.45 acp vs 9mm
 

maybe a stupid question,how does a 9mm have just about the same m. energy as the 45 acp.being almost twice the weight ??

RE: .45 acp vs 9mm
 

It has to do with velocity in the equation. You can ramp up energy figures by increasing velocity. How the beast behaves going through tissue, and how big the wound channel is, can be a different story.

RE: .45 acp vs 9mm
 

If I had my choice of only one, it would be the 45 ACP or 45 GAP.

RE: .45 acp vs 9mm
 

"I had my choice of only one, it would be the 45 ACP or 45 GAP."
[align=right][/align][align=right]I agree and thats all I have,allthough would like to get a hi power 9 mm if I had to get a 9 mm [/align]

RE: .45 acp vs 9mm
 

the .45 will have more knock down power. Thats simple to determine. Having said that, with alot of todays loads and bullets, the gap between the rounds is getting closer IMO. I say stick with what you shot the best. I have said before, i have seen people at the range get sold on a .45 only to discover they can't hit a paper target 5 yards away because they were sold a gun or caliber that didn't fit them.

RE: .45 acp vs 9mm
 

Oh boy, another .45ACP vs 9x19 post!

Everybody KNOWS that only a sissy quitter will stop after being shot, even multiple time with a 9x19, but a hit to the little finger with a .45 ACP will pick up,a 300 pound man and throw him to the ground.

With modern designed, expanding bullets, both the 9x19 and .45 ACP are fine self defense cartridges. I happily trust my life to both.

RE: .45 acp vs 9mm
 

Both sides of the argument have merit. Having said that, in the end, both loose to the picking up of a shotgun.

RE: .45 acp vs 9mm
 

The 9mm gets its energy from speed.
Over and over again, I keep reading that the experts are recommending light (115g) hot loads in 9mm for defense.

The biggest issue with the 9mm 'not cutting it' is overpenetration and small wound channels due to failure of expansion. When a hollowpoint encounters heavy clothing, or other barriers before entering a body, the HP can plug up and fail to open. It will then perform like the mililtary FMJs and zip right through without tearing too much up. Not what you want for defense. Go light and hot, andyou maximize its performance. There is also one HP out there that pushes flat instead of relying on hydrostatic pressuse inside the HP toinitiate the expasion process.

I like 40 and 45, but the 9's sure are getting small and comfy to carry.

RE: .45 acp vs 9mm
 

I recommend that people shoot what they can hit with. Thus, I even like the 32 auto. I tried hard to get Mrs Biscuit to hit with 45, and she did good, but only on the rounds where her eyes weren't closed!

My experience with knockdown power was this. Lord have mercy, had a night on Okinawa as duty officer. A perp stabbed one of our sentries who pulled his piece and did what he had to do. The first shot was a chest grazer, as the perp turned to run. The second shot was a chest shot but did not hit the spine. The 3rd shot was a heart shot. He continued to run 50 yards before he collapsed and died. Now, that was a bad night. But I am grateful that his last moments were not spent on doing more damage to the sentry. At no point did the 45 "knock him down." The sentry was hospitalized with a collapsed lung from the knife wound, but recovered.

RE: .45 acp vs 9mm
 

get ya a 9mm they make a great paper puncher. for defensive purposes I prefer the 45 acp hands down. Though I have 45's I also have 9mm's the 9mm's have the job as full time paper punchers. if you dont reload 9mm is alot cheaper then 45 as is the way to go if you want to shoot alot. just my 2 cents

RE: .45 acp vs 9mm
 

As stated above, velocity is the determining factor RE: "kinetic energy". But don't make the mistake of equating kinetic energy with killing or knock-down power.

The 9mm has alkways been loaded to the peak of its potential, but the recent advent ofvarious +P loadings in the .45 ACP place it far beyond anything a 9mm can do!

For example, one of my own .45 ACP handloads uses a 230-grain cast semi-wadcutter hollowpoint bullet at 1000 FPS andgives a muzzle energy of 510 FT/LB. I have even seen some .45 ACP "SUPER" ammo used in M1911A1's having ramped barrels that gave 1150 FPS with Hornady 230-grain XTP bullets. This load produces676 FT/LB, or nearly TWICE what you can get from any 9mm load.

Now, to avoid controversy, I am NOT going to assert that the .45 ACP is a better combat round than the 9mm! BUT, there is a reason why U.S. Special Operations forces are today buying specially made custom M1911A1-type .45 ACP handguns to replace the 9mm's they were using. And it is not just to complicate logistics problems....

RE: .45 acp vs 9mm
 

I found out last weekend that a unit aquired 40 Glocks in .45 Auto. I assume they went open purchase. It will be interesting to see what long term changes in weapons and ammo come out of this conflict.

RE: .45 acp vs 9mm
 

.45acp my choice hands down great stoping power and im a 1911 style gun fan but if for just plinking 9mm is very cheap on ammo and little recoil and in most polymer style guns u can fit up 17 rounds in one mag

RE: .45 acp vs 9mm
 

No, it isn't to complicate logistics...it's because by law they must use BALL ammunition. .45 ACP ball will always be more effective than 9x19 ball. If i lived in a retard state like New Jersey that prohibits HP ammunition for its citizens, I would carry and use nothing but .45 ACP. I don't, and I don't. With a good JHP there is just not that much difference in effectiveness, assuming you chose the proper load.

RE: .45 acp vs 9mm
 

Wolf ammo makes the 45 about as cheap to shoot as the 9mm and you don't have to save brass, though you should try to pick it up anyway .i love my 40 sw pistols but I'll most likely have a 45 before long.Not because I feel undergunned or any such,It's just that I need one. You see I have a 9mm, 2 40 cals a 44mag a 380 Kel Tec and a target 22! and a good 45 would fit in my gun safe so why not.

RE: .45 acp vs 9mm
 

HEH!!! WOLF........ I wouldnt shoot that nasty dirty inaccurate stuff if it were free. Not to mention the laquered cases when fired heat up and leave laquer in your chamber, that has to be scrubbed out with kroil and a bronze brush. If you dont clean that laquer out over time it builds up and eventually causes feeding and ejecting malfunctions. Forget what fornra says trying to compare wolf 45 ammo price price to 9mm ammo, to me wolf ammo doesnt exsist except for their gold line ammo which is brass cased but its not any cheaper than say Sellier & Bellot, independence or magtech ammo.

RE: .45 acp vs 9mm
 

I have a copy of a Browning Hi Power that is made in Bulgaria. It is called an Arcus 94. It is a beefed up version with a matteblued , squared off slide and chromed frame. This is the most accurate and reliable 9mm I have ever owned. I paid about 300.00 for it years ago and it was a good investment.I can fan the trigger on a 15 round magazine and it emptys like a full automatic and never jams. I have a Sig 220 in .45 acp but I cant shoot it as well as my 9mm. If you look at the ballistics on the corbon 115 gr jhp you will see it has a one shot stopping figure equaling the powerful 125 grain jhp.357 magnum loads. The nine can be shot cheaper too. I get 50 rounds of usa white box at wally world for about seven bucks. Here are some figures on energy levels and fps from CorBon.











9MM LUGER+P 115 GR. JHP 1350 FPS/466FTLBS***

9MM LUGER+P 125 GR. JHP 1250 FPS/434FTLBS

45 AUTO+P 165 GR. JHP 1250 FPS/573 FTLBS

45 AUTO+P 185 GR. JHP 1150FPS/543 FTLBS

45 AUTO+P 230 GR. JHP 950 FPS/461FTLBS***

357 MAG 110 GR. JHP 1500 FPS/555 FTLBS

357 MAG 125 GR. JHP 1400FPS/544FTLBS***