Originally Posted by
Leftie
There are drop-in barrels made in 9mm for Glocks for their large frame guns, and apparently people have had success reaming the chambers to 9x23 Win spec.
We can "if" this all that we want, but I think that the next logical (eventual) evolution of handguns will be to pendulum back towards longer-cased 9mm loads that deliver substantial performance rivaling .357 mag. Unfortunately, I don't see that happening with 1911s anytime soon, as people are choosing the 1911 less as a platform (which is a tragedy).
Why will this evolution occur? Because the attraction of being able to use modern bullet geometries traveling at very respectable velocities is too good to pass up on paper, and if you look at it from a logistical standpoint, it makes things very efficient and simple for manufacturers by reducing part SKUs for manufacturers, speeding up development times, and allowing components to be ordered in larger quantities. For handguns, 9x19 will likely have a major foothold in the market for the next ever, but 9x23 Win could very well become the faster, stronger cousin to 9x19 +P+ loads if marketed correctly ,and its performance will live up to the marketing hype. The next logical successor would be a 9x25 Mauser-style cartridge, but at that point, it's worth mentioning that we are discussing a cartridge which is becoming eerily similar to .30 Carbine, albeit shorter in length.
If you factor in the PCC-crowd, a 9x23 Win drop-in barrel would be a big hit, and push the envelope of the 9mm cartridge out of subguns and carbine-length barrels alike.
There would be some impressive performance benefits I think, and having a handgun and PCC paired together with interchangeable magazines would make a capable platform.
For now though, 9x19 seems to accomplish things just fine, and people are satisfied with performance. Once people start to push the envelope again in handgun calibers, I'm hoping that 9x23 Win is on the short list of calibers to magically be "rediscovered". Lots of this has to do with the shooting industry either dictating interest, or accepting growing interest for the caliber though...
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