.40 S&W is definitely going away, shortly before .22LR.
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40S&W Ammo To Become Obsolete
- Thread starter joedegs
- Start date
I reload and shoot .40 on a regular basis in competition (in between 9 and 45). Just bought a box of 2000+ casings from a fellow board member 2 days ago. It's not going away here lol. The DW SSC in .40 is a heck of nice shooter as is the CZ TS 40. Great cartridge, love to shoot it.
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S&W-Keeper
Member
I hope not I have 4 of them.
C'mon, guys. As you well know, in order for these magazine authors to make a living, they've gotta come up with something that will catch people's attention. Charles Askins was a pro at this, faithfully turning out articles that would either get folks mad or at least riled up enough to read his article. And while readers would send scathing letters to the editor arguing Askins' point, Askins would be taking his money to the bank and chuckling all the way.
If the .25 acp, which came about in 1905, and others aren't obsolete by the now, they probably won't be for a long time coming.
Just consider the source.
If the .25 acp, which came about in 1905, and others aren't obsolete by the now, they probably won't be for a long time coming.
Just consider the source.
Protected One
Member
People have been pronouncing the 40S&W dead for a long time now, and yet no one has been able to show me the body.
RobertJ.
Member
If it's the one I'm thinking about, a retired grade-school principal in Missouri, his heart's in the right place, but he doesn't always know what he's talking about!
Next they'll try to tell us the .41 Action Express will be obsolete in the next thirty years.
Unfortunately these idiots control the firearms industry. Every article they write is read by millions of people that don't know their burro from a burrow, including law enforcement administrators and firearms experts, and so the writers perform a valuable service to the industry that is cheaper than all their advertising, such a creating a market for useless junk. They also help get rid of ammunition that has low sales figures and uses up valuable material and man hours to make or ammunition that may be too close to "new and improved" versions they intend to sell...and ammunition that they may feel threatening to their business.
When S&W introduced the .41 magnum it was billed as the ideal law enforcement cartridge, and it was. The only problem was it didn't have the ideal law enforcement revolver to shoot it out of. Officers that used it complained of the weight and some of the departments issued the jacketed bullet load which beat the officers up during requalifications. Also, some administrators didn't like to word "magnum" stamped on the barrel. If they had introduced the LSWC load alone, without the heavy jacketed "magnum" load, and made a revolver proportional in size and weight, it probably would have enjoyed a much happier life. But with the introduction of the Herters .401 Powermag and the possibility of Colt chambering it, or close Colt clone, there wasn't time.
When the FBI firearms experts announced the ideal law enforcement cartridge would be a .40/.41 caliber, 180 grain bullet traveling at 1000 fps, it already existed in the .41AE, all it needed was an ideal platform to shoot it out of. S&W eventually reinvented the .41AE as the .40S&W to answer the call. (They like proprietary headstamps.) Then when the FBI wanted to switch back to the 9mm the gun writers validated it with the idiotic line that the 9mm was better now due to improvements in bullet technology. It was sort of funny that the ideal law enforcement cartridge had ballistics similar to the .38-40 which had gone obsolete years before.
Unfortunately these idiots control the firearms industry. Every article they write is read by millions of people that don't know their burro from a burrow, including law enforcement administrators and firearms experts, and so the writers perform a valuable service to the industry that is cheaper than all their advertising, such a creating a market for useless junk. They also help get rid of ammunition that has low sales figures and uses up valuable material and man hours to make or ammunition that may be too close to "new and improved" versions they intend to sell...and ammunition that they may feel threatening to their business.
When S&W introduced the .41 magnum it was billed as the ideal law enforcement cartridge, and it was. The only problem was it didn't have the ideal law enforcement revolver to shoot it out of. Officers that used it complained of the weight and some of the departments issued the jacketed bullet load which beat the officers up during requalifications. Also, some administrators didn't like to word "magnum" stamped on the barrel. If they had introduced the LSWC load alone, without the heavy jacketed "magnum" load, and made a revolver proportional in size and weight, it probably would have enjoyed a much happier life. But with the introduction of the Herters .401 Powermag and the possibility of Colt chambering it, or close Colt clone, there wasn't time.
When the FBI firearms experts announced the ideal law enforcement cartridge would be a .40/.41 caliber, 180 grain bullet traveling at 1000 fps, it already existed in the .41AE, all it needed was an ideal platform to shoot it out of. S&W eventually reinvented the .41AE as the .40S&W to answer the call. (They like proprietary headstamps.) Then when the FBI wanted to switch back to the 9mm the gun writers validated it with the idiotic line that the 9mm was better now due to improvements in bullet technology. It was sort of funny that the ideal law enforcement cartridge had ballistics similar to the .38-40 which had gone obsolete years before.
cmj8591
Member
I think you need to define what obsolete means. You can buy 38 long Colt but I would argue that it's pretty much been superseded by other calibers. Ammo for these calibers will be available for many years. Think about how many 32ACP's are out there that need to be fed. It's more about new GUNS being available. I don't see a return to guns chambered in 25ACP by the major manufacturers any time soon. Baring some manufacturing of small runs to fill a nostalgic demand, I don't think you're going to see any big amount of new guns chambered in any of these calibers. Of all of them, maybe the 40 could make a come back if the FBI has another Miami shoot out and the 9mm fails. But I really wouldn't invest too much in 45GAP reloading dies. From that stand point, I think the article is about on point. (I agree that Field&Stream sold out and now sucks by the way!)
Beemer-mark
Member
The FBI is not the only Federal Law Enforcement body (and not the largest I think) that carries 40 S&W. So the article premise is because the FBI is going back to nines everyone else is. Seems like a very bad assumption.
I am too young to remember, but when the FBI went to the 10mm, was there articles stating the whole world was switching to 10mm and that the 9mm was dead?
Rosewood
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I'm pretty sure that most federal law enforcement agencies are going to the 9mm. Border Patrol to Carry 5th Generation Glocks - Weapons - POLICE Magazine
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Didn't/do the US Marshall's carry .357 sig? I guess technically that is still 9mm. Are they switching from the SIG to 9mm now?
Rosewood
The U.S. Marshals, FBI, DEA and ATF are under DOJ. Most of the rest are under Homeland Security. The U.S. Marshals carried the .40 S&W round, but may be changing over. The Air Marshals are under TSA and carried the .357 Sig round. It's hard to keep up with who's changing to 9mm without a program.
sigp220.45
US Veteran
The Air Marshals are switching to 9mm.
smithra_66
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These cartridges will always be around. Who cares how "popular" they are?
Hell, I still shoot the 32-20 and 44-40 regularly, and they were both "dead" 100 years ago.
Brass, components, and reloading equipment will always be available, and likely they will be factory loadings for a long, long time.
Hell, I still shoot the 32-20 and 44-40 regularly, and they were both "dead" 100 years ago.
Brass, components, and reloading equipment will always be available, and likely they will be factory loadings for a long, long time.
smithra_66
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Probably not because the 9mm wasn't that popular back then. I'd bet most cops were toting 38 special or 357 mag back then.
