I mentioned to Christina last night at the range that 9x19mm is the best self-defense cartridge there is.
Kinda interesting coming from me, given that I don’t actually OWN any guns in 9x19mm. My bread-and-butter is .45 ACP, in my 1911, and my PM45. Why .45? Well it works, and I’m already invested in the cartridge with guns, ammo, magazines, and reloading supplies. Also I have a preference to M1911 pistols, which were designed around .45 ACP, and therefore shoot them the best.
Still the Golden Age of the 9×19 vs .45 war (and the coup that was .40 S&W) seemed to be around WWII and after when ammo was all FMJ and the various full-size guns on the market were American .45s, and European 9x19mm guns. Well YEAH, if shooting only ball ammo .45 will do a LOT more damage than the 9mm (I suspect the flat-point often found on .40 S&W ball will have the most stopping power of all), but we’re NOT! I carry hollow point .45s, and anybody who knows what they’re doing carries hollow-point 9x19mm, and once you get there, and assuming we’re using quality ammo, vs. bargain basement hollow-points, really the question of how the shoot is going to go is all about where your shots land.
So that being said Chance is currently discussing dumping his pocket .380 for a pocket 9.
I’m basically simplifying my ammo stores. I may even dump my 45s.
There is something to be said about that (and also the reason why I got a PM45 rather than the PM9 or CM9, or P9 et al) Why get involved in yet another cartridge when I can carry a full-size .45, and a pocket-sized .45 and get by fine?
That being said if you’re starting from square one, 9x19mm is one of the most common pistol rounds on Earth, and there are few gun makers that don’t make a few guns in this cambering. Every ammo maker makes a few options in 9×19 ammo, and every gun shop and sporting goods store will have ammo to buy.
You can also get just about every type of gun on Earth chambered in 9×19, from the great-big Glock 34, to the pocket-sized Kahr PM9, and everything in between. Also when you compare a 9×19 gun with guns in .40 S&W, or .45 ACP, or even revolver cartridges, you get near identical terminal ballistics, in a smaller lighter package…or in a similar package but with MUCH more rounds.
If I had to start all over again and shrug off the Machismo, I might go the way of 9x19mm for all my defensive guns.
Or maybe I just like 1911s too much and would contradict all my advice about 9x19mm and guns with unnecessary safeties, as well as buying more affordable guns.
Hey there’s a reason why there are so many gun blogs, there’s just so much one can write about!