Is the .40 dead?

[lonestar outlaw]

Regardless of the FBI or other nay sayers the 40 cal is alive and well
Ihave had mine for 15 months and wouldn't take for it
My wife a small slender woman loves to shoot it
Just because an entity or some one says it's dead doesn't mean it's dead
Just my opinion

 

[Deadeye Dick]

One look at the ammo shelves at my local Wally-World is proof enough for me that the .40 is still alive and well. My M&P .40FS has never gone hungry and could enjoy a widely varied diet if I so choose.

 

[PreacherJake]

Still shooting a 40

I have been shooting a 40 cal now for a couple years, and about 2000 rounds or so. I chose the 40 for a variety of reasons, but mostly due to reloading. The cost for components for the 40 and the 9 were pretty similar, but the 45 was considerably more expensive. My thinking was the for shoots a bigger slug at the same speed, and must hit at least a little harder. Plus, my big fingers have a hard enough time feeding the 40 cal bullets into my single stage loader.

Of course, I'm also a guy who shoots a 41mag, so I'm used to shooting "has been" rounds. I'm still thinking about the 45, but I still haven't pulled the trigger on one yet, either figuratively or literally. We'll see what happens down the road.

 

[JMichaelTX]

I have seen a number of posts about how a .40 or .45 has too great of a recoil (vs a 9mm) to be able to shoot as accurately and as fast.

Here's an interesting video that shows that is not necessarily the case.
by Dave Spaulding, the 2010 Law Officer Trainer of the Year

[ame=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eT6rqA1X1hg]Best pistol choice for personal security[/ame]

 

[McE]

That video actually proves that recoil makes a huge difference in time.
He's a little slower with the 45.
He's a little slower, with a much heavier gun with a much nicer trigger.
Imagine just how much slower he would've been with an equal weight gun and equal trigger.

The Glock 19 is ~21oz, the Colt Commander is ~36oz. That's a huge 71% weight increase from the Glock to the Colt. The Glock is no 1911 trigger, but that's not news.

 

[V0OBWxZS16]

I have seen a number of posts about how a .40 or .45 has too great of a recoil (vs a 9mm) to be able to shoot as accurately and as fast.

Here's an interesting video that shows that is not necessarily the case.
by Dave Spaulding, the 2010 Law Officer Trainer of the Year

Best pistol choice for personal security

I measured his target at the end. His .45 grouping was 25% bigger than his 9mm grouping. McE already noted the difference in pistols.

 

[Rick_A]

Perhaps that's not the best way to look at it. How about how much lead was deposited in the target in that time frame?

 

[JMichaelTX]

That video actually proves that recoil makes a huge difference in time..

Sorry, but that just is not true.

I encourage everyone to view the video for themselves, and not rely on any comments here, including mine.

Here are the times, in seconds, for firing each round, as reported in the video:

9mm:      .27, .24, .23, .25, .25
.45 cal:  .26, .23, .23

Note that all shots are well within the 1/3 sec (.33) interval that Dave set as a standard for rapid fire.

Even when Dave showed an example of rushing the shots, the 9mm was still not materially faster than the .45:

9mm "rushed":  .23, .19, .18

So, after the first shot, the max difference is .05 sec, that's 5 hundredths of a second, which is not significantly faster.

As far as accuracy goes, the .45 shots were well within the critical organ area, and within the 9mm shots, as the below screenshot from the video shows:

 

[plinker 22]

The 40 will never die.....at least in the urban areas.

 

[McE]

Shield 9 with 7+1 mag v Shield 40 with 6+1 mag.
Which one will always be significantly faster to shoot 8 rounds?

 

[Rastoff]

Seriously?

Which will be faster to put 1,260 grains of hurt on the bad guy?

 

[McE]

Probably not the same bad guy lol

 

[Rick_A]

It's pointless trying convincing others that this or that caliber in this or that gun is best. It comes down to the individual in question and gun at hand.

Nothing wrong with 9mm, 40S&W, or 45 in appropriate guns. 357Sig, 45GAP, and 10mm are niche cartridges which I'm not a fan of simply because they can be hard to get a hold of in a pinch.

 

[Kframerbluvr]

You might give FN a try, just sayin'...

The FN rep put on a demo at my agency's range back in the spring. I got to shoot several of FN's handguns and long guns. The .40 FNS longside was especially nice. Baltimore County PD just adopted it for duty use equipped with Sevingny (sp?) sights. The one provided for us to try was this version.
I am considering a used or police trade in .40 SIG 239 DAK or an H&K USP or P2000 compact .40 LEM. Just want something different than striker fired....a .40 1911 or BHP would be fun as well...

 

[V0OBWxZS16]

No, the .40 is not dead, unfortunately. It does seem for be falling significantly in popularity at both the individual and institutional level. It will definitely not die off until USPSA revises their rules to no longer require 0.4" bullets for limited major. I will not consider it dead until new 9mm pistols are actually 9mm pistols and not essentially factory converted .40s like the M&P series.

As far as accuracy goes, the .45 shots were well within the critical organ area, and within the 9mm shots, as the below screenshot from the video shows:

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/7107976/Guns/Rapid-Fire-Test-9mm-45.png

With the editing I'm not entirely sure which hits are which, but this is what I came up with. (I put in random values for target size and distance, so only pay attention to the relative difference and not the values themselves.)

 

[Johnmuratore]

I can't speak for everyone else's, but mine sure as hell isn't dead.

 

[RedCardinal]

No, the .40 is not dead, but the guy who was shot with one surely is dead.

 

[grcoffman104]

My Glock 23C whispered to me, " Let them put down their .40 guns......that leave more ammo for me!"

 

[W.E.G.]

I'm a member of the 9mm and .40 Rescue Society.

I'm caliber-blind.

 

[Georgia Yankee]

Not dead for years to come

It has been the most popular LE round for years now. It will take it many years to die. Look at 38 special, for Pete's sake. Remember the 1980's, when departments were dumpng them to get 9mm's? You could buy model 10s all day long for $99 each. There is probably not one police department out of 1,000 still carrying 38 specials, but it is still actually a very popular round.