.40 S&W Round

[jimmyj]

On a list of excellent handgun defense rounds, where does the .40 S&W round go ?

 

[scattershot]

Oh, boy. How much time do,you have to read all the responses?

Myself, I'd put it near the top. Caliber starts with a 4, it shoots a 180 grain bullet, and you can fit quite a few of them in a standard size pistol. The round seems to have fallen out of favor, since the current fad is 9mm, so there are great bargains to be had out there as well. You will hear much about the latest and greatest technology applied to the 9mm, but guess what? It's been appliied to the .40, as well.
My 2 cents, and worth what you paid for it.

 

[richbuff]

It does not excel in power, such as the 10 mm.
It does not excel in compactness, such as the 9mm.
Guns that chamber it are not the most compact, nor the most powerful, nor do they have the highest magazine capacity.

I am a fan of the .40 S&W for defensive carry because it excels at one thing: The best compromise of all of the above. More power than a 9mm, and more concealability than a 10mm. Many, many more rounds than .357 mag.

There is no +P .40 S&W, because it was already conceived at proper pressure levels for our convenience.

Think as much muzzle energy as the .45acp +P, but smaller cartridge for a more concealable handgun. If you are looking for more power than 9mm, and more concealability than 10mm/.45/.45+P, and many many more rounds than .357 mag, than .40 S&W is at the top of the list.

 

[cadmike]

Near the top. IMO. Right there with .45 and 9mm.

Widely available, and a great compromise between the underrated 9mm cartridge and the vastly overrated .45 acp.

 

[44wheelman]

I'd put it just below .357sig, and just above .45acp and 9mm+p. Not a whole lot of separation from those four. (When comparing lighter bullets of a defense load with jhp's in ballistic jell). When comparing 9mm+p to the other three, muzzle energy is generally in the 400-500 ft-lb range for all 4 calibers. Yes, there are exceptions for certain loads of certain weights.

 

[Scorpion520AZ]

40SW is a fine defensive round. I've always liked it best in a full-size, duty pistol. On the list of the most common "excellent handgun defense rounds" it ranks at least in the top three alongside 9mm and 45 acp.

With today's modern ammunition technology "all three" cartridges have been dramatically improved. Where they place on any individual's list these days is mostly up to personal preference, operators ability, the task at hand, or organizational mandate.

 

[OKFC05]

The cartridge ballistics are great, many good pistols are made, and a trained shooter can use them effectively.
BUT if I had my way, I would NEVER AGAIN try to train a new shooter on their brand new .40, especially on a small light pistol. I have seen too many already with a flinch THIS BIG, barely able to hit a garbage can at 20 feet. In fact, I would prefer that everyone in my classes has to shoot at least Marksman on the 5X5 classifier at 10 yards with a .22 before shooting any centerfire defensive round.
I can do this with women-only classes, but most men act insulted at the suggestion.

 

[colt_saa]

I am not a fan of 40S&W. No saying it is a BAD cartridge, I just don't like it

There are at least a dozen other cartridges that I choose to carry in place of it.

I do carry a 40S&W when it is the firearm demanded by the job, but I always express my preferences

 

[cadmike]

Scorpion and OKFC05 makes a good point in this regard. The size of the pistol matters. Larger and heavier guns make it easier to shoot ammo that some folks would consider to have "snappy" recoil. I've never understood that some people want to cram the .45 acp cartridge into a compact gun, but the popularity of the Springfield xds in .45 or the s&w shield in .45 goes against my thinking. IMO If you want compact , go 9. If you go to a full size pistol, .40 and 45 become much more viable and practical. But a full size and high capacity 9mm pistol is nothing to shake a stick at either.

In the end, you can't go wrong with either caliber, as long as you can hit what you're aiming at, consistently.

 

[ContinentalOp]

In actual shootings all the service calibers perform about the same, so .40S&W would be even with 9mm, .45ACP, etc. Pick the caliber/gun combo you like, choose a good JHP, and you're good to go.

 

[Joe4d]

I dont get too wrapped up in defensive use but 40 is a GREAT game gun.
Since it rides the fence between 9mm minor powerfactor and 45 major power factor, You can change your ammo a bit and be suited for most any gun game.
I use 155's for IDPA 180's for USPSA and 220 for pins.

 

[Protected One]

I'd put it just below .357sig, and just above .45acp and 9mm+p.

My sentiments exactly.

 

[TomkinsSP]

My Pitbull really likes it...

 

[mrmike7189]

It works really well in a full sized pistol , my Ruger P944 handles the recoil well, feels like shooting a 9mm to me. I also have a matching carbine (PC4)that uses same magazines.
My small compact/subcompacts all fire the 9MM round.
The sig P226/229 are excellent 40 cal pistols as well.
I'd like to find a 3rd gen S&W 40 cal pistol for cheap money. been looking around lately.

 

[Cuda]

Straight to the top, the difficult part is finding a gun that was actually built for it, only SIG comes to mind if you can afford one.

It's got speed and hit's hard, it's the love child of the 9mm and the .45 a.c.p.

Actually, HK made the first pistol designed initially to be a .40, and wasn't just a beefed up 9mm—the USP40.

Arguably, the 229 could fit in there, but it's primarily a beefed up 228.

Later .40-first models would include the XDM and the M&P.

I own a few—all HK's, but the one I carry has a .357 Sig barrel; out of a compact handgun, I find it more controllable.

.40 is a compromise round. In a full-size handgun, it's very controllable, and I have no doubt of its capabilities if the shooter can place it.

It's also slowly on its way out in LE circles; seems they are either moving down to 9mm, or up to .45...more of the latter than the former. Time will tell.

 

[shouldazagged]

I did a lot of reading on the caliber before I bought a .40, and it appeared to me that it combined the best features of 9mm and .45 ACP.

The only .40's I've owned were full-sized pistols, a Smith 411 and a Glock 22. The Glock was much more shootable for me. I failed to see the appeal of a G27 or other small .40 caliber.

But then, being a contrary old bird, a traditionalist, and a borderline Luddite, I sold off all my autoloaders and went back to revolvers only.

I just wasn't convinced there was that much difference in defensive calibers. But I still think that there is more than just marketing to account for the fact that such a very large percentage of law enforcement agencies continue to mandate the G22 or 23.

 

[brucev]

Spent a lot of time with a G-22 putting .40 S&W rounds down range. It is a hammer! In common frame pistols, it thumps your hand a bit more than a 9mm. If playing games, it will always do well. I like target shooting. For me, the 9mm is a lot of fun. So, I let my G-22 go a number of years ago. Recently did a trade for a P-226. Fine fine pistol in 9mm. Would expect that in .40 S&W, it'd be alright to. In my area, the police and sheriff deputies all carry the .40 S&W. All of them carry Glocks. Got to figure they wouldn't be using the round or the pistol if it were not effective. My brother was career LEO ... little over 20 years before his death. He liked the .45 b/c he'd used it for years. But when they transitioned to the .40 S&W, he told me it was a better round. Sincerely. bruce.

 

[eahicks]

.40 S&W Round

It does not excel in power, such as the 10 mm.
It does not excel in compactness, such as the 9mm.
Guns that chamber it are not the most compact, nor the most powerful, nor do they have the highest magazine capacity.

I am a fan of the .40 S&W for defensive carry because it excels at one thing: The best compromise of all of the above. More power than a 9mm, and more concealability than a 10mm. Many, many more rounds than .357 mag.

There is no +P .40 S&W, because it was already conceived at proper pressure levels for our convenience.

Think as much muzzle energy as the .45acp +P, but smaller cartridge for a more concealable handgun. If you are looking for more power than 9mm, and more concealability than 10mm/.45/.45+P, and many many more rounds than .357 mag, than .40 S&W is at the top of the list.

Gotta disagree with a few points you made. There are plenty of .40 cal pistols that are plenty compact (Kahr, Shield). And they have decent round capacity. There is also +p ammo available, as you mentioned there was not. I have some loaded in my SR40c (Buffalo Bore 155 gr - up to 1300 f/s)


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[RGVshooter]

On a list of excellent handgun defense rounds, where does the .40 S&W round go ?

It'll get the job done if you mean for use in self defense.

 

[ContinentalOp]

There is also +p ammo available, as you mentioned there was not.

"+P" is not a SAAMI-recognized designation in .40S&W. Personally, I would not run any .40S&W ammo labeled "+P" out of an abundance of caution. What you or anyone else does is up to you.