What's the future of .40 S&W?

hmm.. best 40 S&W 180 grain loads match 357 magnum

lets look at buffalo bore, they make the hottest stuff.. 40 S&W from a 5 inch barrel.. 1119 fps
357 magnum.. same company, also 180 grain bullets from a 5 inch barrel.. 1398 fps

that doesnt pretty much equal anything.. in shorter barrels theres still about a 300fps difference

Anybody who thinks the .40 S&W is going to stick around with all that blast, and those expensive bullets has got to be out of their mind.

I mean just look at what happened to the .357 magnum.

Uh, er,.... well.

I bought a .40 a few years ago when 9mm components were kind of hard to get around here. Most everybody at the club shoots 9mm so there are plenty of empties to reload.

justin22885 said:

8mm mauser, 7.62x54R, 308, 7.62x39, 5.56x45, 44 magnum, 44 special, 45acp as im still consolidating ill be dropping x54r, 7.62x39, 5.56, and 45acp and adding 9mm and 300 blackout.. why?

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As I said, just curious. We have little in common - I have .17HMR, .22LR, .22WMR, .223, .22/250, .308, 9x19, .357Mag, .357Sig, .38Spec, .40S&W, 10mm, and .45ACP, plus 20 and 12 gauge. The only cartridges I've ever owned and abandoned are .44Mag and .380auto.

.40 usually compares favorably with 9mm and .45 in calculated power.

The original question almost sounds like the OP wants to wish it away. I just smile when I see this same topic posted about every 90 days or so.

One quality of .40 S&W no one has mentioned is it makes clean nice round holes in the target. Much sharper edges than 9mm or .45acp. So I imagine the OCD crowd prefers it too.

I think the 40 will not be the predominant LEO round that it is today. Many agencies are moving away from it. I'd suspect that just as many followed the FBI lead in moving to 40 many will follow their leading in going back to 9x19.

That said there are a lot of .40 cal guns out there. I don't think the round is just going to go away, any more than 45 ACP has.

Personally I see no real advantage to using a .40 vis-a-vis using a 9x19 and taking everything together I believe the 9x19 makes more sense. That point of view has driven the move back to 9mm. But as evidenced by this thread not everyone agrees.

The 40 is a great round. It hits harder like a 45 and has the flatter trajectory of 9mm. The 40 and 10 mm are not going anywhere.

i dont think its going away any time soon, i just dont see it making any grounds in popularity, and i believe it will diminish to a point but there are obviously far too many 40 cal weapons out there, and people will continue to use what they prefer

another facter that could lead to its diminished popularity is im noticing a lot more handgun manufacturers supporting .45acp and going out of their way to make sure they have a 45acp version of just about everything.. things like the PX4, the PPQ probably wouldnt have ever bothered with 45acp versions 10 years ago had they come out then so now when someone wants something a tad larger than a 9mm, there seems to be more 45acp options now than before

the 40 will remain a fair middle ground but i dont think its going to be as popular as one of the others

Why would it go away the USCG , DHS, and a very large part of the police and state police carry it and I believe US Border patrol carry it as well as the US Army and The rest of the service is looking into droping the 9mm plus there is a huge civilian following , the 40 is here to stay.

JO JO said:

Why would it go away the USCG , DHS, and a very large part of the police and state police carry it and I believe US Border patrol carry it as well as the US Army and The rest of the service is looking into droping the 9mm plus there is a huge civilian following , the 40 is here to stay.

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from what ive read is that even though theyre looking to go beyond 9 mil, theyre uninterested in 40S&W.. seems they may go back to 45acp.. at any rate, any new pistol they choose will quickly become VERY popular

The future looks quite bright for me. The 40 S&W is just one of a number of cartridges I load that somebody somewhere thinks is on its last legs. It fits right in with "lesser" and/or "outdated" offerings that just won't go away such as the 10mm Auto, and 38 Super.

Yeah all the buck and roar are just too much to overcome. Makes you wonder why cartridges like the big magnums ever developed a following at all. Not to mention those lesser known offerings such as the .475 Linebaugh,

I wish I had a 40 to go with my 1500 rounds (leftover from my p229 days) and my probably 2000 pieces of brass and dies.

One of these days I'll pick up a 10mm again, and then add a 40 barrel. But as far as buying just a 40...it'll never happen, unless I come across a deal.

I like the .40. It's my preferred non-magnum carry round.
I got into it 9mm was nowhere to be found, but boxes and boxes of .40 were on the shelves.

I think one of the reasons departments are going away from it is because of the blast and muzzle jump. It's a cartridge that requires practice. When I first shot my .40, I was all over the paper. Regular practice has shrunk my grouping to what I feel is effective. If I only shot enough to "qualify", it wouldn't be that pretty.

Almost everybody shooting Limited division in USPSA! Can't make major with 9mm.

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That's what I came to say....I don't own a .40 and don't see a need, except for USPSA.

What is this 40S&W that is spoken of that I've never experienced?????

It took a hot second to find this to be easily sent to my door and I promise you it was a heck of a lot less popular then .40.

http://www.midwayusa.com/41-remington-magnum/br?cid=21814

You will easily be able to get .40 fifty years from now assuming you can easily get any ammo.

As for the round, I like it. It's a pistol round however so it is what it is and that's about the same as all the other martial pistol calibers at the end of the day.

As an aside that .41 magnum I spoke of above......wicked fun round out of a lever gun much less a revolver.

i actually like the concept of the 45 gap.. 45acp performance in a 9mm length action isnt all that bad of an idea..

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Except it didn't work in actual practice. Glock's .45GAP offering's was still too fat. Springfield proved you didn't need it -- compare their XD45 to their XD45GAP or Glock's offerings in .45GAP.

It wasn't even original, basically a rip off of the European .45HP made for places that ban "military" calibers for civilians.

For me the .40S&W really shines in the sub-compact concealed carry pistols. I have a pair of Shields, one in .40 the other 9mm. I carry the .40 and practice with the 9mm. At 50 rounds a week the cost savings in practice ammo pays for the 9mm pistol in a couple of years and saves wear and tear on my carry gun which only gets shot a couple of times a year to rotate in "fresh" ammo and verify immunity to carry "FOD" that eventually accumulates.

As a reloader...

My biggest complaint w/ .40S&W is the brass gets easily mixed up w/ my .45 and 9mm brass... after tumbling range brass there is ALWAYS a couple of little .40 boogers stuck to the inside of my .45ACP...

the .40s all get sorted into the trade/recycle pile. On the bright side I can swap out .40 brass for a discount on other components

I have never had one and never plan to. They don't fill in any gaps for me. IMHO, they will probably never really go away, but fewer and fewer will be made and sold.

I know this is a bit circumstantial, but most of the USED semi-auto, guns I see for sale in my local gun shops and Cabela's, are in .40 Cal. , and they seem to sit unsold as I go back and see the same ones over and over. That perhaps, would indicate for me that more people are moving away from it as a platform for whatever reason.

I don't think 40 S&W is going anywhere. It's widely accepted as a capable SD round, and ammo is readily available.

My first semiauto was a Stoegar Cougar in 40. I sold it off because I didn't care for the muzzle flip of that cartridge. I suspect it was just my inexperience though.

That being said, I don't see owning another one. I have a 9mm and several 45's, so why do I need a 40. If anything, I may buy a VP40 just to have on hand in case of another shortage.

sigarms228 said:

It means that during the next ammo shortage those of us the have a ,40 pistol will have plenty of ammo on the shelves still while 9MM will be next to impossible to find.

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This is exactly what pushed me to get my shield in .40 over 9mm. Last panic I could easily get .40, 9 was nowhere to be found.

Ironically the 40 falling out of favor with LEO is what ultimatly pushed me into getting a couple. LEO trade in 40s are perfect for shooting up LEO overrun ammo.

ALL calibers have their advantages and disadvantages, gun guys seem to have a penchant for trying to convince others that the disadvantages don't exist and or aren't important.