P2000SK in 9mm or .40?

[Corlissimo]

I've been wanting to add a P2000SK v3 to my collection and for summer carry. SK's in .40 seem to be a little more available than those in 9mm so I'm trying to get an idea as to the differences in felt recoil between the two.

I'm no stranger to .40 as I've run an XD40 Svc (I know... stop laughing) for about 5 yrs prior to switching to my P30L v3 9mm a little over a year ago. I am trying to stay with 9mm as much as possible, but since there seem to be more .40s around, and it will likely be my summer/NPE carry gun, I'd really like to get a better idea of how it handles the snappier .40 rounds.

TIA

-steve

[Nephrology]

Do you already keep a stock of .40? If not I would just stick to 9mm. I think it's a no brainer to say the 9mm will handle easier than the .40, all things being equal. Just wait around a bit until one turns up in 9mm. Shop online if you must. Gunbroker probably has something.

[GJM]

I have both, and while the HK handles .40 well, the 9 is a lot more pleasant to shoot. I would only go .40 if worried about animals in the west and Alaska.

[Corlissimo]

No appreciable stockpile of .40, or 9mm for that matter so that's a non-issue... Outside of not having enough ammo. :(

I was thinking along the same lines GJM. 9mm is really where I want to stay, but I was just a little curious anyway. Mostly it's because I have issues with "patience" occasionally. Once I get an idea in my head it's hard not to jump quick. I've been bitten by that before and you'd think I'd have learned my lesson by now but alas, I have not. :p

[SecondsCount]

Stick with 9mm unless you are trying to improve your recoil control. ;)

[RoyGBiv]

I carry the SK in .40 and like the way it shoots.
Felt recoil is much more manageable than other .40's I've had, most recently the smaller (way too snappy) Kahr PM40.
Overall, I would not hesitate to buy the .40 again if I had my mind set on .40.

HOWEVER..... Based on learnings here and elsewhere, if I was buying this gun today I'd buy 9mm.
Even more manageable, +1 rounds per standard magazine.
I don't think you'd be sorry with either.

[Corlissimo]

I carry the SK in .40 and like the way it shoots.
Felt recoil is much more manageable than other .40's I've had, most recently the smaller (way too snappy) Kahr PM40.
Overall, I would not hesitate to buy the .40 again if I had my mind set on .40.

HOWEVER..... Based on learnings here and elsewhere, if I was buying this gun today I'd buy 9mm.
Even more manageable, +1 rounds per standard magazine.
I don't think you'd be sorry with either.

I was told a long time ago, and by a LGS employee who was carrying a .40 P2SK, that it did not feel like the typical .40 recoil impulse and that this was due in large part to the SK's recoil spring assembly. I took that with a few grains of salt at the time considering that: 1) I was gun shopping 2) that shop was selling SK's in .40 3) and I was still very new to handguns.


~ Typos brought to you by my laziness & in attention to detail.

[JodyH]

I will say my SK 9mm is much softer shooting than my Glock 26.

[DocGKR]

No question--9 mm.

[BoppaBear]

The sk is a great companion to the P30. I carry both, and switch between the two depending on the season (hot NC summer=sk).

Other than the ability to share ammo (which others have pointed out), the sk will also accept the P30 mag...15 round reloads just give me a warm and fuzzy feeling, and it's the best "little gun" out there IMO.

[CougarRed]

If you get the P2000SK 40S&W, you can get a 357Sig conversion barrel for it.

I know Doc concluded long ago that there is not much difference ballistically between the Gold Dot 125 gr 357Sig and the 9mm 124+p Gold Dot, but I suspect those tests were conducted with Sig P226 length barrels (i.e. service size semi-autos for LE active duty).

Based on some "unorthodox" testing (2 layers of denim + leather) I have seen with a compact pistol (http://mousegunaddict.blogspot.com/2012/12/speer-gold-dot-multi-caliber-stress-test.html), I also suspect that the extra muzzle velocity from the 357Sig round coming out of shorter barrels of CCW guns (such as the 3.25" barrel in the SK) might make a very important difference in terminal ballistics.

Doc - I know you have focused on service size semi-autos as well as back up guns such as snub nose 38s. We are seeing the civilian market move towards CCW pieces with small barrels such as the XDS45 (3.3"), Shield (3.1"), etc.

Have you ever run the FBI/IWBA testing on 9 vs 40 vs 357 vs 45 in these CCW guns with 3-3.5" barrels to determine if one round outshines the others once barrels become short?

[Corlissimo]

The sk is a great companion to the P30. I carry both, and switch between the two depending on the season (hot NC summer=sk).

Other than the ability to share ammo (which others have pointed out), the sk will also accept the P30 mag...15 round reloads just give me a warm and fuzzy feeling, and it's the best "little gun" out there IMO.

I have to admit, both of these reasons push me to the SK in 9mm, along with the other 9mm pros: cheaper (relatively) ammo, higher capacity, etc etc...

I really started this thread out of SK .40 curiosity as I decided last year to concentrate on 9mm only, with my XD40 now playing the role of "red-headed bastard step-child".