Is it really true that the .40 S&W is dead?
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HamHands
Member
Recoil doesn't both me either as I'm into short barreled .44mags these days for Woods carry and .44Special for Street carry; and I practice quite a bit with both. Glock is responsible for lots of people hating the .40caliber. Try shooting a G27 with 165grain Gold Dots or 165grain anything. I carried a G27 (albeit with 180grain GD's) for 5 years and then an M&P40c for the next 5 until I got into CZ's "P-01" platform. The M&P40c soaks up the recoil so well every ammo I tried shoots like a 9mm. The M&P platform was designed for 40 caliber from the start... that's the difference.
No, 40S&W is not dead. Rumors of it's demise are greatly exaggerated. I really like 40 personally, but it is much less popular now than 10 years ago.
The pendulum of popularity is swinging back toward 9mm now because it is easier for most folks to shoot from compact & sub compact platforms. Then there is the FBI decision, which I think is for a variety of reasons and involves compromise. 40 was always less popular than 9, but more shooters will be dissuaded from ever even trying 40.
I always hear the comment that bullet design improvement has made 9mm much more viable for SD.
Yes, I agree.
However....
Hasn't that same improvement bolstered 40S&W's and even to some degree 45Auto's terminal effectiveness too?
I believe the answer is also, yes.
The pendulum of popularity is swinging back toward 9mm now because it is easier for most folks to shoot from compact & sub compact platforms. Then there is the FBI decision, which I think is for a variety of reasons and involves compromise. 40 was always less popular than 9, but more shooters will be dissuaded from ever even trying 40.
I always hear the comment that bullet design improvement has made 9mm much more viable for SD.
Yes, I agree.
However....
Hasn't that same improvement bolstered 40S&W's and even to some degree 45Auto's terminal effectiveness too?
I believe the answer is also, yes.
I've had a Glock 27 for years. I gave it to my wife as I didn't like it but she liked it for her purse. I don't even recall what it's recoil was like. I didn't like it as it was too much of a square chunk. For me it didn't conceal any better than the G23 and it didn't fit my hand at all. The G23 shoots great. I never tried the G30 but I doubt I'd have liked it or the G26 either.
TomkinsSP
Member
Why yes, of course the .40 S&W is dead. Nobody owns any anymore. Nobody makes ammunition for it. Parents shun children who deny the death of .40 S&W, divorces are filed, FBI agents whom in private say .40 "wasn't so bad" get reassigned to TSA in Gander, Newfoundland.
But .40 S&W is not alone. 9 Parabellum is dead, those fancy avant-garde 5.7x28s and .40 S&W killed them a decade ago. People with nines are regularly held on 72 hour Psych evaluations due to thier caliber choice.
And .38 Special is dead. Those nines killed .38 in the civilian world...
Likewise .45 acp is dead, also a victim of the nine.
.357 dead, too loud, .44 Maggie likewise. .460, .41, .327, anything NAA, dead before it hit the market. .44 Colt, .44 Special, dead back when Grandpa was a youngin.
.32acp, 5.7x28 eurotrash.
What is left?
.22LR, preferably loaded with BP.
But .40 S&W is not alone. 9 Parabellum is dead, those fancy avant-garde 5.7x28s and .40 S&W killed them a decade ago. People with nines are regularly held on 72 hour Psych evaluations due to thier caliber choice.
And .38 Special is dead. Those nines killed .38 in the civilian world...
Likewise .45 acp is dead, also a victim of the nine.
.357 dead, too loud, .44 Maggie likewise. .460, .41, .327, anything NAA, dead before it hit the market. .44 Colt, .44 Special, dead back when Grandpa was a youngin.
.32acp, 5.7x28 eurotrash.
What is left?
.22LR, preferably loaded with BP.
Ya, and don't forget the auto killed off the revolver in ...... what was it...... the 1980s with the introduction of the 15 shot "Wonder-nine"!!!!
And all this time I thought the .40 S&W was a very good cartridge.
According to the internet gurus I need to sell off all of my .40's, the ammo, the brass, and the dies.
But then how do I make major in Limited 10 in USPSA?
Some sarcasm here..........I started this thread because so many interweb gurus decried the .40 as being dead, that no pawn shops will take them, nor will any gun shops.... I wanted to see what my fellow members had to say.
None of mine are for sale by the way...yes, I own 8-10 of them in various configurations, and I will still pick up all of the 9mm-.40-.38 spl,-.357 mag. -.357 sig - .45 acp small and large primer that I can find.
As mentioned before the pendulum will swing back.....look at the renewed interest in 10mm handguns......
Hope it provided some level of entertainment fellow forum members!!
Randy
According to the internet gurus I need to sell off all of my .40's, the ammo, the brass, and the dies.
But then how do I make major in Limited 10 in USPSA?
Some sarcasm here..........I started this thread because so many interweb gurus decried the .40 as being dead, that no pawn shops will take them, nor will any gun shops.... I wanted to see what my fellow members had to say.
None of mine are for sale by the way...yes, I own 8-10 of them in various configurations, and I will still pick up all of the 9mm-.40-.38 spl,-.357 mag. -.357 sig - .45 acp small and large primer that I can find.
As mentioned before the pendulum will swing back.....look at the renewed interest in 10mm handguns......
Hope it provided some level of entertainment fellow forum members!!
Randy
Gun writers have been preaching to us about calibers for years. Most of their claims about stopping, shocking, knockdown power etc. are based on anecdotes with little or no science to backup their claims. Many of us have had our beliefs formed by them and some of us cling to those beliefs with something akin to a religious fervor. I stopped believing some time ago.
For me the .40 was made in ugly plastic formats, except maybe for the Browning HP, so I went with the 10mm Delta and when I wanted plastic the G20 kept me from adding another caliber to the pile. It is probably the only caliber I don’t have. But if I were to find a HP in .40 that might change.
Troublesome??? There were some guns that were troublesome with the 40, but not the cartridge. Overrated?? 40 SW 135gr Corbon 546.26 FPE all From BBTI 4"
357 mag125gr Corbon 621.11 FPE
357 Sig 125gr Corbon 598.08 FPE
9mm +P 125gr Corbon 417.15 FPE
45 acp+P 185 gr Corbon 505.16 FPE
The 9mm with magic bullets are overrated, yes I have read the FBI protocol, what have the street results been? I do not believe I have seen better one shot stop record than 357 mag 125 gr. The 40 SW probably at its best with 165 gr,+P 9 & 45 do not match the 40 SW. So what is wrong with it ? As stated all #'s are BBTI 4" bbl. All should be effective and with premium rounds should be very similar in price. Be Safe,
I'm satisfied: The "Magic bullet" has been found! Location: Dallas Texas, on a stretcher, date of find: Nov. 22, 1963. Caliber IIRC: 6.5 Italian Carcano.
IAhunter
Member
Not to me it's not. I own three of them, and carry a fourth on duty.
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And the new.......
"And the new Whammo Blammo Ammo brings the .38 back to life!!!!!"
Next month read "Is the 9mm with Whammo Blammo Ammo the final nail in the coffin of the .38 Special?"
"And the new Whammo Blammo Ammo brings the .38 back to life!!!!!"
Next month read "Is the 9mm with Whammo Blammo Ammo the final nail in the coffin of the .38 Special?"
ArchAngelCD
Moderator, SWCA Member, Absent Comrade
"Is it really true the 40 S&W is dead?"
NO
NO
Jlpgumbo
Member
Skeptic 9c
Member
The verdict: In the Police Trade In Case at GT Distributors .40 S&W glocks 22 and 23 are cheap the 17 and 19 are almost as much as a new pistol.
Geoff
Who notes if you buy a recycled 23, and a 9mm and 357 SIG barrel, you will have spent more than the price of a new Glock 9mm.
Geoff
Who notes if you buy a recycled 23, and a 9mm and 357 SIG barrel, you will have spent more than the price of a new Glock 9mm.
the 'foty was dead too me the day it hit the gun magazines and put on the market. Too me, it's fanfare was similar to that of the "as seen on TV" commercials for the remco super slicer juicer, heralded as the new wonder round that would do it all. I didn't believe the hype then, and time has proven (after Law Enforcement agencies across America have spent a ton of dough on the gimmick) that its not a marked improvement of the cartridges it was designed to replace. At the time published ballistics should have squashed it before it went mainstream in LE circles.
Less accurate than the .45 ACP or 9mm due to high pressures. It promised superior performance to the 9mm or .45 ACP, but doesn't deliver enough to justify changing from either of those cartridges.
Remember the history of it. It was a politically correct round developed for women and people with small hands. In the aftermath of the infamous Miami shootout, the FBI wanted a round that was devastating. I guess they forgot they already had that in the .357 Magnum. Anyway, the 10mm was born, and the FeeBee's found that the round was too much for women agents, and a lot of men. 10mm lite rounds were born, but that didn't solve the issue of the size of the pistol grip for small hands. The .40 S&W was the result.
Unfortunately, there are some in the Military that look to the .40 S&W as the answer to what they think they need in a side arm. Hopefully that will never gain traction.
Now, the .357 Sig, I thought that round would really take off, but I don't think it has.
Less accurate than the .45 ACP or 9mm due to high pressures. It promised superior performance to the 9mm or .45 ACP, but doesn't deliver enough to justify changing from either of those cartridges.
Remember the history of it. It was a politically correct round developed for women and people with small hands. In the aftermath of the infamous Miami shootout, the FBI wanted a round that was devastating. I guess they forgot they already had that in the .357 Magnum. Anyway, the 10mm was born, and the FeeBee's found that the round was too much for women agents, and a lot of men. 10mm lite rounds were born, but that didn't solve the issue of the size of the pistol grip for small hands. The .40 S&W was the result.
Unfortunately, there are some in the Military that look to the .40 S&W as the answer to what they think they need in a side arm. Hopefully that will never gain traction.
Now, the .357 Sig, I thought that round would really take off, but I don't think it has.
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