So, I'm 64 yrs old, and just yesterday I realized that a 9mm is basically a .38 bore. When they switched from standard to metric, it made the 9mm sound like a real hoss in my mind. I remember some LEO went to them and were very disappointed. I think the .45 is still the king of handguns. Anybody a 9mm fan? What do you like for a personal carry?

glock gen 9. 15 round clips. Love it. bought my wife a glock also because she liked it and very little recoil. Cant remember model # of hers, but basically same pistol only has 17 round clips. Conceal well, fairly light weight. Hard to find ammo right now though.

I’ve got the Glock 43x. First gun I’ve enjoyed carrying concealed. Always goes bang. Which is what I need when I need it.

S&W M&P compact 9mm. 13 round capacity, feels decent in the hand, accurate. As far as 9mm vs 45, I guess I personally like the higher capacity of 9mm.

While you couldn’t call me a fan, it is what I carry a large part of the time, what I carry now is a Springfield hellcat with a good hollow point that I have used with good success in putting down pigs, and with modern self defense ammunition it will do almost as well as the 45 if you look at actual shooting statistics and failure to stop rates there is little difference between them, I also have a Sig 365 with one of those dot sights that actually shoots dang good and will be my daughters when she moves back here next month

Frankly I am a fan of the 45 1911 and if it wasn’t for size it’s what I would carry but i have yet to find a holster that doesn’t print on me in summer clothes and just scream GUN big big GUN

Take a look at the sig 320. For me, it feels better than the glock. Nothing wrong with the glock though, i have a couple of them. Wish i would have held out for that 43x, i just have a 43. Theres a huge surge for law enforcement goin back to 9mm across the country. They claim the 9 ammo is ballistically equal to .40 stuff and people shoot it better with less recoil. Also more round capacity should the poop hit the fan.

I went from carrying a 45 to a 40 and now i carry a glock 19 but the holster fits my hk vp40 just as well so whatever i feel like that day. The glock is overall lightly smaller and lighter with only one more capacity barring all the high cap mags you can get for a glock. I have some 21 rd magpul that work well and dont look too stupid stuck out from under the frame. My wife carries a ruger security 9mm. She wanted a manual safety. I tried to get her to buy a glock. couldnt beat rugers price though for a decent little (but ugly) pistol.

The .45 is my favorite but 9mm ammunition has come a long way in the last 20 years.don't count it out.I have a little 2" S+W revolver in 9mm that disappears in a pocket,is hammerless,so can even be fired from a pocket without problems.I killed a mountain lion with it once,in the middle of a lion-dog fight at what you could call close combat range and have complete confidence in that weapon,as short as the barrel is.Use what you like and can conceal,and pick the best ammo for your weapon an circumstances.

S&W 5906 lives in the truck

Glock 19 Gen 5 and a Ruger LCP 380 with an Uncle George wallet holster when I need to carry a firearm in my front pocket.

Stats show it takes an average of 3 rounds to drop someone close up, no matter what centerfire pistol caliber is used. I carry a 9mm.

I carry a glock 43x. It fits me well and is comfortable in my hand.

Sig P365 for summer carry.

A .40 or .45 in winter.

9mm still trumps ones fists.

Kimber 1911 9mm
I like it..

When serving in the military reserves, we switched from 1911 45’s to Beretta 92 in 9mm. I was the training officer. Shooting scores and quals went up. A miss is not very effective no matter the power of the round. I still have a 92f by my bed, with two mags.

9mm is .355 38 is .357

9mm is a 39Kpsi max cartridge

38spl is 19K psi max

38+p is 20K psi max

38+p+ is 22K psi max

a 124gr bullet from a 9mm 4 inch barrel can get 1100fps from a 4 inch barrel while a 38spl will get a 125gr bullet going about 1000fps but from a 7.7 inch barrel in a 4 inch barrel around 850-950fps

everything suffers in barrels much shorter than 4 inches

there were 2-3 reasons the police were disappointed in 9mm

the first was that original numbers were comming form the ILL state police they were an early adopter of the S&W M39 the issue was the feed ramp was rather steep on these , had one for many years and they were very picky about what they would feed , ILL State police got good at aiming and placing the first shot right were it belonged more rounds sometimes didn't happen.

other agencies when they adopted 9mm light recoil and big magazines it was easy to put many rounds in them before they hit the ground also the importance of first round hits wasn't the same.

some of the same agencies who thought a 158gr RN 38 were a great idea decided 147gr 9mm was a good idea , they just didn't open , often functioned like FMJ

9mm needs velocity to open and 9mm projectiles came a long way in the 80s ballistics by 1990 Hornady released the XTP bullet it doesn't make the perfect pealed back pedals but it works it flattens mostly mushrooms some and seems to work on the animals I have shot with them.

generally 115gr and 124gr get the velocity needed to expand I like 124gr personally a little more weight but not a lot less velocity.

just like any other caliber shot placement is most important , a bad shot with a 9 .355 doesn't really become a good shot with a 45 .452 you would have had to miss a vital organ by less than 0.048

a 4 inch barrel helps to keep your velocity up , but the 3.2 inch barrels are basically a 4 inch 38spl in a pocket carry-able package. so not the worst.

Glock , M&P , Ruger and SIG are all good places to look I prefer striker fired , it keeps everything the same on every shot. because you don't thumb back the hammer on a DA/SA for the first shot you pull the trigger , the most important shot has a long hard trigger pull.


my carry guns are a Glock 19 and a Ruger LC9

while I have carried the G17 it is a little big even if it is only a 1/2 inch longer in barrel and grip

Smith and wesson .40 shoots like my 9mm but more knock down power a bit more accurate for me and barely any if any added recovery time I love that gun

How was that stats figured? Is it they got 3 rounds off before the fell or did it take 3 rounds to make them fall? LOL Pretty hard for me to believe that "most guys can take more than 1 slug to the sternum let alone 3 before being knocked off their feet......

One thing none of you guys have mentioned is full mag weight. Most of the 40/ 45 become so dang heavy when you load the mags at full compacity. Yea picking up a hand gun in a gun shop and "most" feel great . BUT when you get them home and add 10- 19 rounds they become clumbersome to carry/conceal. Us pot belly guys have a hard time keeping up our pants with that extra weight....

I have had one by my bed for years and still do. Muscle memory is often overlooked. Very reliable and I like the safety and it’s easy to find holsters and related parts.
For Striker fire, Walther PPQ Navy. It comes with a threaded barrel and is treated to operate getting wet in salt water. Awesome trigger. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tcxZp0zxfM