13 Feb 2022

9mm Versus .45ACP

BY Herschel Smith
4 years, 8 months ago

Garand Thumb titles his video “we end the debate.”  BLUF: There will always be a debate.

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Frank Clarke
Frank Clarke
4 years ago

My problem is that I have a wife and three daughters all of whom must be able to rack the slide and handle the recoil. For them (and, therefore, for me) 9mm beats .45ACP.

YMMV.

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Fred
Fred
4 years ago

Stopping POWAH!!!

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bob sykes
bob sykes
4 years ago

I’ve posted this link before, but it is worth re-reading. If deterrence (not killing) is your goal any caliber will do, even the lowly 22 lr, if you can place your shots and hit something.

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HouseWolf
HouseWolf
4 years ago

Big fan of Liberty here. Velocity is king.

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Fred
Fred
4 years ago

Saw a white F150 today with 2 inch letters across the gate: MY OTHER AUTO IS A .45

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Bradlley A Graham
Bradlley A Graham
4 years ago

This is all dependent on the availability of premium defense ammo. If FMJ is the only thing on the shelf then it might as well be 1922 instead of 2022.

“What is the most important ammo you can own. Not self-defense ammo but practice ammo. Because practice allows you to retain a certain level of proficiency.”

Ken Hackathorn. 2021

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Georgiaboy61
Georgiaboy61
4 years ago

@ Bradlley A Graham

Re: “This is all dependent on the availability of premium defense ammo. If FMJ is the only thing on the shelf then it might as well be 1922 instead of 2022.”

According to the Hague and Geneva Conventions, to which the U.S. was a signatory, our armed forces could not use hollow-point, soft-point, “dum-dum” or other expanding projectile ammunition for small arms. Only FMJ (full-metal jacket) or “ball” ammo.

John M.Browning was well-aware of these realities, which is one reason he designed his famous and now-legendary M1911 semi-automatic pistol with its equally-famous 230-grain “Fat Boy” hardball/FMJ round. Fired out of the M1911, it attains roughly 800-850 fps muzzle velocity, which is rather leisurely in comparison to some handgun cartridges, but the combination of a heavy,large-caliber bullet and the relatively low MV means that the 230-grain slug deposits virtually all of its energy inside the target where it does the most work, and not behind it after a through-and-through penetration. The big 230-grain bullet also acts like a bulldozer, creating a large wound channel and also breaking any bone it encounters, more than likely. All of which increase its terminal effectiveness.

Employing modern self-defense ammunition, however, with well-engineered expanding or hollow-point features, closes the gap between something like 9x19mm/9mm Parabellum and .45 ACP considerably. But if FMJ is in use, the big 45 hardball is still very effective, more than a century after its debut.

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You are currently reading "9mm Versus .45ACP", entry #29327 on The Captain's Journal.

This article is filed under the category(s) Firearms,Guns and was published February 13th, 2022 by Herschel Smith.

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