9mm or .40???

[dbritt066]

I am currently in the process of buying the Springfield XD but I am having a problem on which caliber to buy.  I plan on using the gun for just about everything (home defense, carry, fun, and possible competition).  Obviously the .40 well have more recoil, but that is something that can be learned to control, right?  Another thing is ammo cost and availability.  

So, which is better???

Help!!!

[Flexmoney]

First gun of this type...not reloading...go with 9mm.  It will cost you up to half as much as 40 ammo.

The easiest route is Winchester 115gr. FMJ val-u-paks found at Wal-mart for $11/100.  

I'd start with about a 1,000 rounds...just to get used to the gun.

(Edited by Flexmoney at 5:18 pm on Oct. 23, 2002)

[Sixgun]

I would lean toward the .40, myself. I think that the .40 is the more versatile of the two calibers. You can load it up to major easily, or down for steel loads. (That said with the suspicion that you will take up reloading as a hobby/cost saving adventure!) You can also buy Blazer ammo for the .40, and that makes major. It will move bowling pins off a table, and just make the steel ring while being fairly affordable.

I think that if you plan on starting to reload in the future, then the .40 is the most versatile caliber out there!

If you don't want to reload and cost is an issue, then I agree with what Flex said.

These are just my opinions, so take them with a grain of salt, and enjoy that new XD in either caliber!

Regards,

Ray C.

[3quartertime]

Some pretty good help huh.  The type that post here have done it or they wouldn't post.  Sometimes asking the super knowledgable just gives you more questions.

Wanna have someone just TELL ya what to do???  Get the 9mm.  Shoot the crap out of it,  learn the basics with it and decide that its holding you back in whatever you do with it. Then buy a .40 and a loader.

Hey you ask!!!

[SiG Lady]

I have both. When I want to do some serious practice I blast away with the .40... Yes, more expensive ammo, but... feels good. And the recoil teaches me some things I need to know.

The 9mm is for practice, carry, indoor league-action and is less expensive in gobbling up ammo. Again the .40 gives me perspective on use of the 9mm... and frankly I just plain flat enjoy shooting something noisier and heavier than the 9mm from time to time.  Both are cool.

Flex is right: I discovered the Win-115's at Wal Mart for not much $$ at all and I use 'em.  9mm boxes of 100 (loose pack) are quite affordable.

[Epidemic]

Desert eagle 44 magnum.  gentle recoil and shoot all day for a few thousand dollars.  

I am a penny pincher with a love for recoil.   Man those two things don't go together.  

I got the 9 for plain old plinking but it was a glock model 26.  I cant hit the broad side of the barn with the thing.

If you are really interested in cheap get the ruger mark 1 22 shoot for a week on 100 bucks and the thing is accurate.   no recoil or respect though

[Carlos]

Well this fourm and Brian's book often times focus on USPSA competition shooting so here is the skinny on which caliber to buy IF you plan to shoot competitively in USPSA (IPSC). Keep in mind that either gun could compete in certain classes of IDPA.

Avoid the ported models at all costs!

There are no available factory high cap magazines you can buy in the US (unless you are an LEO or whant to try importing some certifiable pre-bans from Croatia) so 10 + 1 rounds is your limit (everyone else - shut up about the .40 mags will ya??!?! Crissake!).

You CAN modify highcaps made for other guns to use the HS/XD mag release and yes its OK since the doner magazine will still function in the original gun; theoretically, you might be able to make some "reliable" 140 mm limited highcaps out of other high dollar pre-bans, but it would take LOTS of fiddling.special parts & know-how. Might have been either Sig or Berreta mags that work - go check out the XD board.

That realistically leaves you 2 competitive USPSA classes: 1)Production 2) limited 10

Production is all scored MINOR anyway so why bother shooting .40 when you can shoot 9mm? Sure, Todd Jarret shoots .40 in production - he also makes special reloads and shoots a highly modified double action para-ord 1911 with an incredibly light trigger that you will not be able to get. Take a poll of the guns used in production; people are not shooting Todd's setup even though he has proven that it "could" be dione.

9mm is cheaper than .40 even if you reload. Once fired cases and bullets cost less and it uses less powder. Cheaper any way you cut it. 9mm is the caliber for the rest of us mortals shooting production class.

Limited 10 is apparently dominated by old single stack longslide .45s (according to the lates Frontsight); you could buy the XD/HS in .40 to compete against those guns. Be prepared to expirament with lightening the HS/XD trigger - either that or learn to shoot a stock HS/XD better than the cross-over limited S_I shooters and old timers that win in limited 10.  My opinion? Buy the full size XD in 9mm and shoot it in production.  

[cardboardkiller]

Get a 475 Linebaugh, all you have to do is draw it and the targets will run like hell, that is cost effective.

[twix]

Some of you guys are just way too polite. I want to know why the choices are limited to a SF HD. I also want to know more about the poster. How many matches? Do you own any handguns now? And why haven't you replied to your own thread in over a week?

(Edited by twix at 4:00 pm on Nov. 3, 2002)

[swagerman]

Dear buyer, I think that .40 is the best choice. Since the calliber is totally new compared with 9mm. Also, when you go to the shooting range, and you want to look, before shooting, to the brand perfect reload that you have made, the .40 is pretty much ease to reload. Youll find that the 9mm never seems as new, in shape, as the new ammo.

But that is just cosmetic.

In the shooting, the .40 is much much better, it has a very nice reoil, and since you are pushing 155 or 180 grains at more than 1000 fps instead of 115/125/147, then, what do you prefere????

Another option, is: why dont you go to a shooting range and try both callibers?

And the last question, why dont you try first a GLOCK?

If you are wanting it for all the things that you said, isnt it the best choic by far?

Sincerelly, Swagerman

honoriomc@hotmail.com

[dbritt066]

I am not a big glock fan.  Not as comfortable and not as safe.

[Flexmoney]

dbritt066,

I'd never try to push a Glock on you if you didn't want one.  However, I can't let that "not as safe" comment pass.  That certainly hasn't been my experience.  I'd be interseted in what infomation you used to draw that conclusion?

By the way...I think I saw somewhere that the Springfield XD will be allowed in Production class (USPSA).  Can someone confirm?

If that is the case...and XD in 9mm should fit your needs very well.  If you reload, then a 40 might work for you too.

[dbritt066]

What I meant by not a safe was that the only safety on the gun is to simply not pull the trigger.  Not exactly what I'm looking for in a carry gun.  I know Glocks are great guns I just prefer the XD.  It just feels natural, as far as shooting I'm not sure but I have heard good things.

[spook]

dbritt066,

If you have a holser that covers the trigger guard, isn't that safe enough? External safeties can also be switched off when you don't want it.

[3quartertime]

The benefit of a glock is that it only has a safety on the trigger.  Especially for carry.  The inherent reliability of a glock makes it the positive choice for carry.  The snag free design makes a glock the undisputed king of concealability.  

To be as humble as I can I suggest if you fear carrying a glock because it is unsafe maybe you should re-examine your carry gun handling.  If a glock is unsafe then no amount of safeties are going to fix that.

Just my .02

[dbritt066]

I didn't start this thread because i wanted opinions about Glocks, I started it to get information on which caliber people prefer 9mm or .40.  I could careless what you Glock fan think about Glocks, unless it has to do with the caliber.

[Flexmoney]

dbritt,

Sorry for the thread drift.  

Fan or not...I was curious as to your experience/opinion of the safety of the gun.  I would be curious no matter what gun you posted that about.  (when you mention safety on a forum...people want to talk about it)

I have also heard good things about the XD.  I think you will like it.

It does hae a barrel that sits a bit highier.  Couple that with the snappy 40 caliber and it may be a bit bothersome.  I'd certainly go for the 9mm.

(Edited by Flexmoney at 12:43 am on Nov. 10, 2002)

[gm iprod]

cardboardkiller.

Don't mess about, buy the 500linebaugh.

dbritt066,

I would go with a 9mm to begin with, learn the ropes then switch to 40, buy a Dillon and never look back.

BTW don't sell the 9mm, keep it and shoot that as well.

Glocks are only as safe ( just like other firearms ) as the nut behind the butt. If you don't want it to go off, don't load it, don't cock it and don't touch the long skiiny bit in the trigger guard. When they sit on a shelf they rarely go bang.

[Duane Thomas]

"Sure, Todd Jarret shoots .40 in production - he also makes special reloads and shoots a highly modified double action para-ord 1911 with an incredibly light trigger that you will not be able to get."

Could you tell me where you got that "incredibly light trigger" stuff? When I interviewed TJ out at the Factory Nats he told me his Para P16-40 LDA Limited was totally stock except for some minor sight work "to get 'em the way I like."

Flex,

Remember we're talking to a new shooter here who's contemplating buying his first handgun (I assume). Some people feel the Glocks are so simple they make good beginner guns. I'll go to my grave firmly convinced that Glocks are so simple they should be experts only guns. Yeah, they're popular choices for cop guns, but note that in that venue they're almost invariably fitted with some version of the New York Trigger module to considerably up the trigger pull. Yes, given a sufficient amount of skill and training, almost any gun can be carried and used safely, but newbies IMHO don't yet have what it takes to be carrying a Glock, a cocked and locked 1911 or Browning Hi-Power, et al. If a shooter doesn't feel safe carrying the Glock, they probably know more about what they could or couldn't operate safely than anyone else - including me!

[Flexmoney]

DT,

Why did you direct that last post at me???

I certainly wasn't pushing the Glock on dbritt066.  In fact, I think he will be better served with the XD.  If you read my post on this thread you will see that I was simple curious as to why he didn't think the gun was safe.  If he had experienced a safety problem with the platform I wanted to learn about it.

[Duane Thomas]

Flex,

I was just attempting - possibly not well - to answer the "what infomation you used to draw that conclusion" question. New shooters tend to be intimidated by the Glock trigger's light takeup, light pressure required to break the shot, and lack of a manual safety. And all that probably does add up to a gun not great for a total newbie.

Y'know, when I first started teaching newbie gun classes, I used to offer people the opportunity to handle and shoot an example of all the popular trigger systems, SA (1911 .45), traditional DA auto with two-stage decocking level (Smith & Wesson), traditional DA auto with single-stage decocking lever (SIG), DAO (S&W), Safe Action (Glock, obviously)  and DA revolver. I've since dropped that because it just takes entirely too much time, and tends to swamp the new shooter with so much information they can't absorb it. But what I found absolutely fascinating was that when you took people who knew absolutely nothing about guns and let them try all the ones I've listed, then asked them to pick their favorite, invariably they picked the Smith & Wesson. They liked its smooth DA trigger pull and perceived a long, heavy trigger for the first shot as much safer than any of the short trigger pull guns. They really liked the short trigger reset distance for follow-up shots. And the S&W's multiplicity of safeties gave them the impression of it being a very "safe" gun. By contrast the Glock's lack of any external safety aside from the "second trigger" lever and (comparatively) short and light trigger pull(s) scared them. Again, for experienced shooters this is a non-issue, but that level of skill and familiarity with guns not something new shooters have working for them.

[ddg81sniper]

i don't think there is a "BETTER" caliber. I know that each caliber has it's own function in life. but on the case of 9mm or .40, the nine, to me is faster, lasts longer and costs less to buy for and reload for. the .40 has a stronger knock down (with heavier recoil) and louder bang for the scare tactics. it all depends on the purpose that you use the gun for. I chose the nine for competition and speed target. the .40 for the realy bad guy that wants what I got at home. MAN, you need to choose what will work best for you. I recommend that you got to a range where you can rent these two calibers or borrow some ones and try it for yourself. asking a question like this you will get a thousand diffrent answers. and none of them is the answer you want to hear.

[Flexmoney]

Duane,

We were on a different page.  I was wondering if he had infomation on, or experienced, an actual problem with the Glock platform (like a KB or the gun going off without pulling the trigger).

[3quartertime]

DT,

My post probably warranted more of the directed reply than Flex's.  Thanks for the detailed answer.  I've never taught handling/carry skills professionally,  only helped those who've asked my advise or assistance.  The point you make about a very new gun owner is interesting.   I don't carry often so much of the info I offer as help is gleaned from reading or the insight of daily carry friends.  My response to "What kinda gun should I carry?" has always been " Something designed for carry/conceilment that you are comfortable with",  next I tell them that whatever they choose must be their new best most intimate friend,  followed by what that all means.   Usually before I get to the part about suggesting a particular gun they ask about a glock.  My response is roughly my previous post,  but I always stress the safety/familiarity issue and the fact everyone has their own oppions on the subject.  Many times if the inquirer doesn't come across as a major bonehead I may offer a day at the range to get deeper into the subject.  

My rationale for suggesting safe action as a viable option is that I really stress the intense familiarization stuff.  The idea that the new owner/carrier knows more about what they feel is safe than anyone else is a great point.  It's scary thou to think that there are people out there carrying that aren't familiar with their weapon and substitute a safety devise for proper handling knowledge.

But then again thats just my .02

Sorry for the LONG contribution to the thread drift.  For the record I think the XD will be a great choice also.  

[Ron Ankeny]

I have had XD pistols in both .40 and 9mm. The bottom line is simple, the 9mm is way more shootable with ammo that is available off of the shelf. If speed and ease of control is the primary concern, get the 9mm. If you want more power than can be afforded by the hot ammo like Corbon, then buy the .40.

As for thread drift, when a person makes comments like Glocks being unsafe for carry, you just gotta expect a response. If you have either the Glock or the XD in your hand and pull the trigger, they go bang.