I have been a fan of the .40 S&W round ever since it came out. I am also a 1911 guy in addition to my Smith and Wesson revolver addiction. Consequently I hoped for a 1911 in .40SW, to no avail for a long time. My first .40 was a Glock 23, it works great even though I am not a Glock guy. My second .40 was a S&W M-646, which is a favorite. I later picked up a S&W M&P .40 with the thumb safety, very good gun. Then came an FN Hi-Power in .40, and later a second one. However no 1911. Ultimately scored a high end Colt 1911. Much to my disappointment I could never get it to be 100% reliable, even with a multitude of magazines and a trip back to Colt. Traded it at a loss. Being rather slow on the up-take, I picked up a nice custom 1911 on a Rem-Sport frame. I never have found who did the work but they knew what they were doing. But, it wasn't 100% reliable either. I got to looking at my various semi .40s and discovered they had ramped barrels where the Colt and Rem-Sport didn't. New Fire Storm ramped barrel, Rem-Sport suddenly became 100% reliable.

Now to the point of this epic novel, I have discovered RIA 1911s. Their Mid-size (Commander) and the full-size 1911 both come with ramped barrels. And, they are much less expensive than other brands. I picked up the MS and found it to be 100% and just recently I got the Full-Size 1911....also 100% reliable. (I did have to tweak the slide stop a bit as it would sometimes self engage; however it is no longer a problem.) So my quest is complete............however I am beginning to hear the siren call of an AR. If any one is looking for a decent 1911 at great prices take a look at the RIAs.

Attached Images

	RIA .40SW 001.jpg (88.0 KB, 18 views)
	RIA .40SW MS 001.jpg (149.0 KB, 23 views)

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Keep Shootin' and check 6

I'm happy you found what you want.

I've found the RIA's to tend toward clunky but usually functional.

I'm a big .45 acp fan, and am underwhelmed by the. .40.

But we live in a wonderful country with free choice and a plethora of products to meet our desires.

I'm still on the fence. I've had H&K, Browning HP, and S&W M&P pistols in .40 S&W. I've asked the question, "Why no 1911's in .40?", a number of times, and the amassed opinion is that the .40 S&W is a bit short for the standard 1911 frame. It's shorter than either the .45 ACP, Super .38, and even the 9mm Parabellum. The slight shortness is evidently enough to prevent reliable feeding in the gun.

I still believe the .40 S&W would be an ideal load in a "Commander size" pistol, but until the feed issues are resolved, there seems to be no great love for the combination.

I am wondering what you find so much better about .40 than .45acp?

I have never even considered a .40, the only advantage I see, is the amount of brass the local PD, leaves at the range.

I'm not a hater, just curious.

The comments are spot on. Reliability is the issue with the .40 on the 1911 platform. I do think the ramped barrels have solved some of that issue; however, I do not carry the .40 1911 on duty. I am not convinced that the reliability issue is solved. I like the .40 for the same reason I like the .41 Mag over the .44 Mag......because I tend to chase windmills sometimes. I think the .40 is pretty close to what Bill Jordan, Skeeter Skelton, and Elmer Keith wanted when they ended up with the .41M; although it is not really a revolver cartridge. I am 95% retired so I can go off on tangents looking for "the ultimate solution" (whatever that is.) I still work some as a Sheriffs Dept reserve and I teach concealed carry classes on occasion. I like to expose my students to a variety of carry options. What do I carry on duty? A .45ACP of course, in a single stack Para-Ord LDA, with a S&W M-642 somewhere else on my aging body. Basically, I like variety.............maybe that is why I've been married so many times.

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Keep Shootin' and check 6

I see, makes sense. Lots of cartridges make more sense, and are even better than their older, cousins. For me, I like the older, standard ones. If for nothing else, availability.

I think the .40 is the most successful relatively new caliber out there.
Amazing how many new cartridges have been touted as the end all, then they kind of fade off into oblivion.

The .357 sig has always intrigued me, and the 10mm would be awesome to have, based on their performance. They are however lacking on the availability dept.

Nice to have all these options, think I'll stick with Vanilla!

Around the different fora, the .40 S&W "wars" have been really interesting, both from a technical perspective and the emotional arguments.

It reminds me of the arguments of the 9mm Parabellum v. the Super .38. Even with the vast amount of cheaper ammunition, I remain a big fan of the Super .38. Improvements in 9mm loads over the years have reduced the Super .38's edge pretty much to that of marginal, but I still like the cartridge. I carry a Colt LWT Commander chambered in it, and it's been 100% reliable with a variety of bullet profiles for over 2K rounds.

My latest addition to the stable is a Colt Defender in 9mm. I took it to the range today, and ran it through its initial paces. It's a very impressive pistol in 9mm, and with the exception of two Hornady 115gr Critical Defense rounds not feeding, it ran 248 rounds of 9mm ammo perfectly.

Check out the Springfield Armory EMP. Comes in 9 and .40.
I have the 9 but a few owners of the .40 posted total reliability.

http://smith-wessonforum.com/firearm...y-emp-9mm.html