Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns why did you choose 9mm?

+1 on that. The little pocket guns as a primary carry gun seems like more a talisman than an effective weapon. Great for a backup gun, but not what I'd want in a home invasion or street mugging, much less the next Orlando shooter event. It's not that hard to carry a G17 or G19 (or whatever other hi-cap pistol you prefer) every day, if you are serious about it.

G43, Kahr CW380, G19, Kimber Covert 45ACP depending on what I am wearing and where I am going. The Glocks all shoot about the same, the 43 as accurately as the 17 so the 17 does not offer me much more than a 19..

Not that a G19 isn't an awesome CCW, but it's axiomatic that anyone who knows how to shoot a Glock 19 will shoot a Glock 17 at least a little better. It's a matter of physics.

At 15 yards they are the same for me as well as a G43. The Glock man in Smyrna says it best...the guns are not target pistols.

A good 1911 shoots better however.

9mm - the ".270" of pistol cartridges, LOL.

I agree that bullet design has improved to make the 9mm much better than when I bought my first Beretta 92 back in 1983. But don't those same improvements make the 40 and 45 better as well?

They certainly do, but they don't make a .40 or .45 recoil any less or be any more compact or make the pistols hold more rounds, which seem to be the major reasons folks chose the 9mm.

FWIW, I chose the 9mm as a compact carry piece but on my nightstand is a full size Springfield XDm .45 ACP with 14 rounds (13+1) on board - and that's sitting next to a Remington 870 loaded with buckshot.

I'm not saying you're a bad shot necessarily, because I don't know, but... That statement sure sounds more like you shoot equally poorly with all of them.

If you can't shoot better with a 17 than a 43, you are either a really amazing shot, or mediocre at best. A decent 17 or 19 is capable of body shots at 100 yards 100% of the time, and head shots at least 50%. The 43 might be able to do that, or close, but will take a whole lot more skill and practice.

Well-stated..

No offense taken, my pistol shooting is awful, I do shoot equally poorly with all of them. I shoot about grapefruit size group of 5 or 6 shots at 15 yards with G43, G19, G17, about 1/3-1/4 of that with a Kimber 1911, to me they shoot all about the same, except the 1911. I have seen people shoot 1 inch groups at 15 yards with a Glock, but the trigger slap makes it difficult for me to do so. OTOH, the Glocks are one of the best self defense pistols on the market. If they only made a glock with a 1911 trigger...

For me, I see three main advantages to 9mm: low cost, high magazine capacity, and typically lower recoil.


The reason I say typically lower recoil is due to the size & weight(platform)of the gun and what loads your using. If you're shooting a small, light single stack nine with +P or +P+, I think the lighter recoil advantage disappears. This is in comparison to my full size, steel 1911 with 45acp loads.

For me, I found I don't like snappy recoil and don't shoot well with them. I learned/discovered, I don't like having my pinky finger not on the grip.

I also learned/discovered that I shoot g19 and larger sized pistols better. That I like stock glock triggers better than stock M&P trigger, but putting an apex trigger kit in an M&P improves its greatly (gun guys at IDPA are great guys, they let you try their guns!!!). At IDPA matches I went to, glocks seem to rule the roost, with S&W also having a good showing.

Obviously, my experience pale in comparison to many here but this just what I have experience so far.

Thank you for your feedback!

I hear that. Glock triggers are certainly harder to master, for most people, and they all benefit from some trigger work. A cleaned up Glock trigger, shot from reset, can work really well though.

Keep in mind the size difference when comparing to a full size 1911 though. The most even comparison would be a G34 or a G41; those are definitely easier to shoot well with the longer sight radius. The G19 should be compared more with the commander sized guns IMO to be fair.

Performance and Price of pistols and ammo.

Give one of these a try.

Or this one.

I have tried their connector, ghost connectors, titanium strikers, aluminum triggers....the trigger always has over travel and trigger slap. Do you have an extra one of the ZEV triggers I could try? I would send it back to you when done, but hate to spend on it without trying it.

Nope. Sorry.

I like 9mm for all the reasons stated already, plus I reload so I like it for the free brass - there is almost always 9mm brass on the ground waiting to be picked up when I go to an outdoor range.

Beretta 92
Ruger Blackhawk convertable
S&W 986
Beretta CX4 Storm

What do you mean by trigger slap, in talking about the Glock? Can you clarify that a different way? Do you mean the positive reset? If so, that is a good thing, not a problem.

Over travel shouldn't be that much of a problem, but several different triggers on the market are adjustable for overtravel.

You have to think of Glock triggers as a 2 stage trigger. If you can't get your head around that (and some guys refuse to), you probably won't shoot one well.

I am constantly amazed at how well my Glock 19 shoots.
It's ugly, feels clumsy and the trigger is like a staple gun.
Yet I shoot it as well as my 1911 or Browning HP.

The 9mm just makes so much sense for all the reasons already stated.

I particularly like the lifetime supply of free brass.

That being said if I had to choose I would go 1911 in 45acp.
Luckily I can own both.