Is 40S&W that unwanted?

[Twangbanger]

I don't see it disappearing, but for the average person, it costs as much as 45 and they're just not "feeling" it like they used to. 40 solved a problem for Police and USPSA. It gives the police the "right" balance of power, and with the Major floor at 165, it gives USPSA shooters a major caliber gun that holds more boolits than the 45.

As mentioned above, the gun world has fads, and fads are mainly driven by noobies. When they see the guys with the beards and tatts (as Kirk put it) posting videos saying "40 sucks," it has an effect on people.

 

[Hopper]

I like to have guns in calibers that you can find ammo for easily. I remember after Sandy Hook when ammo was drying up you could still find .40 everywhere.

This ^^^ is what initially got me into 40. When every other caliber seemed to be drying up, I could find a box or two of 40 just about any day of the week. When I got bitten my the revolver bug, I divested of 40, as I was getting to the point of trying to maintain too many different calibers. I still think it's an extremely potent round, I've seen what it does to 2-liters and steel plates, and IMO, it still makes good strategic sense in the event another ammo shortage comes to pass. Personally, I'm with you T-Dogg, I love the round. I've become more a fan of how versatile 357 and 38 Special can be, but still have a huge respect for 40.

 

[tcecil88]

I like my Glock 22/23/27 and these are pistols I rely on everyday. I am thinking seriously about a Glock 35 Gen 4 with a FDE frame to add to the family and am hoping for a single stack Glock in .40. I am not holding my breath on that one though. I know there are a lot of good offerings in 9mm, but I have carried a .40 since the mid 90's, so it is hard to put it down.
As someone else said in an earlier post, after Sandy Hook, I was finding .40 for a long time after everything else was gone. Even if I did switch out to 9mm or .45, I would keep a .40 for that reason.
I was in a LGS a few days ago and they had at least 7 Glock 27's in the case. They said they are just not selling. 9mm and .380's are what is selling around here.

 

[churchmouse]

I like my Glock 22/23/27 and these are pistols I rely on everyday. I am thinking seriously about a Glock 35 Gen 4 with a FDE frame to add to the family and am hoping for a single stack Glock in .40. I am not holding my breath on that one though. I know there are a lot of good offerings in 9mm, but I have carried a .40 since the mid 90's, so it is hard to put it down.
As someone else said in an earlier post, after Sandy Hook, I was finding .40 for a long time after everything else was gone. Even if I did switch out to 9mm or .45, I would keep a .40 for that reason.
I was in a LGS a few days ago and they had at least 7 Glock 27's in the case. They said they are just not selling. 9mm and .380's are what is selling around here.

I see so many times that ammo price is a big part of folks decisions when buying a handgun.

 

[gregkl]

It is a pretty polarizing round.

I was never attracted to the round.

Being a minimalist and wanting as few calibers as possible to achieve my goals, the .40 never really was a consideration. I have shot a few and for me they just didn't create the urge to own one.

Of course this is coming from the heretic that loves his 9mm 1911. Right CM?

I do notice that a lot of people who compete in USPSA shoot .40's. It would be interesting to learn why its used in that venue.

 

[churchmouse]

Being a minimalist and wanting as few calibers as possible to achieve my goals, the .40 never really was a consideration. I have shot a few and for me they just didn't create the urge to own one.

Of course this is coming from the heretic that loves his 9mm 1911. Right CM?

I am watching you........

 

[Tactically Fat]

It's unwanted...by me.

I used to own 3 different .40 S&W pistols. My FIRST pistol ever was in .40. I now no longer own any of those guns - choosing to go all 9mm for my pistols (and a few .22s for good measure, of course)

To me, the punishment given my hands and wrists under recoil just weren't worth it. I sold my 1st Gen Walther P99 to help my fiance' make a month's rent right before we were married (And after her roommate moved out), I sold my CZ-40P because it just wasn't the right pistol for me + holsters / accessories are/were virtually non-existant, and I sold my Kahr CW-40 because the frame broke.

All 9mm now and I don't see myself moving into anything else any time soon. Or at all. When I'm able to finally work on obtaining a few "grail guns", even the 1911 I want will be in 9mm.

 

[Birds Away]

...and the pendulum continues to swing.

 

[FishnHunt]

I do notice that a lot of people who compete in USPSA shoot .40's. It would be interesting to learn why its used in that venue.

40 solved a problem for Police and USPSA. It gives the police the "right" balance of power, and with the Major floor at 165, it gives USPSA shooters a major caliber gun that holds more boolits than the 45.

What Twangbanger said. .40 fills that Limited division niche perfectly.

 

[1775usmarine]

I guess I'll just keep saving the 40 brass I pick up and maybe start reloading another round for another gun my wife would kill me over, though I would probably go with a 4006 as it goes towards my S&W 3rd gen collection.

 

[HoughMade]

There's nothing wrong with the .40 S&W. Nothing at all. It's just that it doesn't gain you much, objectively, from a 9x19 given today's ammunition and you lose a couple rounds of capacity.

There's nothing wrong with the .357 SIG, .45 GAP, 9x18 Makarov, .38 Super or 9mm Steyr....but from a self-defense perspective they can't boast any objective, real world advantages over more common cartridges, so they don't sell real well.

The cartridge world is replete with examples of cartridges that provide marginal improvements over others, but in the end, rounds like the 9x19, .45 ACP, .357 mag and .44 mag (on the handgun side) and the .223, .270, .308 and .30-06 on the rifle side keep racking up the big sales numbers. Why? There are lots of rounds faster, but for most people they get the job done.

 

[seedubs1]

I got rid of mine a couple years back. I did have a really tough time getting rid of them. Seemed like nobody wanted to buy a handgun chambered in .40, and I had them listed for a very reasonable price.

I decided to get rid of them because I don't think they do much more from a defensive perspective than a good 9mm round does at this point, and I get more capacity with 9mm. And for my range toys, I already have/had 45acp and 357, so I just don't see the need to add 40.

 

[MCgrease08]

The bangers love handguns in .40, but they call it for-tay.

I picked up a Hi-point carbine in .40 as trunk gun and a general plinker. As others have mentioned, it was the only thing on the shelf during the last ammo panic. I wanted to have a least one gun to shoot when the next one hits. And it will.

 

[T-DOGG]

For what it's worth my lgs has a bunch of used .40's for sale right now.

 

[Doublehelix]

I am not a .40 guy either, I have a couple of 9mm's, but my buddy has a .40 G23 that I have shot several times. I don't find the recoil to be much different than the 9mm. Everyone calls it a "snappy gun", and that may be true, but I felt it was quite manageable. I prefer the 9mm for the cost and availability and feel that the ballistics are sufficient.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

I can tell the recoil difference between the .40 and 9mm with a timer and with tracking the front sight. I'm not a big fan of the 9mm for my own personal biases more than any real world data, but if my department went to it I'd carry it if they are buying the ammo. I carry a .40 not because I love the round, but because they buy the ammo. When I buy my own, I carry a .45 or .357. Why? Voodoo and reasons, man, voodoo and reasons.*

*mostly because I believe those bullets do better through auto glass, which is a consideration for me. High velocity 9mm may actually do better than .45 through sheet metal, though. Everything has trade offs, and there are instances were one failed when the other wouldn't have and vice versa....but mostly they don't matter. So voodoo.

 

[edporch]

I don't own a 9mm, have no desire to own one, but each to their own.

I have some .40SW pistols, have had some of them for years and I like them.

I'm baffled by these claims of too much recoil.

What I like MOST about .40SW pistols is I can swap out the barrel and have a .357Sig.
And what's not to like about a 125grain bullet at 1500fps?

 

[EvilKidsMeal]

I have never felt the need to switch to ditch my G23 other then when I read threads like these. They make me second guess, but then I've carried my G23 for 6 years now and have never felt like it needed to be changed.

I did just recently delve into 9mm with a S&W Shield, but that wasn't meant to become my only edc. It was meant to fill a role, just like my Ruger LCP was meant to fill a role.

I have never shot a G19 so I can't compare recoil. I can hit what I'm aiming at, but I need more work than switching to slightly less recoil could ever help with.

I haven't gotten rid of any guns yet so I know if I ditched .40 I would regret it.

It's equal either way I see it. If SHTF 9mm may be a bit easier to find on the ground, but if another panic hits .40 might still be on the shelves. I have both calibers now so I can reasonably accomodate either situation and I'm fine with that.

 

[Bfish]

I think it's just ammo prices for most things really. That and so many people push 9 to be so great that now it's become a 9 or 45 (1911) conversation the majority of the time I feel like. I am guilty of encouraging people, especially new shooters to buy a 9mm.

I still have guns that'll shoot 40 S&W but they're rarely shot because I can shoot a lot more if I'm shooting 9mm instead. That and I'm carrying 9 so the majority of my shooting time runs on that pistol.

 

[kaveman]

.40 is a nice caliber in a full size duty gun(preferably not plastic), but I can easily see people turning away from it with the lightweight compacts. And the market for used duty guns is being hammered by all the used duty guns being dumped. Bad time to sell,......great time to buy. I can't resist the bargains and now have a couple dozen .40's. For pure shooting pleasure(or a great house gun)you can't beat an all stainless S&W 3rd gen or a smooth shooting Beretta Cougar. Wouldn't necessarily want to carry either of them but not everything has to be a perfect CCW. Whatcha tryin' to sell?

But yeah, the general public seems to be turned against the .40 but then again, the general public is an ass. Best I can tell is that they're basing their dislike on a poor ability to decipher a single picture and too much blind trust in youtube rants.

Way too many people have looked at this depiction and wrongly concluded that 9mm=.40.