.40 S&W 's

[Mike SC Hunter]

Funny how some gunners are like leaves on a river.......They go where ever the current takes them. The 40 has been on top for 26 years. Only now marketing and "noise" says its obsolete and you need a smaller pipsqueek gun. Marketing sells......Study how our 45 did against the keiser's pipsqueek 9mm in WWII. Now it seems our manly man can't handle the weight or recoil of anything bigger that a 380/9.

 

[joeintexas]

I enjoy loading and shooting the 40s and being able to switch to .357 Sig is nice too. I agree a lot of folks are drinking the smaller caliber kool-aid, I just had a local shooter asking me to trade him some 9mm brass for 40 brass, of course having tons of 9mm brass I was happy to oblige. My favorite caliber is still 45acp but I heard years ago that it was dead too along with 38sp. Marketing.

 

[ColbyBruce]

The .40 S&W cartridge is practically dead here in metro Atlanta. The handguns chambered for it collect dust on shelves and most shops refuse to take one in trade. Glocks and Springfields in .45 GAP are dead. Lots of gun shops have LE trade-ins in these calibers and thus do not want any more.

I personally like the cartridge and own four Sigs chambered for it. I have given my son three; a BHP, Sig SP 2022, and a Walther PPS. Since the end of May I have been fortunate enough to buy several .40 pistols dirt cheap and pass them on to fellow fishermen.

The Sig P250 and SP2022 in .40 can be found used for $300.00 or less around here, and so can the S&W SD and Shield, and Walther PPS. Ammo from shot shells to heavy hardcast are available and not too expensive. It and the handguns that are available make good woods guns.

 

[Farmer17]

Companies that sell a lot of Law enforcement trade in guns have the .40s in Glock, Sig, Beretta, and S&W at only about 10-15% cheaper than their same 9m/m guns. That's a long way from dead and the 9m/m ammo is under 9 bucks a box at Walmart so that's the main reason it's so popular in my opinion. I don't need any more defensive semi-auto handguns but I will sure start buying those LE trade-in 40s if they become 40 or 50 percent cheaper!

 

[dkelly27]

I have 2 40S&W autos. A 4013TSW and a 411. I like them both. I also have 2 .45Autos. A 645 and a .45 Shield. I like them also. I shoot them all.

 

[coleslaw]

I like the .40, but I don't feel the need to have more than one. Maybe I'll see a deal on a 2.0 that I can't refuse. I like the .45 even more. The only advantage to 9mm that I see is cheaper ammo if you're buying factory stuff. Anything the 9 can do, the bigger bore stuff can do it better.

 

[Merc6]

.40s aren't dead, They just made to many small polymer guns for people to hate and flood the used market with. Also glad the .40 is cheap on 3rd gens since my CHP is going to be $300 cheaper than my 9 TSW.

 

[mrmike7189]

40 has not died . I've seen them everywhere. Maybe in Montana they are harder to find? not sure why that is?
I got a Ruger P94DAO( former LEO pistol) for $295 last year. I 've had a Ruger Police Carbine (PC4) from 1997. They share the same magazines.
I am very happy with the performance of my 40 caliber weapons. I thnk a lot of people feel the same. 40 wont die !

 

[ColbyBruce]

A LE supply shop had three Kel-Tec Sub2000 carbines in .40 S&W that were T&E guns from a local SO for nearly a year. One of my former co-workers bought all three of them at $200.00 each. I was skeptical of those things, but the one he loaned me ran fine and was accurate. This would be a good companion to a .40 Glock handgun.

 

[Denver Dick]

The .40 S&W is dead . . . wow, who would have thought it.

I guess I have to get rid .40s: Beretta Px4, CZ 75B, Glock 22, S&W 4003, 4006, 4013, 4014, Sig P229, P229R DAK, and my .40 S&W barrel for my G31 . . . NOT !

 

[xfarfuldog]

My company issued 40 caliber M&P's for about 5 years. There are approximately 5000 employees carrying handguns in the US. We now have the FN 509's. They offered my branch's 45 + employees the M&P's for $ 275. They got no takers.

 

[Mike0251]

The guts of my DW SSC, exceptional craftsmanship, functioned flawlessly thru 80 rounds of my reloads. DW custom shop makes this for CZ. And 40's do BARK even with an all steel frame, it ain't no 9mm.

 

[Stentor]

I am so bummed to hear that the .40 S&W is dead....guess I should get rid of this thing.

 

[MackTech]

If a 10 round Federal magazine cap law were ever to happen , I could see the 40 cal guns regain some popularity . 10 rounds of 9mm or 10 rounds of 40? In the right gun I'll take the 40. I remember the AWB ban spurred the trend where if you got only 10 rounds you might as make them big rounds.

 

[veeklog1]

The .40 caliber is not going anywhere; too many gun and ammunition manufacturers are still producing them. 9mm is making a strong comeback in the police market because of ammunition costs, training, wear and tear, and better ammunition ballistics.

The fact that many of the .40 cal pistols were built around 9mm frames did not help; the strong .40cal ammo destroyed guns and chopped service life in half. Guns that were built around the .40 cal first and then downgraded to 9mm, the wear and tear was less. Guns like the HK USP, M&P, 4006, and Sig 229 did much better than either Glock or Beretta, especially with hot rounds like the old INS 155 grain bullet that ripped slides off pistols and cracked frames.

 

[veeklog1]

If a 10 round Federal magazine cap law were ever to happen , I could see the 40 cal guns regain some popularity . 10 rounds of 9mm or 10 rounds of 40? In the right gun I'll take the 40. I remember the AWB ban spurred the trend where if you got only 10 rounds you might as make them big rounds.

I would agree with this, but there are so many magazines sold around the 9mm. However, new guns I can see a resurgence in .40 caliber. Guns like the 4006 TSW and the Beretta 96 magazines only hold 11 rounds, Sig 226/229 hold 12 rounds, USP, P-30, VP-40, and Glock 23 hold 13 rounds, and M&P full size and Glock 22 hold 15 rounds. Not a huge loss in ammo capacity, and I still have 10round magazines for my Glock 23, Sig 229, and M&P.

 

[Cellar Hound]

Works Well with Others

I have a Springfield XD(M) 3.8" Compact in .40

As far as I can tell, it gets along very well with all of the other calibers within my gun safe.

 

[toddstang]

I checked and all of my .40's are still doing okay! Not dead at all.
The internet is best for self health diagnosis and not gun debates.
I just Googled my latest symptoms and it looks like I have ebola pox.

I keep my calibers diverse.

 

[James&theGiant1911]

I have a 40 XDM that I daily carry with a crimson trace laser sight, also a Shorty 40--- the 40 caliber is a great weapon the only people complaining about them are the ones that wish they daily carried them.

 

[ColbyBruce]

Thanks to the unpopularity of the caliber here, I bought a Sig P239 .40 S&W last Friday for $200.00. No box or papers, one magazine, busted stocks, standard sights, about 70% finish left on the slide. Local shops didn't want it.