9mm, .40 , .45
 

I am going to get a springfield XD what caliber should i get?
Iam going to shoot alot but i want it to be able to use it for self defence.

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

Bea little cheaper for you in 9mm...I have the .40 S&W with the ported barrel....never shot the .45 acp, might be a little much in the recoil department...maybe the new .45 GAP may be the compromise...

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

If I were picking out a plincker for someHome Defense I'd go with the 9mm no doubt . If I were buying Home Defense to shoot some time I'd buy the 45 . Your are more likley to shoot it more if it's more comfortable to shoot the 9mm is much more pleasent in a lighter gun than the 45 . I have not shot the xd I did shoota competinggun and did not like it in 9mm as a carry piece it would be ok . As a plincker after a box I was done . I've been known to burn 2-3 boxes of ammo at a setting in my 357 45 colts and 9mm HP clone. Just me and an adiction to steel I suspect.

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

Currently I have an XD Tactical in .40 and I think it is super, though I carrry a H&K compact in a 9mm. The 2 biggest advantages to the 9mm were cost for shooting, and the larger magazine capacity. However, now the XD comes in a compact 45 that will take a 13 round magazine, and one in the chamber. Kinda hard to beat there. there are alot of people out there that willtell you to buy the .45 for self defense, it has more stopping power....etc. I used to be a part of this school of thought. But think of it this way, go stand in front of me, and let me plug a couple of 9mm rounds in your hide, and see it that doesn't put you down. IMHO, buy the XD in a 40. Costs a hair more to shoot than the 9mm, gives you just a little more gas than the 9mm, and genereally not as $$ to shoot as the .45. I suggest that you stay away from the .45 GAP simply because I don't consider that to be a walmart gun, meaning, that you can't always go to walmart and find ammo for it. Ihave foud that the GAP ammo can be somewhat hard to find, and when you do, it is generally even more expensive than the standard .45 Auto.

Since you say that you are going to take it to the range, and for self defense, buy the full size gun, however, if you are going to get a permit to carry, then look into their compact or subcompact models. Whatever you decide to get in an XD, you will, or I expect you wil be very happy with it.

Good luck to you.

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

Having owned pistols in all three calibers by different manufacturers and having been an IDPA competitor for the last 6 years, I can say that other people's opinions mean squat when it comes to buying a pistol. Go to a range that rents guns and shoot at least one in each of those calibers. With a gun that fits your hand, some people find the .45 mild, while others think the 9mm is too much. It boils down to your preferences and your tolerance for noise and recoil. The $40-$50 you'll spend renting guns to try is very well spent when you consider the depreciation on a gun you buy then sell because it wasn't appropriate for you.
Of course, if you have friends that are shooters ask them to take you to the range so you can try out their stuff.

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

well iam young and i love noise and power. But also iam kind of cheap so i dont want to spend a fortune shooting it.

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

I have an XD "service" in .40 and I know I probably won't shoot it as much as my new 9mm Firestorm just because of the $$ of ammo.
Its an AWESOME gun and I'll shoot it enough to stay proficient and it will be the main home defense weapon but I can pretty much guarantee I'll shoot the little Firestorm more.

I don't have the Firestorm (Bersa made) long but I would recommend it as a great buy in a 9mm. I found mine used for $249.99 and got it for $225. Worth every penny and then some.

The 2 guns compliment each other nicely, the 9mm for carry and the XD.40 for home. (I also have an M3 Tac light for the XD not seen in the pic)

If you can only get one and have your heart set on the Springfield, I'd say honestly get the XD 4" Servicein 9mm. You WILL shoot it more and some of the +P type loads like Corbon 125gr is not something a bad guy wants to get hit with either.

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

I have an XD 40 Tactical as well. To me a 40 isa big step up from a 9mm in terminal performance. I've shot alot of skunks, coons, badgers, coyotes, and lots of other varmints with both, and there is no comparison between the two. I'd totally rule out a 45 if you are going to shoot it alot, unless you handload, cheap, good ammo is tough to come by. If you plan on carrying the gun concealed I wouldn't get a Tactical I'd get a Service model or the Sub-compact. I'm half tempted to trade my Tactical model in for a Service model or the sub-compact, you can conceal it but its tough unless you have on a coat or a hooded sweatshirt.

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

Just my .02 but I would say go for the .45. I have the XD Compact with 4" BBL and I do not find the noise or recoil to be enough of a factor to even worry about. I don't find ammo to be all that much more expensive than 9MM in many cases. Bottom line, for self defense, especially for home defense, you can't beat the .45 IMO.

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

If you get the XD 4" .40, you wont be disappointed. There's something about the .40 that makes it deadlier than a .45. A DEA agent I know told me it was something about the motion of air surrounding the flying bullet that did even more tissue damage at the POI. Don't quote me on that one though. Recoil with the XD is a non-issue anyway.

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

I've never heard that one before, but can attest that its total bullcrap. The 40 short and weak is a compromise cartridge- its a bit more powerful than a 9mm but it will also fit in the same frame size as a 9mm. The FBI originally wanted the 10mm for a service weapon, but smaller framed people and many women couldn't efectively handle a pistol in that cartridge (its close to being equivalent to a 41 magnum), the cartridge was shortened, the muzzle energy was cut in half resulting in the 40S&W.

They now make XDs that have te frames shaved down and redesigned so that one chambered in .45 is no larger than one chambered in .40 or 9mm. Get the .45 its by far the best of the 3 cartridges.

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

I hear this blanket statement all the time and it honestly makes no sense to me. Ballistics vary WIDELY from cartridge to cartridge and manufacturer to manufacturer.

Here's an example........

I run 2 different Corbon loads from my XD40:

150gr JHP @ 1200fps / 480ft lbs of energy
165gr JHP @ 1150fps / 485ft lbs of energy

Now take the .45 and compare to a different but popular load from another manufacturer, one that is carried by a lot of guys

Federal Personal Defense .45 (I'll only compare the 165gr because they match the heavier .40 weight that I shoot)

165gr Hydra Shok @ 1060fps / 412ft lbs of energy
165gr EFMJ @ 1140fps / 476ft lbs of energy

I'm maybe not understanding how the .45 is by far the better of the 2? I can get the .40 ballistically right there or better than the .45 depending upon ammo choice and it's a little cheaper to shoot.
(Of course you can +P the .45 and blow the .40 away as well)


I'm not sure a bad guy would define my 165gr Corbon load as "Short and Weak";)

All that said if it was a 99.99% fun gun and .00001% that I had to pull it out of the nightstand one night 10yrs from now because I heard a noise downstairs..........I'd take the 9mm. You'll shoot it more pretty much guaranteed and there are plenty of 9MM rounds that will do just fine at 10ft.
Everyone treats these things like they're shooting bad guys for a living day in and day out and then it might be worth discussing the merits of a9 vs a .40 vs a .45 etc
Does it make sense for a cop who carries his duty weapon everyday to consider these things to the split hair? YEAH. Does it matter for Joe citizen who has an even smaller than tiny chance of ever having to pull that weapon in defense..........I don't think so.

It's my mindset to recommend the weapon and caliber that someone is going to shoot ALOT, have fun with and get to know how to handle vs the "Flame thrower" that they shoot 1 box through and put it away for a rainy day because it's a little expensive to shoot or uncomfortable.

I own all 3 calibers in Autos, 9, .40 and .45 and if I had to keep just one, I'll take the 9MM. Cheap to shoot and my 125gr +P Corbon will do just nicely if the unfortunate and unlikely day ever comes.

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

well, i am going against the grain here and saying 9mm. I have the XD service model 9mm (what a fantastic pistol btw) and shoot it all the time. the reason i bought the 9mm is cheap ammo. you can get better at shooting it if you can afford to shoot it. Also, with the bullets available today you can find a great defense load in 9mm.

Walmart was selling boxes of WWB 9mm ammo for $7-8. the .40 was $14-15.

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

Yeppers:)

The .40 is already loaded to its maximum pressure while the .45 has a ways to go. And it punches a bigger hole through things;)

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

then why does FBI say the same thing?

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

I was a die hard fan of the 45 ACP and as a pure defense round it along with the 357 Mag, set as the top of the one shot stop stats. However for a practical purposes the 40 kind of offers the best of all worlds, Size, Power and controllability.

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

Uhhuh:eek:

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

I can't be 100 percent sure, but when I was looking at my father in law's Sierra reloading book comparing a .40 180 gr. JHP to a few different grain .45 (180 & up) at max load for both calibers the muzzle energy was not that significantly different, with the .40 being more in some instances. I'm over at school now so I can't verify until this weekend, but if someone else can check it out...

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

True, but both will penetrate thru a human, and the 45 is going to make a much larger hole, and the 45 with its greater momentum (not same as KE), will penetrate better.

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

Get the .45 acp.

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

.45 anytime!

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

I've been seriously looking at the Springfield XD .45 ACP. I'm not sure yet about 3" or 4" barrel. Likely the later for better accuracy I'd think.

RE: 9mm, .40 , .45
 

So much depends on circumstance, use, the gun itself, etc. When I got my XD 40, I knew that I wasn't going to be dong concealed carry or anything. I wanteda plinker, but also as an SHTF gun. I looked at the tables and chose an XD 40. I might have chosen another, but for what I wanted I liked that caliber, in that gun, in that barrel length. If they had had the Springfield 1911 GI version at the time, I might have gone a different route. My friend is a Depty Sherriff in Denver. He wishes his dept would allow him to carry a 40 cal. He love the round, but I also noticed that off duty he carries a compact 45 ACP. If I was to do CC, I might just get a super compact 9mm or 380. Not because I love either round, but in the super light, thin guns I would consider, the recoil would be more manageable. I love the 45 ACP, but not in a sub compact. If I had a lot of time to practice, with one, my opinion might change.

Bottom line, consider all your options and ping them up agains the circustances and choose the one that best fits. There will be compromises, but all will work, and you'll be happier (until the circumstances change, and then you get to go shopping again.)

Spud