What would you replace M9 with? The Army is looking at .357, .40, and .45ACP

I wouldn't change the pistol at all. We already own this one and we are throwing people out of the military because we are low on funds.

Assume that I have already written a paragraph citing calibers, scary sounding brand names and such... You will save me the trouble of writing it and, more importantly, you will not have to read it.

Stopping power is really not the issue here. Regardless of whether you miss with a .22, a 40, a 45, a 46, or a phased plasma rifle in a 40 watt range, stopping power only counts if the round actually encounters the target. Unless you are Johhny Rico deployed to Klendathu, your chances of actually engaging with a side arm are about as remote as me giving a damn about ANYTHING remotely connected with a Kardashian. IF, you are actually engaging with a sidearm, you are not terribly likely to encounter a foe who is going to get philosophical about the size of the entrance wound they experience. Rather, they are likely to perceive that they have been shot and change their priorities accordingly.

But for those whose hearts and minds are not penetrated by secondary firearms, they are more likely to be changed by volume of fire. Hence, if you are going to miss (and miss you will given range, adrenaline, dust and the fact that you are not Johnny Rico on Klendathu) you are better served to miss often and loudly. With that in mind, I would rather miss 30 times with a 9 mm in the hopes that the enemy will decide to seek out someone with a different MOS and use the saved ammunition weight for more water.


Note: Edited to add a "t". See if you can find the change, it's fun!

Something for the more game savvy crowd, maybe?