For Home defense you may want 9mm since 40 is likely to over penetrate. For concealed carry, id go 40. Your case is range+HD, so ill say 9. 9 cost about half of what 40 does so you can get a lot of practice. You look at any wheelguns? I like revolvers, and you have the option of 2 types of ammo. Simpler, more reliable too.

I'm probably one of the few anti .40 guys on here, but I suggest you get a 9. Ammo is cheaper and has less recoil, and is generally more accurate/precise because of this. Also, in most guns, we're talking a 3 or 4 round difference in capacity, so you get more quantity of a round that yields better grouping. Though 9mm is definitely weaker in terms of muzzle energy, if you get good loads or half decent hollow points, you have a more than adequate defense round. Don't get .40 unless you know what you're doing, though.

I'm actually not a big fan of .40 myself. I think it's a ridiculously overrated cartridge, especially considering how much more it costs than 9mm. I prefer and continue to buy 9mm pistols and ammo even though it's a supposedly "outdated" cartridge.

Not sure recoil's a huge problem, though. I once rented a 9mm P226 at the same time one of my colleagues rented a .40-cal P226, and I can't remember if I was able to tell the difference in recoil.

Oh, and yeah, and interesting story: I know somebody who owns both a Glock 19 and a Glock 23. When I asked him why, he said, "The G19 is the one I take to the range, the G23 is the one that sits on my bedstand." He's not the only person I've met who does this, either. Food for thought...

(1.) If you intend to use it at the range, then you want 9mm. Much cheaper. I tend to secretly laugh at the people I know who only buy .40 pistols because "that's what cops use" and then they have to pay way more than I do for ammo. (plus, my range has often been out of stock on .40 lately)

(2.) Unless you live in a high-crime area, I wouldn't let self-defense influence your decision to choose .40 over 9mm or vice-versa.

Sounds like 9mm is probably the way to go for me since I really have no experience with anything and not enough money to pay twice as much for ammo.

As for home defense, I go to school at Ohio State in Columbus and the neighborhood I live in is not too bad as far as off campus housing goes. The town I grew up in (and live in during the summer) has an almost non-existent crime rate. That being said the clear majority of the usage will be at the range.

By the way the XDM 9mm has a 19+1 capacity I think do any other pistols on the market have that big of clip size without being modified?

Oh and by the way k9870 I have not really looked at any revolvers I guess they haven't really caught my fancy at all. My dad used to have a S&W model 66 with a six inch barrel from the 70's awhile back and I know he loved it I just never imagined a revolver as my first gun I don't have a good reason for that though.

If you're worried about over penetration, get bullets that stop when it hits someone

The FN Five Seven comes standard with 20 round magazines, but the 5.7 x 28mm ammo is much more scarce and more expensive than the 9mm. Not to mention I would take an XDM any day of the week over the Five Seven. I do love FN, just not super crazy about the Five Seven or the 5.7 x 28mm cartidge.

I think the .40 is a great round, I think it's a great compromise between capacity and firepower between the 9mm and .45acp. I will tell you this though, even though I am a big fan of the .40S&W, I suggest going with the 9mm if you plan to mostly target shoot and don't have a ton of extra money to spend on ammo. 9mm costs way less and the more ammo you can afford the more practice you can get in and that's what is really important. Shot placement is everything so buy the cheaper ammo and keep practicing. Also the 9mm has enough knockdown power given proper shot placement, especially if you use +p ammo.

Glocks has three safety. Trigger safety, drop safety, and fire pin safety. It does not have a manual safety.

Here are the four gun safety rules:

1 Treat firearms as if they are loaded
2 Point the muzzle in a safe direction
3 Keep finger off the trigger
4 Be sure of your target—and of what is beyond it

40 recoils about the same as 45, it just works better in small guns and you get more capacity, it shoots flatter but you can't claim self defense at 50 yards can you? 9mm is betetr for a new shooter to get lots of practice cheap, and just move up to a bigger caliber in the future when you feel confortable with it and have the money.

Sounds like 9mm is the one then and like I said I am really leaning towards the XDM I love the look and have been reading some pretty good things about them. Hopefully the range I go to has one to rent out so I can make sure I like the feel and everything.

Thanks a lot for all the help everyone I definetly needed it.

One more (possibly stupid) question. Say I went with the XDM does any 9mm round work or is there a certain kind and if so where can I find out which one it needs?