drinking the 9mm koolaid

This pocket dump includes a Glock 43 chambered in 9mm. Other items include a folding knife, folding comb, and SOFTT-W tourniquet.

I know a lot of you have downed the 9mm Kool-Aid with a smile on your faces and sure, it has come a long way. How many of you are still fighting against the 9mm tidal wave by carrying other, larger calibers?

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46 COMMENTS

      • no pistol round has “stopping power”…it is all about shot placement
        if you are comfortable with a larger round…great

        • Funny, back in the day handgun stopping power was well recognized as a thing. Now it’s all about shot placement and bleeding. Which is all well and good, but how many of us want to try to humanely harvest a deer, a big hog, or defend against a hostile grizzly with a .380? No? I thought the power differential in handgun calibers was inconsequential.

          Oh wait. I forgot. “Animals aren’t people.” Yeah, that explains it.

  4. I choose 9mm kool-aid when it’s appropriate. More often I choose .380 kool-aid in a Kahr M&P-380 S&W because it’s small and flat and lighter than any 9.
    When I carry a larger gun it’s an FN FiveseveN M&P 5.7×28, which carries more easily than any other full-size due to starting out lighter-than-air, and only a few ounces with 21 on board.
    I also enjoy my S&W Glock 29 M&P 10mm, interchangeable with my S&W Glock 30 4.7” .45 Super M&P.

  5. 9MM’s are definitely in the rotation. Others are 45’s, .380’s and 10MM’s. Different tools, different characteristics, and different functions. The important part? They all go “bang” when required.

  6. I personally went with the Underwood 357 Sig 65gr Xtreme Defender. 2100fps out of a 4.5″ barrel. I guess it’s like 9mm Magnum.

  7. 9mm KoolAid? Hate to break it to you but the power difference between a 9mm and other common handgun cartridges is insignificant compared to real reliable man-stoppers such as rifle rounds or a 12 guage with slugs or buckshot.

    ALL handgun rounds suck, might as well maximize the number of sucky rounds that you are carrying.

  8. I like the .357 koolaid when rounds are limited….otherwise .45acp because I want their soul!!!

  9. I own & carry a Shield 9, as well as a Shield40. Love them both… However, I carry the 40 about 89% of the time. Same size, weight, bark, MUCH LARGER BITE.

  10. Kool-Aid must be sterilized with 190 proof Everclear.. Once I get my perpetual nuclear fusion bomb built( is heavy water ice?) I’m not going to worry much about calibers.

  12. I drank the Koolaid when I decided to get serious about concealed carry. I had a hard time controlling polymer frame .45s and could not tote the weight of metal frame .45s. All those “9mm Ammo Quest” videos convinced me to make the switch. First I got a couple of Springfield XDs it different sizes. Then a friend let me shoot his Glock 43, and even though the little grip didn’t fit my hand very well, I could shoot that little toy slightly more accurately than my much larger Springfields. Big sites, good trigger, light recoil. What else do you need?

  14. Back in the day, (mid to late ’70s) I never
    felt unloved with an old, chipped, black enameled, WW2 9MM Browning HP (never had a mag disconnect, very late war production). 12 rounds of alternating Rem. Ball and jacketed HP. Backed up with 2 S. African 20 (load 18) round mags. One full of Rem. Ball, the other filled with the little cottage industry wonder, “exploders”, 9mm Super Vel with a B.P. cap inverted in the hollow point and secured with red lacquer. Came in a bright yellow cardboard box of 12 in a fitted gray foam square to prevent “accidents”. Lordy, I used to do some crazy/stupid stuff back then, but I never was bored. Good times. -30-

  16. The classic 9×19 cartridge is perfect for the elderly, the infirm, the weak of wrist, very tiny ladies and Germans.

    • And still kills thousands every year…in the hands of civilians and police…
      works just fine if you can aim straight and hit vital organs

  17. Well, “modern technology” hidden in the “ultra-new” lead in 9mm bullets now makes them FAR superior to any and all rounds existing before 2016. These new 9mms with their “advancements” make all other calibers, up to an including the .340 Weatherby Magnum completely obsolete. I mean, new 9mm has thingies like “copper jackets” and “lead” that make it so much beyond that silly stuff that people had to use in the ’90s. Most of it, you could just shoot into your palm at point blank range and it came apart! But now we have ultra-new “technologies” that technology us all up with their technology. The technology gets right inside you once implanted by enough copy. There are also advancements in powders that make the 9mm go AT LEAST 60 fps faster than before, and if 60 fps can do anything, it can take an arm off clear as day! This was all done because the .40 S&W was FAR beyond anything a normal 200 lb. man could control because it produces at least four felt foot pounds more in the hand and there is no way any living person could have tolerated that.

      • You mock but I tried shooting the .40 S&W once and besides its superior capacity, incredible energy for size and weight, and general common availability, I just couldn’t get past how SNAPPLY it was!!!! I fired off a few rounds and HEYYYYYY! it was like a toddler trying to get a handle on an out of control shake weight at the Walmart!! The muzzle actually caught me in the forehead a few times before I yelled out CEASE FIRE and had the whole range come help me bring it back down.

  18. I carry a Beretta Nano 9mm or a Shield 2.0 .40S&W for Concealed Carry. I like the Shield a lot and carry it more often than my Beretta. For a small pistol in .40S&W, it is a soft shooter, and I like the larger caliber. Sub-compacts in larger calibers tend to be pretty snappy as far as recoil, but my Shield in .40 is actually less snappy than my Beretta Nano 9mm.

  19. That gear looks similar to mine…less the comb.
    Everybody has different needs.
    I’m comfortable with the thin 9mm options.
    PPSM2, 43, Shield…even Kahr.

  20. This hogwash again? Everyone I’ve shot in the face with 9mm has left me alone after that. People who try to argue one way or another (on the internet, no less) about pistol caliber crap need to shut up and color with their crayons instead of eating them.

    Know the capabilities of your gear, and better yet, know your own capabilities and limitations. Address and apply them accordingly. Keep your eyes open, your mouth closed, your eyes forward and your head down. If you must shoot, shoot to kill. Killing someone will stop them, and all firearms can kill. So if you know what you’re doing and applying your skills and tools appropriately, all firearms have the same potential “stopping power.”

    Those still mewling about caliber size need to buck up and realize that choosing big calibers will not make up for small peckers, or address any other insecurity issues due to various unknown factors. Logic must prevail. Emotion has its place, but not everywhere.

  21. Hmmmmmm…. I guess I shouldn’t mention that I bought a .25ACP Baby Browning yesterday. It was so cute, it basically looked at me and said please take me home. And it fits in the watch pocket of my jeans. And I’m looking at possibly going from a 9MM Glock to a 9MM Short (.380 ACP) S&W. Arthritis in my fingers, wrists and shoulders has caused me to pretty much retire from shooting any ammo marked “magnum”.

  22. will use a .380 for wife and self because of age and hand strength, ease of carry and less weight! Contrary too most people, my having been their done that, the Idea of having too shoot in a particular way, style or manner is ridiculous. Point and shoot, {these are not paper targets they stab or shoot back} then aim fire! if not hit. if ambushed you are already sucking hind tit and it may become FUBAR in a hurry.
    I am not saying that practice is not necessary; as time and money allows maybe practice all you can what ever form you learned.

  23. A fellow that I’ve done quite a bit of business with over the last few years was a surgical nurse in a previous life. He saw his share of gun shot wounds during his time in that business. Usually 9mm or smaller. How did he know the caliber? They would typically recover the bullet(s) from the patient. I asked about why no 40 or 45 caliber wounds and bullets. His response was, “oh they went straight to the morgue.”

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