9mm not adequate...?

[jbirds1210]

I own or have owned a Glock handgun in every caliber with the exception of 10mm.....I choose to carry a 9mm version of that gun about 90% of the time.

Jason

[Crossfire]

Arguing about caliber effectiveness is for those who can't hit the 10 ring. Talk less - practice more.

[Chemist45]

The 9mm on your belt beats the .45 you left at home every time.
Carry.
Carry every day.
And if you don't want to carry (or can't afford) a full size .45 then carry a 9mm.
Or a .380
Or a .32
Or a .22
Just carry, and be safe.

[Liberty]

There are no magic bullets. While we all wait for technology to give us the bullet that turns bad guys into a red vapor but guaranteed no collateral damages as of this evening it doesn't exist for public sale. I think its important to recognize and train for our equipments strengths and weaknesses.

One who has a 9mm larger capacity, might train to always fire at least double taps. Having twice as much ammo means you can make twice as many holes. Those carrying 45 might have more confidence at pelvic shots than us pea shooters.

For many years Police rellied on 5 shot .38 special wadcutters in their revolvers. Today's Defense ammo in 9mm is more powerful and devastating than that ever was. The winner of any gunfight is likely to be the one who is most practiced, not the one with the biggest bullet.

[TheArmedFarmer]

One who has a 9mm larger capacity, might train to always fire at least double taps. Having twice as much ammo means you can make twice as many holes. Those carrying 45 might have more confidence at pelvic shots than us pea shooters.

Good advice. My wife carries a Springfield Armory EMP in 9mm and is quite comfortable with it. She loads Speer +P ammo and understands the need for good shot placement and rapid followups. Her training drills involve drawing and firing several shots in rapid succession and she does very well! I have no worries for her should she (God forbid) ever need to use her firearm against a goblin. I'm confident that a few well placed +P rounds will incapacitate any villain.

For me, my "daily carry" is a .45 auto (Kimber Ultra CDP II). If the weather is cold and I'm wearing bulkier clothes, I often carry my XD 45.

[Gracegarden]

This is all very interesting. I'm feeling much better about my choice.
I realize I need more practice, I haven't even got down "muscle memory" for the correct two hand grip - but I am practicing.
I am becoming more familiar (read: less afraid) and have paid for more instruction.
We are doing side shuffles (don't cross your feet), firing while walking, tactical reloading, and so many other things my mind struggles to remember it all. But I am practicing!

Thank you all!

[Keith B]

I personally have carried .38, .357, 9mm, .40 and .45 caliber. As many here have stated, the 9mm is VERY adequate for the job. When I was a LEO, that was our earliest issued semi-auto round, and I can guarantee it did the trick many times, including one I personally witnessed.

My present choice for concealed carry is a Kahr PM9 9mm due to the small size and extreme light weight. I use the Corbon Pow'RBall from Glaser and they pushing 1450 FPS 467 FT LBS of energy. While the .45 Pow'RBall does push more energy (about 550 ft lbs) and wold poke a slightly larger diameter hole, I don't personally think it will be that big difference with a well placed shot to have to carry a heavier weapon (my 4" .45.)

I agree with Crossfire and others, practice practice practice!!

[SCone]

Same folks will claim my 380 is "underpowered"..... figure is just means "shoot twice"

[GrayHawk]

As long as you practice and become proficient with your "nine" you will be fine. I carried one for over 25 years and never once thought it an inadequate weapon.

[quidni]

The way I figure it, "caliber" is very similar to "real estate" in that you can take something adequate and make it great, or take something great and devalue it, by the very same factor.

Location, Location, Location!

(i.e. where you plant it!)

Remember, folks have been hunting (and killing!) deer with "only" a .22 for generations. Some folks still do it for the challenge.

[srothstein]

I have carried and relied on smaller calibers than a 9mm in my time, and have carried a 9mm also. I have no doubt in my mind that a 9mm is quite satisfactory as a defense round. In addition to the military and NATO, there are quite a few police departments in the US and many in Europe that rely on this round as their duty sidearm.

My agency allows people to carry weapons of their choice from a .380 to a .45. We will issue ammo in one of five calibers: .357 magnum, .357 Sig, 9 mm, .40S&W, and .45 acp. If we did not feel it was a good round, we would not allow it to be carried by on duty officers.

I do have two suggestions that you might want to consider. The first is the bullet choice you make. Many people are in favor of the 124 grain round already suggested. There is also a significantly heavier round, the 147 grain, that you might want to consider. And, there is a lighter round, the 115 grain, you also might want to consider. Deciding which is best for you will take some research and personal choices. The research is how each round will perform under various conditions (penetration, expansion, weight retention, etc for clothing or through various shelter). Then you need to figure out where you are most likely to need the round and under what conditions. Choose the bullet design that works best for the conditions you think will happen. As a side note on this, your needs are not going to be the same as the police, especially as regards the bad guy being under cover. This means the police round may not be the best one for you.

The second suggestion is on how you practice. Again, figure out when you are most likely to need a weapon and how you will react to it. Then base your practice on that. The movement practice you mention is good, but is probably more advanced training than you really need right now. You need to consider the training as building blocks. Concentrate on one part at a time until you master that skill. Then you can move to adding to that skill. So, concentrate first on shooting basics, then on drawing and shooting, then on adding some motion while shooting, etc.

Obviously, this is all just my opinion, but it may give you something to think about which will help you come up with your own opinions.

[nitrogen]

Hmm, I don't feel any better...

Well, let me ask you this.

Would you like to hold my targets downrange next time I go shooting with my M&P 9?

That's my standard response when someone tells me that 9mm "has no stopping power"

[mgood]

Bullet placement is always more important than caliber.

There are no magic bullets. . . .

The winner of any gunfight is likely to be the one who is most practiced, not the one with the biggest bullet.

There is no defensive handgun cartridge that can guarantee instant incapacitation of the bad guy. Larger calibers have a higher percentage of one-shot stops.
But 9mm has less recoil. That means you can get back on target quicker. You can hit the bad guy multiple times in less time than you could with a .40 or .45. Is a hit with a .45 better than two hits with a 9mm? I don't know.
Good shot placement is the most important factor in stopping power. And since 9mm is much cheaper to practice with, and less punishing to shoot a lot of, you can become a competent shooter quicker as well.

[TDDude]

I purchased a 9mm for my primary carry piece for one reason: the ammo was least expensive.

9mm practice ammo was $5/box (shows you guys when I started) and .40 was around $12.00 a box. I was shooting probably 500-800 rounds per month when I got started and today probably only shoot half that if I'm lucky.

The point is, I practiced so much early on with my 9mm that my muscle memory is very well defined. I don't have to think at all when shooting. All the habits, mostly good ones, I have are so ingrained and natural that I can doubletap center mass at 8 yards on multiple targets every time.

I have other pistols and enjoy them but I'm nowhere near as proficient under pressure/time because I'm fumbling around with things such as mag releases, grip position, trigger finger placement, etc....

Get what you can afford to practice with because if you can't afford to practice a lot, you will probably freeze up or end up shooting yourself in the foot if you have to be thinking about it under pressure.

Of course, since I've never been in a shootout and thank you Lord for that, I'm may just be all wet.

[mr.72]

I like how many of these answers are "9mm is adequate but".

There is no "but". In some cases, you would be better off with a different caliber. In some cases, you'd be best off with the 9mm. The choice of a SD caliber can become very complicated because there are none that are perfect, and despite what many will say, no one caliber is really more perfect than the others.

There is also more to think about regarding cartridge choice besides terminal performance. You probably will never have to shoot someone with it. But you are going to likely shoot many thousands of rounds in practice. You will have to buy it, store it, transport it, etc. If there ever is some reason to sort of stock-pile ammo, you will be glad to have something ubiquitous, abundant, and lighter/smaller to store and transport.