Best design/platform for the .40 S&W ?

Best design/platform for the .40 S&W ?

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lionking

lionking

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Cause and effect, with the Walmart blowout selling their ammo at half price I picked up 2400 rounds of .40 which I only had one .40 gun a Glock 23 not my favorite range target shooting gun but is the one I use for home self defense.

Thought about getting a slide and barrel assembly for my SIG 226 9mm so I could shoot .40 using the lower but went ahead and got a nice used Beretta 96 made in 1994 off gun broker for $400 it hasn't been shot or used much. Still thinking of Getting a SIG 226 or H&K USP in .40 if I find the deal, I know some of you don't like the USP but I do....rather a lot.

I have a factory Beretta adjustable rear sight I'm gonna have installed on the 96 to make it a better target gun.

I like Glock but not as much as SA/DA guns, If I get another Glock I'm rather it be a Gen 5 in 9mm so not really interested in a Glock in .40 even though there are deals on them right now.

There is the notorious thread of late asking if the .40 S&W cartridge is dead or not (NO) and I still remember after the last couple of panic buys how .40 was available while 9mm and .45 ACP was gobbled up so not a bad idea to have a .40 because once again the Walmart fire sale the 9mm and .45 got swiped up and I scored thousands of rounds of .40 half price that people left behind.

So to ask your opinion and with a poll, what do you think is the best design for the .40 cartridge? Placing this thread in the general section because there are revolvers chambered in it also.
 
I've had a few .40s through the years. Currently I have these:

G23 Gen4
G22 Gen4
P224
P229

The only one that isn't currently (or will be once the barrel arrives) a .357 SIG conversion, is the P229. It shoots great as is, with .40 S&W. Only mods are Hogue G10 grips to get that awful E2 off, and a Short Reset Trigger.

So my vote is the P229. Designed for .40 S&W.
 
I have had a few .40s and all were pretty snappy and weren’t really much improved over a 9mm which is an easier round to shoot and one that most guns were designed for. The one .40 I had that I liked a lot was the Taurus 405. I should have kept it, and in retrospect had I know how the trades would have fell I would have kept it but there’s always that deal to chase. Moonclips and a 40 revolver are nice. An L frame would be really nice... but why stop at 40 when 10mm is right around the corner... but yes, a L frame competition .40 gun would be sweet.
 
From the list I have a Glock, 1911, Beretta 96, and Sig P229 (sort of on the list).

Of those I like the Sig the best.

CZ has some nice ones too.
 
I'm not a 40 guy, but I prefer the horsepower over the 9mm for tiny capacity sacrifice and have fired a fair few. I am a Glock fanboy, but the gen1-3 23s are brutal. The gen 4's dual recoil spring is a dream to shoot, much more like a compact 45. The gen 3 22 is kind of charming but more snappy than the gen 4.

I will preach the simplicity of Glock as I am a gun mechanic first and foremost, and I do like the gen 4 22, 23, and 35, but the king of the 40s out of the box are the aluminum framed CZs, especially if you prefer DA/SA.

The CZs trigger is pretty good out of the box and race parts are readily available, and shockingly good for drop-ins. The trouble can be that you have to hold your mouth right to get the sear and sear spring in right. All of that is secondary to the recoil. It's a powder puff. No other 40 is half as fun to shoot or as fast back to target. Lovely.

I have shot at least 3 Sig 40s, and they were all beastly, painful, much worse than the Glocks.
 
Currently I have no .40s and didn't really care all that much for the ones I did have. If I were stocking up on .40 ammo and needed a gun to go with it (I know, cart before the horse), I would go with either a CZ P06, SIG P229, or a Ruger SR40c. I have all three of these guns in 9mm. so I'm pretty well acquainted with how they operate.
 
Not a clue.
I do have a Glock G22 gen2 that I like and I also shoot a lot of 40 S&W through my G20, but have nothing else in 40.
I would think that any of the other choices listed would be fine.
 
I should add that the CZ clones are also a delight. I am particularly fond of the TriStar Jericho clones. They feel great and the price is fantastic.
 
I have a USP Compact in 357 that is pretty sweet. The USP seems like it was designed from the start to be a 40, not shoehorned in after the fact. I also have a Beretta PX4 compact in 40 that is an amazingly good gun. The rotary locking barrel system really does seem to reduce recoil. My vote would be HK or PX4, with the Beretta getting the nod based on price and availability.
 
Of the pistols listed in the OP, the only one designed around the .40 from the outset is the H&K USP. All the others were adaptions from other calibers; mostly 9mm. By default, that would make the H&K the best design for the .40.

If you had listed the M&P instead of the M&P Shield, that would have been my choice. It was also designed around the .40 cartridge and is more accurate, in stock/original form, and softer recoiling than the same platform in 9mm
 
lionking said:
...got a nice used Beretta 96 ....
Click to expand...
Note the only 9X Series gun Beretta still makes in .40 S&W is the 96A1 and that gun has an integral buffer in the frame. The Beretta 96 is not known as a durable match with the .40 S&W cartridge.
 
9mmepiphany said:
Of the pistols listed in the OP, the only one designed around the .40 from the outset is the H&K USP. All the others were adaptions from other calibers; mostly 9mm. By default, that would make the H&K the best design for the .40.

If you had listed the M&P instead of the M&P Shield, that would have been my choice. It was also designed around the .40 cartridge and is more accurate, in stock/original form, and softer recoiling than the same platform in 9mm
Click to expand...
Didn't know that I thought the USP .45 and 9mm was out before the .40. Alot of people mentioning the P229 and choosing other in the poll, sorry I didn't want to make the poll too big and thanks for mentioning your choice in replies. Actually surprised so far that the USP has more votes than the P226 as I have read several members in other threads say they don't like the USP and called it overrated
 
lionking said:
Actually surprised so far that the USP has more votes than the P226 as I have read several members in other threads say they don't like the USP and called it overrated
Click to expand...
I also think the USP is overrated...blocky, soft trigger,proprietary rail. I much prefer the redesign that gave us the P30. The P30 was intended as the replacement for the USP, but clearance prices raised it's popularity enough for them to keep it on the market as the "economy model." The .45ACP USP is a very different pistol, that is why it's replacement is the HK45 instead of a P30 chambered in .45ACP

The SIG 229 was an update of the 228 to handle the .40 cartridge...first US manufactured SIG. They thought they could do what Glock and S&W did and just add a heavier slide...didn't work out all that well. SIG went through three different slide widths (mass) before settling on what it needed to make the 229 reliable...they also had the change the frame dimensions. That is why the .40/357SIG 229s are actually different guns than the 9mm 229...the 9mm 229 is a 228 with a machined, rather than folded slide...until the introduction of the 229-1.

I've carried the 226 and 229 chambered in .40 as issued duty weapons and was never as happy with them as the 9mm versions...they were all optional duty guns

I actually enjoy shooting my Beretta 96 the most of all the .40 caliber guns I've tried...soft and accurate...but as already stated, they aren't the most robust guns in the chambering
 
I prefer the glock 22 for full sized and 27 for carry. I have the 320, 226, 229, usp and beretta. All are nice and will hold up fine to 10s of thousands of rounds.

The 226/229 shoot good and IMO are the better feeling of the lot. Good triggers too. The aluminum frames have caused problems.

The USP is the least ergonomic, worst balanced, worst trigger, but is likely the heaviest built. I'd think for sheer volume it may last the longest lasting

The beretta feels good and has a decent trigger. The design has locking block issues. The aluminum frames haven't been a problem.
 
I absolutely loath the HK USP now, having been forced to carry it for a few years until we transitioned to plastic gun. Prior to that, I'd been issued the Glock 23, which simply doesn't work for me (ergos don't fit me, snappier recoil, average performer all the way around).

I have always thought the 226 was the ideal platform for the .40 until I spent some time with my main shooting buddy's Beretta 96. Both are as accurate as any .40 I've ever seen (better than HK's overpriced, overrated boat anchor) and soft shooting. I give the edge to the SIG, though for me, the 96 is close.

Noticed P5 Guy's plug for the Firestar; I actually owned one I really like, don't know why I traded it off. Nice little pistol.
 
lionking said:
... I only had one .40 gun a Glock 23 not my favorite range target shooting gun but is the one I use for home self defense.
Click to expand...
When considering Glock's in .40S&W, remember the reason there is a Gen 4 Glock was to fix problems the previous generation guns had with .40 S&W.

If you're picking a Glock in .40 S&W, the Gen 4 guns are the ones to choose, unless you're getting a great deal on an older Gen.
 
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