Howdy y’all, At my local gun shop I’ve came across two Gen 5 subcompact Glocks the 26 and 27. Both are selling for $550 which is interesting because I’ve always stuck to 9mm for my EDC pistols but I’ve kinda always secretly wanted to own the bigger .40 cal Glock. But my question has always been how much more effective if any is the .40 when it comes to stopping a threat with equal shot placement as a 9mm? So if anyone here owns a Glock 27 I would love to know how it shoots
Is .40 S&W significantly or just marginally more potent than 9mm?
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TheWessidePoleBlassum
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Howdy y’all, At my local gun shop I’ve came across two Gen 5 subcompact Glocks the 26 and 27. Both are selling for $550 which is interesting because I’ve always stuck to 9mm for my EDC pistols but I’ve kinda always secretly wanted to own the bigger .40 cal Glock. But my question has always been how much more effective if any is the .40 when it comes to stopping a threat with equal shot placement as a 9mm? So if anyone here owns a Glock 27 I would love to know how it shoots
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That question is what finally got me to participate on this site. I debated this with my neighbor who has a 27/4 and I was carrying a 26/5. Then I continued the debate with a deputy who was my customer at the store. The conclusion was simple, the .40 is definitely more lethal and less prone to over penetration while still being shootable for accuracy. When there is a panic run on ammo like we have had recently, the .40 is usually still in stock. Both shoot as well as the 19;2$ siblings and I appreciate the engineering that helped that. I did sell my 26 and now carry a 23 or 19. I prefer having the longer grip for drawing purposes because I often fumbled a bit reaching for the 26 or 42 I carried.
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It’s not the Lords Caliber .45 ACP so it’s marginal.
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Depends on the bullet.
Winchester Ranger 9mm 127 +P+ and 40 S&W 180 Bonded expand & penetrate about the same after heavy clothing:
![Image]()
With Federal HST 180 gr. 40 expands bigger than either 9mm HST
![Image]()
In HST I think 40 could offer marginally better ASAP incapacitation potential due to making a slightly bigger hole.
When I say that ^ same shot placement is assumed but if I don't specify it someone may "have to" quote me and interject the "its all about shot placement"
DUH comment that should have been assumed; its unnecessary and/but I just preempted it. HA.
If you are interested in 40 S&W I recommend the Gen 5 Glock 40 with a thicker slide.
Shooting my 17.5 and then the 22.5 there is subjectively little difference in recoil.
Winchester Ranger 9mm 127 +P+ and 40 S&W 180 Bonded expand & penetrate about the same after heavy clothing:
With Federal HST 180 gr. 40 expands bigger than either 9mm HST
In HST I think 40 could offer marginally better ASAP incapacitation potential due to making a slightly bigger hole.
When I say that ^ same shot placement is assumed but if I don't specify it someone may "have to" quote me and interject the "its all about shot placement"
DUH comment that should have been assumed; its unnecessary and/but I just preempted it. HA.If you are interested in 40 S&W I recommend the Gen 5 Glock 40 with a thicker slide.
Shooting my 17.5 and then the 22.5 there is subjectively little difference in recoil.
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2,646 Posts
I have read several studies on the lethality of handgun calibers. From .380 to .44 Magnum there is not one that is statistically superior to another. One of the better ones is the 125-135 JHP in .357 Magnum. It seems NO handgun round does impart enough energy on impact to be a failsafe one hit manstopper.
The advantage of a .40 caliber pistol is that it is capable of being (generally) easy to convert to 9mm or .357sig thus giving it versatility. Any gain in terminal effectiveness will be hairline at best and equalized with the negative of normally holding 1-2 rounds less than a comparably sized 9mm.
The .40 is my favorite caliber, just because. But not because of any perceived increase in terminal effectiveness. Too many factors involved.
It is important to know that terms such as ‘knock down power’, ‘kinetic energy dump’, ‘stopping power’, ‘ballistic wound theory’, one stop shot’ are gun rag buzz terms that are based on junk science. Ammunition companies have stated that a projectile needs a minimum of 2300 fps in order for ‘energy’ to even begin to be relevant. Thus handgun service calibers are all about the same in terms of terminal effectiveness. Pick a favorite but realize it has a set of positives and limitations on it automatically.
I personally prefer pistols in .40 for the versatility I described above. I like to have options.
The .40 is my favorite caliber, just because. But not because of any perceived increase in terminal effectiveness. Too many factors involved.
It is important to know that terms such as ‘knock down power’, ‘kinetic energy dump’, ‘stopping power’, ‘ballistic wound theory’, one stop shot’ are gun rag buzz terms that are based on junk science. Ammunition companies have stated that a projectile needs a minimum of 2300 fps in order for ‘energy’ to even begin to be relevant. Thus handgun service calibers are all about the same in terms of terminal effectiveness. Pick a favorite but realize it has a set of positives and limitations on it automatically.
I personally prefer pistols in .40 for the versatility I described above. I like to have options.
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Shoot some steel with both and you'll have your answer
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Which “FAWTY” loads would you suggest for EDC?
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When I tested The 147 grain Federal HST it was pretty impressive in 9mm despite such a low muzzle velocity in my M&P shield (927 FPS)Depends on the bullet.
Winchester Ranger 9mm 127 +P+ and 40 S&W 180 Bonded expand & penetrate about the same after heavy clothing:
View attachment 1244555
With Federal HST 180 gr. 40 expands bigger than either 9mm HST
View attachment 1244556
In HST I think 40 could offer marginally better ASAP incapacitation potential due to making a slightly bigger hole.
When I say that ^ same shot placement is assumed but if I don't specify it someone may "have to" quote me and interject the "its all about shot placement"
If you are interested in 40 S&W I recommend the Gen 5 Glock 40 with a thicker slide.
Shooting my 17.5 and then the 22.5 there is subjectively little difference in recoil.
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8,414 Posts
This video was a game changer for me. After one watch through I soundly settled the eternal debate of 9mm effectiveness within my own mind. Do not watch if you are not ready to have your seemingly bedrock convictions on caliber effectiveness upturned like a commercial farming plow through soft garden sand. Skip to 1:20 for the decisive explanation (but the entire video is amazing).
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But I will say if you wanna compare Apples to Apples my buddy has a Glock 27 and The 155 grain .40 Winchester Silver Tips seem to whoop and explode the Gallon water jugs quite a bit more than the 9mm 115 grain Winchester Silver Tips and the .40 penetrates slightly more. But idk if that relates to real life effectiveness
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Glock 27s shoot great.
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Guns and Ammo says what they are paid to say
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I'm pretty sure it was settled on the thread about what Jesus would carry. Jesus and His Legions carry 10mm. The 45 was for mere mortals.
Why 10mm? Because they don't make an 11! 🙄
These were done in 2015. There were several additions since then.
www.luckygunner.com
Handgun Self-Defense Ammunition - Ballistic Testing Data
Lucky Gunner tests more than 110 different 9mm, 45 ACP, 40 S&W and 380 ACP handgun self-defense ammunition loads in ballistic gel with analysis and video.
www.luckygunner.com
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And the 9 penetrates almost 23 inches of steel.
Shot placement is king. All pistol calibers are not all that effective at stopping a miscreant looking to cause serious bodily harm to you and yours. Too many cases out there of bad guys who will not voluntarily stop fighting even after lethal wounds.
Your options are then a mobility stop. Shutting the switch off. Or the bad guy decides to stop out of fear of harm to themselves. That is about it. All pistols lack the magic wand stop seen in movies.
Your options are then a mobility stop. Shutting the switch off. Or the bad guy decides to stop out of fear of harm to themselves. That is about it. All pistols lack the magic wand stop seen in movies.
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