Echo40
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- Sep 25, 2017
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Since the year 2016 the question has been raised on a regular basis regarding the .40 S&W cartridge. Seriously, just Google Search "Is .40 S&W dead?" and see for yourself. Folks just keep on asking the question over and over again but the answer depends on who you ask. Regardless, much like Caliber Debates and Bear Defense, it's a subject that never reaches any definitive conclusion, so people just keep right on asking.
I have a better question though, why are so many folks so convinced that it is going to die? Plenty of cartridges have come and gone in the field of Law Enforcement without dying. In addition, cartridges which went in and out of service in a short window of time have withstood the test of time regardless. A prime example would be the .45 Long Colt, it was really only in use for maybe a decade tops before it got phased out as both a Military and Law Enforcement cartridge, yet well over a century later, despite it being eclipsed both in terms of power and versatility, despite the fact that Revolvers have long since been phased out in both Military and Law Enforcement, despite that there are only a few firearms chambered in .45LC left in current production, it remains a popular cartridge with a legendary reputation.
So what makes the supposedly forthcoming demise of .40 S&W such a persistently hot topic?
Perhaps it's because a lot of folks just plain hate the cartridge. It certainly seems that way sometimes, with folks often getting short-tempered at the mere mention of it, sometimes even going so far as to preemptively post counter-arguments to statements that nobody has even made yet.
The cartridge has most certainly declined sharply in popularity, as evidenced by the fact that many mainstream firearms manufacturers have completely dropped support for it by discontinuing firearms chambered in the cartridge. In fact, that's pretty much how I got into .40 S&W in the first place, because the market had become so flooded with .40cal police trade-ins and clearance sales on discontinued models that just weren't selling. I went from owning zero to three .40cal pistols in the span of two years because they were just so cheap. Just last month I purchased a Smith & Wesson Performance Center M&P40 Shield 1.0 brand new in box for a mere $350, so even now with all the shortages, inflated prices, and panic-buying, there are still outstanding deals to be had on .40cal pistols, simply because there are so many of them on the market, yet so little demand for them.
Nevertheless, I'm skeptical that the cartridge is "dying" it's definitely in a slump, perhaps even one it may never come out of, but I'm unconvinced that it will fade away completely. I think that at the very least, firearms chambered in .40 S&W will continue to be produced by Smith & Wesson, with the cartridge finding a niche audience as the alternative to the ever-popular 9mm Luger and .45 ACP. I also think there's a possibility that it might make something of a comeback in the event that certain gun control legislation passes in the years to come which places restrictions on magazine capacity, but that'll all merely assumption on my part.
Regardless, I find the persistency of the question "Is .40 S&W dead?" to be ridiculous at this point. It has been what, five years since the cartridge fell out of favor and was largely replaced within the field of Law Enforcement? So I imagine that if that cartridge was going to die completely, as in cease to be profitable enough to merit the continued production of .40cal pistols, then it would have happened already. Meanwhile, Smith & Wesson continues to produce both the M&P and SD in .40 S&W and Glock just recently released the new Gen 5 Glock 22 and 23 in .40 S&W, which isn't something they would do if there was no longer money to be made there.
I have a better question though, why are so many folks so convinced that it is going to die? Plenty of cartridges have come and gone in the field of Law Enforcement without dying. In addition, cartridges which went in and out of service in a short window of time have withstood the test of time regardless. A prime example would be the .45 Long Colt, it was really only in use for maybe a decade tops before it got phased out as both a Military and Law Enforcement cartridge, yet well over a century later, despite it being eclipsed both in terms of power and versatility, despite the fact that Revolvers have long since been phased out in both Military and Law Enforcement, despite that there are only a few firearms chambered in .45LC left in current production, it remains a popular cartridge with a legendary reputation.
So what makes the supposedly forthcoming demise of .40 S&W such a persistently hot topic?
Perhaps it's because a lot of folks just plain hate the cartridge. It certainly seems that way sometimes, with folks often getting short-tempered at the mere mention of it, sometimes even going so far as to preemptively post counter-arguments to statements that nobody has even made yet.
The cartridge has most certainly declined sharply in popularity, as evidenced by the fact that many mainstream firearms manufacturers have completely dropped support for it by discontinuing firearms chambered in the cartridge. In fact, that's pretty much how I got into .40 S&W in the first place, because the market had become so flooded with .40cal police trade-ins and clearance sales on discontinued models that just weren't selling. I went from owning zero to three .40cal pistols in the span of two years because they were just so cheap. Just last month I purchased a Smith & Wesson Performance Center M&P40 Shield 1.0 brand new in box for a mere $350, so even now with all the shortages, inflated prices, and panic-buying, there are still outstanding deals to be had on .40cal pistols, simply because there are so many of them on the market, yet so little demand for them.
Nevertheless, I'm skeptical that the cartridge is "dying" it's definitely in a slump, perhaps even one it may never come out of, but I'm unconvinced that it will fade away completely. I think that at the very least, firearms chambered in .40 S&W will continue to be produced by Smith & Wesson, with the cartridge finding a niche audience as the alternative to the ever-popular 9mm Luger and .45 ACP. I also think there's a possibility that it might make something of a comeback in the event that certain gun control legislation passes in the years to come which places restrictions on magazine capacity, but that'll all merely assumption on my part.
Regardless, I find the persistency of the question "Is .40 S&W dead?" to be ridiculous at this point. It has been what, five years since the cartridge fell out of favor and was largely replaced within the field of Law Enforcement? So I imagine that if that cartridge was going to die completely, as in cease to be profitable enough to merit the continued production of .40cal pistols, then it would have happened already. Meanwhile, Smith & Wesson continues to produce both the M&P and SD in .40 S&W and Glock just recently released the new Gen 5 Glock 22 and 23 in .40 S&W, which isn't something they would do if there was no longer money to be made there.
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cartridges like the 22LR, 357 Magnum and 45 ACP
