I have a new mission: my son dropped by yesterday with a new toy for me.

My first .40 Caliber - so I need info on ammunition for defense and for range. Magazines that may be available and OWB holsters.

All inputs welcome.

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S&W M&P 40 SHIELD.jpg (55.2 KB, 120 views)

Nice. I've had one for about 3 1/2 years. It's always shot about 3 inches high, but I stubbornly stuck to 180 grains bullets.
Some 155 or 165 grain loads would get out of the barrel before the gun recoils as much, so would hit lower on the target.

I always carried Federal HST's, but recently got several boxes of Winchester Ranger Service Bonded (both 180 grain).
The 6 round mag is a bit short feeling to me, so I put Pearce pinky extensions on most of my mags, also have a couple 7 rounders with the extended base plate.
For range ammo, the Remington-UMC ( in the 200 round value pack) has shot the best out of my gun.

Mine is the ported PC model, the two tiny ports do tame the recoil somewhat. But lately I switched my Fullsize M&P to a 5 inch 9mm, so I just got a 40 to 9mm conversion barrel for my PC Shield, so I can shoot the same ammo.

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U. S. Army Veteran

Buy a 9mm barrel for it. 40 is dead around here. At work, we can’t give them away, & many PD’s are getting rid of them. GARY

Well, I'll have to play with it first. No more handgun ammo than I shoot a couple of boxes will last me for years.

Police are all going back to 9mm because the kids just can't handle the recoil of .40 and .45. JMHO.

Might be dead around there but it's still a very good round, better than a 9mm. and everyone knows it. All improvements to the 9mm also apply to the 40. Most of the police departments are dropping it because the 9mm. is cheaper and some officers can't handle the recoil. I carry a 40 and use Winchester Ranger Bonded 165 grain ammo.

Read the specs on both.

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LIVE FROM THE DAWGHOUSE

My first Shield was in 40, from 3-7 yards I could cluster 13 rounds in a ragged hole! Liked the 40 so much, 3 weeks later I added a Shield 9. It's been my EDC ever since. When the Shield 45 came out, I figured I should have one of those too-LOL.
Enjoy your new "toy", let us know what you think and how it shoots. FWIW, I only use standard 165 & 180 gr factory loads, when I shoot reloads (mine only), I shoot 155 & 165 gr Xtreme plated bullets and TiteGroup powder. Works in all my 40's-Shield, Compact, FS M&P's and my SD40VE. Will have to see how they run in my new Glock 22. :-)

sandog. Great! I've been trying to find a 9mm CA. Conversion barrel, for my .40 MP Shield. Mine is the California model, which isn't too easy to locate. Did you have to get 9mm magazines? Also are you confident to use if for SD? No problems? Thanks.

My favorite, most accurate bullet in .40 is the Speer 180gn Gold Dot, either reloads or factory.

TR Enabling/Remsport sells a .40 to 9mm conversion California compliant barrel presently for $150.00, drop in barrel.

I have one of the non California conversions in my .40 Shield. Truly drop in. Day after it came in a friend wanted some range time. I ran a swab through the barrel after inspection, checked cycling with snap caps. Went to the range and ran 100 rounds through it with no hiccups. Have since put through probably 300 rounds with no problems.

And yes, you will need 9mm magazines. I found seven round capacity mags on eBay for around twenty dollars, S&W manufacture in the package.

Yes, mine is the Remsport/TR Enabling one as well. I believe they sell a ported one like mine for the PC Shield, and a non ported one for the standard Shield.
I'm not sure what makes a California compliant barrel (no threaded muzzle ?)

I heard that .40 mags will work for the 9mm, for range use only.
For SD, you'll want 9mm mags.
Mine has fed flawlessly so far.
I did a review of the Remsport conversion barrel on M-P pistol forum.

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U. S. Army Veteran

Groo here
Now you got the 40S&W,,, get a real round,,,357sig!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess I should say Thanks for the negative input; but, I will be nice and just say nothing at all!!

Road Rat,
Enjoy your new gun. It will be great. The 40 is pretty easy to reload if your interested. I like the 40. I keep hoping to find a super deal on one of those supposed unloved 40s but I haven't seen one yet.

OK, where is this place you work where these 40s are that can't be given away?

I'll take all the .40's you can find to give away my friend,,, the .40 makes life a lot of fun, 9MM,,, mmmmeeeehhhhh....

but I'm not giving mine away, lol... let the women shoot em!!

I'm pretty sure my wife liked her 9MM better than my .40...

Trade it now, for a 9mm.

More ammo

Less Recoil

Lower cost ammo

Does the same job on bad guys.

Why not have both ? Just get a 9mm conversion barrel and a couple 9mm mags, and be able to shoot both calibers:
https://***************/mp-shield-pi...pc-shield.html

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U. S. Army Veteran

I did not realize the .40 S&W was such a HATED round... WOW

Shoot Straight. GARY.

It's not hated, merely unnecessary
A 10mm bullet is 1/50 inch larger in radius than a 9mm. Do we really think that makes a measurable difference? ER doctor and medical examiner can't tell. .40 was a solution to a problem that didn't exist. (But then, so was the .45 ACP).

If you like .40, shoot .40. Just don't believe it can do anything better than 9mm.

Why is it always a 9mm fanboy saying anything bigger is unnecessary and anything smaller is useless...

Man, I will take all you "can't give away". I love the 40. The only value I see in the 9 is less recoil.

Rosewood

Load 135 grain Nosler's in the .40 and you virtually have a .357 Sig. Of course a drop-in barrel swap that uses the same mags is easy to do also.

Rosewood

I have only just recently begun to appreciate the 9mm, but that doesn't mean I find the .40 worthless. For those that can shoot it well despite the extra recoil, it offers more bullet weight and power than the 9mm.

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U. S. Army Veteran

As for the original question.

Speer gold dots are very good defensive rounds. I prefer the 155 grain myself, but if you would prefer subsonic, the 180s are a good choice also. Factory mags are the only way to go and I have a Bianchi OWB leather holster that I like for my Shield 40.

Rosewood

Aww man . . . hate to hear that. My MP 40 is what I carry in my truck.

I have an MP 9 already . . . how hard is it to swap barrels?

Congrats on the 40 Shield Road Rat..
I picked up a 9mm Shield 2.0 a couple weeks ago..
My next door neighbor has a 40 Shield & He loves it..

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Shield2.0.jpg (111.1 KB, 21 views)

I worked in North St Louis for many years, with a badge and a gun and a lot of personal contact with the locals. I bet I had conversations with at least three dozen who had been shot with 9mm's, some of them over a dozen times...….and they were still walking around! Even the Young Thugs are switching to the 40 and 45 for their EDC's. Errybuddy KNOWS the Nine just don't do de job no mo.....or so I heard. Word out.

So people are getting tougher, and the 9mm just won't work anymore ?
That's like saying deer have got tougher over the years, and the 30/30 or 35 Remington won't work anymore, so you gotta have a .300 Weatherby or 300 WSM to kill them.
Perhaps more have been wounded with a 9mm and lived to tell the tale because they are so many more 9mm's in use than the other calibers, and maybe the guys that shot them weren't the best shots, or the guys were hit with FMJ.
A hit in a good spot with a good 9mm load ( not a an FMJ), and someone isn't going to walk it off.

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U. S. Army Veteran

I like the higher velocity 155-165 grain loads in the .40 and buy whatever I find on sale. For practice almost every thing is a 180 grain FMJ and the heavier bullet does have a little more recoil but the .40 doesn't kick bad at all I'm surprised so many people complain about it's fierce recoil. The .357 Mag is a lot worse to me.

And the caliber wars continue.........

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Morality >religion

Its called MARKETING, convince everybody what they have is no good so they will buy the latest new wizzum. Just like pickups and guns. They all do the job if you know how to use them.

Good point. I wonder if the gun manufactures continuously stoke the fire every few years pushing a different cartridge. That way the LEOs and civilians will sell what they are carrying and go buy a new one in a different cartridge. Man, we are being played....

Rosewood

Butter on the popcorn?

No matter what anyone says.40 is a helluva round. I just had my .40 Shield magna ported. It made a big difference. I’ll have to check out the 9mm barrel option, hadn’t considered it before.

Any way you look at it, your choice in caliber is a trade-off to something else. A nine holds more boolits and it easier to shoot faster. The 45 doesn't hold as many, tends to be heavier, but has a well-proven track record. The 40 is the better bits of both, and also penetrates VERY well, which is a good thing in LE and military settings.

I've always been a 45 guy, and still prefer it to anything else, but the 9mm is a FAR better round than it used to be, and with all the platforms that shoot it these days, your choices are nearly unlimited. The 40 is fading a bit but still does its job well, and has more fans than detractors. JMB designed the lowly 25ACP and it can still kill you deader than a pharaoh, but few would choose it as their preferred defensive round. And regardless of caliber, NOBODY wants to stand in front of it when fired. But if I had to choose between getting hit with a 9, a 40 or a 45, you can bet I'm picking the 9mm!

Speaking of conversions, I picked up True Precision 9mm barrel recently from a forum member. I put it in my .40 Shield and grabbed a 9mm mag from a friend. Got it out to the range yesterday for a little shakedown. I put about 50 rounds of a mixed bag of ammo through it. Not a hiccup.

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America First

Not sure if you have a 1.0 or a 2.0. I have a 1.0 in .40 and factory 9mm barrel. Mine is awesome with either barrel although the 40 ammo gives more felt recoil (at least to me). Have fun