Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Talk me out of a 40 S&W

Skip them all and get a 357 sig

This, I've had a few 40's but lost interest in the round, I've got 9mm and 45 ACP, and am happy with those. You only have so much money for ammo and I decided to limit my funds to 2 calibers, and have more of each of them. Even FBI is said to be coming back to the 9mm. Nothing wrong with being able to get more rounds in a mag for a gun being used for SD.

I don't know what sort of "carrying" you're planning to do, but day-in day-out carrying, as opposed to once-in-a-while carrying gets to be pretty tedious if your gun is too big or too heavy. Double stack autos are pretty thick and tough to conceal even with short butts. Autos small enough to conceal are likely to be pretty snappy, as they say, in .40. With good ammo, a 9 is plenty for social work and practice ammo is very cheap, so cheap that reloading isn't hardly worth your time. Cheap ammo and low recoil mean you'll practice more and enjoy it. A light, compact gun that's easy to conceal and comfortable will be on your belt or in your pocket if you ever need it instead of back home.

I carried a Kahr P9 for quite a while. It was light and absolutely reliable from the first, but the trigger pinched my finger a bit, which got to be annoying, and it was just a bit too big to put in a pocket. I replaced that with a J-frame .38 with laser grips which weighs about the same, but can be carried in my pants pocket, on my belt or in a coat pocket. If I'm wearing pants, I'm carrying it someplace. It meets my needs, but it is harder to shoot well and only holds 5. Someday soon, I'm going to get a really compact 9 along the lines of a Kimber Solo that will be just as easy to conceal AND easier to shoot. I'm going to put more thought into this one than I did the Kahr and be certain that everything about it is just right.

If I were only going to carry at times and on my belt, I'd probably get the new single-stack Glock. They just plain work, and holsters and other accessories will always be available.

there is just no need or advantage to the shorty 40...

because with good bullets the 9mm is about identical, muzzle flip with a 9mm is less allowing you to shoot twice faster or thrice, the 40 is more destructive on guns, and it costs more to shoot...there is nothing a good 9mm cannot do that a .40 can do except Kaboom a glock...

the service for this firearm is going to be kept in the vehicle mainly.....I have no desire to be carrying it into Walmart, etc...
not unless the Muslim problem becomes an American problem...and them looking to Jihad themselves down at the local supermarket or Wally World...

two of my other handguns are worth a lot more today than when they were new... a Colt Python and an 1873 Colt 45 3rd series production, made by Colt...not an Italian copy....

My 1911, was made in 1927 and carries some sentimental value also...

I also have a P89 Ruger in 9mm.. but it has spent the last 15 years in my wife's dresser drawer for her access when I am not at home and she needs to get to something she can shoot....

Seafire

If you are looking for a truck gun, a G17 gen4 is a great option in a 9mm with 17+1 rounds of improved 9mm +P ammo in it.

If the .40 tickles your fancy, and it should, a G22 with 15+1 .40 high performers in it should do the trick.

Plenty of firepower in those two pistolas and with the grip adapters in the gen 4 you can dial in your preferred grip size. As you probably know there is a plethora of aftermarket parts for Glocks to tweek it the way you want. Sights, barrels, springs are readily available and not that expensive to try out. Working on a Glock is surprisingly simple.

Why some are concerned that the 40 has more "muzzle flip" than the 9 is a puzzle to me. Of course it does. It's packing a bigger (both in weight and diameter) projectile at virtually the same speeds as a 9. More energy and frontal diameter used to be considered a good thing when the plan was to kill chit.

Think of the increase in recoil as putting on your big boy pants and jumping from a 38 special to a 357 magnum, and that's probably a bigger difference in recoil than 9 to 40.

Buy a police trade in Glock 22, send it to Glock and they will replace my worn parts and put in any new upgrades and don't worry about the kaboom stories, they have 65% of the entire US police market and who knows how many million Glocks have been sold in the US alone with a very, very small # of kabooms and most are operator induced.

Mike

A timer, a G19, and G23 is all you need to talk yourself out of a .40.




Travis

But for a truck gun?

Can buy a trade in, shoot several thousand rounds through it and sell it for almost what he has in it if not satisfied.


Mike

^^^This^^^

If you leave it in the vehicle, you're missing the point of concealed carry.

.357 Sig sucks as a reloading round though!

Mike

I bought this 40 S&W Para at a pawn shop when we were living in NE Houston, around 2008. Owner thought it was factory, I knew better given the Bomar. Left giving $500 for it. We moved to Calgary soon after and I landed a Bar-Sto 10 mm barrel. Shipped it north to a guy well thought of and he did the necessary fitting. It throws 17 180 gr 10 mm's very well and eats 40's to boot.

So.....,22LR semi-auto for the win, right?

I haven't seen too many 9mm rounds with 200 gr or 180grain projectiles for that matter.

factory 40 S&W is about the same price as 9mm and with it's fatter, heavier, flat pointed bullets will always pack more wallop than the parabellum.

Both 40 S&W and 45 ACP can be loaded to near 41 Mag. power in suitable firearms.

Go for it. Everyone needs a brief infatuation with the tweener caliber.

VERY well stated.

Factor in increased ammo cost, and real world stopping stats, and the full picture comes into view.