A matter of preference

Jonathan Curry

New member
When it comes to a 45 vs a 9mm, which do you prefer and why? Planning on buying one and was curious what people had to say.
I have had more experience with a 9mm but have always wanted a 45, haven't had the opportunity to fire many though. Though I am not unfamiliar to fire arms, I am new to gun buying, thanks for the pointers.
 
I started with a 9mm and shot that for several months. I always wanted a 45 so I bought one of those too. It is a little more expensive to use but still fun. The 9mm is better for CCW and the 45 is more powerful for home defense.

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I love the 9mm, 40cals are snappy, and my XDm 45 3.8 compact handles the recoil so well that it sometimes feels like a 9mm. I feel like I have an advantage against Bear/Cougar/attackers with the larger caliber, and the recoil is easily manageable. 45 all the way.
 
.45 is the way to go and with the compacts and subcompacts out now they are really concealable. the glock 36 is good and the new springfield xd-s looks great as well. i have a full frame 1911 and it really is a beast to carry altho many do. personally, i am going to purchase the xd-s for my new concealed carry.
 
I felt pretty much the same way. I wanted a pistol for SD and I wanted one that I would EDC IWB.
Wieght and size were big factors but also I wanted One that I would and could afford to
practice with. 9MM fit the bill. Ammo is abundant and comparably imexpensive (though not cheap).
The Ruger LC9 was fairly light comfortable to CCW and fit my needs for SD.
Yes I would love to own a 45 but the 9MM was the more practical choice for me and I can afford to
fire a hundred or two rounds when the urge arises.
I also have the Beretta 21a 22lr and a LCR22 that we shoot a lot.
Yeah a 45 probably will be my next addition to the family.
 
Find a place that rents or a gun club with friendly members who will let you borrow. Shoot everything you can get your hands on. Then buy what you a. Can shoot well, b. Love to shoot, c. Will carry with you every day, and d. Will do the job. Almost anyone will tell you that shot placement is key with the sh!t goes down. Training and practicing will get you to quick and accurate shooting. So make sure you like shooting what ever you are going to buy. And of course, if you don't carry it with you, it won't do you a damn bit of good.
 
45 because I hunt and want something I feel will stop a hog if needed.
I pull out the hollow points and go FMJ when in the woods.
 
.45 is the way to go and with the compacts and subcompacts out now they are really concealable. the glock 36 is good and the new springfield xd-s looks great as well. i have a full frame 1911 and it really is a beast to carry altho many do. personally, i am going to purchase the xd-s for my new concealed carry.

+1 you can never have to much.
Night stand XD .45 4" service.
Conceal/Deep conceal LC9
But that XDs sure looks good
 
When it comes to a 45 vs a 9mm, which do you prefer and why?

I like them both and either with premium JHPs will do fine, if you do your part. Before you buy a gun, go to a range where you can rent and use several different designs between the two calibers to see what feels best in your hand and offers you the most comfort. No one else can do that for you.
 
I have 4 handguns that shoot 9mm bullets. One that shoots .45 bullets.

The LCP & P238 (which are .380 that uses a 9mm bore), plus the 'real' 9mm Glock 19 and Glock 26. My most frequent carry guns are the P238 and the G26. With sweatshirt weather coming, I'll be packing the 19 or the 26 pretty much full time.

I recently bought a G36 that I'm making friends with. I got to the point where I could shoot a magazine of 6 into one ragged hole slow fire at 21'. I need to practice double taps with it. I'm probably 1,000 rounds from being able to shoot it as well as I shoot the 19 and 26. When I am more confident with it, I'll carry it now and then. I am not convinced 7 rounds of .45ACP COR_BON DPX (with out a reload) trumps 11 or 16 rounds of 9mm COR-BON DPX, but I might carry the 36 anyway.

I have to confess when I stand the .380, 9mmP, and .45ACP cartridges next to each other, the .45ACP looks impressive. That said, so far I shoot the 19 and 26 a lot better, especially for double taps.

I 'really' like the form factor and ergonomics of the XDs. I'm just not ready to trust it yet. I've held one, handled it, but I'm not convinced they have the bugs out yet. They will in a year or so. When I'm convinced they do, one of them will probably follow me home.

Fitch
 
I have both but prefer the power of the 45 for SD. My Kimber Ultra Carry II is as concealable as my Kahr CW9. The Kahr is lighter but not enough to really notice.
 
I have owned both, shot both quite a lot, and while the 9mm is less expensive to feed, I prefer the .45. If they built a Browning Hi Power in .45, I'd buy one in a heart beat.
 
Too expensive for rounds. Tons of kick. 9mm holds more rounds. Go with the 9mm. No difference in stopping power with modern defense rounds at 7yrds.
 
Prices from Cheaper than dirt. If price is a deciding factor then not only will the price of the gun itself matter but so will the daily feeding. I just shopped the cheapest price per round. YMMV

TulAmmo .45ACP, 50 rounds, $13.09 = 26cents/round

Brown Bear 9X19mm, 50 rounds, $9.29 = 18.5cents/round

Obviously the reason you want to purchase a gun should be your driving factor, self defense, personal carry, home defense, collecting, "Ohh, it's pretty!" and the personal lists go on. But ultimately you need to make the decision.

Find your self a friendly local gun shop with sales people that are willing to listen. See what type and calibre gun they carry and if they want to steer you towards their gun, consider there wil always be bias form most people that you talk to. But see if you can shoot a couple of different guns before you settle into any one gun so you can make your own decision.

Ballistics always needs to be considered. YOu'll get a lot of various opinions here about terminal ballistics. Do yourself a favor and do your own research on that as well. With all the modern ammunition today, it is possible to get the same "stopping" power in a pipsqueak gun as you can in a bigger gun, but there are so many factors to consider. Do your own research.

If you're a little person, a long slide, double stack .45 may not suit you and if your a big guy with ham hocks for hands, a pipsqueak, single stack 9 may not fit either.

I think most of the people on this site will tell you they have a couple of guns that they have tried and for some reason found it to not be "the" gun for them. I'm one of them. It took a while before I found what, for the time, is "the" gun for my purposes. So don't be discouraged, it may take a while.

Happy shopping!
 
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I like both calibers but due to my hand size I only shoot .45's well on a 1911 platform. I understand why there are so many Glock fans but until they make one with a 1911 grip they won't sell a .45 to this guy.
 

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