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Charles L. Cotton wrote:This is a very good read, even though it brings tears to the eyes of a die-hard 1911 .45ACP guy. I've been seriously considering switching to an M&P 9 for daily carry because of the greatly increased firepower. (17+1 with 1 or 2 more mags.) I've never worried about the ammo load until the ISIS issue came up. However, the extra ammo could play a role in "ordinary" shootings since it seems thugs have realized that there are more effective with multiple attackers.

My wife carries a Kimber Ultra Carry in .45ACP and she may switch to an M&P 9 Compact. She'd be doing it more because the reduced felt recoil would be easier on her hands. Arthritis is making it somewhat painful to shoot her Kimber.

Chas.

I've had exactly the same kind of calculus chasing its tail around inside my head. I am very sold on the XD(M) Compact 3.8" platform, and the 9mm version carries 19 rounds in the long magazine and 13 in the short magazine. If you have two backup long magazines and the short mag +1 in the gun, you've got a total of 52 rounds of 9mm on you. I can't (and won't) carry my long gun everywhere I go, but I can by-gum have a buttload of ammo on me if the flag goes up. I still find .45 ACP to be by far easier to shoot than most other calibers, and it certainly gives nothing away in terms of effectiveness, but if capacity is the name of the game, 52 rounds of 9mm compares very favorably to 36 rounds of .45 with the same set up (9 round short mag +1, plus 2 x 13 round long mags).