Is it really true that the .40 S&W is dead?

[rickflst]

Still have my MP40C and have no intention of selling it. Shoots fine.

 

[MisterC]

Dead?? It should have never been born. I think it was a solution to a non problem. A compromise round that really doesn't fill any need. In my opinion 9mm luger, 45ACP or 10mm are individually each a better auto loading round.

 

[Murphy's Law]

I have the G23c and shoot it a lot and remains one of my most favorite pistols. Will give you a very bad hair day.....more so than a 380 or 9 hands down.

 

[HamHands]

Well I guess the government stockpiling millions of 40 cal rounds was a total screw up. I guess thousands of local police departments will be looking for a new caliber to carry.
When ammo was scarce I still saw 40 cal on the shelves for sale. Yes there are more 9mm handguns than 40 cal but the 40 isn't going away. Same as the 380 is still around so will the 40 cal be around for a long time to come.

That is the reason I'm holding onto my M&P40c... You could find .40cal ammo during the last 2 panics but nothing .22lr, 9mm, .38Special, .44Special/Mag, or .45ACP.

I've stocked about 1500 rounds of 180 grain .40cal ammo and 5 mags for the M&P40c (I previously carried it for 5 years every work day in my commercial real estate job downtown Atlanta) before I switched to 9mm, and the "CZ" P-01 and the SP-01 in the carry rotation for the work role. There are still many new guns chambered in .40cal in the display cases at my club and every other shop I visit. The .40cal isn't going anywhere! If it weren't for a certain unnamed "stupid" manufacturer trying to shoehorn a .40cal into a platform that was designed for 9mm... the .40cal would be 3 times as popular as it is right now...

 

[686-380]

Other than my Five-seveN and PS90, my favorite carry is .40. It'll never be dead to me.

 

[ColbyBruce]

Monday I was offered a Steyr M .40 S&W with four mags for $150.00 but turned it down. I don’t know anyone looking for a pistol at the moment and I have plenty.

 

[rockquarry]

I've never had a 40 S&W because it seemed there was no practical "field" difference between the .40 S&W and the .45 ACP using a good 185 or 200 grain bullet. Am I missing something here?

 

[bigggbbruce]

In the mid '80s I read about this new awesome round.. the 10mm.. I had to get me one, so I bought a Colt Delta Elite SS about 1987..

Some time later I heard they shortened the case and made a 40 Short & Weak..

Never felt the urge to get one of them things..

And I actually hate the 40s&w for the simple fact that picking up my 10mm brass, I always have to deal with the 40s&w garbage left behind..

 

[oink]

The 40 is a good round. It's a bit better than the 9mm. I've never had an issue with 40 recoil and I really don't even understand the claims about bad 40 recoil. I have a Glock 23 and like it just fine. 12 + 1 rounds of 40. How can you go wrong?

 

[joe44va]

I'm thinking that, given a choice, I'd sooner get shot with a 9 then a 40. So, I'm keeping my 40s. Can't get much for them anyway. If nothing else, they make fine bedroom guns.

 

[armadillo]

I think that the 9mm with modern bullets is as effective as the 40 was 30 years ago. But remember that you can get those modern bullets for the 40 too. I am not in any hurry to get rid of my 40s.

 

[tlawler]

I hope it never dies. .40 S&W is the perfect split between 9mm Parabellum and .45ACP, IMHO. And if you load 10mm, loading .40 is an easy no-brainer. It fits in some nice little autoloaders and can be loaded pretty hot. I’ve owned a few .40’s over the years, starting with a G27 not long after they came out, then a G23 and a couple more 27’s before I swore off Glocks. I’ve got some S&W’s now, like a little 4040PD, which is a WAY underrated pistol. It’s accurate, light, and comfortable to shoot. Some other Smith .40’s that I have are either 10mm now, or destined to become one, but with .40 barrels I can have dual caliber(of which only my CS40 is for now).

 

[ericrlarson]

Is it really true that the .40 S&W is dead?

I shoot about 15,000 .40 rounds per year. I only do so because it’s a beneficial caliber in USPSA Limited division. I would not buy a pistol in .40 S&W for anything other than competition. I guess I’ve gotten burned out on it over the years and over 200,000 rounds later. I carried a .40 on duty for many years but eventually went back to 9mm.
This is one of the .40’s I compete with

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[snakeye]

38 Special was the De Facto standard decades ago and is still going strong....it went through the power vs effectiveness against the 9mm and 45 as well..... people crapped all over the 38 just like they do the 40....don't see anything happening to the 40

 

[Cal44]

The 40 is a good round. It's a bit better than the 9mm. I've never had an issue with 40 recoil and I really don't even understand the claims about bad 40 recoil. I have a Glock 23 and like it just fine. 12 + 1 rounds of 40. How can you go wrong?

I've only had my new Glock 27 out for one range trip and I agree. My first and only 40 S&W.

I was expecting a lot of recoil.

Lots of people told my how "snappy" (a silly terminology if you ask me) my 27 would be.

But I was surprised to find it not bad at all. I wouldn't have even thought about it if it weren't for all the recoil hype.

 

[pmosley]

40's not going away in my house, let me count the ways.........4054, Shorty Forty PC and 4040PD.........

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[Kanewpadle]

Since the modern service calibers are about equal these days, many are turning to the 9MM. Had a couple of 40’s but got rid of them. Wasn’t something I really needed.

Around here you don’t see many of them on the shelf for sale. Seems that they are declining in popularity.

 

[sigp220.45]

I love the .40 - I worked a bunch of police shootings with it and was always impressed.

I’m taking advantage of this brief downturn in its popularity to grab up some high quality police trade-ins.

 

[shouldazagged]

I've only owned two .40's, a Smith 411 and a Glock 22. I found the Glock to be softer shooting than the 411 (which was the one I used to qualify for my CCW license), so I kept the G22 until I got out of automatics and went strictly to revolvers.

I liked the caliber in the 165 grain version, but not much better than 9mm or.38 special +P. I confess with embarrassment that I've never owned a .45 ACP or .45 Colt.

 

[alwslate]

Right from the beginning the .40 seemed to me to be troublesome and
overrated. I have 9mms and .45s and just don't see any gap that needs
to be filled by the .40.