I would go 9mm. Primarily because of the price of ammo.
If it is going to be a range gun 9mm. Here in St.Louis you and buy two boxes of 9mm for the price of 1 40sw and still have a buck or two left over.
If you want it for carry. You can practice with the inexpensive range rounds and carry Corbon DPX or Winchester Rangers for SD/HD.
I know the Corbon round is a good one. 40sw pressures and 50 caliber expansion.

Didnt think about the Ammo cost.. Round here 9mm is 14$ a box. .40 is 19$ a box. I'm heading to the National Gun show in Virginia in July. I'll be stocking up on some Ammo deals.

I wish carrying was even a remote option. But I live in New Jersey. And Pretty much, they dont give out permits.. Period. End of Discussion.

The XD 9 has a 10 round clip, the .40 has a 13. So for IDPA I have to insert clip, rack slide, switch mag to a full Mag, so I start with 11. With the .40, I can load 11. Odd rules, I know.

Mainly, Is the recoil on the .40 noticeably harsher than the 9? The 9 is a breeze to shoot and comes back on target quick. Just looking for insight beofe I spend.

Thanks Guys... Enjoy Fathers Day!!

I own both the xd9 and the xd40, along with a few Glocks. If you are only going to use it for IDPA, then I see no benefit to the xd40. The recoil is not terrible on the .40, but it is more noticable compared to the xd9. You will lose a bit of time getting back on target with the larger caliber.

precisioncg is correct. 40SW is not bad but it is noticeably stouter than the 9mm.
About like a 357 mag as compared to a 38 Special.

And if you are going to be doing a lot of shooting, 9mm will be the way to go.
10 boxes at 140 or 10 boxes at 190. 9mm at 190 would be just over another 3.5 boxes or another 175 rounds.

9 it is. The .38 special < 357 mag comparison is kinda what I was lookin for. I have shot some .45 and even though I have been shooting casually for 20 years. I still just dont like that recoil.

The local shop has a XD9 Bi-Tone. Looks like I'll be owning my first Poly Pistol.

I might not put them next to the Sigs in the safe. I dont want any bickering in there.

PAUL

If you don't like the recoil of a 45ACP then you do not want a 40S&W.
I would not compare it to full power .357 vs. 38Spl however.
It is not even close to a full power .357Mag

Enjoy what you get.

9mm is a great choice. Safe shooting.

I sold my XD9 'Tactical' [5in] earlier this year in a seemingly lame attempt to consolidate calibers.
Everyone needs a dozen shooters, but not in a dozen calibers.

Got a case of Winchester 9mm NATO, 110 gr rounds. That was a match made in Heaven!
I sold my 9s for .45s, but my competing days are way behind me.

I shoot for sport and to keep up my skills for self defense, so I can't speak to the competitive aspects of this conversation, but if the cost of ammo is not the biggest issue here, I lean toward the .40 over the 9. I have 3 Springfield's; a 9mm 5" Tactical, a 3.8 XDM .40 and a sub compact XD .40. It may be the size, I really like the smaller 3.8" and the 3" sub compact, but I love the Tactical too. There is a noticeable difference in recoil between the calibers, but it's not bad at all and since I have all the time I need to recover and re-aim, the difference is not that bad. I don't think it would be a hindrance if were in a self defence combat situation, but I hope I never have to test that theory. I also find that I'm more accurate with the .40's than the 9, but I have no clue why yet. Honestly, I don't think you can go wrong, whichever way you go. I think the Springfield is the best handgun out there for the price and one of the best regardless the price. I'm in my early 60's and have a very bad back and neck , so standing for long periods of time with my arm extended, is very tiring for me. Maybe it's my imagination, but it seems that I tire more quickly when I'm firing only the .40. With full clips, the 40's are heavier than the 9, so if there is an explanation I suppose that's it. But I love shooting all my Springfield's and each time I leave the range, I can't wait to get back again.

Buy the 40 and then get a 9mm conversion barrel from Bar-Sto or pistol gear and you can do both. And if you want you can throw in a 357 SIG barrel.

I had a Glock 40 cal and never warmed up to it.. got the XDM 9mm and absolutly loved it.. (I also have a Sig 45 Equinox and love Sigs as well).. No more Glocks for me..

I'd get the XDM 9mm.. why pay about the same for an XD when the XDM is much improved over the XD..
Just my opinion.
I have the XDM 9 and love it.. shoots perfectly, take down and cleaning is very easy and quick, and there is never an issue with FTF's or anything.

the only negative is the grip size, i dont have a need for such a high capacity grip and wish they would make one a little shorter.. for carry purposes.

Great guns though so whatever you decide i'm sure you will be happy.

Good luck.

I am probably late on this post, but I bought the XD-40 and got the after market 9mm barrel to put in it. Seems to work just fine. Now I have the .40, and by just changing out the barrel which takes all of less than a minute, I can shoot 9mm in the same gun. I think the barrel cost about $145 dollars.

XD 9 ......

I have a XD40sc for concealed carry. It is surprisingly accurate for such a short barrel and grip. I think it shoots well, but for your purpose the 9 would be a much better shooter.

Do like I did and just buy both! You won't regret it. Yes there is a difference in recoil. If you are buying factory ammo 9mm is cheaper. If you re-load the price is a few pennies difference to reload 9 compared to 40. I own nine XD's and they keep each other company in the safe on a seperate shelf than the HK

Originally Posted by jsmith15

Do like I did and just buy both! You won't regret it. Yes there is a difference in recoil. If you are buying factory ammo 9mm is cheaper. If you re-load the price is a few pennies difference to reload 9 compared to 40. I own nine XD's and they keep each other company in the safe on a seperate shelf than the HK

That is indeed the most appropriate choice in most situations.

I bought the sp 40 xd subcompact for myself, ccw and the s&w 38sp+p model 638 for my wife, ccw but now she likes my 40 better b/c of less recoil. Go figure. I shoot both and even with the larger hand grip on the 38 the 40 has less recoil. I shoot target and ccw. I have shot thousands of rounds out of both and my wife hundreds.