I have a couple .40 Glocks, a 22 and a 23. Carried both on duty at times and have confidence in both. IMO .40 is a great caliber. Recoil might be a bit more than a 9mm but to me an insignificant difference. Have seen some females with very small hands that transitioned from 9mm to .40 without any real change in proficiency.
In a gunfight I would prefer a 180 or 165gr .40 diameter bullet entering a body over a 115gr .35 diameter bullet.
Yeah, we all know that 5/100’s of an inch is a real game changer.
I dropped the 40 for a decade or so to simplify things but realized that since I'm already loading and casting for 10mm a 40 makes sense too. A few years back there were some awesome deals on 40s and 40 ammo. I picked up Winchester police ranger t 180g, basically black talon, for $15.99/50. My only regret is only buying two cases. That led to me buying a S&w m&p compact 40 that I love and then a glock 22 mint gen 3 for only $229 that stays in my truck. I also got a deal on an FNx I believe that shoots great.
Casting again has brought me back to liking a flat nose on a solid bullet which most 40 stuff comes with automatically. Also loading with Longshot let's me take 180g 40 loads to 1150fps. Given the flat nose bigger diameter and extra weight I feel better with a 40 in the woods than a 9mm. I still like my 9mm 365 for daily carry but for mixed woods use like my truck pistol you'll usually find me with a 40 or a 10mm if not a 44 revolver.
I really want to stock up on once fired 40 brass while it's still available cheap. I think it's fading and my normal once fired brass source hadn't had any in a few years. I'd also like a kkm 40 barrel for my xdm 10mm like the one I have for a glock 20. It allowed me to seat heavier bullets to 10 mm length in 40 brass and run them at 10mm speeds. Bought a bunch of 40 brass for 2 cents each and only loaded them once and didn't worry about picking up brass.
I have a couple of .40 Glocks, a 23 and a 22 and I don't find them unpleasant to shoot. However, I shoot lots of 9mm, and it's a little easier to control. For normal defensive purposes I carry a 9mm with Federal HST ammunition.
Where I prefer the .40 is for hiking in the mountains where you might have to deal with large animals. For that, I like a Glock 23 with a stout load (Buffalo Bore) using 200 grain hard cast bullets. A 10mm is probably better, but with the right load, the .40 is a step up over the 9mm and it's still light and compact to carry.
For those discussing the Gen 5 Glock 40 cal models having a thick slide vs Gen 4 variants. This picture is worth a thousand words…..
Gen 4 on left, Gen 5 on the right.
Mark in GA
The weight of the Gen5 is 28.43 ounces vs Gen4 at 25.57.That extra 3 ounces is mostly in the slide. My 22-5's fit perfectly in my model 20/21 holsters.
"The difference between adventure and disaster is preparation" "Dangerous Game Hunting........because golf, football and baseball only require one ball"
I have a couple of .40 Glocks, a 23 and a 22 and I don't find them unpleasant to shoot. However, I shoot lots of 9mm, and it's a little easier to control. For normal defensive purposes I carry a 9mm with Federal HST ammunition.
Where I prefer the .40 is for hiking in the mountains where you might have to deal with large animals. For that, I like a Glock 23 with a stout load (Buffalo Bore) using 200 grain hard cast bullets. A 10mm is probably better, but with the right load, the .40 is a step up over the 9mm and it's still light and compact to carry.
Agreed. That's a reasonable approach to the two calibers.
For those discussing the Gen 5 Glock 40 cal models having a thick slide vs Gen 4 variants. This picture is worth a thousand words…..
Gen 4 on left, Gen 5 on the right.
Mark in GA
Wow. Looks almost the thickness of a 20 or 21. I bet that does indeed tame the snap in the .40 S&W. I think they have finally put the .40 S&W in the right sized/weighted gun. Tempting.
40 works fine for me. Heavier bullets than a 9mm, more capacity then a 45 acp. It is in fact a compromise but works fine. I have shot some very accurate 40s but seems the 9mm is just as accurate or slightly more.
Pretty easy to push a 200 grain cast to a thousand fps in my 5” forty. Two five gallon buckets of brass is a lot shooting. I don’t pick them up like I do the precious 10mm. Put a timney trigger in my M&P, really makes a wonderful difference. Burley boy, I can get more brass whenever the weather allows us a trip to the Midwest. I’ll share some of what I have now if your in need
I have a couple .40 Glocks, a 22 and a 23. Carried both on duty at times and have confidence in both. IMO .40 is a great caliber. Recoil might be a bit more than a 9mm but to me an insignificant difference. Have seen some females with very small hands that transitioned from 9mm to .40 without any real change in proficiency.
In a gunfight I would prefer a 180 or 165gr .40 diameter bullet entering a body over a 115gr .35 diameter bullet.
Is there some kind of Internet requirement to always refer to the lightest 9mm lead load when comparing to the 40?