Finally gonna buy a MA1, but do I go 40sw or 9mm?

Hey Dabdaworm!

Go w/ what You know, get the 9mm!

There's plenty of good defense rounds for the 9mm!

Ammo prices favor 9mm!

You can always get a 40 later, or even better, maybe some M357-A1's are gonna be available by the time You're ready for another purchase! :shock: I like 357sig better than 40s&w. :wink:
_______
mugdava

 

hi dabdaworm,

recommend ya try a steyr in .40 before you decide. i know you have posted a request on the forum for folks near provo - but since some folks only check in once in a while ya might consider sending parrotman, 12 volt man, zebulon_batty or any other steyr club members a pm if there arent any local gun stores or ranges that could help you out.

 

Well, strikes me odd the pre-A1 series M9 and M40 aren't represented in the poll but such seems the nature of polls in general. Despite carrying an M9 for two years now I felt compelled to vote "neither" in the poll.
I'd love to have an A1 in 40 but can't justify spending the money right now. I'm very happy with my original M9 and appreciate the fact I can go into virtually any store and buy a box of shells to run through it.
Having recently suffered a bout of sticker shock buying White Box ammo at Walmart for my EAA 45 and noting that 40SW is roughly the same price it made the purchase of 9mm rounds seem a bargain.
If money is an issue, I say go with 9mm cause it'll disable the bad guy just as well as 40 or 45 with a well placed shot. A pump shotgun makes a great companion but damn, the price on those shells has skyrocketed too.
Perhaps I should change my SteyrClub handle to EL CHEAPO?
Health, Peace
steyrile

 

I've shot and owned both M40-A1 and M357-A1, but not M9-A1 yet, though I hope to remedy that very soon, maybe this weekend. And until back in the spring, I had never owned a 9mm pistol, mostly from sheer stubborness and wrongheadedness, being an old vet who loved 1911 .45s and considered it heresy that Uncle Sam turned to Beretta 9s instead of the tried-and-true .45 ACP.

Anyway, to make a long story longer, I saw a deal I just couldn't pass up back in the spring, a genuine (sort of) Browning HiPower pistol for only $275! I've always wanted one of those, so I snatched it up and just loved it. Shot big old ragged holes with it my first time out. It wasn't a "real" Browning, but a Hungarian-made licensed copy by FEG, but it shot like a dream and I just plain stupid to swap it for a Kel-Tec P-11. But I did, and then I swapped the P-11 for a PF-9, so all's well that ends well. P-11's trigger sucketh (to me) but the PF-9's just rite.

But to get back to the point, .40 S&W vs. 9mm, I loved my M357-A1 so much I jumped on the big CDNN fire sale and bought a M40-A1 shortly after the previous Steyr company owner took the money and run. To my surprise, I found .40 is OK, but not as much fun as 357 Sig and I was underwhelmed. I also found to my surprise that the recoil is a bit more than 357 Sig, not less, plus I found it sort of weird, kind of snappy with a strange torque.

My Glock 10mm is a lot more fun to shoot than the M40-A1, so I decided it just wasn't worth having yet another pistol caliber to buy ammo for. When I found a sweet little subcompact S&W 9mm in one of my favorite gun shops, me and the owner talked turkey for a bit and he got the M40-A1 and I got the S&W 669. Both happy.

So my recommendation? Get the M9-A1. I don't believe you can go wrong. I always wanted a .40 'til I got one. I plan to practice what I preach just as soon as I get the cash in hand to get a M9-A1 to go with my M357-A1. :mrgreen:

 

I say stick with what you know..

I hung out here for some time looking and waiting for a .357 sig and just could not wait any longer. So I called CDNN and ordered a nine. Yup me the guy who does not believe there are anything other than .45acp.

So at this point a figured a Plastic gun might as well be a 9mm. **Plastic :lol: **
And with the way ammo prices keep going up and up up up.. I can afford to shoot more with 9mm..

I do like the gun way more than I thought I would. So do it get the nine :wink:

 

9mm

40 cal is just too pricey IMO

 

9mm - you can carry more it performs better (ya, I said it :twisted.

 

Get the metric. Galls me to say it, but modern defense ammo nullifies the difference. It's cheaper to shoot, lighter recoil, and holds more shots.

 

9mm rounds are cheaper (by far) , but are you getting this for defense purposes or to shoot black birds on the fence post? When I am at work and am confronted, I will only have one to two shots to get off. I bought my 40 because of the greater "stay down power". Ask some of the other guys and they have been trying to get me to switch to 357. I think I would have a problem with a concealment bulge. If I bought one or convert my 40, I would rest it in front. Not so much as a sexual "object" (wink, wink) , but it would be cool to pull that bigasss pistol out real slowly as I am being confronted. Again, what would be your primary use for this pistol. But "hell", if the 9mm don't work, trade up.

See Ya. Either one won't let you down.

MTS

 

The Steyr was built form the ground up to be a .40 S&W pistol and later converted to the 9mm and .357 SIG.

I purchased the .40S&W because of the increased lethality of the round over 9mm and the fact that it was the Steyr was designed for first.

 

:roll: :roll: :roll:

Do you guys really want to go there? 9mm is cheaper, you get more capacity, it penetrates better, there is less recoil, AND it expands to the same diameter as expanded .40 in the right loads. Oh, right - this is the part where someone throws out "one-shot-stop statisics", right? :roll:

 

What about overpenetration and innocent bystanders? Hey, I'm down with you and 9mm but you'll never win the arguement this way Syntax. Have to talk dollars and value. :wink:
Health, peace
steyrile

 

Good deal!!!!

Let us know how you like it!!

And post some pic's too......

 

Here it is Syn, The Stats......

You can quote me on these scientific statistics. These stats were taken from the LGSTO manual.

If one round don't work, spray the hostiles down with a barage of lead.

If I drive down the road, I will have a good chance of snapping off a dozen rounds. At work, I will be lucky if I can get one off. The police are only investigators (for the most part). Civilization and liberals expect them to prevent crime. Well that won't help, for the most part. Violence happens at a seconds notice. If all I have is a second, then I want something that will spray that one round like buckshot.

Now, Syn.... hows that for stats. :shock:

Take Care My Friend,

MTS

 

Re: Here it is Syn, The Stats......

MTS: You're voting for the fully automatic 9mm?
Health, Peace
steyrile

 

You had me confused for a second there - I took you seriously and actually thought the LGSTO was something I should know about. :lol: Just because something "snaps harder", that doesn't mean it's inherently better. When we talk about the science of incapacitation, 9mm edges out .40S&W in every category but energy. All handgun cartridges are too anemic for energy to seriously contribute to wound trauma. Shot placement, penetration, expansion, and then energy (in a VERY distant 4th place) are what actually contribute to putting an assailant on the ground. 9mm gets the nod on the first 3.

Regarding overpenetration, we are looking for something that does 12-15" in ballistic gel - anything that reliably penetrates these depths can be considered worthy of consideration as defense ammo. Over 15" is where you should start to worry about overpenetration. Steyrile - you're pretty much arguing that my 9mm JHP that does 13.9" in gel is significantly more of a "overpenetration risk" than your .40S&W 13.8" 180gr. JHP :lol:.

It really wasn't my intention to start a caliber war (well OK... maybe a little :twisted - I was more trying to establish that 9mm can do everything .40S&W can - I get real tired of people dismissing 9mm as being somehow inherently inferior to .40S&W when it comes to firepower/stopping-power/zombie-slaying/whatever-you-want-to-call-it. True, 9mm used to be the whipping boy of the handgun calibers, but modern bullet technology has done wonders. And just for the record - I also own a .40S&W and have nothing against the caliber - no doubt it will work, too. 8)

 

It all comes down to what you can shoot comfortably and how effectively you can do so. Some people can handle a .40 s&w easier than others. The rest is semantics.

When it comes to stopping power just pull out the bazooka! Haha.


Congrats on your purchase!

 

Sorry Syn

I didn't mean to bash the 9mm. It's actually my 16 year old son's favorite caliber to shoot. It does well in his smaller hands. (haha ).

Take Care,

MTS