Is .40 S&W Dead??

[dennishoddy]

I shoot 180gn's too. I agree that form, practice and the right gun will nullify the snap argument.

This whole 9mm vs .40 vs 45 is just a pissing contest started by those that want to be "right".
I don't care if someone else shoots 9 better than 40. I hope you shoot what you shoot well. I sure do.

Interestingly enough, I bought my wife a 9mm Sig for her first gun. She shoots it very well, but shoots my .45 Gov. better. Difference is a compact gun vs a full size.

When we do the Women-on-target program at our range annually, I poll the lady's coming off the centerfire pistol range about what platform they enjoyed shooting the most.

Just about hands down they like the .45 vs the 9mm Beretta. I think the single stack fits their hands better to handle the recoil.

 

[YukonGlocker]

well, piss

 

[rlongnt]

Im a little crabby today, my bad. Piss on...

No you are correct. People act like they have to decide based on general consensus these days. Shoot what you like and practice practice practice!

 

[twoguns?]

Local PD and FD carry 45...G21 to be correct....I carry a G30...interchangeable mag/clips
The 15 shot MP40 is in the truck...

 

[UncleBigToe]

Got the chance to shoot an AK 40cal conversion on Sunday.....WOW!! Cost me a small fortune it was so much fun!!
Ammo+AK=Broke..!

 

[OKCHunter]

Got the chance to shoot an AK 40cal conversion on Sunday.....WOW!! Cost me a small fortune it was so much fun!!
Ammo+AK=Broke..!

Reloading using lead or plated bullets will be much easier on the wallet.

 

[SoonerP226]

The .40 S&W is a shortened version of the 10mm...

The FBI tried working with the 10mm years ago, but most women officers, and a lot of men, could not comfortably qualify with the 10mm because of the recoil and muzzle blast. So they shortened the 10mm and created the .40 S&W...

The infamous 10mm FBI Lite, developed because "female and smaller male" FBI agents had trouble with the full-house 10mm, did become the .40S&W.

10mm and .40S&W factory cases aren't interchangeable, though, even if you trim the length on the 10mm. .40 started as a shortened 10mm (which was actually .40cal), but the factory .40S&W cases differ in two respects. First, the 10mm uses large pistol primers and the .40S&W uses small pistol primers. Second, the 10mm has a thicker "web" at the base of the cartridge than does the .40S&W, so if you cut 10mm brass down to .40S&W length, you end up with slightly less interior volume in the cartridge, which means you'll have more pressure on ignition. It may not be enough to make a difference (I don't recall), but you still run the risk of overpressure.

Personally, I never cared for the .40S&W as a shooter; it just has too much extra bark for not enough extra bite. I rather enjoyed shooting 10mm (what's not to like, with .357Mag ballistics that feed reliably in a semi-auto?), but not so much for its baby brother.

 

[jhat]

Nobody is using peas for ammo. It's easier to discuss this topic if we make realistic comparisons instead of using extremes/outliers/impossibilities to try to prove a point.

We can go way beyond gel, and use data from actual shootings, because .40 has been around long enough for us to rely on the power of aggregation...as opposed to anecdotes which are common points for discussion. The data show that 9mm is just as effective as .40 in real-world shootings, on average.

Also, how does the increased cost (and following, decreased training) and decreased shootability of the .40, compared to the 9mm, help the *average shooter* make accurate hits?

The average shooter needs to practice more to become unaverage. The average shooter will have more misses or poorly placed shots such that caliber is a non issue. Become proficient with the largest caliber that you can shoot well.

 

[YukonGlocker]

The average shooter needs to practice more to become unaverage. The average shooter will have more misses or poorly placed shots such that caliber is a non issue. Become proficient with the largest caliber that you can shoot well.

The average shooter can shoot more, and train more, with 9mm as opposed to .40. And the increased shootability of 9mm, for average shooters in particular, means that caliber is indeed an important issue if one intends to make hits. If caliber wasn't an issue, we'd all be carrying .44 magnums or something similar.

 

[Glocktogo]

The average shooter needs to practice more to become unaverage. The average shooter will have more misses or poorly placed shots such that caliber is a non issue. Become proficient with the largest caliber that you can shoot well.

As a not average shooter, I can drive a 9mm faster, harder, more times and for less money than a .40 or .45. Knowing all this, I've dumped .40 from my inventory completely and carry the 9 more often than the .45.