Is 40S&W that unwanted?

[partyboy6686]

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.

As Twangbanger said it is a very popular caliber in USPSA competition shooting. I exclusively use 40cal for USPSA. It is just as cheap as 9mm to reload and I can make major power factor with it.

 

[crispy]

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

This is very true. When people try to trade a .40 in my shop, they're upset with me because they think I'm lowballing them. But if we buy a .40 it will sit and sit and sit in the used gun case until we give it away.

Maybe I'll run a report by caliber and make a pie chart? That would be interesting. But I bet we sell 20 9mms to every one .40 S&W. Some of that may be due to "you sell what you push", but that accounts for a small part of the disparity.

 

[VERT]

Thanks, I guess you forgot to send me the memo to off load my G23 and G27 a while ago! Lol. Trying to get into a couple of G19's

You just answered your own question. 9mm is the flavor of choice now. 45acp is a classic. Instead of taking the hit off loading the G23 and 27 keep them. Buy a 9mm conversion barrel for $100. Enjoy less expensive 9mm at the range and then carry 40 for social purposes.

 

[Leo]

I keep hearing that "modern" 9mm ammo makes the .40 S&W a lesser round. I do not get it, the new "high tech" bullet designs can only be made .355" diameter? What is stopping that new bullet technology from being made in another diameter, like say for example .401"? I also cannot figure out the "hard on pistols" answer. I have a Para Ordinance 16-40 that has spent most of it's life as a games gun. Lots of major power ammo blasted through it as fast as possible both in practice and in matches. Never any wear or breakage. If a pistol does not hold up in it's manufactured caliber, it would seem to be a quality or design issue with the pistol, not the round.

When I started it was 1911's in .45acp and Browning high powers in 9mm luger. I got a .40 late, but I have never seen anything wrong with it. If someone likes another caliber, that is fine, but opinion and preference does not make the round sub standard.

Sometimes the gun market is as trend following as the fashion industry.

 

[EvilKidsMeal]

I keep hearing that "modern" 9mm ammo makes the .40 S&W a lesser round. I do not get it, the new "high tech" bullet designs can only be made .355" diameter? What is stopping that new bullet technology from being made in another diameter, like say for example .401"?

My thoughts exactly, everytime this conversation comes up. Precisely why I have not made the switch.

If new bullet technology makes 9mm better than it used to be, then the same is true for .40, effectively not changing anything in the caliber debate.

 

[Hop]

My PPQ .40 is my OC gun 'cause nobody wants to swipe a 40 off my belt. Recoil is too harsh for a 5 yr old girl too. She won't get off a good follow up shot.

<- that's a 40 Steyr on my hip in my avatar pic.

 

[9mmfan]

I owned and carried an USP 40 for a few years but I did noticed the gun flipped up noticeably between shots. Now I don't have large hands/ wrists so that may be it.
Now I have a G20 10 mm and enjoy shooting 180 Gr out of that. The recoil is more straight back. Sure has a lot more bang than my usual G19!

 

[tcecil88]

I had a USP .40 as well. After I shot it about 50 rounds, I traded it off. Nothing special and huge for what it was.

 

[churchmouse]

I had a USP .40 as well. After I shot it about 50 rounds, I traded it off. Nothing special and huge for what it was.

Exactly what did you expect from it.......

 

[Leadeye]

I guess we're not talking about the 38-40.

 

[Ngdonut]

Though most on this thread will disagree with me, I somewhat like the .40 S&W... in the right gun. My father has a Sig P226 in .40 and it is one of my all time favorite pistols to shoot. My father - in - law has a S&W shield in a .40 and I'm really not the biggest fan. Not very comfortable to shoot in that subcompact.

I agree the .40 is generally more snappy than I prefer (I am definitely a 45 guy, both ACP and Colt). However, in full size guns the .40 usually isnt that bad and can even be enjoyable IMO.

 

[tcecil88]

CM,
I had shot a USP .45 a few years before and found it to be a really accurate pistol, but I could never afford one. Then I found a used .40 and traded for it. When I shot it, I was disappointed by it. I shot my Glock 23 much better. Seems that I paid way more for the name than anything else. I paid $100 more for the USP used than I did for a new Glock. I guess IMO the USP just did not live up to the hype.

 

[churchmouse]

CM,
I had shot a USP .45 a few years before and found it to be a really accurate pistol, but I could never afford one. Then I found a used .40 and traded for it. When I shot it, I was disappointed by it. I shot my Glock 23 much better. Seems that I paid way more for the name than anything else. I paid $100 more for the USP used than I did for a new Glock. I guess IMO the USP just did not live up to the hype.

Now that I understand.
I had a USP in .45 and it was a deadly accurate pistol. It was cumbersome. Very lite but bulky if that makes sense.
My SIL feel in love with it and carried it EDC for 2 years. Right up until I brought an SR1911 Commander in stainless home. He traded me
My" USP for "My" SR...........Not sure how that happened......

 

[crispy]

My thoughts exactly, everytime this conversation comes up. Precisely why I have not made the switch.

If new bullet technology makes 9mm better than it used to be, then the same is true for .40, effectively not changing anything in the caliber debate.

Except... it didn't get better.

.40 S&W could have been improved too, but it wasn't. Because it was already getting the 12"-16" inches of penetration and expansion to .48356" or whatever the hell it was. The FBI determined, right or wrong, that more than that was not beneficial.

9mm caught up.

 

[tcecil88]

CM,
Lol. Yeah, relatives make people do crazy things.
I am right with you on the accuracy of the USP .45. I was bouncing pop cans at 50 yards with the one I got to shoot and I fell in love with it. I still want one, but I can't swing it now. I got kids that want to hunt and they are rapidly out growing the youth sized guns and bows. ��

 

[churchmouse]

CM,
Lol. Yeah, relatives make people do crazy things.
I am right with you on the accuracy of the USP .45. I was bouncing pop cans at 50 yards with the one I got to shoot and I fell in love with it. I still want one, but I can't swing it now. I got kids that want to hunt and they are rapidly out growing the youth sized guns and bows. ��

Already been through that phase with the kids. They are parents now but I still build them guns.
It will never stop.....

 

[Lil Bob]

I owned a XD subcompact in 40. It was an accurate pistol, but I did find the round snappy. Then I bought my 1st 9mm, and decided to downsize some of the calibers that I had to stock. I had 9mm, 40SW, 45ACP, and 38/357 magnum. Due to the cost of ammo I decided the give the 40 to my son as a birthday gift. I did not dislike 40, I decided that the 9mm was cheaper ammo, higher capacity magazines, easier for follow up shots, and I did not want to get rid of my 45, or 357. 40 is a great round, it was just not for me.

 

[EvilKidsMeal]

Except... it didn't get better.

The same bullets are available for both calibers though. The discussion is bullet technology. If bullet technology has greatly improved the 9mm and I can get that exact design in .40, 9mm hasn't caught up, the playing field stayed the same. Sure they may act differently because of weight and velocity differences, but people act like 9mm is now able to make a bigger hole than .40.

I think most of this discussion is the misunderstanding that advancements in bullet technology have made the 9mm equal to .40, when actually (and what people are misinterpreting) 9mm had improved over itself enough to be more viable than it used to be. I really don't think that discussion should involve .40.

 

[churchmouse]

The same bullets are available for both calibers though. The discussion is bullet technology. If bullet technology has greatly improved the 9mm and I can get that exact design in .40, 9mm hasn't caught up, the playing field stayed the same. Sure they may act differently because of weight and velocity differences, but people act like 9mm is now able to make a bigger hole than .40.

I think most of this discussion is the misunderstanding that advancements in bullet technology have made the 9mm equal to .40, when actually (and what people are misinterpreting) 9mm had improved over itself enough to be more viable than it used to be. I really don't think that discussion involves .40.

There have been advancements in most calibers. I have SD rounds that (claim) 1800 FPS for my .45 from liberty. These things are just evil.
They make them for most common calibers.

 

[BehindBlueI's]

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?

Just be sure the company is using a bullet made for that speed. Some are simply recycling their 9mm bullet, and it opens too fast or fragments if they push it to the .357 capability, so they download it to basically a 9mm +P with reduced capacity.

There have been advancements in most calibers. I have SD rounds that (claim) 1800 FPS for my .45 from liberty. These things are just evil.
They make them for most common calibers.

Personally, I wouldn't carry them for self defense. I haven't seen a .45 used yet, but the 9mm does not do well on bone. It hit, it did break the bone, but it was stopped and fragmented so dramatically that it did not penetrate further and just made a very shallow, but very messy, wound. A soft tissue hit may be nasty, I don't know, but when they are stopped by small bone I'm not carrying them.