Many factors play into violent crime victimizations in the U.S. Population size is only one factor. Poverty, criminality, education, and public policies all affect crime rates, particularly violent crime.

Violent crime costs American taxpayers more than $800 billion U.S.D. Annually according to this report. However, this isn’t the most sinister aspect of violence-related victimization in the United States. Recent reports indicate that there are 366.7 victims of violent crimes for every 100,000 people in the U.S. The highest violent crime rate in the U.S. occurs in communities with more than 500,000 and less than 1,000,000 residents.

When it comes to self-defense, many shooters hold to the belief that you should shoot the caliber that has the best ballistics and the most stopping power that you can handle. These shooters like to favor a larger caliber bullet, such as the 10mm Auto.

Other shooters believe that the ideal defense round should be lightweight and have low recoil, allowing for accurate and quick follow-up shots as modern jacketed hollow points (JHP) have made the caliber debate moot. These are typically your 9mm Luger concealed carry permit holders.

The 9mm vs 10mm caliber debate is an interesting one as these two handgun rounds are extremely different from each other, despite their bullet diameter only being separated by 1mm. And it begs the question, is bigger actually better when it comes to self-defense?

In this article, we will compare the 9mm Luger and the 10mm Auto under the auspices of determining which round will be the better choice for personal defense.

What’s the Difference Between 9mm and 10mm?

When new shooters first hear about the 9mm Luger and the 10mm Auto, they often think that they are very similar cartridges. I mean how much difference can 1mm make?

Well, the answer is: Quite A Bit!

Sure, the bullet diameter is only 1mm different, but the bullet weight, muzzle velocity, and ft-lbs of energy are considerably different when comparing 10mm vs 9mm.

So, when you’re loading up your favorite semi-auto, which one do you go for? Do you go for your trusty Glock 19 or is a Glock 20 your go-to personal defense handgun?

In the next few sections, we will break down the differences between the 10mm Auto and the 9mm Luger to give you a better idea of which handgun caliber will be best for your needs.

Case Specs

Looking at the case spec chart, we see that the 9mm Luger and the 10mm Auto are extremely different.

The first thing to note is that the 10mm fires a 40-caliber bullet (0.401” bullet diameter) while the 9mm Luger fires a smaller, 9mm bullet (0.355” bullet diameter). Furthermore, the case capacity of the 10mm round is just short of double that of the 9mm, meaning that more gunpowder can fit into the 10mm allowing it to fire heavier bullets at a higher muzzle velocity.

When it comes to picking a handgun cartridge for your carry gun or for home defense, you can’t go wrong with the 40 Smith & Wesson (S&W) or the 45 ACP.

Both cartridges have faithfully served shooters for decades. The 45 ACP cut its teeth in the trenches of WWI and served the U.S. Military faithfully all the way through Vietnam. On the other hand, the 40 S&W was baptized by fire in the concrete jungle by law enforcement officers (LEO), the FBI, and CCW permit holders starting in the 90s all the way up to the present day.

However, many shooters find themselves in a dilemma when they decide to purchase a new semi-auto pistol: Which one is better? 40 S&W or 45 ACP?

In this article, we will take an unbiased look at each pistol cartridge and analyze all of the ballistics data, so you don’t have to! By doing so, when you waltz into your favorite local gun store to pick out your new self-defense handgun, you’ll know which one is going to best fit your needs.

What is the Difference Between a .40 and a .45? Let The Handgun Cartridge Debate Begin

The 45 ACP (Automatic Colt Pistol) is a rimless, centerfire, straight-walled pistol cartridge that was developed by John Moses Browning in 1904. After succeeding at military trials, it became the standard issue sidearm ammo for the Colt M1911 handgun. The 45 ACP fires 230-grain bullets at 830 feet per second (FPS) with 356 foot-pounds of muzzle energy per military standards.

The 40 S&W is a rimless, centerfire handgun cartridge that was developed in 1990 in a joint effort between Smith & Wesson and Winchester to satisfy the FBI’s needs for more effective defense rounds. The FBI initially adopted Lt Col. Jeff Cooper’s 10mm Auto for their new service cartridge but quickly discovered the recoil was too snappy for agents to handle. A reduced power load was developed that was the basis for the 40 S&W. Standard 40 S&W ammo fires a 165-grain bullet at 1130 FPS with 468 foot-pounds of muzzle energy.

The Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms is what has really been on trial in the Kyle Rittenhouse proceedings in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His use of that “giant gun,” as the liberal cable media describes his AR-15, to defend himself has been on trial, not the rioting, looting, burning, and killing that has occurred in the BLM/Antifa riots that ravaged the nation in 2020’s “mostly peaceful” protests.

That he successfully defended himself with that AR-15 against a less than stellar cast of pursuing potential murderers that were part of a raging mob of leftist loons is irrelevant. Kyle Rittenhouse was white, male, and bearing arms the Constitution of the United States said he could, therefore he was guilty as charged. Meanwhile, actor and producer Alec Baldwin roams free after killing his Director of Photography, Halyna Hutchins, on the set of his movie, “Rust,” after failing to practice the gun safety gun control zealots scream about. Guns in the home to protect you and your family are dangerous and should be banned. Hollywood prima donnas recklessly waving and pointing guns at their movie crew members are not worthy of condemnation or accountability apparently. The irony in the Rittenhouse and Baldwin cases, aside from Rittenhouse being on trial for ending someone’s life with a gunshot while Alec Baldwin is not on trial for ending someone’s life with a gunshot, is that the only truly innocent person to die in these cases was shot by Alec Baldwin.

Kyle Rittenhouse was not chased and hunted down by the Vienna Boys Choir:

Joseph Rosenbaum, a 36-year-old residing in Kenosha, was the first man who Rittenhouse fatally shot on the evening of Aug. 25, 2020.   

Drone footage of the encounter appears to show Rosenbaum chasing Rittenhouse before the teenager turned around and fired four shots at close range, fatally striking Rosenbaum.

Rittenhouse testified that he acted in self-defense after Rosenbaum threatened to kill him and tried to grab his gun, but prosecutors argued that Rittenhouse provoked Rosenbaum earlier in the evening.

Hours before the fatal encounter, Rosenbaum had been released from a local hospital in the wake of a suicide attempt, the Washington Post reported last fall.

He had pending charges in Wisconsin for alleged domestic abuse and jumping bail at the time of his death.

In December 2002, a court in Pima County, Arizona, sentenced him to a decade in prison on child molestation charges. He spent just over 14 years in prison and committed dozens of disciplinary infractions, state records show.