Considering switching to 9mm from 40S&W

Background:

A couple of months ago, I was out shooting with a friend in the Middle of Eff-ing Nowhere. I had some new guns I hadn't had a chance to shoot yet, and my usual 40S&W Springfield XDm.

My friend also had his 40S&W XDm, and he decided to bring out his old Taurus PT99 9mm on the "I haven't shot this in ages" premise.

This was a regular shooting place, and the ground was littered with 12ga shells. One of the fun little games was to toss a handful of these out randomly and see what you could hit them so they'd go flying from 10-15 feet away. Its not a bad test -- if you can hit something that small (or near enough to kick it up) from that distance, doing the "Mozambique Doubletap" (2 to the chest, 1 to the head) to a much larger target at a greater distance should be similar.

With my XDm, which I love, my longest streak of continuous hits was 3.

With my friend's 9mm Taurus (a gun I'm quick familiar with, I have to PT101, the 40S&W version), I hit 7 in a row, more than once.

My friend commented on this.

Which got me thinking...

I had a friend switch from 45 to 9mm because of his arthritis, and watched his accuracy skyrocket. I have another friend who only shoots 45 and 9mm, because he thinks 40S&W is too "tippy" (reacquiring the target is slow because of muzzle climb).

I bought my first gun (the aforementioned Taurus PT101) in 40S&W in the early 90s partially because it was the hot cartridge (luckily I avoided the 10mm!) and it was, I think, superior to the 9mm at the time. 
 
Now, in my honest opinion, with modern powders and super-exaggerated hollowpoint bullet technology (I think Golden Sabers and Black Talons had just come out when I bought my 40), a 9mm is just a deadly as a 40S&W or a 45. As Say Uncle and several other blogs have stated recently (http://www.saysuncle.com/2009/11/19/the-best-way-to-double-the-effectiveness-of-any-bullet-is-a-follow-up-shot/) -- its far more about shot placement ("try aiming") and shot followup ("the best way to double the effectiveness of any bullet is a follow-up shot") than caliber.

From a 30 foot distance, my 40S&W grouping isn't bad -- its all in the inner kill zone:

But the actual grouping of shots together...not so much.

Soon as I get a chance, I'm gonna hit the range with my 40S&W XDm and a borrowed 9mm XDm. If the shot placement with 9mm is exceptionally better (I think it will be), I'll heavily consider switching to 9mm, as I can just sell the 40S&W XDm and get a 9mm XDm instead. Then I'll need to sell my 40S&W HiPoint Carbine, and the PT101...

"Gunnie Stuff I don't Like" (from MArooned)

MArooned posted an interesting list of "Gunnie Stuff I don't get" that I really liked:

Pistol caliber carbines with short barrels. Okay, why? Why on earth would you take a perfectly valid PCC and then pay extra money in the form of the ATF stamp to SBR it when you could, oh, buy the freakin' pistol?

Amusingly, I was just considering a 9mm AR, and thought about the SBR, but this is an excellent point. The main reason (IMHO) for pistol caliber carbines (which I like a lot -- I have a 40 S&W Hi-Point and and an awesome .357 Saddle Ring Carbine) is that its one less caliber to stock and own, and in the case of a SHTF event, you've got longer range firepower from the same ammo supply.

Folding stock kits for SKSs. SRSLY. Get an AK. Even now they're back under $500; you're gonna drop $300 for the SKS and $150 for the stock, so for $50 savings you miss out on the detachable mag?

SKSes in general are just kinda silly since the sunset of the AWB. 'nuf said.

Assault rifle pistols. I'm sorry, this has GOT to be the dumbest thing on the market. The AR-15 is a little more understandable, although I've got to wonder what kind of accuracy loss is endured from a 9" barrel. The AK-47 pistols make ZERO sense IMHO.

Totally agree here, except I find the AR-15 pistols WORSE than the AK-47 pistols. With the AR's need for a buffer tube, who the crap thought this would be a good pistol?

Obscure pistol calibers. I mean, really... .45 GAP? .32 Guardian? Even .357 Sig - slightly more powerful than .40 S&W, three times as hard to find and twice the price. The whole idea of having a handgun is that you have something portable you can carry with you for protection - when the ammo for a range session costs nearly as much as another pistol, how often are you going to practice with it? And when you can't find .45 ACP on the shelves, what's the likelihood of finding .50 Heffalump or .45 SOMPC (Some Other Manufacturer's Proprietary Cartridge)

Agreed, with the caveat that I *want* manufacturer's to keep coming up with new calibers...the FBI impetuous that created the 40 S&W/10mm debate won't come along very often, and there is nothing wrong with new calibers that take advantage of advances in technology (just like super expanding hollowpoints). If manufacturers don't come up with oddball calibers, we'd be stuck with the same 3 forever: 9mm, 40 S&W, and 45. But I agree...45 GAP is just a joke, and 357 Sig ain't much better!

Belt-fed semi-automatic rifles. Yeah, I know, in 99% of the cases it's someone who'd really like to have the full auto version but can't afford the ten$ of thou$and$ they cost. I'm sympathetic in this regard. Kinda like the folks that buy the semi-auto Mac-10s. $300 it's a fun plinker. $3K for the fun switch and it's just too damned expensive. You've got to admit, though, a belt-fed rifle with a semi-auto receiver is a lot like a Ferarri with a three speed automatic transmission...

ROFL. Pinned that one!

Rifle caliber handguns. I'm the guy that has the Snubbie from Hell™, and even I can't see the appeal in a .308 Winchester handgun. What's the point? Unless you're training for an Iron Man competition, I fail to see why someone would volunteer for premature carpal tunnel syndrome...

I had a friend who loved his 30 carbine Automag pistol. The thing was HUGE. Totally agree with this. Silly thing.

Accessory rails on pistols. Really. Look, I can grok the whole "having a light on your home defense gun". Sure, there are applications where having a hand free(r) is a good thing. But that's the thing - if you've got a pistol, you've already got a hand free. That hand can operate a separate flashlight at a tiny fraction of the cost of a rail-mounted unit. As far as mounting a laser, please - you're going to drop that kind of cake on a gun with a rail and then skimp on the aiming system? Mall ninja, please.

Agreed, except for the caveat that "more flashlights is always better" -- I'd love to have both a rail-mounted flashlight on my pistol for home defense and a second handheld one to scan a room with. I think there is a lot to be said to the psychological power of having a flashlight aimed at someone, and I know there is a benefit to knowing that its backed by more than a baker's dozen little mushrooming friends.

Drum magazines on semi-automatic rifles. This one perplexes me to no end. If you don't have the fun switch, why on G-d's Green Earth would you drop $100 and up for a 75 round drum when you can spend $30 for three 30 round magazines? It makes no financial sense whatsoever. Heck, even in FA mode, you put 75 - 100 rounds through an AK and the handguard's gonna burst into flames...

Amusingly enough, I have a 75 round drum mag for my AK, and have used it exactly once. And there was smoke coming from the foregrip when I was done...

Fake suppressors. I really don't understand the point of a fake can. "Look at me! I'm too cheap for the real thing!" I mean, you're not fooling anyone, especially when you pull the bang switch and are rewarded with a full volume report. Spend the $200. Get the stamp. Get the real thing. Save your hearing.

Mall ninja indeed. Although the "fake can" look of the GSG-5 is kinda cool...

$100+ flashlights as part of daily gear. My $10 warehouse special is only half as bright, sure, but if it falls out of my pocket when I reach for change for the vending machine I'm not going to miss it. I just don't get spending that kind of money on what is, for all intents and purposes, a disposable item. Pocketknives too - I tend to lose a pocketknife about once a year or two - I can't see spending more than $30-$40 on a decent EDC knife, yet there are folks out there dropping $200+...

I just started to harass myself for the fact I'm not carrying a flashlight. And $100 is about my limit for a "nice" light, and I've got several I really like, but always need MORE! I carry a Leatherman WAVE instead of a tactical knife because I use it 5 times a day, but it'll still do in a pinch.

Fun little list. Thanks, MArooned!