I thought that the .40 S&W was dead; or dying??? I stopped at the local Cabelas Saturday night. They had a huge selection of brand new .40 S&W caliber pistols. Seems unusual for a “dying “ caliber. I personally don’t dislike the.40. For me, it comes down to cost. 9mm ammo is considerably cheaper.

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otis

Maybe they had a boatload of .40 cal because nobody's buying it?

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SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS

Various surplus places are selling police trade-in 40s for under $300, so nobody is buying new 40s at Cabela's prices. Nope, nope, nope.

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Release the Kraken

I have a 610 and can shoot 40's or 10MM's in it. I prefer to use the 10MM. I see a fair amount of .40 brass at the range, so someone is shooting it. Our LGS has a fair selection of .40's in the display case.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

New? Seems odd. I know various manufacturers are still making some models but I can’t think of any of the top of my head.

I like .40 and would buy a new one if it was priced right. Ammo is easily found and not that expensive if shopped right. I have plenty of 9mms but they are pretty boring..

My son still carries his .40 Walther pps off duty.He still likes the round and how well the gun carries.He did say however that if the 9mm round was as well developed as it is today back when he bought the Walther he would have probably gotten the 9mm version.

.40 S&W is the ultimate Zombie Cartridge, it has allegedly been dead since 2016, yet it continues to walk among us.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

I keep a .40 S&W in my nightstand, a 14 + 1 round FNX 40. I can shoot it well enough to trust my life to it, and I trust the results I will get from a 180 gr HP if I need it. My 610 revolver also shoots it very well when I'm slapping steel plates out back.

The .40 S&W is currently in a slump with the "hipsters", but so was the 10mm not to many years ago. Media hype and gun rags will spout all sorts of "*******" that proclaim the 40 S&W is "old news and has seen its day", but I challenge anyone of them to volunteer to step in front of one of the "slow & weak" .40 S&W rounds. Even wearing a ballistic vest.

Not me. I myself can tell the differences in recoil when shooting a 9mm vs a .40 s&w, and I'm pretty darn sure that difference is also felt on the other end. I'm keeping my mine close at hand in case I need to stop a criminal act and protect my life.

I don't care for the way .40 shoots, it just has an unpleasant recoil impulse. But it's here for the long run. So many PD trade-ins on the market for short money make it a great SHTF kind of gun. Probably also good for people wanting an inexpensive nightstand gun.

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Just Say No - To Social Media

Everytime I read about the decline of the .40 S&W I check the premium ammo in that caliber, the prices don't indicate a decreased demand. I have plenty of the Winchester white box stuff. Love my 646 .40.

The .40 was on top for 25 years after the Miami-Dade shootout. Which showed the 9mm as inferior.......Now have frail small statuerd people Gov/LE went to the 9mm.......People on here as well as lots of other places.
"were like Lemmings" went uh uh uh. And dumped their 40's for 9mm.

I laughed the frantic replacement

All I can add is "Be an engine----NOT a caboose."\

I had 9's in 1972(before they were cool??) and 40's since 1989. NONE are going anywhere.

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S&W Accumulator

The 40 S&W is far from dead, in fact, it was never sick. A bunch of 9mm conspiracy theorists perpetuated those rumors.

I just picked up 3 boxes for 6.5x55 Swede. It’s out lived all those silly super duper short mags.

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213th FBINA

I have 1 revolver and 4 auto's ,3 of them I have .357sig barrels. I hope the ammo does not get scarce.

9mm won the Great Accounting and Qualification Wars. It's cheaper and easier to shoot. All of the "performs just the same as .40 or .45" doesn't pass the sniff test. A .45-70 410gr solid leaving the muzzle at 1100fps has the same muzzle energy as a .204 Ruger 24gr at 4400fps, but you're never going to convince me they have similar terminal effects (extreme example).

I like the .40, it's a good suppressor round (in 180gr form) and still delivers great capacity. In a full sized steel gun, it's barely less controllable than a 9mm. It's a better short barrel cartridge than 9mm. While not a big advantage to most, it's easy to convert to .357SIG.

Now to go find one of those $300 police trade ins...

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Psalm 27:2

It's cyclic. Not because the popularity of the caliber changes, but because of the way manufacturers build their guns.

They tool up and build a boat-load of 9mm and the stores are full of 9mm. They afterward tool up for .40S&W and likewise. People think they build all the calibers simultaneously but that's not reality in manufacturing.

It ain't going anywhere........We still have (on the shelf to buy) 38/40-44-40-38 S&W-32 S&W-32/20 -45 LC-45ACP which are ALL over 100 years old and still going strong....Don't fret the 40...It's here for the long haul.

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S&W Accumulator

I think the.40 S&W is a great round. The recoil makes it iffy for me. As does the price of ammo. I’m seeing.40 ammo about 1.5 times the cost of 9mm. If I didn’t have hand health issues, I would own a .40. I may get one yet. If I find one cheap enough.

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otis

Buy 'em cheap and stack 'em deep!

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Just Say No - To Social Media

I picked up a Sig P229 .40 S&W twenty some years ago for $350.
Gun shop had 7 of them and I picked up the one with the best action.

A year or so later, I saw a Sig factory .357 Sig barrel for the P229
for $100. I bought it and the gun came alive. Now it's a 100+ yard
gun and the recoil is easier for me to handle than .40 S&W.

That's been my primary carry gun for over 20 years and I've use it
to win a number of bowling pin matches and works great for
me in 3 gun matches.

I shoot mostly reloads with my cast bullets now. My 229 and original 4006 form 1989 love "em".

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S&W Accumulator

I have observed this with my own eyes. Can you explain why this might be?

With kind regard and many thanks!
BrianD

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696-6906-457-38-3913-CS40-411

Is this a trick question...?

Cheers!

P.S. Note that there were "40s" (minus the ".") well before 1979: there were the .44/40, 44s & 45s in handguns and a plethora of rifle cartridges...

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Sit Reloader Sentiret

40 S&W dead?

In my book it never lived.
Don't like the cartridge. Don't like the guns.

Well, kind of? I realize that it was not clear when I posted that…

But the .40 S&W cartridge was released to public in 1990 I believe. And this was after Glock stole a few rounds and rushed their .40cal Glock 22 to market before S&W released the 4006.

…in 1990.

The recoil is certainly unpleasant in a Glock 23. I tried my buddy's and didn't like it much. Apparently the S&W M&P is far better at taming the 40 snap.

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Release the Kraken

Good cartridges with solid performance survive; also, don't discount the effect of having a generation of police who carried and trusted it (I did).

My wife has a Shield 2.0 in 40 and loves it. Ergonomics matter.

I would like to replace my Sig 228 (slide will rust breathing on it) with a SS 229/M11. In .40SW they are about $500, like new and $1200 (all in) new in 9mm. Not reading into it but......Joe

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Behavior Creates Destiny

Having thought who needs the 40, I never considered one until I shot one, then I picked up the next CHP 4006 TSW that I could. Several others have bought them after shooting mine. No problem finding ammo and yes there are plenty of guns chambered in 40.

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I walked into the local big box sporting goods store and the only ammo that was available at that time was 40 cal. People were scared Obama was going to "do something". Totally unnecessary. It was a consumer driven toilet paper panic, but bullets. Plenty of 40 was stacked up in boxes on the floor. I had no weapon for it, so I left with nothing. I never forgot that.

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696-6906-457-38-3913-CS40-411

I bought a Glock 23 with 5 mags in like new condition. I couldn't pass that up. After shooting it, I went after the police trade-ins. I bought two S&Ws and a G22. I kept one of the Smiths and gave the G22 to my son-in-law and the other S&W to my daughter's beau this past Christmas. Of course, I had to make sure they all worked. The G22 shoots a little nicer than the 23, perhaps because it's a little larger gun, and the Smiths shoot real well.

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Waiting For The Sun.

...has become something of a niche cartridge though it is far from 'dying'. The .40 is right behind the 9mm and .45 ACP in popularity. That puts it ahead of the .357 Sig, 10mm, .380 ACP, .38 Super, .32 ACP and .25 ACP (The most common semi-auto rounds).

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Heavier bullet, lower velocity = almost always does better in shorter barrels. Ones that depend on velocity lose it fast in a short barrel.

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Psalm 27:2

I bought my first 9mm in 1971, a M39-2. I really like the curved back strap. Carried a M59 as well. I bought my lil .40 S&W M&P Shield last year. What a handful! I also have a .44 and .45 so the recoil doesn’t bother me. It has a very short 3” barrel and is striker fired. It’s my usual CC weapon.

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I'm speaking in general terms here, but let me get this straight.

1. So 9mm out of a 14-oz or so semiauto is good!
2. 38+p out of an 11-oz revolver is good!
3. 357mag is good to go!
4. 44 special and 44 magnums are good!
5. 10mm is the bestest!
6. 40s&w out of a revolver or semiauto of any size or weight is wayyyy too snappy, has an intolerable recoil impulse, and fast and accurate follow-up shots are almost impossible??? 👌

What's hilarious is all of the 10mm pistols coming to the market and how everyone is seemingly ranting and raving about it right now when 99% of ammo manufacturers are loading 10mm to 40s&w like specs, and the other 1% are loading 10mm to be much, much, much more powerful and "snappy" than standard 40s&w for hunting purposes.... Make it make logical sense!

It's all in people's heads. It's a placebo effect, marketing, and herd mentality. When people were told that 40s&w was in, everyone was fine with 40s&w. When everyone saw law enforcement carrying 40s&w, everyone wanted 40s&w. When they were told/indoctrinated into believing that 40s&w was too snappy and to dislike or even hate 40s&w, they convinced themselves that it was all true. Then they hypocritically had no bugs up their buttons when it came to other just as or more "snappy" calibers, shooting/carrying small light weight pistols that are just as snappy, or going to 40s&w disguised as 10mm. It's like it's become cliche and the cool thing to be critical of 40s&w as a canned response.

I own and have fired 40s&w out of an M&P Shield, Sig P239, Beretta PX4 Compact, and a Kahr MK40 and K40. I've fired a plethora of different popular 9mm ammunition and handgun combinations that had more recoil and weren't enjoyable to shoot vs. my experience with shooting 40s&w out of my examples. I've also fired a Springfield XDS in 45 that was popular not too far back that was much worse than any 40s&w I've ever fired. Don't get me started on 357 mag and 44mag. I personally would love to see a blind folded range test where the 40s&w "recoil impulse and too snappy" critics who random platform and caliber combinations, and tell us which they think is 40s&w and which are not. I'd put money on them looking foolish when it's all said and done.

23 is the one .40 I still have. The only other one was an early S&W, Sigma or something. Admittedly, my experience is limited. Being a recent convert and acolyte of 45acp, I have no reason to expand my .40 holdings. But it's still far from dead.

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Just Say No - To Social Media

Far from dead, a really enjoyable gun in the 1911 platform. Does it bark, yes, called attitude lol.

June 1 KAHR Take 2.mp4 - Google Drive

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I remember when I first shot .40 S&W I was rather nervous about it because I had heard so many people saying how snappy and unpleasant it was to shoot, so I braced myself expecting a sharp, abrupt, stinging snap to the web of my hand like shooting a lightweight .357 Magnum Snubby with hot loads.

After pulling the trigger and letting off the first shot I was almost disappointed by how little recoil it actually had. Seriously, my Walther PPK/S and Ruger LCP chambered in .380 ACP are more snappy than any pistol I've ever fired chambered in .40 S&W, including an M&P40 Shield.

It would be one thing if the majority of folks who assert that the .40 S&W is unpleasant to shoot were admittedly recoil sensitive and felt that anything with more recoil than 9mm is unpleasant, but like you said, most of the folks who say .40 S&W is too snappy shoot pistols with much more power and recoil.
Granted, I've only fired standard pressure 165gr-180gr .40 S&W loads, so perhaps these people are shooting some 135gr wannabe .357 SIG loads or some overpressure boutique loads by the likes of Buffalo Bore, Double Tap, or Underwood.

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Shooting Comfort is bilateral.

Well, I didn't say any of that, but since I evidently triggered you - I'm glad you "got it straight". Nice work. I don't like the recoil impulse of the .40 S&W. Meanwhile, All my handgun shooting is offhand (that means with only one hand, just so you "have it straight"), including full house 44 mag. I guess I'm not recoil averse.

No, it's not.

Not remotely

Challenge accepted. My range, 2PM today.
We'll even use your guns and ammo.

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Just Say No - To Social Media

Recent posts have caused me to wonder if shooting with 2 hands vs 1 hand has anything to do with people finding the 40 unpleasant.

I learned to shoot offhand and really never use my left hand when shooting. Like many of you, I've shot the gamut of sizes and calibers - 9mm mouse guns, .357Sig in smallish guns and so on. My preference is full size handguns.

The .40 is the only one I dislike shooting. Maybe I wouldn't mind it in a larger firearm.

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Just Say No - To Social Media

I have a Smith and a Kahr CM in 40. As a bullet caster it costs a few cents more per hundred than 9mm. I do shoot some factory rounds in it but still wonder what the deal is about recoil.

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Front sight and squeeze

If you're ever in my area, you can shoot any of my 40s to see if that changes your mind at all. The 4006 is a tank and easy to handle, the glock 35 is more pleasant to shoot than any other glock I've ever shot, my 4.25" m&p is plenty tameable, and I have an ar in 40 as well that is fantastic to shoot. I know everyone likes different things, but i figured i would throw the offer out there in hopes that you can also enjoy the 40 like i do. Certainly worth a shot.

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Please no more EZs...

Have a Beretta, a Glock, and a Sig226 in 40 S&W. The Glock and the Sig have 357 Sig barrels as well. Like shooting them all. Bought a 40 barrel for my 10mm M1911 as well, but haven't gotten around to getting it fitted yet.

700FPS 158 SWCs in my Taurus 85 ultralite is far more snappy than any 40 I have shot. Same ammo in a steel frame is pleasant.

Rosewood

The problem may be the manufactures put a more powerful cartridge in the same weight gun as a 9mm. Physics makes it recoil more. No free lunches. I love the 40 in full size guns, not so much in a sub-compact. If I was going to a gunfight, a fullsize 40 would be the gun I would grab. For EDC, I go with a 9mm for light and ease of carry.

Rosewood

I have always said that gun manufacturers are like car manufacturers, some people like Ford, some Chevy, some Toyota,......... I would further expand on that to calibers. Some like 45, some like 40, some like 9,.........

I have always stressed location, location, location. You can stop someone just as easy with a 22mag as you can with a 44 mag as long as you hit what you need to hit. I guess I am one of those odd ones that likes a little recoil. I thoroughly enjoy my 460mag revolver. I have carried just about every "Mainstream" caliber on duty. 45, 40, 9, and 357. I don't trust in the bullet caliber, I trust in the weapon I carry and my ability to protect myself and others around me.

If you don't like recoil, great, carry a 9 or 380. If you can handle recoil and it doesn't bother you, fantastic, carry a 40, 10, 45, or a 44. Is the 40 dead, hardly. If it is one thing I have learned, there is a buyer for every caliber out there, pistol, revolver or rifle. I just recently saw a round that I had never heard of (not that this is something new, plenty of rounds that I have never heard of). What the heck is a 338 Spectre. A 10mm necked down to 338 for a carbine.

No caliber dies, they just go quiet for a while until someone comes up with a new way to fire them.

I had a broken wrist a long time ago. After that is hurt to shoot .44 Magnum. At some point I picked up a East German Makarov in 9X18. It was snappy to shoot and hurt my wrist. Ended up giving it and 1500 rounds to friend. have a S&W Model 39 & a Beretta 92 and neither are snapy no matter what I feed them.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.

My only .40 is a .400 Cor-Bon. No plans to add any other.

Try this one: Magnum Research .429 Desert Eagle (DE) - Guns and Ammo My little Sister has one and thinks it is a hoot to shoot. Ammo pricey at about $60 a box of 20. This is a 50AE necked down to 44.

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USMC 69-93 Combat Pistol Inst.