Why can't I warm up to .40S&W

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For some people, the reasons may be different. The glock 21 (in a .45acp) is too large for my hands to hold comfortably. However, the S&W M&P in the .40 is far more comfortable, as is the Glock 22. I would love to have a 45 acp, but if I'm not comfortable holding a pistol, I definitely will not be comfortable shooting it.

Justin
 
my s/w .40's

i shoot two s/w's in the .40 carried one on duty for years, got it the day they came out for fed service in the 4006. just bought the sigma .40 for my off duty carry, and one for my daughter. it does have a rather heavy trigger pull, but it's made that way by smith. i have carried the 9 mm years ago, and have seen situations where the .40 would have been the far better round,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, the .40 does kick a bit more, and has it's own recoil that might take a bit getting used to. but don't give up on getting one. try someones .40 first, then decide,,,,,,,, Andy
 
No need to feel bad, as the .40 S&W caliber weaponary isn't for me either~!:eek:

I've owned a NIB SIGARMS P229, a fairly new G-23, and a NIB G-27. Of
these three, I shot the G-27 the best. The other two, simply would not
place a magazine full inside a 8" pie plate.:scrutiny: Finally, I got shed of all
of them and don't have a desire to return to the days of old~!;)

Just give me a .45 caliber 1911; or a SIG P220A, and I will be fine~!:D
 
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It's a compromise caliber offering neither the thump of the .45 nor the ease of shooting the 9mm. That being said, I think GlockFan was right. It's more about the platform than the caliber (and there's a lot of good .40 cal platforms out there).
 
I had a college professor once tell me...if you can't make up your mind, flip a coin and register your first thought when you see the results. If you're disappointed when you see the coin, then that indicates what you really wanted the outcome to be. If you're happy with the outcome, then you also know what you really wanted to start with. If you're indifferent, then you really don't care, and if it involves spending money then you probably shouldn't.
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I love this. Good way to sort out your emotional gridlock. Or your... analysis paralysis. :)
 
I can recall just a few years back where bashing the .40 was commonplace..You read things like: "Why bother having another caliber in your inventory?"Of course, the "snapiness" factor is in the "eye of the beholder". What we do find is that this round is gradually becoming the mainstay of law enforcement throughout the U.S.
I've had a .40 for about three years and just love shooting it...Of course, with the "fast-action" trigger on this model: all the better....:)
4icasu1.gif
 
I also agree that it's more about the shooting platform than the cartridge itself. Shooting a specific caliber out of one or two different guns is not representative of the caliber as a whole.

I bought a Beretta 92FS last fall and marveled at how easy and soft-shooting it was after spending a few months blasting targets with my 1911. When I started shopping around for a subcompact CCW piece I settled on a Glock 26, partly because it was small/reliable and partly because it was chambered in 9mm, which I knew I enjoyed shooting from previous experience in my Beretta. It turned out that the G26, despite being 9mm, was significantly more feisty and unruly than my Beretta, and consequently much less fun to shoot. Yes I will admit that a heavy, full-sized 92FS and a tiny, lightweight G26 are at opposite ends of the spectrum, but the point is that the 9mm shooting experience was extremely different for each gun. That being said, don't judge a caliber until you've sampled it a variety of different size/brand/model guns. If you don't find that you enjoy .40 after sampling it in a variety of guns, then I believe it's safe to say that that you can probably pass personal judgement about the caliber as a whole.

Personally I have no need for .40. Together 9mm and .45 ACP fill all of my needs and just because .40 is a nifty, great performing, in-between cartridge and a lot of people like it doesn't mean I must feel obligated to utilize it, especially if other calibers already fill my needs.
 
The way I see it: 9mm and .45ACP are the extremes... Extreme low and high recoils. The .40S&W keeps it in the middle.
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I have shot .40 S&W and .45ACP in almost identical guns several times (Taurus Millennium Pro, Springfield XD, CZ-97 and 75). My personal experience has been that the .40 S&W has a far more noticible recoil than the .45ACP.

I'm used to a pretty high velocity/sharp snap and love calibers like the .357 Magnum, the .40 S&W, and nice Czech loads for 7.62x25. On the other hand a good friend of mine (TinyGnat 219) just absolutely loves chucking a large chunk of lead downrange at slower velocities (.45ACP and such).

I think what I'm saying in my usual rambling way is that we all have our personal preferences so go with what you like and don't worry about the stuff you don't.
 
All depends on what your needs and likes are .

I always felt the 40 was the useless in betweener until I shot a couple of them , then along came my states CCW law passing and with it a legal way to have gun outside of the home without being in the hunting field or target range .

I reasoned that if I ever did need to use a gun for self defense out and about those few extra rounds "compared to my 45" might be a real good idea combine that with the fact that the 40 seems to be filling the needs of LEO's nation wide very well and I bought one .
 
I prefer the recoil of the .45....the .40 seems really sharp and snappy, just don't like it. Just my personal opinion. Don't feel like you need to like it, either you do or you don't
 
I think to some degree the ergonomics of the pistol come into play with the .40, maybe even more so than other calibers(?).

I had a Beretta 96 that I couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with (nothing wrong with the pistol, in fact it was an excellent specimen of an overall outstanding pistol) and surmised from that experience I didn't like the snappier recoil of the .40 caliber round. However, in a Sig 229 it's a whole different ballgame and I don't notice it being "snappy" at all. The 229 is smaller and lighter (I think) than the Beretta, yet a totally different (subjectively speaking) shooting experience.
 
ZeSpectre said:
I have shot .40 S&W and .45ACP in almost identical guns several times (Taurus Millennium Pro, Springfield XD, CZ-97 and 75). My personal experience has been that the .40 S&W has a far more noticible recoil than the .45ACP.
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I have almost the same experience but with XD, ParaOrd 1911s and H&K USP. I notice it most between the XDs and least between the ParaOrds. It bugs me so much that I don't shoot my XD40 at all any more and I am considering trading it, despite the fact that my XDs are my favorite target pistols. That being said, I love shooting the USP40 and the Para40 almost as much as I like shooting any .45. I'm even considering buying an M&P in .40, but I'm waiting for the .45 before I make any decision on that one.
 
I personally love the 40 S+W. I have shot it in a ruger p94 and glock compact forms. I love the snap on those two pistols as it snaps and then also snaps back into place for so the gun almost seems to fall right back into my original sight picture. While my next pistol purchase will be a 1911 style pistol, I don't think I would be willing to give up my 40. I mean you are getting closer to the power of a 45acp while getting near the capacity of the 9mm, other than the preference for/against the "snappy recoil" what is not to like?
 
Well I went to the local gun store today with a friend who was going to puchase a Kahr in 40s&w. We looked around for awhile and at serveral guns. My friend decided to get a Glock 22 in 40 S&W. Dang I like that gun.....
NOW, I got to have one.

I think I have warmed up to over heated now.

Thanks to everyone's replies.
 
I took my Glock 26 and 23 to the range today. I have not shot the 23 in months since I bought an XD 45ACP Tactical last September and have really been enjoying the .45ACP. Since I don't have as much .45 ammo and I lots of .40 S&W ammo, I thought I'd drag out the 23. Well 250 rounds of 9mm was very enjoyable, but 100 rounds of .40 through the Glock 23 made me realize why I don't shoot it very much for fun. I am not getting rid of it because I have a ton of ammo for it. I have really thought about purchasing a Sig 229,or 226, but I'm not sure that's the way I want to go. I will probably buy another .45ACP first.
 
I own a 40 but I shoot my 9mm and 45 acp more and carry my 38 snubby more than anything. The 40 does have greater stopping capabilities than the 9mm but the 40 is just not my cup of tea.
 
Because the .40SW is a fake round that took Cooper's dream of a .40 caliber 200gr round at 1000 FPS, that Cooper knew from lots of firearms experience would be a great round before the 10mm was created, and gave it to the FBI in a gun setup with a .45acp spring that allowed the slide to get smashed around(which made it seem to have more recoil than it really did) causing the FBI to modify the round to suit the gun instead of the gun to suit the round. Gun makers realized they could save money by just using 9mm frames for this new anemic FBI loading instead of making brand new( $R&D expenses$) ones that could take 10mm punishment and out of the greed the .40SW was born.
It was not born out of good design, it was the direct result of multiple bad decisions. So if it just seems wrong to you, that is probably because it just is wrong.
Nevermined the fact that this new round no longer meets all the original requirements set forth by the FBI after the 1986 shootout which was the reason for adopting a new round to begin with. The tests were extensive, and for a very specific purpose after a very specific lesson learned.

So don't try to warm up to a round that should have never been, instead get a 10mm and you will see why it was meant to replace the 9mm and 45s and only due to poor initial experiences (because of bad .45 ACP guns hastily converted to fire it with .45acp recoil springs) never did.
 
It also took me a few years to warm up to a .40 and I am still warming up to it even 2 months after I bought it. I already have a 9mm and the only .45 worth having IMO and one day at the gun show, I decided why not get a .40. As far as snappiness of recoil, I guess it's all in one's perception just like the P3AT (some people think it kicks like a mule but I don't).
As far as firepower the .40 will do everything a .45 will do in SD situations. If you can afford another caliber along with ammo, why not go for it?
 
This dude is shooting a Glock 35 in .40. What do you guys think of it?
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I think he needs to keep his finger off the trigger.

I also think Zoogster is right on the money.

Dave
 
Because the .40SW is a fake round that took Cooper's dream of a .40 caliber 200gr round at 1000 FPS, that Cooper knew from lots of firearms experience would be a great round before the 10mm was created, and gave it to the FBI in a gun setup with a .45acp spring that allowed the slide to get smashed around(which made it seem to have more recoil than it really did) causing the FBI to modify the round to suit the gun instead of the gun to suit the round. Gun makers realized they could save money by just using 9mm frames for this new anemic FBI loading instead of making brand new( $R&D expenses$) ones that could take 10mm punishment and out of the greed the .40SW was born.
It was not born out of good design, it was the direct result of multiple bad decisions. So if it just seems wrong to you, that is probably because it just is wrong.
Nevermined the fact that this new round no longer meets all the original requirements set forth by the FBI after the 1986 shootout which was the reason for adopting a new round to begin with. The tests were extensive, and for a very specific purpose after a very specific lesson learned.

So don't try to warm up to a round that should have never been, instead get a 10mm and you will see why it was meant to replace the 9mm and 45s and only due to poor initial experiences (because of bad .45 ACP guns hastily converted to fire it with .45acp recoil springs) never did.





Bravo!!! :)
 
Yeah I've never waremd up to it either. I actually like the 9mm which is why I own a G19 and a G26. I also have a Sig 245, but I own no 40's. Isn't it great that we have a choice in this country?
 
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