.40S&W vrs .45ACP

[TripleR]

Anything that will make holes in the human hydraulic system has merit. While caliber selection is worthy of attention, a gun is not the most important tool in the defense arsenal.

.40 vs .45? A toss-up.

We were always trained to believe the most important tool was our brain, to which I now must say, "well then I need a bigger gun".

 

[redsox1]

In total agreement w/ earlier posts, i.e. either caliber will do the job w/ little difference. For what it's worth, I'm in the State Police and we are in the process of changing over from Sig .40 to S&W .45's. I don't think there was any drastic reason for the change, but it does seem that ballistics have gone in a big circle. I was an MP in the U.S. Army 35 years ago and we carried 1911 .45's then. When I joined the State Police about 25 years ago we were issued .357 revolvers, then migrated to 9mm, autos,then 10mm (.40 cal), then 10mm double action, and now I'm back to .45 caliber where I started 35 years ago. Go figure.

 

[LetsRoll]

One of things or reasons for moving up in caliber is the Sig Sauer P250 is interchangeable between the calibers (will post a link to a YouTube video explaining the caliber changes). The reason I had the 9mm P250 is because I got it dirt cheap and frankly, I couldn't pass on the price ($350). But now, I'm back to square one (pistol-less if that's a word). So, I decided to ask about the two calibers since I will be buying another new pistol for home defense.

I don't know if you gents are aware, but you can change the Sig Sauer P250 caliber from sub-compact to compact and from compact to full frame, but to top it off, this pistols caliber can be changed several times without changing the serial number. There are a couple of YouTube video's explaining this process.
P250 TV Long version - YouTube

 

[familyman]

I don't know if you gents are aware, but you can change the Sig Sauer P250 caliber from sub-compact to compact and from compact to full frame, but to top it off, this pistols caliber can be changed several times without changing the serial number. There are a couple of YouTube video's explaining this process.
P250 TV Long version - YouTube

ONE GUN?
Where's the fun in that?

 

[ddb123]

I have a Kimber TLE II in .45, a Glock 22 (.40) and a Walther PPS in .40 (along with a few other guns, of course). I went with .40 for my CCW because of the increased capacity over .45 and increased power over 9mm.

For my "next to the bed" gun, I still go with the .40 mostly because even with my sweet Kimber 1911 I still get occasional jams. Yeah, I know, limp-wristing. Well, I don't limp-wrist it but in a defensive situation I might. So I go with the .40; neither pistol in .40 has ever given me a problem.

Guns and tractors go hand in hand.

 

[Bill 55]

I have both. I started with the 40 which I carried as a duty weapon for 14 years, when uncle Arther started killing me I swapped the Smith 4006 for a Springfield XD when the XD got to hurting my hands I went to an XD in 45. It has a lot less felt recoil than the 40. I love the 40 but just can't shoot it as comfortably as the 45. The 40 is a snappy little rascal and just makes old hands feel their age.

 

[TripleR]

In total agreement w/ earlier posts, i.e. either caliber will do the job w/ little difference. For what it's worth, I'm in the State Police and we are in the process of changing over from Sig .40 to S&W .45's. I don't think there was any drastic reason for the change, but it does seem that ballistics have gone in a big circle. I was an MP in the U.S. Army 35 years ago and we carried 1911 .45's then. When I joined the State Police about 25 years ago we were issued .357 revolvers, then migrated to 9mm, autos,then 10mm (.40 cal), then 10mm double action, and now I'm back to .45 caliber where I started 35 years ago. Go figure.

MSHP and all other state Law Enforcement carries the Glock .40 and has for years. I have seen some departments across the nation go to the .45 with even just some specialized units going to it. I'm not sure if the change is mystique or fact based as I have seen tests "proving" it superior and others not. My sons use to teach some advanced law enforcement classes at a local training center and their informal tests didn't turn out too well for barrier penetration, but they were far from scientific.

I guess opinions will always vary.

 

[Ken45101]

Basically it is an endless debate as to which is better.

Definitely the 40SW is a snappier round with a sharper sound. FWIW, my full size Sig P226/40 seems to have harder recoil than my Springfield EMP (40), which is compact. I guess Springfield did a better job of recoil management.

For smaller guns, I suspect the 40 is a bit more effective than the .45. As others have said, 40 has a few more rounds capacity than .45.

With some guns, like the Sig 226 and 229, if you start with a 40SW, you can change barrels, springs and magazines and use it for 40sw, 9mm, or 357Sig.

In general, 40SW is very popular with law enforcement. It's very interesting to see some agencies going back to 45 though!

Ken

 

[Bigfoot62]

Flip a coin. I have multiple pistols in both calibers and like them all.

EITHER one has a big advantage over the 9mm.

 

[forgeblast]

I have a sig 239 in .40 and a sig 226 in .40 with the .22 conversion kit. I shot a lot of different calibers before finding one that I liked/trusted. I also shot a lot of different manufactures and found sig just "fit" my hand so much better.