Magnum Calibers vs 9mm: Is Bigger Better?

Some debates in the shooting community are just timeless. Despite advances in ammunition, new calibers, and better firearms, the argument over caliber preference rages on. While the shooting community is normally exceptionally welcoming, expressing differing opinions on favorite calibers is a good way to get uninvited for hunting trips. Now and again, though, someone proposes a large caliber magnum as their preferred concealed carry choice.

While a large caliber magnum may seem absurd for a defensive handgun, it’s more realistic than some folks give it credit for. After all, I love magnum calibers and occasionally carry a Smith & Wesson Model 69 in .44 Mag. It’s a beast, but a capable carry handgun. Admittedly, though, the desire to carry a magnum revolver is partly nostalgia and flair. Ultimately, my primary carry choice tends to be a high-capacity 9mm, with modern defensive ammunition.

The pros and cons of carrying a large caliber magnum revolver or a high-capacity 9 mm revolver motivated and inspired this article. Despite less capacity, does the greater muzzle energy of a .44 Mag give it an edge over 9mm? Does modern 9mm defensive ammo negate the supposed benefits of a larger caliber? Ultimately, I sought to answer those questions and many others.

Magnum vs 9mm Recoil

When comparing a large caliber magnum handgun versus something like 9mm Luger, recoil is the first thing that comes to mind. While I’ll delve into terminal ballistics in greater detail later, 9mm muzzle energy pales in comparison to .44 Magnum. For example, 9mm Speer Gold Dot 124-grain +P generates around 400 ft-lbs of muzzle energy, while the .44 Mag’s muzzle energy ranges from around 600 to 750 ft-lbs. The 50-75% increase in energy from 9mm to .44 Mag translates into significantly more recoil.

The biggest issue with carrying a large caliber magnum has a lot to do with weight and bulk. For example, the slim Smith & Wesson Model 69 in .44 Magnum offers practical concealed carry dimensions with magnum power; however, the 4.25-inch barreled model weighs over 37 ounces. Meanwhile, the Glock 17 barely weighs 32 ounces when fully loaded. The original N-Frame Smith & Wesson Model 29 weighs around 48 ounces, greatly taming recoil. However, the Model 29’s size isn’t conducive to concealed carry like the Model 69. Accordingly, handgun size matters when making a true, apples-to-apples comparison of recoil management across these two calibers; hence why I chose the Model 69 over the 29.

With some practice, .44 Mag is surprisingly manageable. However, if judging recoil management from a random selection of shooters, I’d put money on a far higher percentage of those shooters managing 9mm recoil over the .44 or other large caliber magnums.

Ammo Loadout

Capacity arises as a common topic in the debate between 9mm and large caliber magnum cartridges. After all, most 9mm handguns carry 15 to 19 cartridges, while most large bore magnum cartridges range around five to six cartridges. While 9mm advocates argue that increased capacity and less recoil mean more rounds on target, magnum advocates suggest fewer rounds need to go downrange to incapacitate a threat. Though both have sound points, the semantics of carry capacity, weight, and the total muzzle energy of all cartridges combined yield some thought-provoking data.

For my purposes, a “standard” concealed carry loadout includes three 17-round magazines of 9mm plus one in the chamber, whereas my .44 Magnum gets five in the cylinder plus three additional six-round speed strips of ammunition. Comparatively, that’s 52 rounds of 9mm against 23 rounds of .44 Mag. The 9mm loadout ends up weighing around 21 ounces, while the .44 Mag weighs around 18 ounces. With a three-ounce difference, 9mm capacity totals at more than double the magnum. Meanwhile, the myth of “I can carry less ammo because I have a magnum” falls apart when you multiply the cartridge count by a single cartridge’s muzzle energy.

There’s a common belief that one magnum handgun cartridge produces so much muzzle energy that you can carry less ammunition than a smaller caliber, like 9mm. With a little math, this theory doesn’t withstand scrutiny.

For example, 52 cartridges of 9mm calculate a total approximate muzzle energy of nearly 21,000 ft-lbs, whereas 23 rounds of .44 Magnum yield 17,250 ft-lbs. While it takes more 9mm rounds to surpass .44 Magnum in the total amount of energy you can deliver into a target, most shooters will be much more likely to hit a target with 9mm versus .44 Magnum. Simply put, a shooter has far greater odds of getting rapid, accurate hits on a threat with 9mm than .44 Magnum. This consideration brings us to the final point evaluated here in the debate between 9mm and large caliber magnums.

Magnum vs 9mm Terminal Performance

Since I’m now hyper-fixated on terminal ballistics, I broke out a few homemade gelatin blocks for a visual example. After checking for proper calibration, I selected a couple of loadings from the ammo stash. The selected contestants were Speer Gold Dot 9mm 124-grain +P and a hand-loaded Hornady XTP .44 Magnum 240-grain JHP.

The Gold Dot ammo performed as expected, registering at 1,209 feet per second at 10 feet from the muzzle while penetrating right around nine inches into the gelatin. The measured velocity wasn’t far from advertised, while the projectile penetrated somewhat underwhelmingly, compared to the advertised 11.78 inches from Speer.

The .44 Magnum Hornady XTP penetrated an impressive 19 inches despite an underwhelming measured velocity of 1,039 feet per second. However, this isn’t far from most advertised 240-grain .44 Magnum velocities, which tend to range around 1,200 feet per second. With my Model 69’s shorter barrel, this isn’t as bad as it looks on paper.

What does this data tell us? If we analyze penetration depth and velocity alone, it doesn’t say much. However, the permanent wound channel in the gelatin provides more insight. For example, Gold Dot produced an approximate two-inch maximum wound channel. While the .44 Mag produced around a 2.5-inch permanent wound channel, this only lasted around nine inches of penetration.

After that, the permanent wound channel remained around the projectile’s diameter. Effectively, the .44 Mag and 9mm offered similar performance with their maximum wound channel diameters and lengths. While magnum calibers can penetrate more with standard hollow points, the increased recoil and potential overpenetration issues aren’t necessarily beneficial, compared to 9mm, when defending against bipedal predators.

Is the debate over?

I’ll openly admit the debate between 9mm and magnum calibers isn’t exactly at the forefront of firearm discussions. However, big bore and magnum calibers still tend to arise as a point of contention from time to time. If you are looking to defend yourself against wild predators, magnum calibers aren’t a bad option. However, defensive cartridges should probably remain within the traditional parameters of most common defensive handgun calibers, like 9mm, .40, and .45. While this discussion painted magnum calibers with a broad brush, I’ve yet to mention a few capable magnums — like .357 Magnum. The .357 Mag is an extremely capable defensive round. Perhaps I can tackle that in another discussion?