Which weight bullet for a 40S&W CCW

[DoubleMag]

Delema is minor. I know what the 180gr JHPs & FMJs do out of a smaller 40S&W CCW handgun such as the Shield. Harder for that smaller pistol to tame that larger round.

Does anyone have any comparison based, first hand opinions on using 135-140gr JHP? Then I would suggest using 155gr FMJ for practice.

The person I'm asking for isn't on here, smaller framed,and really wants to tame the 40 more towards a 9mm. Is that possible with a lighter bullet like the 135gr??


Thank you for your comparison based opinions. Cheaper then buying a box of 135grs & trying it I guess is the reason for the post

 

[SFreed]

In my experience, no. My wife purchased a Taurus 740 (I tried to talk her out of it) and found out that shooting it was less than fun. I tried the light bullet route, but ended up staying with 180gr and switching to small charges of faster burning powder. Felt recoil was much better, so she practiced more. If you're not reloading, I know you can purchase Reduced Recoil ammo. Maybe look into that.

 

[jjones45]

Sounds like you kind of know what's going on already. No matter what way you spin it the 40 is not going to feel like a 9mm, it just the way it is. However I would suggest maybe the 155g bullets to reduce the felt recoil with standard pressure. Other than that I would suggest just getting a 9mm instead of loading the 40 with bullets that way the same as 9mm rounds. A good ole 9mm+p might be more of what your friend is looking for

 

[RustyShackelford]

.40S&W rounds....

I had a .40S&W pistol, a 96D with NP3: www.Robarguns.com , in the mid 1990s. I used 135gr Trition JHPs or Corbon's in the spring & summer with 155-165gr loads in the fall/winter.
I had no major problems with either load for defense/CC use. The Winchester & Remington Golden Saber .40S&Ws were well engineered. They each had good ballistics & were in use by US police agencies all over.
Today, in 2014, Id suggest the well made Hornady 175gr .40S&W or the Winchester Ranger T/T Series 155gr JHP.
I'm not fond of recent Golden Saber lines. The QC & designs seem sub-standard for the $$$.

For a regular home protection or defense .40S&W round, Id look at the Glaser Safety Slug Silver or MagSafe frangible too. These loads aren't meant for carry but will work great for CQB type home defense.

Rusty
www.shopcorbon.com www.brownells.com www.natchezss.com www.midwayusa.com

 

[CDW4ME]

Some 180 gr. loads may produce less recoil than a lighter bullet.
The 180 Hydra-Shok and 165 Golden Saber are the "softest shooting" 40 S&W loads I've tried.

Chrono data from my Glock 27, in ascending order of calculated recoil:
Federal 180 Hydra-Shok @ 940 fps / 353# KE / PF 169
Remington 165 Golden Saber @ 1,028 fps / 387# KE / PF 170
Speer Gold Dot 155 @ 1,134 fps / 442# KE / PF 175
CorBon 135 @ 1,332 fps / 531# KE / PF 180
Winchester Ranger T 165 @ 1,116 fps / 456# KE / PF 184

Subjectively, I think the 180 Hydra-Shok is quite controllable, whereas the 165 Ranger T is very "snappy".

In comparison:
Glock 33 Winchester Ranger T 125 @ 1,280 fps / 454# KE / PF 160
Glock 26 Winchester Ranger T 124 +P @ 1,162 fps / 372# KE / PF 144

PF = power factor, a calculation that can be used to compare recoil in similar pistols. Subjectively, most of the time, my impression of recoil is in agreement with that calculation.

 

[Snowdog]

I might be bucking the trend here, but I believe the 180gr loads actually have a less snappy recoil.
I also feel the lighter loads that are driven faster are best used in colder weather. Why? The higher the velocity, the greater the "street tolerance".

If you're expecting your assailant to be wearing heavier clothing (multiple layers, coats, etc), you'll want velocity. The lighter JHP may still clog to some degree, but will likely expand whereas a heavier, slower slug is more likely to clog, fail to expand and behave like hardball.
When you're expecting your attacker to be wearing light clothing such as in warmer weather, a slower slug shines as it will likely expand and penetrate whereas the lighter bullet may over-expand and fragment, which is detrimental to penetration.

So for me, I carry heavier slugs (Federal 180gr HST) in the warmer months and lighter/faster slugs (Federal 125gr HST with a Storm Lake 357Sig barrel) in the winter.

If I had to choose only one load for the .40 S&W for year-round carry, it would probably be Federal's 180gr HST (P40HST1). I bought a boatload of XM40HC when it was still available at $16/50, so that also guides my decision. It's essentially the P40HST1 but without the nickel brass.

 

[herrwalther]

I have noticed that shooting 165gr is much softer than 180gr counterparts. But it won't feel like a 9mm. 135gr to 155gr are a PITA to find and keep in stock. I have a hard enough time keeping 165gr for my carry ammo. 9mm is a bit more flexible and can shoot 147 and +p or +p+ ammo.

 

[Mike J]

My .40's are service sized pistols. To me 180 grain bullets seem less snappy. Of course recoil is subjective & everyones perception may be different. It really sounds like they should have bought a 9mm.

 

[CDW4ME]

I might be bucking the trend here, but I believe the 180gr loads actually have a less snappy recoil.
I also feel the lighter loads that are driven faster are best used in colder weather. Why? The higher the velocity, the greater the "street tolerance".

If you're expecting your assailant to be wearing heavier clothing (multiple layers, coats, etc), you'll want velocity. The lighter JHP may still clog to some degree, but will likely expand whereas a heavier, slower slug is more likely to clog, fail to expand and behave like hardball.
When you're expecting your attacker to be wearing light clothing such as in warmer weather, a slower slug shines as it will likely expand and penetrate whereas the lighter bullet may over-expand and fragment, which is detrimental to penetration.

So for me, I carry heavier slugs (Federal 180gr HST) in the warmer months and lighter/faster slugs (Federal 125gr HST with a Storm Lake 357Sig barrel) in the winter.

If I had to choose only one load for the .40 S&W for year-round carry, it would probably be Federal's 180gr HST (P40HST1). I bought a boatload of XM40HC when it was still available at $16/50, so that also guides my decision. It's essentially the P40HST1 but without the nickel brass.

I agree, the 180 recoil is less snappy for me too.

Federal has data on their website that may be of interest.

180 gr. HST 40 S&W slightly outperforms 155 HST and 357 Sig 125 HST in gel with "Heavy Clothing" and gel with "IWBA Heavy Clothing":
http://le.atk.com/wound_ballistics/load_comparison/load_comparison.aspx

I like 357 Sig and have the 125 gr. HST in my 32 and 33.

 

[wally]

I'm a believer in the heaviest bullet for the caliber. My experience is the lighter bullets have a lot more blast and flash which is a major factor in perceived recoil and the shooter's over-reaction to it.

 

[ku4hx]

I have loaded the 40 down to 9mm levels, but I had to tweak the gun with lighter recoil springs and adjust powder type and charges to find a working combination. Those guns are not for self defense and often times they have reliability issues.

If 9mm power levels are needed, get a 9mm. If you were successful in get the the 40 down to 9mm you'd not be taming the 40, you just be shooting a 9mm facsimile.

Agreed ... heavy for caliber bullets general have a "shove" into the hand and arm, the lighter bullets have more of a "jab".

 

[AABEN]

I like the 165 gr BUT MY MOLD IS 175 SO THAT IS WHAT I SHOOT THE MOST.

 

[Wreck-n-Crew]

I like the heavier 175gr Hornady CD's for SD. The heavier round penetrates well. I would not use anything blow 155gr. Too light IMO.

 

[Big Shrek]

Probably the best recoil-handler that S&W made is the CS40,
it was heavy enough to absorb, yet light enough to carry easily,
and the Hogue handgrip was a truly revolutionary recoil-absorber back then...

Unfortunately, they quit making those & started making M&P's,
which are nice, but not as recoil-soaky...

another nice .40 from days past was the Star Firestar/Ultrastar line...
also hard to find because nobody wants to let 'em go
They also had a very nice grip...

One thing that nobody has quantified yet...
Physical Strength...everyone benefits from even the most basic workouts...
a ten pound dumbbell used daily for 6 weeks will make a world of difference
in how she handles recoil...not to mention making the trigger "FEEL" lighter...
strong people have a MUCH easier time with recoil...its just the nature of the human animal!!

 

[DoubleMag]

Just getting back to the post. I too am a fan of the heavier bullet such as 180s and can handle it ok. Just looking for alternatives for a friend. Will most likely suggest staying with the heavier bullet


thanks!

 

[hartcreek]

If your friend can not handle their .40 with full power loads you are not going to do them any service by making it wimpier. The cartridge has to be able of delivering deadly performance. Get them shooting a 9mm and maybe you can work them up to their .40.

 

[DoubleMag]

One of the suggestions that I'm going to forward is using light handweights to help with wrist strength. Not looking for arm wrestling, just a bit more oompf ability. Which will also add confidence.