Why I don't have a 40 Cal

[jimmyj]

Hi:
I like having a handgun is most calibers. Last year when ammo was very
hard to find, I thought that I could "Get Along". However in my part of the world the only handgun ammo available was .357sig, the one handgun caliber I did not have.
Jimmy

 

[ladder13]

Just sold my only .40, a G27, staying with my 9's and 45's.

 

[mr.croom]

I have one .40, a G23. I have a 9mm conv. barrel for it. I anxiously await the release of of the .17SIG.

Do tell............... Its going to market?

 

[Iggy]

I have hand guns in .22, .32,.380,.38/.357Mag, .41 mag, .45ACP
and 10mm. Just never felt the need for a .40S&W, nor a .44 Magnum for that matter.

 

[Farmer17]

The .40 S&W is about perfect for me.... big caliber, lots of rounds in the mag, good velocity, easy to control, fairly flat trajectory, and a comfortable grip for medium hands. I've owned a wheel barrow load of handguns and only one 9m/m, a S&W m-39 about 30 years ago, and I wish I still had it but I've never been crazy about the nine, especially in full size guns. I love the 1911 and the .45acp and I will never be without one, but I'm not too wild about the .45 in any other guns and I would rather have more rounds, higher velocity, and better hard barrier penetration that the .40 has.

Would someone please explain to me this TERRIBLE SNAPPY RECOIL the .40 S&W has that I hear about all the time, that makes it impossible to control. My CZ-75 40. is very easy to control and shoot fast and accurately, so I'm wondering if there are some guns that are "snappier" than others?

 

[scooter123]

I think that those who call the 40 S&W "snappy" haven't ever actually shot much with this caliber, or they were using the 135 grain loading which is pretty snappy. When I got back into handgun shooting after a 30 year layoff my first purchase was a 40 caliber XDm. I shot nearly the entire rental rack of 9mm and 40 caliber polymers at a local range and didn't notice much difference between the two. After 2 months of renting, I made my choice based on which gun I shot to best groups with and most consitently. Now I have 2 Sig's in the 40 caliber and a S&W 610 that I use with the 40 caliber and don't find any of them to be "snappy".

However, the first time that I tried some Federal 158 grain 357 Magnums in my then new S&W 620 I found that round to have enough "snap" that after 3 cylinders I was looking for a larger and more comfortable grip. IMO, the 357 Magnum is distinctly "snappy" and the 40 S&W feels a lot like a 22 Magnum after running a box of 357's thru the 620. BTW, the monogrip for the 500 Magnum works just fine on my 620, no risk of blisters and no more bruised palm.

 

[JcMack]

Do tell............... Its going to market?

Just a poor attempt at humor.

 

[peyton]

Heck, I got 40 S&W ammo and don't own a gun in that caliber!!! It came as part of a package deal. I would be willing to do some trading for it. If S&W made a L frame revolver I would be inclined to keep it. I know they made the 646 for a while but the prices are through the roof!!

 

[mlk18]

Like I have said here before; if you like .40 then more power to you. I have about 15,000 round down range in .40 thanks to my department and still don't really care for the caliber. In my opinion you have the 9mm if you want capacity and .45acp if you want power. There's no need to compromise on both at the same time.

 

[Evil Dog]

Other than 22LR, I prefer to keep all my handguns in one caliber as it makes reloading a lot simpler. No need for several different bullet molds, dies, powder, etc. 38 Special does everything I want.

 

[sw44spl]

40cal, 9mm ,45auto ,357sig, pooey get you a 38 S&W now thats a gun . I have several guns of all the said rounds.I mean more that I can shoot at one range outing.I do have a 38s&w too. I fire lead reloads out of my sig 40sw and my 4006.

 

[duman444]

I'm in the multiple caliber handgun club as well. Ranging from .22, .30 carbine, 7.62 x 25, .32S&W, 9 mm,.38SP /.357, super 38, .40, .41 mag, .44 mag, .45 ACP, .45 colt, .454 casull and 500 S&W. With all of these mouths to feed, reloading for the .40 is just another set up on the press.

Don't notice the snappy recoil on the .40's too much, but mine are large frame autos except for a subcompact XD .40 which is still a fairly large gun.

 

[GatorFarmer]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. Some of you guys are awfully gun poor in terms of calibers. After "simplifying" I found myself with .22 Short, .25 ACP, .32 ACP, .32 SW Long (and not long I suppose), .380, .357 Sig, .357 Mag, 9x19mm, 9x18mm Mak, .40 SW, .45 ACP, .38 Special, .38 SW (not special), .44 special, .44 Mag, .45 Colt, .22 LR, and I'm probably forgetting something. That's barely covering the basics and I've gotten rid of things like a Walther PP Super in 9x18mm Ultra/Police (different than Mak) and manfully resisted my 5.7mm urges as well as moving away from the heresy that is the .22 Mag in a handgun.

The Contender dalliance is best left unmentioned as well, what with the dark side that is .30-30 from a pistol, let alone .45-70 (ouch).

Oy and the cults of the 9x25mm Dilllon, .38 Super, and 7.62mm Toke... Shudders.

Different calibers evolved for different things. I like to be able to make sue of most any ammunition that I come across. Even during the shortage, I could always find "something" that I could use.

Truth be told, I don't even like the .40 SW. I keep them around the same as I keep around extra screwdrivers, might be useful.

I didn't want to get all warm and fuzzy about the .40's bottle necked offspring, but it's just magically hug worthy somehow.

40cal, 9mm ,45auto ,357sig, pooey get you a 38 S&W now thats a gun . I have several guns of all the said rounds.I mean more that I can shoot at one range outing.I do have a 38s&w too. I fire lead reloads out of my sig 40sw and my 4006.

Yeah, .38 S&W, not special mind you, does have a certain panache. You need the old 200 grain bullets for best results though, work best in the old Webleys and Enfields and are safe to fire in the Terriers and Victory Model lend lease guns. Can be used in some topbreaks, but you pays your money and takes your chances. Nothing like a 100 year old or so Lemon Squeezer with the barrel bobbed down and five little lead pills.

 

[jframefreak]

Just a poor attempt at humor.

Had me going there for a minute.

 

[truckemup97]

I found a bunch of .40 S&W ammo on sale at WM about 3-4 years ago. $7/50. Couldn't pass it up, so I bought 1200 rounds. Since I didn't have a .40 firearm, that gave me an excuse to buy a couple.

 

[badam0112]

I own a 9 mm now and have owned .45 ACP in the past. I fell in love with the .40 S&W after owning Glocks 22 & 27. I will be adding a new S&W M&P .40 S&W to the herd next week. For me the .40 S&W is just right. The 9 mm just doesn't seem to be enough and for me the .45 ACP is unpleasant to shoot. For me thats a snappy recoil, ouch. I also love .357 Magnum and .38 SPL revolvers (especially S&W's) too but capacity is the name of the game for me.