Thinking about getting out of the .40 stuff

[Mark F]

40 S&W is excellent. It's a spin-off from the 10mm caliber which was used by the FBI. The 10mm round is too potent and is difficult to qualify with at the FBI gun-range, 40 S&W solved the problem.

40 S&W is higher velocity than the 45ACP, and less recoil. I have both and shoot both very often. My personal preference for SD is the 40 S&W, but I just can't give up my 45ACP...

 

[Texan2]

.40 seems to be a sinking ship to some degree. Most people are opting for either .45 or 9mm these days.

.40 will never really go away, as it is the staple of LE agencies, (9mm to small, cant carry enough .45's) although more and more are going to .357 Sig for duty carry in Texas.....

 

[atticus]

I have shot the steyr a lot, and have had only 2 stovepipe jams. Both were limp-wrist shots, one by me, one by my wife. We learned from that. Not a single failure since. Nevertheless, now we have a J frame revolver for her.

 

[atticus]

Response above regarding steyr feeding issues.

 

[stockFD3S]

Response above regarding steyr feeding issues.

Thanks for the response.

 

[bertel]

I can't say that I "love" my G23, but I did qualify perfect with it. Great, fine, so be it, but I have since brought a Kimber CDP to my hip. I'm glad I bought the Glock, just so that I know what a fine side-arm the Kimber is.
I can get pretty much anything done with the .40 that I need to, but the KImber in .45 is more accurate than I am. I don't necessarily put that on the round, as much as I do the pistol, but it certainly dictates which one gets fed more.

 

[DoubleActionCHL]

Personally, I'm a fan of the .40. Granted, when the SHTF, I won't be able to find ammo for my handgun from all of those available military ammo dumps, but I suppose I can loot my local Precinct for .40 S&W.

I like the .40 because if the relative size and energy. The .40's muzzle energy is significantly higher than the 9mm, and very close to that of the .45ACP. While the round is slightly smaller and will create a somewhat narrower permanent cavity, I can carry about 75% more ammo than the average .45. Penetration differences are negligible, as all three calibers exceed the minimum 12 inch depth.

Here's an interesting little spreadsheet that details and compares muzzle energy of different calibers and loads.

The 'real world' clincher for me was the fact that at John Farnam's weekend tactical training, it was very apparent that the 9mms were having difficulty in spinning the heavy steal targets. The .40s and the .45s were comparable. It's not scientific, but it was a test in which anyone could easily observe the energy expended by each respective round.

Besides, I've stocked up on ammo. I'm good!

 

[htxred]

40 S&W is excellent. It's a spin-off from the 10mm caliber which was used by the FBI. The 10mm round is too potent and is difficult to qualify with at the FBI gun-range, 40 S&W solved the problem.

40 S&W is higher velocity than the 45ACP, and less recoil. I have both and shoot both very often. My personal preference for SD is the 40 S&W, but I just can't give up my 45ACP...

i dont understand why it would be more difficult to qualify with 10mm then .40sw jsut because one has a higher velocity. trigger control/descipline is the deciding factor in a shot, not caliber.

 

[Dog]

.40 seems to be a sinking ship to some degree. Most people are opting for either .45 or 9mm these days.

I been kinda thinkn that myself, thought it was just me.
I myself been carrying a revolver more and more, guess Im gettn old.

 

[bikerbill]

Sold my XD40 today as part of a push to cut down on the number of calibers I have to stock ammo for ... I liked the gun, but it was mainly a range gun, since it's too bulky to carry and I use a 1911 for nightstand duty ... all that's left is .22, 9mm, .38, .357, .45 ...

 

[QBToo]

I sold all my .45ACP, .38 Super, .357 mag, .380 ACP handguns so I could concentrate on stocking up ammo in 9mm, 5.7x28mm, .223/5.56 and .410 bore. Except for the .410 bore, I try to keep a 5,000 round minimum and it was just getting out of hand with so many different calibers. There are handgun calibers I like better than the 9mm but I shoot mostly rifles now so I opted to keep the 9mms since the price of ammo is more realistic (I don't reload and don't plan to).

Once I sold all the handguns I had on the chopping block I then sold off the ammo and mags I had for them. I was SHOCKED once I realized how much money I had in ammo and mags. I was also pleased to go spend it all to beef up my rifle ammo stockpile as well as purchase my PS90s and FS2000s.

So thinning the herd has not been a bad thing for me.......actually I guess I didn't thin the herd but rather changed the mix of the herd.

 

[wilkesr]

Finally got the second 8040

Not me, the 40 is great. Handles better than the 45, but stronger than the 9. It took me 3 months to finally find a second Cougar 8040 for under $500 (in great condition). The only problem with all those 8040s out there is there are a zillion used ones that have been through the ringers. Course, that shows how well made they are, and that they are relatively durable. The scrapped up ones are law enforcement, which I can't blame them for not caring what they end up looking like, because they fire fine - just look excessively worn.

However, I was getting desperate on a second beretta, so I almost went with two 45s (PX Storm). I really didn't like their feel though, so was glad I got the second 40.

 

[wilkesr]

Not me, the 40 is great. Handles better than the 45, but stronger than the 9. It took me 3 months to finally find a second Cougar 8040 for under $500 (in great condition). The only problem with all those 8040s out there is there are a zillion used ones that have been through the ringers. Course, that shows how well made they are, and that they are relatively durable. The scrapped up ones are law enforcement, which I can't blame them for not caring what they end up looking like, because they fire fine - just look excessively worn.

However, I was getting desperate on a second beretta, so I almost went with two 45s (PX Storm). I really didn't like their feel though, so was glad I got the second 40.

 

[bigcbass]

40 cals will never be collectors items anyway.

 

[TAZ]

i dont understand why it would be more difficult to qualify with 10mm then .40sw jsut because one has a higher velocity. trigger control/descipline is the deciding factor in a shot, not caliber.

Caliber had little to do with the qualification issues. The 10mm ran int o2 issues. Size: in that it still required a large grip to gain any kind of capacity. Small handed people, women... have problems with the size of the grip.

Power: Full power 10mm is a strong round, lots of recoil lots of noise... Couple a hard to grip gun (for those with small hands), full power loads, fewer fireamrs enthusiasts/experienced people showing up at Academy... and you have an issue that is hard to correct in the relative short time spent at Academy.

Down load a 10mm to "controllable" velocities and you have a LOT of empty and wasted space. Along comes 40SW at similar velocities to the downloaded 10, but with a large cap mag and small grip... and you have just what the LEO agencies needed at the time.

Tried 40 for a while and just coudnt get used to it. Shot it poorly and plainly did not enjoy shooting it at all. My hands would be sore the day after a shooting session... neither fun nor worth it for me. Went back to 45 with the slower recoil impulse that feels natural to me.

Havent tried 357Sig yet to see how it feels.