Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Is the 40 S+W headerd out the door?

NY State Police dropped the 9mm and adopted the 45 GAP. They had lost several troopers due to multiple failures of the 9mm to instantly neutralize a threat. Not much to argue about.
If you want to discuss expensive ammo, check out 45 GAP. However, it has proven itself several times in service.

Our city police are switching from 40 to 9mm. The 40 cal guns were at the end of their lifespan. Studiies have shown that modern 9mm ammo achieve what the 40 did in 1990 tests. Of course modern 40 is better also, but at the cost of snappier recoil, less rounds in the mag and higher ammo costs. As most recruits have little or no firearms experience, a 9mm is easier for most to shoot.

The force thought it was a no brainer. Guns cost the same, officers shoot better, ammo meets FBI 1990 standard, more rounds in mag, ammo costs less. What bean counter in the world wouldn't want that?

Nothing to do with 40 effectiveness.

BTW, my cousin is a former sniper in the Canadian Army. He now is a contractor teaching the Iraqi police and army. When he is in Iraq, he could carry any handgun he wants.. He chooses a Glock in 9mm.

What load were they using in the 9mm? That can make a big difference. As well as where the hits actually were.

Simple from my experience the 40 is not a 45!

"As of January 2018, New York State Troopers are issued the Glock 21 Gen4 chambered in .45 ACP as the service pistol." - Wikipedia

Cost of ammo for not that much more performance for the average person who likes to shoot.

have a para 1911 in 40. fun to shoot.

It may or may not be in third place but to overstate the obvious it was designed as a happy medium to cover a range of variables.

A proven and effective killing cartridge in a small platform might not be in style but being stylish has nothing to do with staying alive.

I always thought the 40 was the perfict trade off between 9 mm and 45... My nicest 1911 is a 40 cal..but the reality is I prefer to shoot the 45s....it recoils a tad more but seems more manageable.. The 40 is sharp and fast..the luckey gunner test if you read it puts the 9 mm in a whole new light with modern ammo...
I can see the 40 fading out...as long as the military is using th 9 it will keep ammo cots down and police dep will follow right or wrong..

I like the 40, I have 45’s too, but the 40 holds more ammo.

I'll stick with my Officer's Model 45 ACP. As many have stated, the 40 was a "dumb down" of the 10MM and the 9mm (puke) with modern ammo is more than adequate and less recoil. Now if I really wanted to get serious, I'll carry my Glock 31 with 125gr HJPs...

Only if you don't own one.

I have a Browning HP and like it a lot.

It does not hurt that the wife shoots it like it was an extension of her.

I carry a Beretta 96 40. cal.
I believe the 40 is a good combination of bullet weight and velocity. Most folks are not willing to practice enough to handle the recoil. I shoot a double stack much better than a single stack. My oldest son is better with a 1911, my younger son has a 96 in 40 and my wife's preference is a Smith 686+ she practices with 38 special and loads 357 for carry.
For carry, anything is better than than your fist, but I want the most power I can shoot accurately.

The 40 BHP has the heaviest mainspring/recoil spring combo that I've ever felt.

It was. That's why I bought a G23 way back in 1994. Back then, handgun ammo didn't reliably expand so you wanted to start with the biggest hole possible. I believe that Gold Dot, the first reliable JHP, was introduced in 1995. Before that, it was just Silvertip, Remington's scalloped HPs and some junk. Now that we have DPX, HST and other good ammo, I'll go with the 9mm and more rounds with less recoil.

9mm has some good ammo now, and 9's capacity or magazine size is important to many.
EZ carry like a SW Shield with 9 rounds is a good balance for many.
I prefer the 9mm myself.

"Most folks are not willing to practice enough to handle the recoil."

What recoil? I gave my 9mm pistol to my son when I bought a Glock 22 in 1995. The G22 has a quicker recoil but I can shoot it much better than the 9mm because it comes right back on target after the recoil. I also like the trigger. I bought a Beratta 9mm a few years ago after having surgery on my trigger finger and I can't pull the trigger. It has a 16lb trigger pull! I can still shoot the G22 with it's 4.5lb trigger pull ok though. I carry a Glock 27 which has a quicker recoil but I can shoot it pretty good.

i have kind of always felt the 40 was a compromise between 9 and 45, that didn't have to be. Except it meant a lot of new ammo sales, new gun sales, and a fillup thrown to women and some men that couldn't handle a full size gun and load.
I also know police departments are like lemmings marching to the cliff, following the F.B.I. and what's trendy.
California is a great example. loves to spend money. and brand new glocks showing up in arizona as they "update" to the gen 4 or gen 5 glock. Or, replacing black rifles with mini 14's because they are less threatening.
There are a number of pistols in .45 that can hold 14 or 15 rounds.
i do get the idea that 9mm can hold more rounds. what i do find funny is the .356 diameter 147grain 9mm flies about like a 38 in the same grain weight. I often refer to the 9mm as a high capacity 38special.
As to the bullets when gold dot first came out, i fired some from a 9mm into 2x4's, they plugged up just wonderful.
I have fired an awful lot of 40 in a glock 23, and don't have any issue with "snap" or anything else.
But, my last handgun purchase was a sig sauer p320M17. And i basically bought both types of winchester ammo the military is using, and love those 21round magazines. One in the gun and two spares, you basically got a box of ammo ready to go. I am basically a big bore heavy bullet guy. having said that it is hard to trump 21 rounds in the 9mm, and some of the new bullets make up a lot of the atvantage of the bigger calibers, with less recoil. things change, and one of my concerns is group situations, i think the 9mm has it's place.

The 40 will be around longer than all of us will be.