What is the best .40 sw firearm?

I have the XD40 as my winter CCW. I have shot the SDVE and the M&P. Both are fine shooting striker fired guns, but I don't like casings going strait over my head so I lean towards Glock and Springfield.
If I were to decide I wanted hammer fired, the Sig P229 would be my CCW choice and the Barretta M96 would be my range choice.

I second the smith 4006. Real nice guns. The one I had was utterly reliable. I've regretted selling it for ten years now.

Medium sized hands with short fingers and thumbs here; The S&W auto pistols were not designed for people with hands shaped like mine as I found them too long fore and aft and the slide mounted safety/decocker wasn't something I could reliably work w/o shifting my grip.

The USP, for all that it's a blocky full sized service pistol, fits me pretty good.

The pistol that fits me amazingly well is the VP9. I have mine set up with asymmetrical side plates (L thin, R med) and the medium backstrap and it's great!

BSW

I have many .40. I would take the Glock 22 or 27 over all of them. If I had to have hammer fired I'd take my 226 or 229 or 96. My usp would probably be the first to go. Both of them. Awful ergos. Heavy and fat. I dont care for the paddle mag release either but that's Purely opinion.. Excellent gun though. If i had to double charge a round in a 40 it would be in a usp. They are that over built. I'm always amazed how people say Glocks grip is 2x4 like. But then brag on the usp which if you will just look at or measure is quite possibly the closest to a 2x4 of any gun made. Lol My p320 is pretty nice too.

EVERY gun i mentioned was half price 2 years ago though. Lol

thunderbyrd said:

glock 22, which i really liked in the days i was carrying it ... what experiences have you had with .40's, in any model of gun?

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FL-NC said:

I don't really care for 40, but I do have ... Glock 23 that I really don't have any $ in. I keep it because every now and then I used to find clearance sales on 40 ammo, and I use it as a sidearm in the woods.

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I switched from Glock 17/19/26 to G22/23/27 so I could shoot both 40S&W and cheaper 9mm for practice using 40-9mm conversion barrels.

When ammunition/reloading components got scarce/expensive, since I had a lot of 22LR stocked up from $16-$20/500 days, I decided to get Advantage Arms Gen3 22LR slide kit for my G22 with extra magazines. After 3 rounds not fully cycling the slide with the first magazine, it has been 100% reliable and accurate (1" groups at 7 yards off hand) using Aguila 40 gr CPRN.

So while I wait for prices/inventory to return, I can enjoy shooting my G22, particularly fast point shooting drills that uses up a lot of rounds (I also shoot 22LR in my ARs using CMMG 22LR bolt kit so I am enjoying my ARs with shooting drills at much lower cost).

Of my current .40s I’d say my USP is my favourite (although my P99 is not far behind) I’m a big fan of H&K pistols, and I’m one of the minority that prefers the USP to their newer offerings. Other than a bunch of different Glocks I’ve previously owned a P226 and an STI Ranger II, both of which shot well.

If you can't afford or find a P7 M10 a Walther P99 AS is a good choice....especially considering they were $300 pre covid.

Gen4 Glock 20 with a KKM .40 S&W drop in barrel. Or a Gen4 Glock 21 (like mine) if you want a dedicated gun in a caliber that I like better than .40 S&W anyway.

Walther P99 for me.

The nicest .40 I've shot was a Star M31. All steel, I wouldn't want to carry it around all day but accurate, easy to operate, and had a great trigger. I suppose the DA/SA would take getting used to....

The closest thing I have is a drop in Storm Lake barrel for my Glock 29. Works okay.

No idea about "the best".

A Firearms Instructor at a Memphis-area Police Academy let me shoot his personal, police trade-in DAO Sig P229.
The trigger was so smooth that it was Very hard to believe that it has a 7 # pull. But being superbly reliable was Not a surprise.

That's exactly what I would first look for in .40 S&W, if I could first handle the gun (some previous owners 'tinker' the wrong way) - all else being equal.

I own a 9mm Walther P99 AS. This same gun in .40 S&W would be my second choice.
James Fonteneaux beat me to this idea.

I have many 22x series guns. I had never seen one with a bad trigger until my last one. Every other one i have had been excellent. It's my new 229 in .40 I got during during the great .40 sell-off. I got it sorted out but it was a truly terrible trigger. My wife isn't much of a gun person and when I let her dry fire it her first words was "is it supposed to feel like that or is something wrong" lol. It's rare in a 22x but it's possible

The M&P40 full size is a great feeling and shooting gun. I've put over 70k rounds through my 1.0 with an Apex FSS kit. The 2.0 trigger is as good as the upgraded 1.0 with a more aggressive grip. I've recently acquired a Sig P320 caliber exchange kit in 40 S&W and bought the Custom Works FCU separately so now it's a complete P320 in 40 S&W. I put a Holosun HS507K X2 red dot on it and it shoots very well too. I would suppose they are both reliable for an "unlimited" number of rounds with routine cleaning so it's a matter of choice as to how they feel to you. The M&P has a light, crisp trigger while the P320 has a more utilitarian/military click-click trigger. Both are perfectly good (3") inside 25 yards and are center of mass capable (8x10") at 50 so long as you do your part.

I've seen used PPQ M2's in 40 for about $450 and they have very good triggers. I have a PDP in 9 and it's a dream to shoot. If /when they make a PDP full size in 40, I'll probably get one of those too.

My vote would be for the Beretta 96A1, probably because that's the only .40 I own. The recoil isn't much more than my CZ75 in 9. I also like the S&W MP 5" 2.0, although a bit more recoil it has a nice trigger and accurate too.

I'm surprised that no one threw Browning Hi-power into the mix. I've always lusted after a .40 but am too cheap to pay the asking prices.

I can't imagine a better designed hammer fired pistol.

If you only got the 400 rounds by mistake and did not plan on getting a 40S&W gun to keep. I would sell the ammo and be done with it. On the other hand if you wanted a 40S&W and plan to continue buying ammo for it. There are a lot of Police Trade in 40s on the market. G22 can be had pretty cheap.

WB

Dragonfly said:

Of my current .40s I’d say my USP is my favourite (although my P99 is not far behind) I’m a big fan of H&K pistols, and I’m one of the minority that prefers the USP to their newer offerings.
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My choice for a .40 as well, the USP is a really pleasant shooter.

Buy a G20 or G29 in 10mm. Use the 40 S&W ammo as cheap practice ammo and invest in some of the hotter 10mm loads from Buffalo Bore, Double Tap etc. for serious work. Since most LE have switched to 9mm as well as many friends I've had several hundred rounds of 40 S&W ammo given to me in the last few years. That's what I do with it.

But unless you are needing an excuse to buy another gun:

I would sell the ammo and be done with it.

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Best fullsize competition:
CZ Tso, Cheely 2011. 2011's come in .40, unlike 1911's. Hopefully a CZ Ts2 becomes available in .40.

Fullsize carry:
Glock 22.4, 35.4.

Carry:
Glock 23.4

Anything in 10mm!

P5 Guy said:

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S&W model 610

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Yep, I'll second that. I love mine.

I carry a Kahr CM40 which is a fantastic SD pistol but is limited in capacity, so for home defense I chose the Taurus TH40 double/single with decocker. Maybe not the "best" you can buy but I'd put this one up against any other and am confident it'll be just as good a shooter and easily as accurate.. I can't speak for the longevity because I only have around 3k rounds through it, 100% reliable by the way, but since it's showing negligible wear, both finish and internals, I see no reason it won't go the distance. Best part is it's available and about half the cost of other pistols.

https://www.guns.com/firearms/handg...AvantLink&utm_campaign=35987&utm_medium=df_NA

My last duty gun before retiring was a usp. It was my primary weapon when in uniform and I found it easy to shoot, very dependable and accurate. Still have it today in my nightstand. Too big to carry as my retirement gun but I would not ever consider selling it.

>>The M&P40 full size is a great feeling and shooting gun<<

I have the same gun, tho it's been TruGlo'ed and Apexed. Great shooter now!

I just remembered I had an M&P40 too, back ten years ago or so. It did feel great in the hand, shot very well, and I even liked the Gen 1 trigger pull, too. That was back when I was in my “selling a gun to buy another gun” phase so I only had it for a few years. From what I’ve heard, the Gen 2s are even better, although they don’t have the same “buzz” about them they did back then. I wouldn’t hesitate to get one again.