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Zee
Posts: 28,450 Senior Member
9mm vs .40 S&W
Zee
Posts: 28,450 Senior Member
I have a G23 in .40 S&W with a 4.5” Lone Wolf barrel installed. Lately, I’ve been contemplating getting a G19 in 9mm.
Taking the cheaper route, I ordered a Lone Wolf 4.6” G23 9mm conversion barrel for my gun.
Basically, with just the swap of a barrel and magazine, I can shoot both .40 S&W and 9mm out of the same gun.
Same sights. Same trigger. Same grip. Just a different cartridge.
The barrel arrived yesterday so I went to the range today to see if there was a significant POI shift between barrels and determine the difference in felt recoil/muzzle rise.
Ammo:
Federal 155gr HST - .40 S&W
Federal 124gr +P+ HydraShok - 9mm
Gun:
Glock 23C
Barrels:
Lone Wolf 4.5” (.40 S&W)
Lone Wolf 4.6” (9mm)
Distance for Accuracy & POI:
10 yards (offhand)
25 yards (bench rest)
Distance for speed/recoil:
7 yards (offhand)
Started with the .40 S& W as that was already in the gun.
As you can see, there is a 4” POI shift between the 10/25 yard groups but, accuracy is acceptable for both.
Velocity with the .40 S&W Federal 155gr HST ammo was 1,187 fps.
Swapped out the barrels and mag for 9mm and redid the testing.
I was pleasantly surprised that there was little to no POI shift between the .40 and 9mm ammo for 10 yards and even better consistency between 10/25 yards with the 9mm.
Accuracy was again, very good for a Glock.
Velocity was 1,242 fps with the +P+ load.
Next, I tried to determine the “shoorability” of the two cartridges from the same platform with the same barrel length.
To do so, I placed a 2” paster on the board and started from the ready position at 7 yards. Goal was to shoot as fast as I could accurately control the gun. Pressing the trigger only when the front sight was back on the paster. Firing 6 rounds for time.
.40 S&W time:
2.76 seconds for 6 shots and +/- 2” group.
9mm time:
2.62 seconds for 6 rounds and +/- 2” group with 1 flyer.
So folks, here we have a statistical wash for accuracy and shootability.
Velocity:
55 fps to the 9mm
Weight:
31 grains to the .40 S&W
Diameter:
.046” to the .40 S&W
Speed:
.014 sec to the 9mm but the flyer makes it a wash.
Taking the cheaper route, I ordered a Lone Wolf 4.6” G23 9mm conversion barrel for my gun.
Basically, with just the swap of a barrel and magazine, I can shoot both .40 S&W and 9mm out of the same gun.
Same sights. Same trigger. Same grip. Just a different cartridge.
The barrel arrived yesterday so I went to the range today to see if there was a significant POI shift between barrels and determine the difference in felt recoil/muzzle rise.
Ammo:
Federal 155gr HST - .40 S&W
Federal 124gr +P+ HydraShok - 9mm
Gun:
Glock 23C
Barrels:
Lone Wolf 4.5” (.40 S&W)
Lone Wolf 4.6” (9mm)
Distance for Accuracy & POI:
10 yards (offhand)
25 yards (bench rest)
Distance for speed/recoil:
7 yards (offhand)
Started with the .40 S& W as that was already in the gun.
As you can see, there is a 4” POI shift between the 10/25 yard groups but, accuracy is acceptable for both.
Velocity with the .40 S&W Federal 155gr HST ammo was 1,187 fps.
Swapped out the barrels and mag for 9mm and redid the testing.
I was pleasantly surprised that there was little to no POI shift between the .40 and 9mm ammo for 10 yards and even better consistency between 10/25 yards with the 9mm.
Accuracy was again, very good for a Glock.
Velocity was 1,242 fps with the +P+ load.
Next, I tried to determine the “shoorability” of the two cartridges from the same platform with the same barrel length.
To do so, I placed a 2” paster on the board and started from the ready position at 7 yards. Goal was to shoot as fast as I could accurately control the gun. Pressing the trigger only when the front sight was back on the paster. Firing 6 rounds for time.
.40 S&W time:
2.76 seconds for 6 shots and +/- 2” group.
9mm time:
2.62 seconds for 6 rounds and +/- 2” group with 1 flyer.
So folks, here we have a statistical wash for accuracy and shootability.
Velocity:
55 fps to the 9mm
Weight:
31 grains to the .40 S&W
Diameter:
.046” to the .40 S&W
Speed:
.014 sec to the 9mm but the flyer makes it a wash.
"To Hell with efficiency, it's performance we want!" - Elmer Keith
Replies
NRA Endowment Member
I only have experience with .40 S&W in one handgun and it was a Shield. It was rather quickly traded in for a 9mm variant. I now also have a .45 Shield that splits duty with the 9mm Shield. Some day I may give .40 a second try, but in a more suitable platform.
We are thinking he was:
6 sec (40)
4 sec (9)
ish
Trying to talk him into doing it again in the morning to confirm.
I have been working with him him and he’s getting better. But, he is what I would consider an average shooter.
Yes, I likely know how to control a gun a little more efficiently than some. That’s just training and practice. Nothing special.
Yes, I saw a difference between me and my buddy shooting them.
That doesn’t mean the testing is skewed. It was a valid test of what I can do with both. Or what CAN be done with both. Yes, there are folks that shoot better and worse than me. I can only realistically test myself.
This was really a test to see if it was worth me switching the gun (or buying another) to 9mm.
After the testing, I looked at my buddy and said, “Why the Hell should I switch to 9mm?”
First issue i had was keeping the comp tight with the set screw. First range session exposed this. So, I put LockTite on the set screw.
This session proved accuracy was an issue with the comp.
This target shows:
124gr Federal +P+ HydraShok
10 yard Comped (Red)
25 yard Comped (Yellow)
25 yard Non-Comped (Green)
After the noticeable and repeatable crappy accuracy at 25 yards with the comp, I removed it and the gun shot better. Money wasted.
Velocity:
1,250 fps w/ 5.8” barrel