9mm vs 45 ACP Barrier Test: No Debate? 

ok so the 9 went deeper in the wood, but you can see, definitively, the 45 unloaded a LOT more power into the concrete !

What was not mentioned was the slo-mo on the rounds as they entered the gel. The .45 had a much larger expansion of the gel. Put in layman's terms, there is more internal damage with a .45 with less penetration.

I’m not a .45 guy, but round #3, the concrete paver, definitely went to the .45.

The debate between 9mm & .45acp.Will never end it all comes down to personal choice.

Great video. I see the 9mm and .45 ACP as two separate tools in a tool box. Own both and have carried both as service sidearms.

I have a friend who was the sheriff that said they did a test on .45 and 9mm with his team. He said that 9mm was consistently better at penetrating window shields like an ice pick, while the .45 had issues glancing off at times.

You and I definitely have a different definition of a draw. The 45 exploded the block and the 9 broke it, that’s not a draw. Or am I wrong here? And in that 6x6 block, the 9 penetrated deeper, but was I the only one the see the 45 left a much larger channel?

My generation says .45 ACP is a man's cartridge. The 9mm is a good lady's round.

I mean, you can get 9mm to beat .45acp in all catagories and vice versa... it all depends on load selection. (But I still enjoy these videos)

For personal protection or carry, a 9MM is powerful enough. I carry a M&P 9mm Shield with 124g Fiocchi rounds.

I absolutely love this content! Please!!! Keep going! You're to< the point, funny, intelligent, and ⁷I've watched ALL your content!

Go back to the temporary wound shock between the two. That’s the deciding factor. They both do it but 45’s shock spread further on the penetration.

The shock of the energy dump from the 45 ACP will definitely be greater than the 9 mm. So, in my opinion, the 9 mm did NOT win. That said, I have both calibers in my CCW pistols.

Now to test both cartridge sizes with FMJ bullets.

A 45ACP CAME BACK AT ME ONCE WHILE SHOOTING IN THE BASEMENT BUT THAT WAS BECAUSE MY FRONT BOARD WAS PLYWOOD AND IT WAS UP AGAINST ANOTHER PIECE OF WOOD. THE REASON IT CAME BACK WAS "WHEN YOU SHOOT A HOLE IN PLYWOOD IT COMES OUT THE BACK A LARGER HOLE THAN GOING IN. IF I WOULD NOT HAVE HAD ANOTHER PIECE OF WOOD BACKING IT UP IT WOULDN'T HAVE BOUNCED BACK

Alright bro, I'm going to say it. Start looking into doing radio and podcasts or announcements or news, you have the voice for it.

Test #3: The 45 ACP deserves a higher score since it did more to the concrete than the 9mm. But that's just a subjective "I only ventilate paper in a closed range" opinion.

Pistol rounds are just ranged hole punchers. Direct shot placement into vitals and penetration are the only real factors they have going for them. Doesn't matter what you prefer to carry as long as the cartridge you choose carries the power to properly penetrate and you can effectively and accurately shoot said cartridge of choice.

Good hits with either caliber do the job without issue the .45 guys say that the large expanded diameter can make the difference between a bullet causing an incapacitating shot or not and the 9mm guys say that the extra capacity and faster follow up shots with 9mm provides the same benefit and both statements are true but 2 shots do a hell of a lot more damage than one shot with a slightly larger hole.

The differential in terminal ballistics of both rounds was so inconsequential that to me, they are equally deadly in real world self-defense scenarios. The only thing is that the 9mm platform handguns hold more rounds than the 45cal in similar sized pistols.

These test results are evidence of the relative obsolescence of the 45acp. There is an upgrade that you can do to a number of 45 variants- FN, Glock various 1911s etc. The 460 Rowland kit for around $300 changes the fairly tame 45acp into a 44 magnum equivalent that blows away any 9mm’s performance metrics. I’ve done it and it absolutely works, now I have a grizzly stopper that can also accommodate 45acp 45 super and the 460 Rowland rd. Mine is a 1911 and even though it’s generating 40,000 psi the recoil is 60% less that a 44 magnum revolver thanks to a compensator and heavy recoil spring. You can do a similar upgrade to a 9mm and end up with 357 ballistics.

When people ask me what caliber to get, i always tell them to get the GUN that works best for you. My edc is a .45. I carry it because the gun i trust most happens to be a .45.

The Debate....is like comparing getting hit by a golf ball vrs bowling ball. Now 45 vrs 10mm is a huge difference due to velocity. Use Underwood Penetrators and get back with me.

According to a ballistics expert on LuckyGunner's RU-vid channel the wound channel doesn't really matter when it comes to a handgun because the human body absorbs that extra stuff you see around the bullet size. Its only when you get to rifles the damage expands outside the wound channel in the human body.

The cdc or fbo compiled data that basically stated that all handgun calibers from 380 acp to 45acp were within 5% effectiveness for stopping a threat. You see no increase in effectiveness until you get into magnum hand gun rounds .357, 44mag, 41mag etc..... 10mm data was not included because there was not enough data to gather. My guess would be 10mm in proper loadings that are equal or superior to .357 magnum ballistics would be as effective as such.

It makes sense that a heavier projectile is going to have more energy than a lighter one.

It's not about barrier penetration. It's about ability to do damage. The .45 ACP is clearly doing more damage to the targets. This has been proven in field use repeatedly against enemy combatants, and in police use, which seems enamored by largest magazine round capacity for impressive body cam mag dumps in which they don't stop the rapid fire until the mag is empty.

Be Advised! The Lord's caliber" 45ACP "was designed to come out of a 5inch barrel, just like 5.56NATO was designed to come out of a 20inch barrel, Anything less is Uncivilized! Love your work.

No mortal being can resist slapping the gel. 😆

They are both very good, but a few things to remember: 9mm is usually cheaper to purchase and train with, 9mm handguns usually carry more rounds (larger capacity), rounds travel faster than a .45 ACP, and their drop vs distance is lower, lower recoil, more concealable, and there is a greater variety of weapons (handgun, SBR, rifle, PCC) that use 9mm vs. 45. If you wanted to limit the number of calibers you have to own, I would always choose the 9mm vs. 45 for the above reasons... If you are a diehard 45 ACP user, that if just fine... .40 was popular, but not as popular as it used to be. 9mm will always be around.

GREAT DEMO! love that target holder , you should sell them!!

Do 10mm vs 22 short next 🤭

This information could prove valuable in my near future. - Saruman

If all you're looking to evaluate is penetration depth, then yes, of course the smaller diameter and faster moving round is going to win every time. Use ballistics gel and compare wound tracks. There's a reason many military orgs and police have moved on from the 9mm to the .45 or 10mm.

.357 sig, an offspring of the 10mm, is also superior to both

Statistics do show that in an engagement per engagement comparison 9mm pistols have a higher effectiveness than .45 caliber. Thats not to say that cartridge to cartridge that one is better or the other on a bassis like penetrating power or force transmission alone. Actual engagment has to many extinuating factors to account for across the board.

If hunting has learned me anything about bananas I mean ballistics it’s there’s a difference in penetration and knock down. Perfect example of this is 7mm magnum vs 338 magnum.

Surprised me. Bigger isn't always better.

You should be an announcer. What a voice you have. Nice testing, used same manufacturer’s cartridge. It appears the pistols were very similar also.

I've watched several of your videos in this format now and I want to point out that those blocks are NOT concrete. They are cement. Which although it's the bonding agent used in concrete it's nowhere near as strong nor as hard! Concrete also contains sand and stone which is much tougher on bullets.

The debate between 9mm & .45acp should be submit to military surgeons or forensic physicians who know better than us which caliber is more dangerous. Last but not the least, all the armies and most of the law enforcement agencies everywhere in the world already arbitrated this debate and chose the 9mm. As far I am concerned, I like both calibers but for financial reason I prefer to shoot with a 9mm because it is more cheaper in France.

Every talks about penetration that's great to a point .but you have to think about who or what is on the other side of that pass threw

It comes down to training cost per round, and how often I’m able to afford to train train train, and then train some more. In between training, compete compete compete and compete some more.

Nothing gets through the sand. Flesh, however, a whole different thing.

It appears that you were trying to make a real test to compare the 9mm with the .45 ACP. But like 90-95% of all ammo tests online, the test performed was between ammo of choice to make the 9mm loo good. Here is why I say this. The 9mm ammo that you showed and its ballistics is not common, ordinary 9mm. You select a fair hot 9mm round with 400 ft. lbs, whereas the 'average' 9mm ammo delivers only 350 ft. lbs. And the .45 ACP ammo you picked (and showed us at the beginning) delivered only 356 ft. lbs., whereas 423 ft. lbs. In addition to this, the max power for any 9mm is 500 ft. lbs. (Buffalo Bore), and the max .45 ACP round delivers 616 ft. lbs, and the max .45 Super goes up to 694 ft. lbs. (Buffalo Bore). I doubt that most 9mm pistols could shoot the 500 ft. lb. round, and similarly, most .45 ACP pistols cannot shoot the .45 Super round (most require internal changes, such as strong springs, etc.). Lastly, relative to this test, if the power is equal between the competing rounds, each with the same type and weight of bullet, the more narrow caliber will penetrate further, which was clearly shown here. So, basically, this test proved almost nothing.

So many people have forgotten that the intent of the .45 ACP was to transmit as much ft/lbs of energy into the target WITHOUT passing through.

I bet we can all agree that either of those rounds would ruin the recipient's day.

You didn't shoot The Lord's caliber out of The Lord's pistol the 1911. Tests invalid.

Great video, love the entro. I’m 56 and have been shooting 45 since I was 10 (yes, born raised gun nut); never seen a 45 bounce off lumber.

The .45 does a lot more damage to flesh and bone ....

You should try 10mm. Buffalo bore or underwood ammo. That would be cool

No debating... 10mm is ballistically superior to both.

I'm holding out for the 'how fast does it stop the 100k robot that is programmed to kill you " test.

They're both good. The End. I always think of it like this - Two different tools. Both shoot straight. One is a bit smaller for easier carry and more than gets the job done. The other is larger and will usually put more damage on the target. They both shoot straight. It's whatever you're comfortable with. Whatever you shoot better.

Interesting how you changed your grading criteria to favor the 9 mm. When looking at the wound cavity you only looked at one angle. A projectile that expands more creates a larger wound cavity. Do .357 vs 10 mm that's what we want to see.

Round 3 wasn’t a draw. The .45 was far more impressive. Are your sunglasses too dark to see through? 😂

The reality is that the 9mm vs 45 ACP debate originated when full metal jacket "ball" ammo was all that was available. Hollow points were usually lead tipped, which were unreliable on the feed ramps of autoloader pistols. The thought process was do you want a pencil sized hole or a thumb sized hole in the bad guy. Today, bullet technology has advanced to the point that renders a lot of the debate a moot point. Federal HST is my "go to" ammo for everyday carry.

Big take away IMO. 9mm vs .45 is not a deal breaker or major enough difference to switch. Whichever you have of the 2 is basically equivalent and if you need more than what 1 of them can do, you need a rifle. Shot placement is more important than differences between handgun caliber ballistics and whichever you shoot best and have a gun with enough capacity for the scenario will give basically the same results. TLDR don't need to worry 9mm vs .45 as long as you shoot it well and don't run out of bullets before you're done handling business.

I don't understand why everyone uses 230 grn to compare to 9mm. Use atleast 185 grn.

Interesting view of the lumber penetration shots. The 9mm appears to essentially have sliced through deeper, but the .45 has a much wider path of broken fibers. Federal HST is excellent ammo in pretty much every caliber. That .45 HST, with it's much larger expansion, had to cut more gel to its destination than the smaller 9mm. A couple of things to consider.

.45acp IS a better round overall but 9mm ammo and it's ballistics and technology today make it far superior than it used to be. I stopped carrying a .40cal and went to 9mm a long time ago. Along with a backup.38/.357magnum revolver just in case. BUT, something I learned while serving in the infantry in the Army was it's more about shot placement than caliber size. You hit a man in the head or something vital on them with a round, 9mm or .22lr or .45acp, etc, chances are your enemy target is going down.

Jesus Loves You All

i will say, one of the perks with .45 acp is that it's usually subsonic, so if you're running a can, it's quite quiet!

I’m glad we all still look to FBI standards for things like this…because, you know, the FBI makes such sound decisions on guns

HST is excellent. Good stuff. Thank you

Please correct me if I'm wrong, but in the gelatin the .45 seemed to have a much larger wound channel upon impact, which I believe would create significant trauma for the recipient, vs the 9mm.

Bullet grain weights very by a few 10ths of a grain all the time. This is why benchrest shooters weigh the projectiles before reloading. A box of .270 150gn projectiles will range from 148 - 155. Better manufacturers have tighter tolerance, but they are never all the same.

I have both calibers and love them both so not bias ... but this test was just more for fun. Obviously the faster narrower 9mm will penetrate wood deeper ...but come on the .45 smashed the concrete and the 9mm broke off a chunk ...so clearly not a drew there. LOL

By the end of the day, it all comes to shot placements

This dude's voice is lower than my self-esteem after my divorce. Good content though, lol.

Would love to see more clear gel tests!!

I was going to say that if you're not using Crit Duty or some version of that high tech bonded led/copper thing, then there'll be more questions. They may make a 9mm as good as the old jacketed .45acp BUT then if you use the bonded in the .45 then we're back to .45 better. The 9 needs to be +P too....and 20 9mm rounds vs 10 .45...maybe 16 .45acp. Hell I don't know. I just know that ten .45s pulls my pants down...and not in a good way.

I think the 45 won on cement. It destroyed that cement better. Left the jacket and lead in perfect shape. I think you’re also forgetting that the 45 was meant to be slower in order to dump power inside the body.

Your channels just keeps getting better and better. I Hope you win the award.

Look at the difference in damage on the interior of the wood block lolol.. And it annihilated the concrete brick. I think that's gonna translate to equal damage on a human as well.. 9mm is so overrated 😌 And you have to observe the gel block expansion channels from all 4 sides... not just one.. 🤦🏼‍♂️

Try your Ballistics gel test with some denim in front of the gel unless you plan on shooting a naked target. I believe that the results will NOT mirror what you registered.

I don't believe for a second that a full power .45 ACP bounced off a piece of wood. A chunk of the wood may have flown back, but not the bullet, unless it was a squib round.

Heavy loaded .357mag or mid loaded .44mag are the objectively superior combat handgun cartriges. Wheelgun shooters can actually hit what they're shooting at without "spraying". 😂

remember bois its not length but the girth that matters and that 45 is a girthy boi

308 Win and 277 FURY got stopped by the sand box. Next let's see if 9mil and 45acp will go through..

The 45 did a lot more damage to the cement block than the 9

Really enjoyed this episode. Great job 🤙🏼🇺🇸

The 45 absolutely owns the 9mm in suppressed shooting. Otherwise, the 9mm high velocity evens out the huge 45 hollow point. So it comes down to capacity and the speed of follow-up shots.. which 9mm clearly wins. It's all about Purpose Of Use.

@Banana Ballistics Now you have to test 9mm vs .40 S&W.

Great work, very informative and entertaining. However I doubt this or any video will ever end the debate. Both have their backers and their detractors, and there are a number of other rounds with their own fan base and haters. For the faithful, no-one is going to convince them otherwise, in any direction. The real takeaway is, both are really good (as are a number of other options). Each has their *relative* strengths and weaknesses as compared to others, and we're fortunate to have the options so we can pick the one that scratches our itch just right ... or even have different rounds for different uses - celebrate diversity and such. ;-)

Another test that would be cool to see is 9mm vs 38Special. Load data shows they are nearly identical, and you CAN exchange the bullets when loading with there being a slightly tighter fit if using the 38Special in a 9mm. The 9mm (.355) also engages the rifling in a .357 barrel. This is where some smart guy pipes up and says "Never use the wrong ammo in your gun!" and that's true! I'd love to see somebody stuff a .38Special into the breach of a 9mm. You probably COULD hammer the slide shut.

Both fine choices

Super great testing. I tested 9mm vs 45 ACP with cement lap siding (8 1/4 wide) layered tgem together 45 went through 2 and mushrooms the back big-time of 3&4 layers. 9mm went through 5 or so and less mushroomin/ deformations of cement panels. 45 packs a punch thow

Look 45acp "gods round" is definitely better!😂 I mean 9mm for penetration and capacity but 45 for thumping power!!!!

Ballisticly speaking, both cartridges are in the same power class. What the 9mm accomplishes with velocity, the 45 ACP with mass. Otherwise they are pretty much equal.

The 45 won the Concrete block challenge hands down.

Did you use fmj? Also underwood penetrators would have been cool.

I would like to see this test again performed out of a rifle barrel 16-18 inches. Several carbines available in each calibur.

I don't think the question or controversy was about penetration but more the power of impact. In other word which has more stopping power. Because if you're using them for self defense, you don't really care about penetration as much as you care about stopping or knock down ability.

Those HST rounds are great and what I carry in both calibers. Either way, I don't want to be hit by either one. Sweet video.

A 9mm is NOT a .45 ACP. They are not in the same league. A .45 ACP round is 11mm (2mm wider) and averages twice the weight of most 9mm at, say 230 grains. How are these rounds comparable? Terminal ballistics are night and day! Trust me when I tell you that .45’s have stopped way more bad guys on the battle field than any 9mm. It just most pansy’s can’t handle the .45 and they don’t have capacity to spray and pray for those with shot placement problems. The .45 is proven as a man stopper. Not the 9mm. It’s just more popular today. And I assure you that multiple shots through a windscreen with a .45 will penetrate and not glance off. And rounds do not go through 6x6 treated blocks. Neither will a 365 grain .454 Casul, btw. Remember a Prius and a Kenworth can both do 60 MPH. But that Kenworth will cause far more destruction on impact if it hits something. But also remember, you don’t want to be hit by either. Great content, but that 9mm didn’t win any awards against that .45 because there’s more to the test than a block and gel. Great content and love your channel!

For pistol you should add windshield glass.

I like both rounds today. But in the 1980s, this would have been a very different debate. While the 9 can certainly hang with the 45, because of modern ammo improvements, the 9 gives you much greater capacity in the same size weapon (i.e. 10+1 rds .45 in the G30 vs 15+1 rds of 9 in the G19).

Superior test! I love both. ❤ I do not feel that screen is safe tho. Those little shards... 😕 "You'll shoot your eye out." 🎄 I had to take a long hot shower after this one tho. I'm ready for the 10mm next.

It’s time to educate!! There is a 45 Super which is a high performance 45ACP and 185gr has a velocity of 1,300 FPS and around 700lbs of force. I don’t know of any 9mm cartridge that can come close to that performance! The 45 Super also dumps all of its energy in less then 12 inches