Post originally by Manga Boogie Man at 2003-08-28 13:32:41
Converted from Phorums BB System

This is IMO, but for law enforcement purposes and city combat (hell, ANY combat that a handgun would reasonably be involved in), the 9mm Parabellum has just about ALWAYS been useless. Since it's the standard NATO pistol round these days, it's easy to find 'em, which is their only real advantage. The reason these rounds were selected for U. S. military service was supply, and that they performed better against personal body armor than the classic .45 Government pistol round. That, and they were compatable with the newer 9mm submachine guns, maybe, which would simplify supply issues. With better types of ammo available for .45 pstols and other calibers, this is a questionable decision, pistol round restrictions or no.

It says a great deal that Heckler and Koch's SOCOM, a gun designed for use by Special Forces units, is a .45 (may even be a .45 ACP, the old .45 Government round, I think). Unlike the 9mm Parabellum, the .45 round doesn't have to be cold-loaded to be effectively silenced and does significantly more damage through nerve trauma than the faster-moving 9mm round. Kind of like getting more pin action with a heavier, slower-traveling bowling ball. The end result is a quicker kill, as mentioned in the previous post. 9mm rounds tend to blow through the target rather than lodging or ricocheting around inside the body cavity, reducing their effectiveness.

Another problem with 9mm rounds, and any magnum round at closer ranges, is the problem with missed shots. A 9mm Parabellum round travels fast enough that a missed shot can penetrate average-quality walls and possibly kill someone behind that wall that you might want alive, for one reason or another. Magnums are really bad about this one. The .45 has this problem as well, but to a much lesser degree due to its slower speed.

Overall, the 9mm seems to be more of a military and law enforcement fad than a really viable combat round. In a world where militaries are suplied by the lowest bidder, the decision makers have lost touch with the realities of combat. Similar problems have appeared with 5.56mm assault rifle rounds used in law enforcement when compared to the larger 7.62mm rounds used by older rifles. More than one drug-crazed criminal has been shot by a five-five-sixer and lived long enough to wound or kill a police officer. These same criminals might have been to hurt or dead to do so if shot by a 7.62 round, or even a 30-30 carbine round, and for the same reasons as listed above (except penetration, of course, these are rifles).

I won't say that the 9mm Parabellum is useless, but it does seem to be becoming outdated in the changing conditions of modern combat zones. It may be that the U. S. military will see a return of the .45 Government round, or a new (to them) low-velocity round in a larger caliber than the 9mm.

Sorry this got so long, but the subject needed addressing. Most of this is conjecture, but it is based upon facts.