Doesn't seek to be the case here in Montana...but then we are usually a few years late to the party.
I am not aware of gunshops and pawnshops refusing to pawn or buy a .40 S&W. Again, that is life in Montana................

Randy

It was dead to me about 15 years ago after shooting a buddy's Glock 23C.

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Release the Kraken

The 40SW caliber is still popular here.

You must be reading too many gun magazines. I guess some people follow whatever the FBI does like its some kind of law, others do their own thing. .40 S&W is great for reloaders because the once fired brass is the most abundant and cheapest you can find. I just wish the projectiles were a little more economical. At this point there are too many firearms chambered in .40 S&W for it to "die", I think 45 GAP will die a quite death.

There are a lot of LE's that use the 40, out here in the West.

Even the Highway Patrol uses that caliber, so it might take a while to phase out, if true.

Big is good but lots of ammo is important also. One reason you don't see many .45 on the hips of the LE officers out West.

It might be an uphill battle.

Been dead for me for 20 years. If I want/need a big bore, I pick a 45acp.

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Can my S&W Mdl 10 shoot +P

The .40 is not dead in my book! Still carry a Glock 27 and a Beretta 8040.
Both of them real fine shooters. Would never give them up for 9mm.

You don't seem to see as many here now as before but they are still out there. I have a couple guns I shoot 40s in, a S&W Shield and a Sig P250 which also shoots 357 Sig. I load for the 40 and I know several folks that do also so I don't think it's dead, maybe not feeling too good but not dead either.

Dead to me, anyway. Sold all my .40 pistols and ammo a couple years ago . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

Well I guess the government stockpiling millions of 40 cal rounds was a total screw up. I guess thousands of local police departments will be looking for a new caliber to carry.
When ammo was scarce I still saw 40 cal on the shelves for sale. Yes there are more 9mm handguns than 40 cal but the 40 isn't going away. Same as the 380 is still around so will the 40 cal be around for a long time to come.

I have a Sig P226 in 40 cal and a Ruger SR40c in 40 cal. Both guns handle the 40 cal with ease. I had a G27 Glock and a Springfield XDMc both in 40 but sold both of them.

In my area you can’t give a .40 S&W away; the only cartridge with less popularity is the .45 GAP. There are thousands of LE trade-ins in both calibers in local gunshops collecting dust. Most shops here will not take a .40 S&W on trade. I like the cartridge and own three Sigs chambered for it. I have given my son a BHP and Sig SP2022 in the caliber, and his Christmas present is a Walther PPS in .40 S&W. The PPS is meant to be a fishing pistol for him.

I have purchased a few other .40 pistols in the last few months and two GAP’s and passed them on to fishermen. I think a .40 pistol loaded with 200 grain hardcast Buffalo Bore, Double Tap, or Underwood ammo ought to stop most any threat one is likely to encounter in a Georgia trout stream.

I hope 40 S&W isn't dead.

I just bought a Glock 27.

Took it to the range for the first time yesterday. Found the recoil not bad at all -- much less that I expected.

It seems to me that we had this discussion a few years ago about the 10mm. Now the 10mm is enjoying a resurgence in popularity. I suspect that the pendulum will swing back the other way for the .40 at some point in the future.

[QUOTE=2ffat;140194187]It seems to me that we had this discussion a few years ago about the 10mm. Now the 10mm is enjo

The resurgence of the 10mm, particularly in revolvers (depending on how popular the 10mm revolver is) may help keep the .40 S&W alive. I liked the .40 when I had one (Beretta 96).

For me, and maybe many others, the selection of a firerarm is oftten dependent upon ammo price and availability. After reading some on the .40, I had a better respect for it as a self-defense caliber. But price and availability keep me from purchasing a .40.

If I were in a career that required me to carry on a daily basis, I would care less about cost and would opt for the .40. For now, I will stick with the 9mm in an auto caliber and .38/.357 in my revolvers.

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otis

The forty is a good round, lots of PDs use it. I shoot mostly 9mm because I am older and it's easy to load, not because of the FBIs newest test results.

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Made it, Ma! Top of the world!

It will never die. As others said some people think when LE changes caliber what they gave up is extinct. I don't follow the wind or trends. I still like the forty and still think its better than any 9 with the same bullet. Heck you can still by guns and ammo chambered in 32-20/38-55 etc and those cartridges are over 100 yrs. old..........25 years or so ago and after the Miami shootout the .40 was the hottest thing going. Its still a great cartridge. BUT....Manufacturers have to shake things up a bit now and then to sell new product.

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S&W Accumulator

It has taken me years to warm up to the .40 S&W round. It is nowhere near my favorite but I have found a place for it in my life. As a handloader, .40 brass is extremely plentiful and very very easy to find for free scattered on gun ranges. I have a great supply of bullets in this caliber and more brass than I will ever use, so it's an easy choice for shooting somewhere that I can't get my brass or all of my brass back.

I shoot a lot more 9mm than .40 cal, but I can tell you for certain that there is a noticeable improvement in how a .40cal 165gr or 180gr slug drops a steel plate compared to a 9mm. Not that steel plates are the ultimate judge of anything, but at my club I shoot an awful lot of them, and .40cal dumps them very nicely and better than 9mm does.

The market for .40cal guns is soft these days... I'd love to take advantage of that.

I suppose it's never been alive to me, I've never owned a .40 and really didn't want to.

Well let's see.


.38-40 is basically .40 S&W

.41 Mag. downloaded due to too much recoil was basically .40 S&W

10mm downloaded due to too much recoil was basically .40 S&W

.40 S&W developed & is a great compromise between capacity and bullet diameter

9mm now does it all (although .40 will always be a bigger diameter than 9mm).

I'm sure the .40 will be forgotten for a few years & comeback as the answer to all "lack of stopping" problems.

Isn't that what we're doing with the 6.5 creedmore? It's the new wonder kid on the block & .308 is falling out of favor. Although the 6mm and 7mm have been around since the 1890's.

Man seems to be constantly searching for the "Magic bullet" and is never satisfied.

I'm fine with .40 S&W.

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Watch & Pray

With all the dirt cheap .40 police turnins, and sales on new pistols, too, I think you will see the .40 become popular again

Still have my MP40C and have no intention of selling it. Shoots fine.

Dead?? It should have never been born. I think it was a solution to a non problem. A compromise round that really doesn't fill any need. In my opinion 9mm luger, 45ACP or 10mm are individually each a better auto loading round.

I have the G23c and shoot it a lot and remains one of my most favorite pistols. Will give you a very bad hair day.....more so than a 380 or 9 hands down.

That is the reason I'm holding onto my M&P40c... You could find .40cal ammo during the last 2 panics but nothing .22lr, 9mm, .38Special, .44Special/Mag, or .45ACP.

I've stocked about 1500 rounds of 180 grain .40cal ammo and 5 mags for the M&P40c (I previously carried it for 5 years every work day in my commercial real estate job downtown Atlanta) before I switched to 9mm, and the "CZ" P-01 and the SP-01 in the carry rotation for the work role. There are still many new guns chambered in .40cal in the display cases at my club and every other shop I visit. The .40cal isn't going anywhere! If it weren't for a certain unnamed "stupid" manufacturer trying to shoehorn a .40cal into a platform that was designed for 9mm... the .40cal would be 3 times as popular as it is right now...

Other than my Five-seveN and PS90, my favorite carry is .40. It'll never be dead to me.

Monday I was offered a Steyr M .40 S&W with four mags for $150.00 but turned it down. I don’t know anyone looking for a pistol at the moment and I have plenty.

I've never had a 40 S&W because it seemed there was no practical "field" difference between the .40 S&W and the .45 ACP using a good 185 or 200 grain bullet. Am I missing something here?

In the mid '80s I read about this new awesome round.. the 10mm.. I had to get me one, so I bought a Colt Delta Elite SS about 1987..

Some time later I heard they shortened the case and made a 40 Short & Weak..

Never felt the urge to get one of them things..

And I actually hate the 40s&w for the simple fact that picking up my 10mm brass, I always have to deal with the 40s&w garbage left behind..

The 40 is a good round. It's a bit better than the 9mm. I've never had an issue with 40 recoil and I really don't even understand the claims about bad 40 recoil. I have a Glock 23 and like it just fine. 12 + 1 rounds of 40. How can you go wrong?

I'm thinking that, given a choice, I'd sooner get shot with a 9 then a 40. So, I'm keeping my 40s. Can't get much for them anyway. If nothing else, they make fine bedroom guns.

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Foster Positivity.

I think that the 9mm with modern bullets is as effective as the 40 was 30 years ago. But remember that you can get those modern bullets for the 40 too. I am not in any hurry to get rid of my 40s.

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6/23/2022

I hope it never dies. .40 S&W is the perfect split between 9mm Parabellum and .45ACP, IMHO. And if you load 10mm, loading .40 is an easy no-brainer. It fits in some nice little autoloaders and can be loaded pretty hot. I’ve owned a few .40’s over the years, starting with a G27 not long after they came out, then a G23 and a couple more 27’s before I swore off Glocks. I’ve got some S&W’s now, like a little 4040PD, which is a WAY underrated pistol. It’s accurate, light, and comfortable to shoot. Some other Smith .40’s that I have are either 10mm now, or destined to become one, but with .40 barrels I can have dual caliber(of which only my CS40 is for now).

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USS Brewton FF1086
SWCA#3597

I shoot about 15,000 .40 rounds per year. I only do so because it’s a beneficial caliber in USPSA Limited division. I would not buy a pistol in .40 S&W for anything other than competition. I guess I’ve gotten burned out on it over the years and over 200,000 rounds later. I carried a .40 on duty for many years but eventually went back to 9mm.
This is one of the .40’s I compete with



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38 Special was the De Facto standard decades ago and is still going strong....it went through the power vs effectiveness against the 9mm and 45 as well..... people crapped all over the 38 just like they do the 40....don't see anything happening to the 40

I've only had my new Glock 27 out for one range trip and I agree. My first and only 40 S&W.

I was expecting a lot of recoil.

Lots of people told my how "snappy" (a silly terminology if you ask me) my 27 would be.

But I was surprised to find it not bad at all. I wouldn't have even thought about it if it weren't for all the recoil hype.

40's not going away in my house, let me count the ways.........4054, Shorty Forty PC and 4040PD.........

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Since the modern service calibers are about equal these days, many are turning to the 9MM. Had a couple of 40’s but got rid of them. Wasn’t something I really needed.

Around here you don’t see many of them on the shelf for sale. Seems that they are declining in popularity.

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Life Is A Gift. Defend it!

I love the .40 - I worked a bunch of police shootings with it and was always impressed.

I’m taking advantage of this brief downturn in its popularity to grab up some high quality police trade-ins.

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“What you got, ain’t new.”

I've only owned two .40's, a Smith 411 and a Glock 22. I found the Glock to be softer shooting than the 411 (which was the one I used to qualify for my CCW license), so I kept the G22 until I got out of automatics and went strictly to revolvers.

I liked the caliber in the 165 grain version, but not much better than 9mm or.38 special +P. I confess with embarrassment that I've never owned a .45 ACP or .45 Colt.

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Oh well, what the hell.

Right from the beginning the .40 seemed to me to be troublesome and
overrated. I have 9mms and .45s and just don't see any gap that needs
to be filled by the .40.

No it's not dead or dying. It shows some improvement over the 9mm in not requiring follow up shots. It's a PD round and whatever they come up with next won't totally replace it. I think most people that have them like them. The popularity DID fade some back in favor of the 9mm but that doesn't say it's not being used, a lot. I've noticed that when I collect range brass, there isn't QUITE as much .40 Cal. in there. It's a little less popular than the .45 ACP.

I agree that the "Is the .40 dying out" sounds like a title for a magazine article. Next month another article will read, "The .40 is here to stay!"

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

DESPITE THE FACT THAT IT APPEARS TO BE REGRESSIVE, COULD IT BE THAT .40 S&W SHOOTERS ARE REVERTING BACK TO THE 9MM, DUE TO CHEAPER, AND MORE READILY AVAILABLE AMMO ? ? ?

A FRIEND OF MINE RECENTLY PURCHASED A CONVERSION KIT FOR HIS .40 CAL, GLOCK 23 TO SHOOT 9MM. IT SEEMS THAT THE VAST MAJORITY OF YOUNG SHOOTERS ON THE RANGE, ARE USING SOME BRAND OF HI-CAP, 9MM, SEMI AUTOS..........

SOOO, WHAT YOU ARE ALLUDING TO, MAY VERY WELL BE WHAT IS OPERANT IN THE WOFLD, OUTSIDE OF MONTANA...........

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'Nam 1968-69.DAV,VFW,NRA Inst.

Manufacturers of firearms and ammunition have to make a buck so do the guys running gun shops and pawn shops .The 38 was dead killed by the 9mm . The 9 was killed by the 40 .Now the 40 is dead? Me I'm waiting and holding on to my 32/20 and the hoard of ammo I have waiting for its resurgence .Am I sure ? Just hide and watch.

No....it's just lost it's "Magic Bullet" status!!!!!!

When it was introduced in the early 1990s I was already invested in the 9mm and .45 auto cartridges.........so I didn't see the need for the .40 as a civilian concealed carrier.........

I was good to go with a 9mm 3913 in the Spring, Summer and Fall ....... and a Sig 245 in the "Winter" months.

I do own a Sig 229 (bought "used" but anib for $500 ) with both .40 S&W and .357Sig barrels and a half dozen magazines........ just in case!

When the .40 Short & Weak "came to be" I was already well into .22, .38/.357, 9mm, and .45 for handguns.

I do admit to getting a couple of .40's, for those periods of time when it (.40 ammo) might be easier to obtain, so I got a Glock 23 and 35.

Oh, and I also picked up a HiPower in .40, just because I found one, and it was a great buy!

The 40 S&W is slightly more dead than the 45 ACP and 9x19mm. Just because the military decided to stick with the 9mm and the FBI has gone back to the 9mm does not mean that every law enforcement agency in the U.S. is going to trade in their 40 S&W pistols for 9mm pistols. The round is a good defensive round and will be around for many, many years to come.

Every LEO agency around here is doing just that when they can afford it. The only thing that kept a couple agencies I know of from switching to the Glock 19X was the coyote color, and the Glock 45 that just came out fixes that . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

rwsmith I was in your area when I was offered the Steyr.

Hmmm dead... not for me. Beretta 96, HK USP, Sig P229 & P239, Walther M2 & PPS, and a Steyr M40 all reside in my house and aren't going anywhere. Oh and I almost forgot, just picked up a 40 barrel for my RIA 2011 10mm. Only thing I'm really missing at this point is a High Power in 40.

“Less popular than before” is not the same as “dead”.

My prediction is there is a trend away from .40 and to 9 mm, of unsure duration and numbers. Then at some point in the future there will be reports of “failures to stop” with 9 mm, which may lead back to .40s or even .45s being reissued. Just like in the early 1900s...history has a way of repeating itself.

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220