I currently own a 92 vertec and am considering the purchase of a Springfield XD. I can't decide if I should get it in the 9 or .40 though. I was leaning toward the 40 since I already have a 9mm. Although, since 9mm ammo is cheaper, and since I have a bunch already, I was thinking maybe I should get the 9. Perhaps I could be steered in the right direction.
Thanks,Steve

Why do you want another 9mm? The ammunition will be gone shortly anyways. Why get the .40 S&W? What will you use the new gun for? If you had a hundred arrows, would you get a bow or a gun?

9mm is cheaper for plinking.

.40 is more effective (generally) for self defense.

Decide the 'purpose' of the gun and make your decision.

Personally, I recommend the best of both worlds.  Get a 9mm XD for plinking and a .40 XD for defense/hunting.  Point of aim and impact *should* be the same for the kind of personal defense shooting that you will likely encounter.  Slight, but manageable differences in point of aim for hunting ranges, but it should be close enough to get the job done.

I plink with a GLock 19 (9mm), I hunt with a Glock 23(.40 SW).

TRG

ps.  and for those keeping score at home, the SIGMA .40 is my main carry gun.

Get the XD 9, you can use the xd .40 mags with it. That way you'll have a inexpensive source for legal high caps

You will be able to afford to target shoot more with the 9mm.  The difference between the 9mm and 40 is neglitable.  You've got to be able to hit what you're shooting at.  Practice, practice, practice.  Go for the 9mm.  

Quoted: You will be able to afford to target shoot more with the 9mm.  The difference between the 9mm and 40 is neglitable.  You've got to be able to hit what you're shooting at.  Practice, practice, practice.  Go for the 9mm.

I would not describe the difference as negligible.

I shot a 9mm the other day into a mild steel backstop.  Several rounds failed to penetrateteh steel (1/8").  .40s sailed right through it like butter.

Cheap, plinking ammo for .40 and 9mm.

TRG

To be very honest, if you take a close look at the best ammo available for the 9mm, .40 and .45, you will see that the terminal performance difference is minimal. To illustrate this, the best 9mm loads will give you bullet expansion in the .65" range, the .40 in the neighborbood of .68-.70" and the 45 also around .70", all with ideal penetration. Now being that what really matters when it comes to stopping bad guys is shot placement, damage done and assuring the bullet penetrates deep enough to get the job done from any angle. Now how can anyone say that .05" difference between the 9mm and .45 ACP is really that important? On human targets the difference is insignificant! Should you want better penetration of barriers along with your tissue damage, two of the top 9mm loads (Ranger and Gold Dot) will do this well.

So get what you feel you can shoot best, get good with it and use good ammo. If you do this it won't make much difference which caliber you choose. But I would probably lean a bit toward the 9mm, the reason being you can buy 1 type of ammo and feed both weapons. I wish that I would have standardized calibers when I started buying guns instead of getting something altogether different every time I made a new purchase.

-Charging Handle

Get the largest caliber you can shoot effectively. Period. If you can handle the xtra
recoil than .40 is the way 2 go.

I carry a 40 S&W daily yet I constantly debate this question with myself. I am sure that the better 9mms stop as well as the better 40 S&W rounds. Pistols in 9mm, in general, hold more rounds but is this a factor for the average Joe? I doubt the higher capacity is a valid factor. So on the whole I carry a custom Kahr K40 and when I feel like it a carry a Kahr E9 or Kahr K9. It just doesn't matter to me which of these three I carry. Regards, Richard:D

I was just in the same situation. I own a Ruger P89(9mm) that is my "next to my bed" gun.  I found a great price on a Beretta 9000s, and it comes in 9mm or 40.  This gun will be for carry, and so I got it in 40, because I did not have one, and because it has some extra power.

Although 9mm and .40 will expand similar amounts, it's the ft/lbs that makes the .40 a better "stopping" round. Higher velocity, more ft/lbs on impact......I'd go with the .40.

p.s. if you're into reloading- at around 11 cents per round the .40 is just as cheap to plink with.

Quoted: Why do you want another 9mm? The ammunition will be gone shortly anyways. Why get the .40 S&W? What will you use the new gun for? If you had a hundred arrows, would you get a bow or a gun?

That is the most useless bit of information I've yet to read on this forum.

I mentioned in the calibers forum that .40 has surpassed 9mm in my preference between the two. I can get tighter groupings with my Browing Hi-Power than with my Sig2340, but then again the Browning has another inch on the bbl.
Point is, I can get tight groupings with the .40, and I'm just a regular range visitor, so why not go for the larger caliber?

Yup! ya got that right....but sometimes the analogies are pretty good...if ya had a hundred arrows would you buy a bow? in stead of a gun?

sounds dumb, fer sure...so is buying a gun because you have excess 9mm ammo....you decide first what you need or want the gun for, then what guns will serve that purpose....right?
If you ask for a hundred opinions, you will get a hundred different answers, preferences, etc. All of which boils down to the fact, that decisions, at least it seems to me, are best made when you can takes the "facts" and choose those that most closely fit your needs...but a hundred "opinions or preferences" don't make choosing easier...well, at least they don't make it easier for me. Of course, all of that is "under ideal circumstances." On a forum you get facts, opinions and dumb answers/responses, you have a choice. <grin>

duhhh....

I would get the 9mm for several of the reasons stated.

1. ammo cost less
2. Easy to get cheap hicaps
3. lower recoil for faster followup shots

The only advantage of the 40SW is if you are unwilling to spend the money on good self defense ammo. Marginal 40SW loads are better than Marginal 9mm loads. The Best 9mm loads are as good as the best 40SW loads.