Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns Why No Love For The S&W .40?

While I believe that this is true, the 115 grain cup and core bullets the police were carrying back then were not as good as the bonded and heavier bullets on the market today. Those were the result of a lot of R&D. The .40 S&W offered better performance with the bullets of the era in which it was invented and became popular.

Each person tolerate recoil quite differently for a variety of reasons.

This can be due to physical size, overcoming preconceived ideas about recoil, previous injuries, as well as advancing age and arthritis.

For some people, the .40 does have more recoil than they want to deal with, especially as the handgun gets smaller and lighter, thus magnifying the felt recoil to the shooter.

Same thing with the .45 ACP.

A 185 grain lead semi wadcutter Bullseye load that has a velocity of 725 FPS kicks substantially less than a 250 grain hard cast flat point being driven at 925 FPS, that is used for hunting and large animal defense.

Using the USPSA power factor formula (just as a generic measurement), the 185 grain load has a PF of 134.
The 250 grain flat point has a PF of 231.

That is a substantial difference.

You can choose loads to meet your needs, and there are a variety out there, and some have quite a bit more recoil than others.

I produce a .40 S&W polymer coated 170 grain SWC load that has an average velocity of 1175 FPS. It requires that the user have a fresh, properly working (not worn out) recoil spring. Personally I run a bit heavier than stock.

It was developed for deep penetration, and you can tell a difference between shooting this load and your typical range/paper punching, Walmart ammo, in terms of recoil.

I wanted a load that would be appropriate for carrying in the mountains where there were large bears, then go to town and not have to switch guns. This gun/load combo met those needs.

It is also the smallest pistol that I am willing to get into a stand up gunfight with against 1 or 2 bad guys who are also armed. So it is where I draw the line terms of carry guns. Any smaller (such as the G26/27) and my performance drops off considerably to the point that I do not find it acceptable.

Interesting that he would use the light 115 gr. JHP in the 9mm instead of one of the the more commonly carried 124 gr. or 147 gr. loads. I'd like to see that test with a 147 gr. Fed HST or Speer Gold Dot.

The Glock 19 is sort of a gold standard by which various other handguns are judged. It is small enough to be considered a compact, yet large enough to be considered an actual duty size pistol. It can be manipulated by the majority of people, regardless of hand size, is easy enough to shoot well, and has a good on board capacity at 15+1.

I was issued one for years by the .gov while working overseas, and think highly of them, simply in terms of the practical tool that they are. I switch back and forth between the G19 and G17 quite frequently for carry pistols. In the hottest part of the summer, I tend to carry the G19 more due to the nature of what I am wearing.

It is also the smallest pistol that I am willing to get into a stand up gunfight with against 1 or 2 bad guys who are also armed. So it is where I draw the line terms of carry guns. Any smaller (such as the G26/27) and my performance drops off considerably to the point that I do not find it acceptable.

With the .40 cal equivilant, G23 I still find that I perform better with the G19. It is when I get up to the full size frame that I find that the shooting performance is close enough to be acceptable, and I the heavier projectile it can deliver is worth the tradeoff.

I often keep my G19 set up for house duty, loaded with my +P 148 grain hard cast flat point load.

Couldn't agree more & have taken that position for as long as I can remember. Pocket guns or mouse guns in 9mm or 380 just don't allow me to do what I can do with a bigger guns much more easily & if people are honest with themselves, it really doesn't for them either.

Most are much more concerned with ease of carry, not really concerning themselves as much with the consequences of too small of a gun should the real need to use it arise for them.

The only exception I will make is a J-frame that I sometimes carry as a BUG, or very occasionally, as my only gun for certain occasions, but with larger than standard grips so it has reasonable shootability compared to the very small stock grips.

It's just hard for me to rationalize the mouse guns being of much real use other than maybe touching distance & also just being better than totally unarmed.

JMHO, Other's MMV

MM

The Glock 19 is sort of a gold standard by which various other handguns are judged. It is small enough to be considered a compact, yet large enough to be considered an actual duty size pistol. It can be manipulated by the majority of people, regardless of hand size, is easy enough to shoot well, and has a good on board capacity at 15+1.

I was issued one for years by the .gov while working overseas, and think highly of them, simply in terms of the practical tool that they are. I switch back and forth between the G19 and G17 quite frequently for carry pistols. In the hottest part of the summer, I tend to carry the G19 more due to the nature of what I am wearing.

It is also the smallest pistol that I am willing to get into a stand up gunfight with against 1 or 2 bad guys who are also armed. So it is where I draw the line terms of carry guns. Any smaller (such as the G26/27) and my performance drops off considerably to the point that I do not find it acceptable.

With the .40 cal equivilant, G23 I still find that I perform better with the G19. It is when I get up to the full size frame that I find that the shooting performance is close enough to be acceptable, and I the heavier projectile it can deliver is worth the tradeoff.

I often keep my G19 set up for house duty, loaded with my +P 148 grain hard cast flat point load.

You'd be amazed at how shootable this "mouse gun" is:

I never got into 40 because it took me long enough to get into 9mm. And I really didn’t want another caliber to load for. I was weened on 44 mag and 45 colt. The 45 acp. Helll I had a 380 before 9mm.

Are the finger grooves filed down on that 19?

I like mine...

That's cool. I've got the 9mm version.

That's cool. I've got the 9mm version.