Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Case Closed: FBI Says 9mm Is The Best Pistol Round

The nine is fine, and I frequently carry one. That being said, no amount of FBI study will convince me that it is the equal of the .40, 10mm, or .45. Given equal placement, etc, the others are (at least) marginally better.

Now, if you told me (as the study appears to do) that the 9 is better because it is easier to make good hits and therefore shooters will be more proficient, I will buy that. All the BS of 'given current bullet tech' is just that. .40 and .45 bullets evolved too.

I can't say that I fully agree with all the conclusions & I still prefer to carry a 45 caliber pistol, but I can say that I do carry a 9mm almost as much these days & I never feel like I'm either undergunned or nor at a disadvantage in carrying the 9mm loaded with 124 gr. Federal HST's.

The 2 undeniable conclusions that I can't argue with is that the 9mm is cheaper to shoot & that most people shoot it better than a bigger caliber handgun.

MM

...Now, if you told me (as the study appears to do) that the 9 is better because it is easier to make good hits and therefore shooters will be more proficient, I will buy that...

I sometimes wonder about the pocket 9's with the 2 inch barrels, but can't be any worse than a short 38.

The nine is fine, and I frequently carry one. That being said, no amount of FBI study will convince me that it is the equal of the .40, 10mm, or .45. Given equal placement, etc, the others are (at least) marginally better.

Now, if you told me (as the study appears to do) that the 9 is better because it is easier to make good hits and therefore shooters will be more proficient, I will buy that. All the BS of 'given current bullet tech' is just that. .40 and .45 bullets evolved too.

….Still prefer the .38 Super or .357 SIG with a 115-124 grain bullet going over 1350 fps... In 9mm give me a 115 +P+...

Bob

a very astute assessment.


a while back, i tested a Federal 124 gr HST in 9 mm, and a Federal 230 gr HST in .45 acp. both pills penetrated into the 3rd milk jug, with the .45 acp pill expanding to .84 rounded off, and the 9 mm pill expanding to .69 rounded off--very impressive performance in both rounds/pills.



by contrast, recently i again fired a Federal 230 gr HST in .45 acp using a shorter barreled rig. the pill penetrated 3 jugs, becoming trapped or caught on the backside of the third jug--the sharp tips of the pill catching on the plastic--full 3 jug's penetration.

at the same time--for contrast, knowing this pill would not expand to the wider diameter of a fired Federal HST 9 mm--i used an old standby, the Remington 115 grain hp fired from a shorter barreled 9 mm rig, figuring there would be considerably more penetration. i've used these Remington pills for decades, and they perform fairly well given the cost (today one can buy a 100 box from Wal Mart at a good value). the Rem 115 gr hp fired from the shorter barreled 9 mm rig penetrated 3 jugs, hitting the back wall of the 3rd jug, tearing a partial hole, and bouncing back into the inside of this 3rd jug.

essentially--equal penetration in both cartridges--3 entire jugs. however, the Federal HST 230 gr .45 acp pill expanded to .86 rounded off, while the Remington 115 gr hp 9 mm pill expanded to .57 rounded off.

one would guess/expect that the "narrower pill" would penetrate a greater distance than the "wider .45 pill", but it did not. in a simple layman's way of thinking of this, due to the wider frontal area of the .45 pill, it had considerably "more to overcome" in order to penetrate the same distance as the 9 mm.

a poor cell phone pic of both those pills:





remarkable, considering the diameters and the velocity of each pill.



next governmental announcement;

the Surgeon General has determined that smoking is helpful to your health...

…..I took a class from John Farnam about a month ago; I don't know how accurate this is but he said that a Glock 19 is a 500,000 round gun---the same gun in .40 is a 50,000 round gun and the same gun in .357 Sig is a 5,000 round gun. He could be completely off base, I don't know…..but he's in a position to have a pretty good idea.

Speed and precise application.

The very vast majority of people who carry guns for a living do substantially better with the 9mm over the .40 and .45. Especially the .40 with its sharp recoil impulse. In fact due to the .40s sharp recoil impluse, I have noted/observed that the majority of shooters, small and large stature alike actually shoot a .45 better than a .40.

Given the choice, I will choose a .45 or 9mm over the .40 every time for social applications. Sadly at the moment, I am forced by agency policy to carry a .40 on duty. Hopefully studies like this may eventually pave the way for changes..

The 9mm provides struggling shooters the best chance of success while improving the speed and accuracy of the most skilled shooters.