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

I have a S&W 4006 and like it. I don't find the 4006 any more difficult to hit with than the pistol that it replaced, a S&W 39.

Spot on.

Aside from just shot to shot recovery time, More likely than not you will find you can shoot substantially tighter groups with the 9mm.

Outside of USPSA limited, where due to rules it reigns supreme, I see little reason to ever have a .40.

After some nasty elbow problems over the last few years I have stuck all of my .40s in the back of the safe. They will stick around for use when 9mm is hard to find but that is about it.

I dont feel I give up anything at all regarding terminal ballistics in using similar rounds, and the advantages of round count, recoil reductions, cost of ammo and wear and tear on the platform are just some of the reasons.

The only reason I ran the .40 for years was because that is what was issued and I had the keys to the ammo room. Even in the rush to jump to the .40s from the 9mm subsonics in the late 90's I was one of the few that suggested simply switch from our crappy 147 Hydrashok to the better technology available in the 9mm.

i don't know about that, i have reloaded a lot of it.

true statement to the lower end of .41magnum, but not as to the upper end loads of .41magnum.

maybe its just me, but 147gr in a 9mm is saying to me a hi capacity 38special

another random comment. number of years ago talking to this fbi type of guy, prompted me to get some +P+ 9mm ammo running a 115 grain at about 1350fps. That sounded a lot like 38super to me. I bought a couple of boxes, fired a little, but then got to thinking it was also a lot like .357sig, another round i like.
One atvantage of a .40 tho is being able with replacement barrels to run 9mm, .40, and .357sig through the same gun.
If one was to buy a 10mm, you could probably run all the above calibers.

A lot of posts on here reference the lesser recoil impulse of the 9mm and from a strictly scientific point of view I wouldn't be able to argue that. Several years ago, however, my son and I were at the range together shooting (among other things) my Beretta 92 and his Beretta 96 side by side with ammunition of comparable intensity. We'd swap guns back and forth and after a while we both agreed the .40 just seemed to be a milder handling cartridge in that platform. Yes, it's all subjective and yes it doesn't make sense, but we both shared the same perception. For what it's worth.

And after he does that, he'll know exactly why a G-23 & G-27 are the most seen used Glocks around...............

MM

Buy a 40 S&W or 357 Sig Glock (I have them in fullsized Glock 22, mid sized glock 23, and mini Glock 27) and get the appropriate 9mm conversion barrel from Lone Wolf Distributors.

Then get some G17 mags from Magpul for $15 each and call it a day. Except, get a GLock 26+2 (12 rounds) for the Glock 27 conversion.

This covers virtually every conceivable ammo shortage, including the Zombie Apocalypse......

I'm not a fan of the 40 S&W, and in spite of the apparent size difference in the projectile, the FBI and others see no difference in terminal performance between the 40 and the 9mm.

So embrace the lower recoil and better carrying capacity of the 9mm.

I think the recoil gap narrows as people compare +P and +P+ 9mm to .40. As for me, I like 9mm because I reload jacketed round nose for 12.5 cents a shot (excluding brass).

since 9mm brass is all over the place, and i cast, for me the only cost is that for powder and a primer. Which puts plinking stuff at around 2.50 a box.
But i could say the same thing about 40, as i see the brass on the desert all the time.

[/quote] maybe its just me, but 147gr in a 9mm is saying to me a hi capacity 38special [/quote]

You nailed it. It's just you.

Yep.

Between a .40 and a .45, I've yet to find a .40 in a .40 sized frame that had less recoil than a .45 in a proper .45 frame. And .40's are hard on guns to boot.

It's a competent cartridge, but I just don't see that it really brings anything meaningful to the table anymore.

deleted

Do you have to lube cases?

The whole bottle necked thing you can't give cases away around these parts.

Mike

The 40 S&W is an excellent cartridge that not everyone seems to be able to shoot well. Everyone, except the 50 or so people of both genders I have trained with it.

I still shoot a 45, but the 40 has proven itself beyond reproach. I would take it any day over a pistol with a smaller bore.

http://sargesrollcall.blogspot.com/2009/06/blog-post.html

There seems to be a great disparity in .40 loads that can really make or break its shootability.

Loaded to 9mm power it seems to shoot a bit easier than a 9mm. I've shot a good bit of down loaded .40 and it is incredibly soft. Atlanta Arms offers .40Minor loads at the same cost of regular ammo.

Among factory loads you can go all the way up to Speer Lawman ammo, which I shoot more of than anything else, pushes a 165grain bullet at 1200fps. And THAT load is a world of difference from any 9mm I've ever shot. It's ridiculously difficult to shoot for some people.

ETA: I shoot and watch others shoot an obscene amount of that .40Lawman load. The difficulty some people have with it is very real, and IMO very understandable. I think loads like that are where the .40 gets much of its bad reputation.

When I shoot WWB 165s it's mild compared to Hornandy critical defence.

See, we simply do not obsess over these things.

I buy a bulk load for 'burner' exercises, might be Privi, Tula or whatever fits my budget constraints in the highest volume.

Then I buy a duty load--Federal 165 HST whenever possible--for qualifications, night shoots and general issue.

We have qualification standards. We have policies and procedures. You get X number of attempts to qualify. You fail? So sorry. So long.

We do offer the 9mm option to members. Almost none have chosen it and I am happy with that. We shoot several attack dogs per year, mid-charge, who apparently do not read the latest FBI propaganda. Their skulls, necks and shoulders require breaking and bigger, heavier bullets get that done more reliably than smaller/lighter ones.

Not trying to change anybody's mind here, just making an observation.