Is 40 S&W the red-headed step child?

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There's lots of overpriced 40 around here, but it's okay I have lots in my stash. And yes....40 to carry, 180 grain Federal HST to be specific. Nothing wrong with 9mm or 45, just seems like 40 is the best of both worlds.
 
More 40s in the used case than any other cartridge. And it's been that way for years. I don't have a problem finding ammo so I can't comment in that. It's slim picking but you can get every cartridge. Tue 40s popularity has been decreasing for years in my area. It was the "got to have it" and now it's the "why did I buy this" pistol.


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If 40sw is good enough for the FBI, it's good enough for me.

I shot IDPA matches, and most guys use 9mm. The 9mm has a faster recovery time for a follow up shot due to less recoil than the 40sw. I admit that I would be a little more accurate and faster than my friends if I used a 9mm. Also, the 9mm is cheaper to shot, usually 3-4cents / round due to difference in bullet cost.

Also, I read an article comparing the expansion of hollow point bullets (self-defense ammo) for 9mm, 40sw, and 45. The 40sw had the same amount of expansion as the 45; however, the 45 will have more knock-down-power.

40's are great, all I shoot.
 
Not for me. Currently I have one Smith and three Glocks in 40. Lately wife and I have been concentrating more on 9mm since she just bought Ruger's SR9 and SR9c. But her last purchase was an SR40.

That's puts us back into 40 cal more and likely we'll get back to 300-500 40 cal rounds per month. The 40 is one of those cartridges I find easy to load and fun to shoot. Not the dream hand loader's round like the 10mm but it comes close.

No such thing as sold out ammunition at my our house.
 
I recently picked up my first .40. My round of choice is 9mm. When the rush hit, .40 was all I could find. A second consideration is FMJ. Specifically, if things ever arrived at a point where JHP were not available, I would prefer to use a .40 or .45 for defense. Third reason: practicing with .40 makes 9mm follow up shots feel like cheating.

I have a lot of enthusiasm for the round, and for my G23, but it's still not my go-to.
 
Exactly how is the .40 more prone to setback? News to me!
It's not. If properly loaded, and the loader (commercial or individual) pays proper attention to details such as neck diameter and neck tension, setback in the 40 is no more likely than with any other friction fit, taper crimp round.
 
People who see the .40 S&W as useless or "a solution in search of a problem" are the people who seem to think that there is an answer to the "which is best?" question. The fact is, each caliber has its own merits - the 9mm is this and this but it doesn't do that, the .45 has this and that going for it but it doesn't have this.

While I wouldn't consider myself to be a 'glock fanboy', I think the .40 S&W really shines in a glock. Something about the design of the gun makes that snappiness perfect for lining up followup shots. My CCW is 9mm but in retrospect I would have preferred .40 for two reasons - one, because it's more fun to shoot and two, because then I could have bought a subcompact in .40, and a 1911 in .40, and I would never need to buy another handgun.

Having said that, if money wasn't an issue (it is), I would go with the 10mm and just create different handloads for the different purposes I wanted to do with it.
 
I shoot 40. Never had a problem with it. I know some come down on it, sometimes with the most ridiculous stuff... but it shoots good... it will stop a bad guy just as well as a 45.. and for me, it was a matter of being able to buy the ammo for less than 45, and it's never hard to find..

The only 'bad' thing, which isn't specific to 40, is I bought a lot of reloaded 40 before I bought my glock, then was told by a friend back east to NOT use reloaded stuff in the glock. So eventually I'll need to pick up another 40 semi auto to shoot as well. ;)
 
...was told by a friend back east to NOT use reloaded stuff in the glock.

Did he give a reason? I'm not a firearms expert but unless you're using unjacketed lead I can't think of a single reason not to use reloads in a glock
 
Glocks do not have a fully supported chamber. .40 has a bad habit of booming in them due to that fact.

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I have been recently hitting up the more mainstream areas(big box stores) and have noticed that ammo is mostly gone. 223,9,45 are have become an endangered. If any ammo is available, it's 40. I shoot a lot of 40 and one store today had 100's of boxes of fmj.
I know 9 and 45 are popular but I didn't think it was that big of a gap.
Am I the only 40 shooter out there? Why is it seem to be the only ammo available in large quantities?

Be quiet! don't say anything about it you are going to screw it up...:cuss: just kidding. :D
 
I've thought about picking up a .40 due to the ammo drought right now. I was poking around Rural King today buying some archery stuff, and the only thing in the case was about nine boxes of .40, 10 boxes of .380, and a box of 30-30. Walmart is completely out.

I've decided I'll just save my money and wait it out. I'll shoot Holy Black or sling some arrows while the hysteria winds down. For me, 9mm is just about perfect. I can shoot it well, it's cheaper to practice with, it has the most variety of bullet types out there when the public isn't going crazy. My Glock 26 is my favorite carry pistol.

That said, I'm pretty much "out" of 9mm only having 2 or 3 practice boxes left and two mags of quality jhp loaded for bear with a third regulated to fmj. My 1911 is chilling cocked and locked in my safe with my last 8 reliable rounds loaded:uhoh: I went shooting a couple of days before Sandy Hook and never restocked my .45 as I was burning up the Tula .45 ammo that my Regent gags on.

If I had a .40, I'd be glad for it right now. But, like I said, I'll just shoot .454 hog legs loaded with the black stuff and work on my archery:evil:
 
Glocks do not have a fully supported chamber. .40 has a bad habit of booming in them due to that fact.

Rubbish. Unsupported chambers bulge the brass a bit making reloading a bit more of a headache, but they're not kabooming due to it. Reality is that some people screw up reloads. ANY gun - support chamber or no - will blow up if you try to shoot a double-charged case or other goofed load through it.

You don't want to shoot cast-bullets through a factory Glock barrel (be it reload or factory ammo) unless you know what to expect and follow a strict cleaning regime, but other than that its fine. The vast majority of Glock shooters that I know (including myself) reload for their Glocks.
 
I have three .40 cal. handguns, also have two 9mm pistols, three .380's & two .45's. I carry a M&Pc in a .40 S&W, with a Kahr P380 as a backup pocket gun. I too like the .40 caliber platform, but like my other calibers too. BTW I reload for them all, and have never had a problem with bullet setback with the .40 S&W. Also have never had problems with 9mm or the .380, but the .45 acp has given me issues, which I have resolved lately. As for available ammo around here, it seems .40 S&W and .45 acp are still found at my LGS. LM
 
I got news for ya, around here, there's no .40 ammo to be had at Wally World and the LGS are running low.
I love the .40 for reloading. I have 3 40's and I'm thinking about getting another one.
I think your right, the .40 S&W isn't something a ''novice'' gun owner considers when buying their first handgun or even the 2nd. I had 6 handguns before I ever bought a .40.
 
I'm a .40 fan, both the S&W and 10mm. It seems like most folks want to keep comparing it to the .45 (not as much frontal area) or the 9mm (not as much carry capacity and more expensive to shoot) and they either stake one of those attributes or the other as the holy grail. I happen to think of it as a good combination of those assets, but it seems most see it as a compromise of one thing or another. I'm a bigger fan of the .45, but I like the .40 just fine.
 
Here in KCMO I haven't been able to find 40 s&w since the election.

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Rubbish. Unsupported chambers bulge the brass a bit making reloading a bit more of a headache, but they're not kabooming due to it. Reality is that some people screw up reloads. ANY gun - support chamber or no - will blow up if you try to shoot a double-charged case or other goofed load through it.

You don't want to shoot cast-bullets through a factory Glock barrel (be it reload or factory ammo) unless you know what to expect and follow a strict cleaning regime, but other than that its fine. The vast majority of Glock shooters that I know (including myself) reload for their Glocks.
+1 Very well said.
 
I have to add this to the conversation. 40 S&W do have souls. (Had to watch the youtube videos in order to get this )

Anyways in my area its the samething I cant find anything except 40 and 22. Big box stores and local.
 
"Because the glock barrel leaves more of the case unsupported, weak brass and/or an overload can rupture the brass near the back side of the round..

http://www.thegunzone.com/glock/glock-kb-faq.html

I know some disagree with all this stuff though."

It's not about "disagreeing" it's about old data. they changed the chamber design. (old on right)

g27newoldbarrelsfp3.jpg

you can see the one on the left leaves less uncovered. so maybe if you said "the older Glock 40 cal barrels left more of the case unsuported..."

but it's more than that. it's people putting too much pressure in handloads (too much powder or setback)

look how 'unsupported' a glock in 45 is?

45acp-unsup.jpg

I own two .40 cal pistols, both H&K's and they're fantastic, a great round.
 
If 40sw is good enough for the FBI, it's good enough for me.

The .40 S&W is only good enough for the FBI because the 10mm was too hard on some of their agents (Miss Nancy?). And some of the early pistols couldn't hold up to the stress.

So, we shorten the outstanding 10mm cartridge and the .40 S&W is born.....

It's no longer in my stable, but to each his own.
 
is .40 sold in higher volume than .45ACP yet ?

I'm seriously asking, I don't know....

It seems that .40 is darn near 9x19 in volume these days.

Feel free to flog me if i'm wrong....
Are you basing that on some publication or knowledgeable source? I would like to know of such a source, mainly to settle other discussions. Based on range brass pickup activities, it appear that 9mm is 75%, .45 ACP 20% and then all other (40, 357sig, 5.7,10). Of course this is based on one range and not a good sampling from other areas.
 
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