Not really, 380 and up is good now days. Hits is what matters. Ammo for the 45 is twice the price of the 9mm ammo. I say twice the practice beats a bigger hole any day.

I really like the Ruger SR9 and they seem to be really good pistols as long as you want a 9mm.

The XD's are also great though. Like said if I was going with one of those I'd go with the XDm though.

I'd really try to see and hold both. It just depends on which one feels better in your hands. I love the feel of the SR9's in my hand but others I've talked to said it felt too thin. So it's just how each one fits that persons hand.

What ammo are you buying in .45 that costs twice as much as the 9mm (I'm assuming we are talking about practice ammo)?
I get 9mm practice ammo for around $15-$20, and .45 practice ammo for around $18-$23. Defensive rounds are more expensive for both, but the cost differences between the two are pretty much the same.
The .45 technically is a superior defensive round compared to the 9mm. It will have more recoil also so you have to make sure you can handle it and be proficient with it if that is the route that you want to go.

I will say for fmj ammo the .45 is a lot more if you go to Wal-Mart or a gun store usually. You can get 100 pack 9mm if you get the Winchester White Box from wal-mart whichi s a fmj. It's 100 rounds for $19.99. You can hardly buy 50 rounds of .45 for that price of a similar ammo. If you get lucky you might get 50 rounds a few dollars cheaper but it's still 1 1/2 times the price.

I like a .45 and someday would like to have one but it's a well known fact the .45 ammo is more. Especially nowadays. My uncle has a .45 and a 9mm and he usually prefers to take the 9mm out to shoot as he said he likes that it holds double the rounds in the magazine and it's also a lot cheaper to shoot.

If youwant a gun to shoot I would stick with the 9mm. I shoot a .40 S&W, buts thats only because I got awesome deal on the gun. I am thinking of getting a 9mm so I'll be able to afford to shoot a little more.

There is a lot of wisdom in the extra capacity and ammo price of a 9MM! Extra capacity in hand, and extra shooting affordability (not to mention less recoil,) equals better accuracy! Yada, yada, yada! You can think of a 100 good things about the 9MM (Absolutely nothing wrong with that!) But,.............................................. .................................
45/100ths of an inch, 230 gr. of lead and 98 years of experience, the .45 ACP! Nuff said!

LET's make itat least a fair fight, the XD-40, 5 inch version with the muzzlebreak...with adjustable sights please.. about as sweet as it gets in the auto world.....