40 S&W advice

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RevolverMan567

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OK first of all I don't want to launch a debate about whether the 40 is the "definitive one shot stopper" or the "40 short and wimpy". there are more from each school of thought than i wish to wade through to find some solid advice.

That being said i just acquired a new Glock in 40 and want to know from people who shoot 40's what they carry and hopefully some info on why.
 
http://www.doubletapammo.com/php/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=26&products_id=32
I'm not a big 40 fan but if I had to I'd carry these.Mike makes great ammo I highly recomend his ammo.

All of these tests were done using 10% ballistic gelatin provided by Vyse gelatin using all FBI protocols and 4 layers of denim and two layers of light cotton T-shirt in front of the gelatin.

DoubleTap .40 S&W Penetration / expansion
165gr Gold Dot JHP @ 1200fps - 14.0" / .70"
 
After a tremendous amount of .40 S&W down the pipe of my Glock 22, (10,000 rounds +), it's safe to say that just about any defensive round has found it's way into the double stack....The one that has always been consistently impressive to me is the Remington Golden Sabre 165 JHP. Yes, I did some research and yes, I even did some of my own informal penetration testing, but what it really boiled down to was feel. The RGS just feels balanced, consistent and groups better than anything else I've fired....YMMV
 
I shoot .40 because of all the awesome reloads I can make for it.

I cook up some 135gr HPs that run 1500 fps, slow and weak? right...

The load data isn't that far off from 10mm, no mater what the 10mm crowd says. The only place the difference really shows is when pushing 200gr bullets. The best (hottest) 200gr .40 loads hit 950-1000fps.
 
I bought some Winchester Ranger 155gr and 180gr cheap and the seem to be a good performer. Federal hydroshock 155gr, or 165gr Remington Golden Sabers seem to be good rounds. Haven't shot Speer Gold Dots in .40, but had good preformance in 9mm and .45acp.
 
I know I a newbie here but bought my first .40 a Glock22 in 1995 and now carry a G27 with Winchester Ranger Talon 189GR. It is law enforcement only per Winchester but Ammunitiontogo.com gets it often. Here is a quote from the Winchester web site about it. I know there is a lot of debate on stopping power but these seem to be designed to cause the most damage which should equate to stopping power

This ammo contains the 3rd generation of the Black Talon bullet. It is basically the same bullet as the original Black Talon, except for that it is not black, which was a Lubaloy coating. This ammo still has the reverse taper bullet and expands out the talon petals upon impact. When the Talon petals expand out they are as sharp as a razor and then the bullet will spin inside the target and the talon petals will cut anything in the bullets way. It is still considered by many the most deadly ammo you can get.
 
135 grainers @ 1500 f.p.s. Hmmm,... is that from a GLOCK. If so, sounds like a recipe for disaster to me
Click to expand...
On the doubletap website they specifically cite a glock as being the gun they use for these loads. I know what your thinking, that the barrel isn't supported and thus might be susceptible to the dreaded kaboom. However believe it or not this doesn't seem to be rated +P. How thats possible is a mystery to me, but doubletap also offers .45 caliber loads that surpass most +P loads, but that are also not rated +P. Buffalobore specifically states that you can't use a glock for its +P ammo, but again this isn't +P so it may be safe to use. Heres a direct quote from their website (doubletap's that is) "Ballistics : 135gr. @ 1375fps / 567 ft/lbs- Glock 23 (4.0"bbl)" So as you can see they are testing it themselves in a glock, so maybe its safe.
 
I cook up some 135gr HPs that run 1500 fps, slow and weak? right...
Click to expand...
I find it hard to belive that your besting doubletaps load, which mike works hard to wring every last fps out,by 125 fps and staying under saami limits
 
Federal Hydra-shoks in one mag, Golden Sabers in the other. Plenty of firepower. (S&W M&P 40)

Shot placement is key. Heck, you can kill someone with a .22 if put in the right place. I've also heard about a large guy loaded up on PCP take 6 rounds of .357 before he went down. ALL depends on training, shot placement and what condition the BG is in.

I love the 40. To me it is an almost perfect round with size, velocity and ammo is readily available.
 
98C5
Shot placement is the most important, but in most cases when the BG's are attacking you, you don't have a whole lot of choices. I try for center mass and hope it stops them. Shooting them with a .22 or even a 9mm, (particularly if they're on meth), may not have the impact needed.
 
Love the .40 for accuracy and penetration. GREAT Carry Round - duty & SD.

Cor*Bon DPX for me.
 
i use either 165 grain hydra shocks or 180 grain hydra shoks. i hear good things about the Speer gold dots too.
 
Mav:
I find it hard to belive that your besting doubletaps load
Click to expand...

Really? I didn't know this "doubletaps" was cutting edge, I go off Hogdon's published data, with a little extra "oomph". I have not seen any signs of excessive pressure and used brass sizes well for reuse. Maybe I should get into the ammo biz.

Disclaimer:
I haven't given any load specifics but going above any published data can be very dangerous.
 
In regards to self defense I use .40 caliber federal jacketed hollow points. Thier extremely lethal and most importantly wont richochete or penetrate multiple walls. I honestly dont know of a better company than federal especailly thier federal gold brand. They tested a CX4 carbine that uses pistol rounds and at 100 yards a federal gold round will hit within half an inch. Any of the other premuim ammo only came within 1 inch of accuracy.
 
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I have a Glock model 35 and love it. I mostly use Winchester White Boxes 165-180 FMJ. And when I want to have more fun I'll bring my Winchester White Box 180 JHP.

I love the .40S&W caliber on my Glock 35. Recoil is great.
 
For the range - Winchester White Box or American Eagle 165gr FMJ and sometimes 180gr FMJ depending on what's available.

For self defense carry - 165gr Winchester Ranger SXT JHP

So far I've never had to use a .40 round on a live target (Thank God!). My choices are based on a combination of range experience and what active law enforcement friends have told me.
 
Nomad, no need to worry about squibs or double charges when you load for yourself, on a single stage press. Most guys save about 50% when loading instead of buying new. 1000 rounds of .40 costs me about $120 to press, works out to 6 bucks a box.
 
trueblue,
yes doubletap's stuff is real hot. have you chronoed that load yourself.if so thats a heck of a good load an is within a 100 fps of my 10mm loads that I have chronoed.If I sound sceptical its because I have seen hodgdon data be well over 200 fps off.IME
also hodgdons loads with longshot are faster than buffalobores +p loads wich they dont recomend in glocks.
 
Sorry for hijacking your thread Revolverman :eek:,

My max 135gr Nosler 12gr longshot load chronos at 1446.3 (ten shot avg.).
Off of Hodgdon data by less than 40 fps, which is dead on as far as I'm concerned. I don't see pressure signs in that cartridge for 2.0 more gr of longshot, don't think powder is being hard packed. Well into Glock KB territory, I back down to 13.2gr (1.2 gr over Hodgdon's max) which is into the 1500's.

The load was so close to 1500 I had to push it, it was retarded but it worked out.

That is when I decided I didn't need a Bren Ten...

DISCLAIMER: DOING WHAT IS DESCRIBED ABOVE IS DANGEROUS AND IS NOT ADVISED, DOING SO RISKS DEATH OR SERIOUS PERSONAL INJURY. THIS FORUM HAS NO CONTROL OVER DUMB STUFF YOU DO ON YOUR OWN AND NEITHER DO I. THE ABOVE LOAD IS ABOVE PUBLISHED MAX LOADS, MAX LOADS ARE MAX LOADS FOR A REASON.
 
You go ahead push your loads to 1500fps,KABOOM.I will do it safely it my g20.
Still think the 40 is better than 10mm?Back to the point,golddots or hydrashoks will work just fine.
 
trueblue,
thats cool, heck of a load, the 135 nosler has been a very accurate bullet in my 10mm.at 1600 fps it will fragment in ballistic gelatin and does not penatrate well but 1400-1500 it works well.IMHO the 155-165 bullets have a better balance of penatration/expansion but function and accuracy are always more important,cause it don't matter how good bullet performs if it doesn't hit the BG.
 
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