Caliber step down

[EVP]

Hello

I was reading a thread in the marksmanship section about the shooting characteristics between 45acp and 9mm. This was not a discussion on caliber effectiveness. The topic was about if you could shoot a 45 well do you use it or stick with 9mm. This is were my question comes in and want to get yalls feedback. I currently have a Hk45c lem and it has been a great gun. It is accurate, reliable, and has minimal recoil for a 45. There are a couple of reasons why I have thought about moving to a 9mm. The first is ammo availability. Since I moved to a new state, it has been increasingly hard to find 45 ammo locally. Just about every Wally world around here has 9 on the shelves. Also when I was reading the various posts, I saw people that obviously had a higher skill set then I do currently sticking to 9mm. That got me thinking that stepping down to 9mm would help me develop skills faster and more efficiently. I would like to get a good platform such as a g19 or m&p, stick with it and be done with changing guns for training and ccw.

What is yalls take on this? Thanks for the advice.

[jslaker]

9x19mm ammunition is just over half the price of .45 ACP. Shooting twice as much will make you a better shooter faster.

That's the primary reason I'm wanting to move from .40 S&W to 9x19, personally.

[GJM]

If you like your HK 45C, why not get a P30 LEM in 9mm, train with the P30, and carry the HK 45C or P30 9mm as you see fit. The manual of arms is the same, and they even fit the same holsters.

I start a course at the Rogers School Sunday, and have a 45C with me for carry and two P30's in 9 for the course.

[YVK]

I kind of sound like a broken record, but I keep saying that shooting different calibers challenges you in different ways. Every time I step up from 9 to 45, I find myself challenged with recoil management and sight tracking and I find it beneficial to keep shooting 45. Having said that, my personal biggest issues with shooting is anticipation, and 9 mm is plenty enough to work on that - at twice the live practice volume. With current ammo prices, I can't see anybody being able to afford meaningful live fire volume with 45 alone, unless you reload, get ammo through employment or are sponsored. I am about 3:1 9 to 45 ammo expenditures per year and I find it sufficient. So, if I were in your case, I'd keep 45c and get P2000 or p30 in lem for similarity purposes.

[Prdator]

I think your right on track!! I just sold all my .45's so I could devote more time and $$ to my .40's and 9's. i can buy 4000 115gr 9mm's for the same $ as 2000 230gr .45's.

I have to believe that training with the ''extra'' 2000 rounds will improve my shooting, and for me I care more about improving than owning ''extra'' guns.

[turbolag23]

9x19mm ammunition is just over half the price of .45 ACP. Shooting twice as much will make you a better shooter faster.

That's the primary reason I'm wanting to move from .40 S&W to 9x19, personally.

i've been considering the same lately. i carry 40sw and shoot it alright but its a lot of effort to shoot well in comparison to the 9mm.

[jslaker]

i've been considering the same lately. i carry 40sw and shoot it alright but its a lot of effort to shoot well in comparison to the 9mm.

Yup. It's costs me $32/100 rounds after sales tax to shoot .40 S&W, and I can acquire 9mm for around $22-23/100 locally. Given that I'd like to substantially up my round count, that adds up quick.

[Kyle Reese]

I too shoot 9x19 about 98% of the time due to ammunition cost, but have an HK 45 and M&P 45 in the safe.

[JV_]

I prefer to practice more, so I shoot 9mm almost exclusively.

[John Ralston]

9mm for ammo cost - I have 45's and shoot them well, but I prefer to shoot more. Even with reloading the 9mm makes more sense (and right now I don't have time for reloading).

I plan to shoot at least 4000 rounds this year (not enough - I know), but right now, that's the plan. It would cost almost double to shoot 45.