Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Death Knell of the .40 S&W?

Following up on several earlier threads about the decline of the .40 S&W. I was in one of largest LGS last evening. He has perhaps 1000 handguns of various types, new and used for sale, and also has a range operation on the ground floor of the building. Over the used handgun rack, he had a sign offering "One month's free membership with each used handgun purchased. .40 S&W models only."

Seems that I might want to stock up on .40 S&W ammo before it disappears as obsolete.

I still like my .40. Easy to shoot and accurate as much as I can shoot. I notice there are some going pretty cheap. I may have to pick up another.

i don't know about obsolete, but with the police tradein's some pretty good deals. aim surplus sent me an email last night, $249dollars for a glock 22 cosmetically blemish, holster wear, with one magazine.
that's a pretty good deal.

There are lots of 40 shooters unmoved by fads or market trends; plus an enormous amount of .40 surplus pistols being sold and prices that make manufacturers think twice before they crank new ones out.

I don't think the cartridge is in danger of becoming obsolete.

To many people basing their decisions from other people’s opinions.

I read it the August edition of.... pick a rag.

I think 9mm ammo is just too cheap, and most buyers look at ammo cost as part of the purchase decision.
Discounted 40's are advertised here at attractive prices. I personally would pay more for a 9mm just to match my inventory.
The last thing I want is another set of dies, bullets, and brass laying around.
40 is at the top of a saturated market.

It’s a great round, part way in power between 9mm and 45 ACP, but allowing a capacity close to that of 9mm handguns. The only problem with it is that its recoil is snappy, even compared to 45 ACP. Not uncomfortable in the least, but round to round accurate hits, just on plain physics, are slower. I can even shoot my Glock 30 better than my Glock 22, for example.

I think the idea of the .40 S&W being "obsolete" is about the stupidest thing I've heard this year. There are SO many guns in SO many hands ... that's like declaring the .38 special obsolete because the cops don't carry it anymore. Obsolete is when ammo is produced in small batches every 4-5 years and the rest of the time unobtainable. The .40 is so established it will not reach that state in my lifetime and likely not in my kid's lifetime.

Tom

Its the least popular around my neck of the woods. Bullets have gotten better and the .40 can't compete with the 9x19s capacity, availability, and controllability.

People who own them will defend them to the grave because they own one. People buying new guns have spoken with their wallets.

Myself...i own neither...just un-biased observations

Pure gold.
Word.

Ordinally rank the top 3 major semi auto handgun cartridges. 9mm, 45 ACP, 40 S&W. Now what up and coming major semi auto handgun cartridge is going to put the 40 in 4th?

Now really, does anyone actually care about this at all?

Like the person who came in third in the last presidential election is bragging about it lol.

.38 Special is still hugely popular in compact revolvers popular for concealed carry.

I tried to make it clear for you to understand.

My 40's ain't going nowhere. It is the best option for the platform and the would be task at hand. I'll leave the 9's for the ladies and the tender men.

No need to apologize, just don't get over your head on the math next time and you'll be okay.

Fewer guns may be chambered for it in the future, but the ammo will be around longer than I will - or any of you for that matter.

I went to look at the most recent ATF stats to see how bad 40 is nosediving but unfortunately they lump 40 in with 45 (don't ask) so you can't really tell, but I found an interesting tidbit about 38. Whereas Smith makes a lot more 38s than 357s, with Ruger it's the opposite. I guess that's the single action effect.

Look at Rugers line.
They aren't really in the 38 business.

Not many 38 specific options.
LCR is the one that 38 makes most sense.
Why would you even want an sp101 in 38?