Which would be a better cast gun- 9 or 40?

[crabo]

I am going to buy a M&P to shoot cast. I already have 2 1911s in .45 acp and one in 38 Super. I hate picking up 9mm brass even though I have a 9mm AR. I have a bunch of 40 brass. Accuracy potential is very important in this decision.

Any thoughts?

[osteodoc08]

I've got a M&P in 40 that I've shot tons of lead out of. Works fine. Accurate.

I've migrated away from 9mm just due to component size. It's easier to grasp and manipulate bigger rounds. I still love my 9mm, just prefer to load others

[USAFrox]

Depends on if you're a man or a girl. If you're a man, .40 is better. If you're a girl, 9mm is just fine. ;-):twisted:

[David2011]

Crabo,

At the price of factory bullets the only way reloading for 9mm is economical is to cast your own. The Glock gets factory jacketed bullets (still has the factory barrel) and the Hi-Power shoots cast. I've shot cast in 9mm and .40 and by far have shot more cast in .40. I think accuracy is more up to the sizing to your bore and load development than anything inherent in either cartridge. IMO loading 9mm is more of a PITA than 40 just because of the smaller case diameter. The STI in the avatar has had just over a ton of boolits run down the bore.

Both the 9mm and .40 are high pressure loads and loading either should be approached with caution the same as if loading .357 Mag. (Mentioned more for the new reloader than you- I know you've been here a long time) The .40 has reasonable case life. Shoot it until it cracks; nothing bad happened when it does, based on lots of cracked cases. Everyone I know that shoots competition with a .40 has adopted the "shoot 'til it cracks" philosophy. Nobody has had anything bad happen and a few have fired a cracked case that had been reloaded; still nothing bad happened. They even chambered OK.

David

[geargnasher]

9mm is a fun plinker, cheap to shoot, brass everywhere. Same thing with the .40 if you don't load it hot. I'd go with the 9mm M&P, get one of the new ones if you can find one anywhere that has the ambi' thumb safety, the removable plate atop the slide for mounting reflex optics (might I recommend the Leupold Deltapoint?) and the extra-long slide available only on the 9mm models. After you get it you can fix the trigger with some tweaking and have one heck of a target pistol that's as cheap to shoot as .38 Special.

With either the 9mm or .40 you will likely need an oversized expander spud to prevent case swage of your boolits, particularly if you're planning on mixing WW and all those roof boots you have.

Gear

[williamwaco]

Gear + 1

AND 9mm brass rains from the sky.

.40 is significantly harder to find ( although not really hard )

[jmort]

"I'd go with the 9mm M&P"

Me too and an Apex trigger kit.

[dverna]

I am not sure about the M&P but if you get a Glock 22 in .40 S&W you can buy a 9mm drop in barrel for it (plus the right mags) and shoot both calibers!!! That is what I did. I believe the XD can do that too.

For cheap shooting the 9mm cannot be beat but for "social work" the .40 has the edge.

I also like the concept of being able to shoot either caliber if the SHTF.

There are a lot of 9mm and .40 components out there and cases are inexpensive. My cast bullet for the 9mm is a 122 gr while the .40 gets a 175. 57 vs 40 bullets per lb. If you are buying alloy (like I do) there is a savings to be had.

[blikseme300]

As you already have 2 1911's why not consider a 10mm in that platform? That is a real effective caliber for social work and familiarity with the same platform is an advantage.

Both 40S&W and 9mmP in cast need the right expanders or boolits will be squeezed smaller than optimal. I like the 9mmP as my best accuracy is from my BHP and CZ75BD. I do have a number of 40S&W pistols but they are not on the same level of accuracy as the 9mm's. Maybe this is as I have used the 9's more, I don't know.

[Harter66]

I have a FEG HP9 (BHP clone) that shoots the Lee 356-124 TCTL in win cases w 4.0 Unique into 3-4 inches at 25 yds pretty regular. Your M&P in 9mm will have the advantage of having many GI/M&P magazines at your disposal such as the M9/92/96 . The Springfield 40 I load for shoots the 401-175 TLTC w/similar results in Win brass over a max listed load of 5.7 Unique .

The 9 will shoot 50/50 WC and ACWW equally well the 40 however keyholed until I used WCWW and reached 5.4 w/groups closing as the max was reached.

With what you have the 9 will be more ''cost effective'' as you're tooled up for the 38 super,sharing moulds and maybe sizers.
The 40 does carry more thump but you have a 45 for thump.

[jmort]

Once you hit 9 mm power/energy level, the rest is academic. Why stop at .40 S&W, as the same "logic" would dictate "more gun?" Why get a 10 mm, when you can get a 460 Rowland. Why get a semi-auto, when revolvers can have so much more power? Decisions should not be predicated on power/energy alone.

[dondiego]

Harter66 - Does the S&W M&P use the same mags as a Berretta M9?

[mpmarty]

neither. 45acp always.

[Boarderguy83]

I have an M&P 40, and I bought a stock 9mm barrel for it, and swap cals when I get bored of shooting one. I bought a few 9mm mags, and the gun will shoot both cals just fine. The dimensions of the 9mm and .40 cal M&P pistols are identical, so I just saved myself the trouble of buying a different gun to shoot two calibers, and have one gun that will do both. There are a lot of threads on different websites that have picture comparisons, and many many range reports from people that have done the same thing. The best one I have read is here http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_5_16/104694_9mm_MandP_barrel_in_a__40_SandW_a_photo_com parison_UPDATE_IN_OP_Range_test.html
I would suggest, get the .40 and just buy the barrel, and shoot both. You wont be sorry.

John

[winelover]

Same dilemma I faced a year ago. Was seriously considering going the 40 and the switch barrel route. Was looking at both the Glock 27 and the S&W compact MP's. Even rented guns and ran them through the paces. When I started researching barrel availability, I got a rude awaking. No aftermarket offerings for the MP's other than the factory. Plenty for the Glock line but not for the G 27.

Since I wanted a CC piece, neither entirely filled the bill. They are compacts, not sub-compacts. I am also a southpaw, and the slide releases are useless to me. I ended up with a Beretta Nano in 9mm.

Another deciding factor was that I didn't load or cast for the S&W40 and that meant trying to amass all the reloading and casting supplies during the current shortage.

If you are already set up for 9 mm, the choice is easy.

Winelover

[1Shirt]

6 of one/half dozen of another depending on your druthers at the moment!
1Shirt!

[Jayhawkhuntclub]

Depends ... If you're a man who needs to compensate for something, .40 is better.

Fixed it for you. No thanks are necessary.

[geargnasher]

"I'd go with the 9mm M&P"

Me too and an Apex trigger kit.

YES. You know what I'm talking about. Preferably the kit that eliminates the hinge-jointed trigger, it works well with the new ambi' thumb safety models, and is a natural for a fellow used to a 1911.

Gear

[dragon813gt]

9mm. I see no point in a 40. Step up to 10mm or don't bother

[oldpapps]

Looks like all/most of the relevant responses have been made. Guess I will add my babble.

Both the 9MM and the 40 S&W are short intense rounds. Both depend on velocity for their more social uses.

As to the question of accuracy, comparable weapons/quality, comparable accuracy potential.

As you have brass for the 40, you have a plus on that side. As you have a 9MM AR, a plus on that side. I kind of like the idea of switching barrels. I know that it wouldn't work for me (built an AR lower with the intent of using it with two uppers, that lasted just as long as it took to build a second lower :) ).

It all comes down to what do you want. As for me, I have a 40 and carry it most of the time. I no longer own a 9MM (or any of the other 'little caliber' pistols). It is hard to beat a .45 but that is not what you asked...

Wishing you well in your search.

Enjoy,

OSOK

[USAFrox]

Fixed it for you. No thanks are necessary.

Hahaha, thanks. :razz:

[williamwaco]

I have recently acquired an M&P 9mm and I am happy to report it is the most accurate 9mm I have everr fired.

[HeavyMetal]

I think the 40 is more user freindly with cast, which is the OP's original question.

Not a fan of any of the plastic guns, I am looking for a deal on a 40 several of the CZ 75 designs have good potential go with a 5 inch barrel if you can.

I did / do some loading for a guy at work and the Lee 140 (?) swc shoots like a house a fire and gets up in the 1300 FPS range real easy!

I would not load a boolit heavier than 150 for the 40 just to much given up ballistically same basic deal a 150 in a 9mm it's a useless load in my opinion, but that is my opinion not everyone else's, LOL!

[Shiloh]

My .40 is more accurate. Not significantly that is. You have a better selection of boolits with the .40.

[Lefty Red]

Back in 2008, when the daughters and I were actively shooting fun matches almost weekly, I was reloading and casting for the 9 and 40. Like its been noted before, the 40 was easier to handle and reload. It was no fun fumbling the 9mm case.

And I have to agree with others and say the 9mm is plenty for self defense. One saying that an onld CQB instructor still sticks with me, "a 38 Special wadcutter in the eye is better than a Hyper-Awesome Penis Caliber with an exploding bullet in the foot!"

IF I go back to semi auto pistols for CCW, it will be a 9mm. But I see no need to replace my 357 LCR.

Lefty

[rsrocket1]

I bought an M&P 40 a couple of years ago and have shot nothing but reloads since day one. Starting in December of 2011, I started casting with the Lee 401-175-TC and have put about 8k of those bullets through it. The gun shoots great with this bullet and it casts up really easily. At the end of last year, I bought a 9mm barrel and magazines for it and have cast and shot about 3k of the 356-120-TC with it.

From a performance standpoint, 3.0g Clays, Titewad or Red Dot under the 180g 40 cal bullet @ 760 fps feels exactly the same as 4.3g Unique under the 120g 9mm bullet @ 1150 fps. That's about a 138 power factor. The difference is that you can load the 40 up to and beyond a 180 PF and have margin to spare. To me, that much recoil in a plastic gun feels a lot stronger than a 230g 45ACP bullet @ 900 fps (200+ PF) out of a steel 1911. I can shoot the daylights out with the 1911 while at the same time I start jerking at the trigger of the M&P.

Casting the 180g bullet in the Lee 6 cavity mold is about the perfect balance between keeping the mold hot enough while casting and not overheating the mold. With the 120g 9mm bullets, you really need to preheat the mold a lot before you start casting and you need to keep the pace up pretty good to keep it from cooling off. If you don't preheat the mold to casting temperature, you'll need to go through a dozen or more casts of wrinkled bullets before they start dropping out nicely. With the 230g 45ACP mold, it heats up with a very few casts, but you need to cool it off after about every 5 castings. I just use a sponge soaked in a plate of water and press the mold on it for about 6 seconds (the mold is still well above 100C so there is no chance of any residual water danger for the next cast). The 40 neither requires a long heat up process nor does it need much cooling off between castings.

I originally was sizing both the 40 and 9mm bullets, but now I just tumble lube them in 45/45/10 and load 'em up. If I seat the bullet to where the cone meets the vertical part and put that right at the case rim, I don't have to worry about slightly oversized bullets getting jammed in the throat and causing failure to go into battery jams on the short throated and tight chambered M&P barrels.

The M&P 40 is the best of 3 worlds. 40, 9, 357Sig with three barrels and only 2 types of magazines.

[earplug]

Have asked others this question for a USPSA production gun. Some who shoot the .40 at minor power factor claim its recoil is less snappy then the 9mm at the same power level.
I'm leaning towards getting a 40 due to easier to cast and less leading hassles when making minimum power requirements for this shooting game. Heavy bullet does not have to go as fast.