Is the 40 cal the best SD round

[crsides]

I've been around long enough to see trends in handgun ammo run the gamut. 38spl, 357mag, 45acp, 9mm, now the 40.

I watched some police shoot out history on TV a few weeks ago where 38spl and 9mm bullets failed to stop the bad guys, so the 10mm was developed, ended up being too big, and the show ended with the 40 being THE best all round ammo.

I have heard the 40 was kinda whimpy and you really need to go to a 45acp for stopping power.

I'm pretty much a revolver guy (38 snubs, 357, 41 mag) for defense, but I do have a 9mm that gets called on occasionally. Compac, (3) 16 round mags, and what i consider adequate stopping power in premium ammo.

So what's the real scoop on the 40 cal. Does it win hands down for an auto self defense round. Do I need to step up from 9mm to 40?


Charlie

 

[Doug M.]

No. If you look at what sharp folks like Doc Roberts say, you will find that there is no difference that matters among the common service rounds (9/40/45, and less common, the 357 Sig). This is true in both testing on ballistic gelatin and on the lower value bipedal target population. Premium ammo rather than cheap stuff makes a difference, to some extent, but all things considered, placement is the biggest issue. A pistol is what you carry because you do not expect a conflict; if you expect one and can't be elsewhere, you are not very smart if you are not taking a rifle.

I'll admit, and regularly say it, that in revolvers generally I have gone full reactionary and carry mostly SWCs, or WC target ammo in a .38 snubby. But in a modern autopistol, best quality ammo that has passed rigorous testing is the choice of champs. I buy it in case lots, because you never know which time it is going to count. (And I try to put at least 500 rounds of that ammo through the pistol as a test.)

 

[alwslate]

No Charlie. A step from 9mm to 40 cal would be a step down in my
opinion. Too many reasons to go into here. Use what you have and
feel comfortable with because as has been demonstrated it really
doesn't make much difference, within reason, what you use.

 

[cracker57]

the best cal for SD is the biggest you can handle and put in the smallest groups. Do not worry about what the other guys are shooting. I would rather put every round in the bad guy then miss shooting something a can not handle. I do shoot a 40 but I shoot it pretty well.

 

[1meanZ]

I chose 9mm for the reason others listed above. I'm fairly new to pistols and know I need to practice a lot. I go to the range about once per week and went with 9mm because it is common and cheap. I too have done extensive reading on the caliber topic. Shot placement is the key, not the size of the bullet.

 

[USAF385]

Yes. Yes it is.... For me anyway. Is it the best for you? Only you can answer that.

 

[scooter123]

This should get interesting, because there are a lot of 40 caliber haters out there. Some claim that it's too "snappy" while never mentioning that it's a pussycat when compared to a 357 Magnum. Others claim that it's "weak", which IMO is a rather foolish attitude considering that it typically provides a 180 grain bullet moving along at 1050 fps.

Personally, I've always found that "snap" is in large part dependent on the weight of the gun with the caliber being a bit secondary. For example a full house 357 Magnum can be rather gentle in a 6 inch model 627 and a potential wrist breaker in something like a model 340PD.

As for "power", all handguns can prove a bit lacking in power in some circumstances. However, well placed shots with even a measly 22LR can stop even the most determined assailant. The lesson here is to chose a caliber you snoot well with over any other consideration.

BTW, I carry either a 40 S&W or 45 ACP because I shoot both equally well and am satisfied that either will do the job if needed. However the small size of some of the new 9mm such as the Shield or Sig 938 are tempting and at some point I may pick up one of these compacts as an alternate for a lighter carry option. With modern bullet designs I don't seen anything inadequate about the 9mm.

 

[StatesRightist]

NO, pretty much covers it.

There is no best, but if there were, the .40 is a compromise round, any way you look at it. It's either a reduced 10mm load or an in between for the 9mm and .45, and we have not even talked revolvers rounds yet.

That said, the .40 will certainly do the job and do it well, but it's no grail round. I don't think there is a one size fits all round, it depends on the person. I will say, anything below .38 is a less than preferable round for SD. IMO.

 

[Kanewpadle]

NO, pretty much covers it.

There is no best, but if there were, the .40 is a compromise round, any way you look at it. It's either a reduced 10mm load or an in between for the 9mm and .45, and we have not even talked revolvers rounds yet.

That said, the .40 will certainly do the job and do it well, but it's no grail round. I don't think there is a one size fits all round, it depends on the person. I will say, anything below .38 is a less than preferable round for SD. IMO.

As usual, well said my friend.

The 40 is no more or less effective than other service calibers. And as we all know handguns are poor stoppers anyway.

Personally I don't have a need for a 40. I've tried several times and keep going back to the 45 in a full size gun and a 9 for a compact. But the XDS 45 has solved that problem for me too.

I believe the 40 solved a problem that never existed. However it seems to fit LEO agencies well considering it is a bigger bullet and still offers more capacity than the 45. If some LEO would practice more instead of the once or twice a year qualification, the hit rate would go up and caliber wouldn't matter. Of the LEO that still use the 9MM, street results have shown the 9MM to be very effective.

As concealed carriers it is equally important that we hit effectively with our chosen caliber and repeatedly if necessary. Too many people put too much time and effort agonizing over caliber. So much so that they are willing to argue about their choice of caliber instead of focusing on accuracy under stress.

When you consider that we have to draw from concealment and put ACCURATE shots on target in under two seconds, preferably 1.5 seconds, caliber really doesn't matter. Effective hits do. Even if your 2 or 3 inches off your point off aim, a fully expanded 45ACP is no more effective than a full expanded 9MM. Unless you get lucky. And that's what it is, luck.

 

[Granddad]

There is no right answer and opinions are endless on the caliber debate. My feeling is that the "right" SD caliber is the one that is chambered for the gun you shoot best and are mostly likely to carry every day. If, for you, that is the 40 (or 38, 9, 45 or ....), strap it on and don't look back.

 

[CrossRifles2008]

There is no perfect round it depends on the shooter. I like 40 because of its hatcher rating for stoping power verses felt recoil affecting accuracy. I feel comfortable about stopping power with winchester PDX, but it was FMJ I would sant 45ACP. I never felt comfortable in Iraq with the 9mm FMJ. I would have much preferred a 1911 for FMJ.

 

[venomballistics]

the best SD round is the 155 MM Howitzer. However it has yet to be chambered in an easily concealed manageable firearm. Im not holding my breath waiting for it to be chambered in a carry-able arm let alone a concealable one. All we can do is get as close to this as the laws of physics will allow Everything we have to choose from is a concession.
I cant call 40 the best, I feel 45 and 357 are better while 10MM certainly has a place between these two.

 

[7shooter]

There is an interesting 2011 study by Greg Ellifritz on real world shooting results. He found little real difference between the common handgun calibers. He also included results from shotgun and center fire rifle shootings. Interesting approach. Here is a link to the study :
An Alternate Look at Handgun Stopping Power

 

[johngalt]

The responses here pretty much covered it. Personally, I would take a .45 over a .40. Not so much because the .45 is bigger, the difference probably isn't all that relevant. But the .40 is a much higher pressure round - 35000 psi vs 21000 psi for .45 or 23000 psi for .45 +P. I've found the .40 to have a nasty sharp recoil, I much prefer the .45 because of it.

Ballistic-wise, the .45 can fire heavier bullets, or similar weight at equal or greater velocity than the .40 can.

IMO, the only advantage to the .40 is greater ammo capacity in similar sized pistols.

 

[C.S.63]

Op, Just another cents worth
If you feel the need to, go for it. But honestly NO. It really is what you are comfortable with, shoot well and have with you when needed. I also have seen a large transformation of calibers and owned most in one form of CCW but have continually returned to the
.38spl in a 640-442 or colt DS.

 

[mc5aw]

The best defense round is the one you never need to find out about.

The caliber debate will always be subjective, with varying degrees of ballistic data thrown in the mix. Different strokes for different folks ...

 

[WR Moore]

I'll throw in a quote from a SAS training specialist who'd had enough of the **** people were giving him about them "only" using a 9mm.

"We can stand here all day and argue about one (caliber) being better than another if you get sloppy and put your bullets somewhere other than where they ought to go. What you can't argue about is that if you run out of bullets before you run out of bad guys, you're (deleted) dead!"

It's placement, placement, placement. Every "failure" I've ever been able to check out, or been provided autopsy information on, has shown a lack of hits in vital areas. This may be due to the bad guys use of cover, or far more often, a lack of application of the fundamentals by the good guys.

There's also a point Charlie Petty commented on: unreasonable expectations as a result of movies. One young officer being interviewed was asked "What's wrong, son?" "He just...............fell down!"

 

[Springfeildkid585]

I've been around long enough to see trends in handgun ammo run the gamut. 38spl, 357mag, 45acp, 9mm, now the 40.

I watched some police shoot out history on TV a few weeks ago where 38spl and 9mm bullets failed to stop the bad guys, so the 10mm was developed, ended up being too big, and the show ended with the 40 being THE best all round ammo.

I have heard the 40 was kinda whimpy and you really need to go to a 45acp for stopping power.

I'm pretty much a revolver guy (38 snubs, 357, 41 mag) for defense, but I do have a 9mm that gets called on occasionally. Compac, (3) 16 round mags, and what i consider adequate stopping power in premium ammo.

So what's the real scoop on the 40 cal. Does it win hands down for an auto self defense round. Do I need to step up from 9mm to 40?


Charlie

With trusted brand jhps in a proven caliber, the best self-defense caliber is the one that comes out of the gun you trust and that meets your needs. I carry a .45 because I feel confident that a .45 fmj will do the job if it has to. (the mag in the gun has speer gold dots, my two backups have fmjs, because flying ashtrays are expensive and I'm far more likely to expend any bullets fired at the range)

 

[cshoff]

"Best" is not a quantifiable standard when it comes to handgun caliber effectiveness. Despite mountains of test and research data, and despite years of controversy, the "best" self-defense caliber is still as illusive as the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

In reality, there is about 0.10" difference in diameter between the 9mm and .45ACP bullets, and the .40 falls right in the middle of that. And energy levels from one to another are not all that extreme. The difference between the three is so insignificant, that when we are talking about premium defense ammo, it just doesn't really mean much. Our energy would be much better utilized if we instead focused on placing a substantial number of combat-accurate hits in as short a time frame as possible, regardless of caliber. If one caliber allows you to achieve that goal a little more efficiently than another, then perhaps it's worth a serious look.

 

[Sebago Son]

I have seen first hand what the Fed Spec R-P 155 grain JHP .40 will do to living tissue.

If the .40 in that loading is not the optimum in realistic sidearm cartridges I'd hate to see what is.

Trust this... it's enough.