Question from a first timer

[FirearmFan]

gunsamerica.com has a slightly used one for $550. budsgunshop.com has it new for $760. For that particular model I would say that $600-$700 is a pretty good deal.

[k9870]

i've heard the mil spec is a better gun

[TheGunslinger121]

Yeah I thought that sounded like a pretty good deal. I've never handled either but I thought from reading the specs the Loaded is a step up from Mil-Spec but maybe thats not right.

Also the more I keep reading about and looking at the XDM's the more I like them. Any preferences over 9mm and .40?

[k9870]

9 is cheaper 40 is a better defensive round, you palnning on SD or target shooting as main purpose.?

[TheGunslinger121]

It will probably get most of the use at the range but I will keep it at my house if the situation for SD would ever arise (although hopefully that would never be needed).

[k9870]

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.

[Yournamehere]

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.

[MT2008]

Originally Posted by Yournamehere

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...

Originally Posted by TheGunslinger121

It will probably get most of the use at the range but I will keep it at my house if the situation for SD would ever arise (although hopefully that would never be needed).

(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.