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What scotchman said. BUT, you won't be in the hole if you do go 40. Personally I like the 9, but I like the 45 as much. I have no love for the 40. As far as specific gun, thats like asking which hottie to pick up at the night club, which beer to pick at Consumers, Which cigar to buy while in Cuba, which car to buy, etc...

 

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Truthfully I don't have a problem with the 9mm, .40, or .45 being used as a self defense piece. However, to say that there are no effective differences and that performance would be the same out of each is just an opinion that you've arrived at. I just don't buy it... penetration, bullet speed, weight- there are just too many differences between the three calibers to result in the same exact performance. We'll have to agree to disagree here, but I think we can both agree on the answer to the OP's question, yes the .40 would be fine for CCW.

There is no hard data to point that one is more effective than another, they are essentially all the same. In theory, sure, but in practice, no.