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having reloaded thousands of rounds of 9mm i don't find it particularly difficult to reload.
As to penetration there are plenty of things that will penetrate better than a .45acp.
And i like .45acp and .45colt, but 9mm also works.
and that .357sig look an awful lot like a 9mm+p+

A 147 grain 9mm will beat the .45 ACP in penetration tests every time.

While I do find .45 ACP much more forgiving at the reloading bench, I haven't found 9mm difficult. Like most auto pistol cartridges, get your OAL right and taper crimp right and it tends to work perfectly.

As for anchoring game...I've tried .45 ACP FMJ on small game as was surprised to be completely unimpressed when body shots were taken. I figured it would be clean, yet the hammer of Thor. Squirrels and Wabbits ran a long way with any FMJ-RN. I didn't get a chance to try FP's; bet the story would be the same.

For body shots, the JHP's anchored them DRT, but both the .45 ACP and 9mm tore up a LOT of the game. I find a 148 grain WC or 158 grain SWC out of a .38 Special to be the next best thing to a high velocity .22 HP.

As a bear defense round...yeah, I'll take the .45 ACP and a good pair of nike's...and probably a pair of adult size Huggies.

Even though I have just about every current handgun round available in my modest gun collection, when I grab one out of the Safe, it's a 45acp in a 1911 format 95 % of the time.

That being said, if I absolutely positively knew I would be involved in a deadly force situation, And needed a handgun to protect my family or friends, I would pick my Glock 32 in .357 Sig every time.

On the other hand, if I knew for sure that I would never ever be involved in a deadly force situation, my Ruger Flattop or my Colt SAA in 45 Colt would suite me just fine.

45 Colt. Because in almost any art form the best stuff comes early and later on it's just variations on a theme.

A 147 out of the 9mm is a drilling machine.

I carried a .45 ACP almost 30 years ago. Then I tried the 9mm. When the .40 S&W was introduced, I viewed it as an upgrade from the 9mm (at least with the ammo of the day), and I moved to that. Now, I am back to a .45 ACP for all around purposes. I find it very pleasant to shoot and I think it probably is best of the 3 if the nose gets plugged up passing through winter clothes or a woods critter with sharp teeth and claws. An ammo change gets me to .45 LC power for the woods. The older I get, the less I like having to go to the gun cabinet and pick out a �gun of the day�. I only carry a 9mm in a pocket gun as either a backup or if I go somewhere where I absolutely do not want to be noticed. I have no use for the .40 at this point.

If somebody made me carry any of them, or the .357 Sig, I would get by. But, it is nice to have choices.

.45ACP in S&W 1911 Series E, rounded butt. I've had it almost a year and I'm still in lust. 40 seems like a band-aid and I just can't get warmed up to 9mm which is the problem the 40 was supposed to fix.

Revolver round: 357mag.

I've carried the 38spl, 357 Mag, 9mm, and 45acp as an LEO and still have pistols in those calibers but carry either the 38spl ( S&W 642) or 9mm ( Glock 17,26 )

I'm much more worried about the pistol than what it's chambered for. My only request would be for nothing exotic that would cost an arm and a leg to buy practice ammo for.

Given a choice, it'd be an M&P PRO9 5" with a thumb safety and APEX FSS.

.45 and 9mm for me. I have zero use for the .40 outside of using one for a USPSA gun.

I've carried all three professionally and could be happy with either a .45 or 9mm as a service weapon. That being said, for all around use, such as CCW, HD, work and recreational use in the mountains and deserts, I would choose the .45.

I could be satisfied with the .45 acp, .44 Magnum, and the lowly .22 for all my handgunning needs, if I were forced to consolidate.

I might miss my Glock 19 and J Frame snubby .38 though...

LBP, what are the issues with the M&P, if you don't mind me asking.

I'm with you. I don't find any pistol round very exciting but I do like certain platforms better than others. If it is a Glock, then I like the M23 and 40S&W. If it is a 1911 then I like 45acp. If a revolver then I like the 357.

Yep.

To quote hank Williams Jr: "It conjures up images from the Little Big Horn to the Rhine. It can be the Yukon".

The rumor I heard from folks that would know....

-DPS went to the 9mm and M&P to make it easier to fit a pistol to smaller and female shooters.
-DPS shot the M&P9 a gagillion times without issue during the T&E period without issue.
-Then when DPS started issuing the M&P they ordered a truck load of "DPS Special" 9mm ammo, which they had loaded pretty hot to try to get back to where they were with the 357Sig.
-The M&Ps got beat to death during the first cadet class with the hot ammo and started having problems.

Knowing how cops think and work and how an enormous agency like TXDPS functions, this all sounds not only possible-but likely.

Only a sample of one but a friends' M&P has about 35K+ rounds through it, a significant % of it was GI, and that stuff is pretty hot. He finally had an extractor break. Zero springs or anything else changed on it, as the gun was sent to him personally by S&W to flog.

Thanks. Just interested because I have the M&P9 Pro Series that I like pretty well. Sounds like a problem of their own making.

Interesting nobody chose the .38 Super.

I've heard it could be a few things.

1. Ammunition
2. Training
3. Wear on the pistols.
4. Failure to feed/extract

My gut feeling is probably training and ammunition. The M&P's have been out several years now and this is the first I've heard of an agency having problems with the pistol itself. Here is a link to an article about the situation. I'm not sure what the author is referring too when he says "movement of a few microns"

Texas DPS 9mm

...it would be my first choice if allowed to carry a 1911 but when I chose the 357 SIG I was just trying to be realistic as few agencies issue a 1911 as a primary, they are usually given only to special units.

I've carried a Super daily since 1980. From 1980-84 it was also my duty gun.

Bob

45 ACP.