9mm is the superior cartridge. it's the world's most popular caliber.
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It's better than .45 for many reasons.
9mm can have stagger stack magazines where a normal full frame 9mm pistol can have say 15 rounds plus one chambered so that's 16 rounds. .45 is 5 to 8 rounds because it's a single stack round.
9mm is also a on the average more accurate pistol, the further out you get the less accurate more .45s are. Unless you have some expensive pistol that's well weighted and has a double recoil spring like a heckler and Koch you're going to have inferior accuracy because 45s tend to be sloppy shooters, especially if your a smaller or skinnier person.
You can store more and carry more 9mm than .45.
9mm is cheaper, granted all ammo is expensive now but it's always less expensive than 45.
Winchester 50 rounds 45 acp target ammo is 32 bucks, on clearance.
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Winchester 50 rounds target 9mm is 20 dollars, normal price.
Winchester Target & Practice ammunition was developed to provide excellent performance at an affordable price for the high volume shooter. Featuring...
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45 also has less penetration than a 9mm does.
9mm has a greater muzzle velocity starting at 990fps while a .45 tops out around 830fps.
But really it all comes down to preference. I'm a civilian now and even in the military a 9mm was my side arm, anyone I pull a pistol on is going to be a civilian as well. 45 or 9mm doesn't matter because there is psychological damage just having a gun pointed at you, there is psychological damage just being shot at, and there is physical and psychological damage actually being shot. So if you shoot someone with a 9mm or a 45 the difference in the real world is little. Even a 22 shooting long rifle rounds will fuck someone up. It's less about what you shoot and more about just being able to get bullets on your target quickly and effectively.
It's like people that argue about hollow points. The real world results don't even matter compared to just hitting your target. The damage a hollow point will do compared to a fmj doesn't even really matter. Hitting your target is all that matters.