Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire This is why I carry a gun I can fight with.

Whichever you perform best with.

In my observation I have yet to see anyone shoot better with a harder recoiling gun, than one that kicks less.

If you put identical models such as a G17 9mm and G22 .40 in the hands of 10 people, and run them through a series of drills where a combination of speed and accuracy are tested, then pretty much every time the shooters will perform better with the softer recoiling 9mm G17.

That said, there may be other reasons a person chooses to carry a larger caliber such as a .40. For example, does the person have threats that are not strictly human? Do they intend to use the same gun as a trail gun? Do they work around large domestic animals such as cattle and horses. Cattle and horses kill far more people than all the various species of bears combined do each year in the United States. Do you have elk and moose where you live?

In one of the pictures I posted above it shows a Gen 3 Glock 22. That is loaded with a 170 grain poly coated SWC that does 1200 FPS. That is a smoking hot load for a .40 S&W. (Disclaimer. I produce and sell my own ammo) It actually equals some manufacturers 10mm loads when chronographed, but does it in a smaller framed gun.

It is also super accurate, which is one thing I never cared for in regards to .40s, as their accuracy was poor as compared to other service cartridges. This one took a long time to develop, but it is a tack driver. The point of the exercise was to have a very deep penetrating, very accurate load that would still fit in a standard frame. One that guys who did not want to buy a 10mm could carry, or 10mm frames were too big for their hands. That was the end result.

As it ended up, it was so accurate, I started carrying it more and more, and my 9mms have not gotten as much attention lately.

This was at 25 yards the other day:




And while doing the testing, over sandbags:




I have carried it a bunch this late spring, summer, and fall as it is simply a tack driver and I would have zero issue taking precise shots if needed.




Now with that said,

The 9mm.

If you live in a rather urban area and don't hike in places where large predators are much of a threat, then there is not much reason to go with anything other than a 9mm. They are the easiest to control, recoil wise, generally have the best capacity, and there are loads out there that will get the job done.

I keep a couple 9mms on hand in the house for home defense purposes.

Example is a G19 with a weapons light, as well as a flashlight (so you don't point a gun at things you should not by using the weapons light as a flashlight). The G19 has a factory Glock 24 round mag in it.



I have some +P 148 grain hardcast flatpoints in it. They are also a deep penetrating load. I figure that 24+1 should get me through just about any reasonable situation, w/o needing to reload. The 24 round mag is still a manageable size and not cumbersome, as compared to the crazy long 33 rd mags that are really not practical.

So in summary, if your only anticipated threat is human criminals, I would opt for a 9mm. If you use the gun for hiking and outdoors activities and may feel the need to protect yourself against larger animals, then a .40 may be a good choice.