiveness.
In the USA the 40 S&W cartridge is still the number one choice, with the 9x19 and 357 SIG following.
The 45 ACP has slipped.
 
That is a good question.

The Germans used it as a service round and the 9mm was one of the most powerful European rounds.

I was lucky enough to shoot a Hungarian Service Pistol, the Frommer Stop. http://www.hungariae.com/FromStop.htm The one I shot was the "Big" version, a 380 auto. The smaller version was a 32 caliber.

I mean, a 380 auto was considered adequate for a service round? No wonder the Cavalry carried swords, their handguns were pop guns.
 
Because in Europe the 9mm is adequate as we rely on bullet placement, not the "Shock & Awe" of a bullet the size of a 55-gallon oil drum's slip stream at trans-warp velocities just missing?:D
 
Partially economics, but there are other factors as well

In WWI, Germany used the 9mm Parabellum. In WW II, Germany used the 9mm Parabellum. In the 1950s, NATO adoped the 9mm Parabellum as military standard.

European police used 7.65mm (.32) and 9mm Kurz (.380) for many years. Unlike the US, not only is there no armed citizen tradition, but the opposite is true. Also opposite the US, in Europe, for generations, big bore handguns were seen as the guns used by criminals and terrorists. Smaller calibers were used by police. In the US, thanks to our unique history, and culture, the good guys use big bore handguns (Colt .45), while small calibers were used by criminals, more often (concealable). So, there is a cultural bias at work.

However, the simplest explanation is simple economics. Cheap ammo isn't a factor, its the guns themselves. With 9mm already available as the military weapon, you don't need to spend money on a different gun for the police.

Also, European police make extensive use of SMGs. When I was in GErmany in the 70s it was common to see a two man Polezei team, one man with a holstered pistol (9mm, the P1), and the other with a 9mm SMG, (usually HK MP5). I saw a German road block (to stop a speeder!:eek:) with a belt fed MG1 (.308 version of MG42) between a couple of VW vans. When they get serious, they get really serious!

And another thing about European police, they have a historical tradition of being able to shoot first, and ask questions later, if they are interested in asking questions. In the US we have a long history of questioning authority, police included. Eurpoeans do not. Our police shooting get investigated, and we require the police to proove why they had to shoot. Over there, the police are generally assumed to be in the right, and you have to proove otherwise!
 
Because they're not as prone to question the status quo as we are (or used to be when we came up with the 1911 .45 ACP) Think back to how this country came to be. Although we seem to be drifting towards their idea of how to run a country. And they have always preferred small sidearms that they can drop in a pocket or purse. They believe that wearing a leather gun rig with extra ammunition makes a man less civilized somehow.
 
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Hey! First time posting european, from Sweden. English as third language posting from my iphone so excuse the spelling.

First of Gun laws in europé vary alot from great brittain where handguns are considered the devils work to Finland and czech republic where they have better laws than commiefornia. In Finland anyone Could get à silencer up until à couple of years ago.

I think many of You guys nailed it, the 9mm is considered enough and à bigger round Would be overdoing it. Plus It's the Natoround so It's the most common calibre. Dont fix it unless It's broken.

Fun facts the great brittain police are unarmed. They even do house raids and warrant searches unarmed. Norweigan police keep their Guns in locked boxes inside their patrol cars. Swedish police use hollow points to reduce collateral damage and boy guess what anger that stirred up when they switched from fmj.

Any other european Gun law questions feel free to ask but that might be going off-topic.
 
The Olympics in Munich 1972 changed the thinking in Europe and other places .They realized that they needed more than a 32 or 380 so the 9mm became standard. That event started the development of SWAT teams also.
The 9x19 in FMJ was not a good performer but the modern +P and +P+ JHP loads were a big improvement.
 
It's just not Europe...

So really who cares? I don't want to sound disrespectful but so....

It's a popular round there and here and to most of the world.

Why? It's widely available and cheap and frankly does the job, high capacity, easy recoil, etc.

Another factor many don't consider is the limits places by countries on what their citizens can have. Some countries limit the size - like in Australia you can't own a .45

Under NATO the 9mm is a standardized caliber for those countries - so much so that even the US moved to issuing the 9mm (Beretta 92 or aka M9).


We have the freedom to find what works best and to constantly improve... That was the "old American way."

I do own a 9mm but not my first choice.... 40S&W, 357SIG, 45ACP, 400Corbon but on the flip side I shoot a lot of .22LR for trigger/target practice.

But if you do - that's your choice.

It is a good round but not my preference and choice and as you pointed out not our law enforcements either.

Bottomline: there's a lot of general firearm history, country history, military history, perspective and background choices.... that has lead to your question.

The real question is why is the 40S&W caliber a popular choice for our LEO agencies? Look at the develop and history of the 40S&W
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.40_S&W
 
I wouldn't consider myself unarmed or anything near it with a 9MM Nato firearm of good quality. I do happen to prefer larger and heavier calibers though. I think others have nailed it pretty well. The 9mm is the common European caliber and has been for quite some time. It is at least adequately effective, available, and is familiar.

I do not currently have a 9mm in anything at all, but I have my feelers out for a nice HighPower, or maybe a CZ75.
 
While I have never been to Europe, I have been to the Orient, and I have friends and acquaintances who have been to Europe.

Neither Europe nor the Far East have the preponderance of 300 pounders that we have here. Not that they are unheard of, but they are rare.

Here in the US, well-fed heifers are the rule, not the exception. A stroll through Wal-Mart will provide you with all the evidence you need. An hour spent watching COPS will show you that the average US criminal is not a svelte 140-pounder. :)

LEOs here have to deal with 300 pounders day in, day out. If I were one of them I sure wouldn't want to trust my life to a .32/.380/9mm.

As a CHL holder, I have spent a fair bit of time reflecting on this. I'm too old to run and too skinny and gimpy to fight hand-to-hand.

I used to carry a 9mm or a .38 Spl. daily. These days, I carry a .45 acp (or .45LC/.357 Mag.41 Mag) daily. I still own a .380 and a 9mm, but in the last two years, I have actually carried each maybe two or three times...usually when I am sick at home and wearing sweats, or mowing the lawn in shorts.
 
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