.40 ammo energy

[Surefire]

I noticed on my Federal Premium "Personal Defense" hydra-shok box, the ft-lbs is listed as 350 at the muzzle. Isn't this really weak for a .40? Cor Bor makes 9mm that have over 400 ft - lbs.

I'm newish to the .40 -- the last own I owned was a CZ 75 and that was a few years ago. I mostly shoot 9mm, .45, and .357 mag but I wanted to give the .40 a second look since the ammo is easy to find around here... so I bought a P229.

Should I switch to a different load?

What are the current top loads in .40?

Would I be better off with something like Cor Bon Pow-R-Ball?

 

[AKElroy]

DoubleTap loads a 165 gr gold dot @ 1200fps+; 500+ ft lbs. It is my carry choice.

 

[Dr_2_B]

I use Double Tap as well.

 

[tipoc]

I noticed on my Federal Premium "Personal Defense" hydra-shok box, the ft-lbs is listed as 350 at the muzzle. Isn't this really weak for a .40?

What bullet weight are you asking about. The Federal Premium with the 180 gr. Hydra Shok has a velocity at the muzzle of 990 fps and energy of 392 ft.lbs. which is just fine.
The 165 gr. H.S. produces 980 fps with 352 ft.lbs of energy.
The 155 gr. gr. H.S. produces 1140 fps with 447 ft. lbs. of energy.
The above figures are from a 4" barrel.

A fella can drop by here to check...
http://www.midwayusa.com/browse/Bro...3&categoryId=7510&categoryString=653***691***

But none of those listed loads are poor ones and none are weak. Take a pic on what works best out of your guns for you with your needs in mind.

tipoc

 

[Surefire]

^165 grain load...


But compared to hot 9mm rounds, such as Cor Bon, 350'ish foot pounds seems weak.

 

[tipoc]

But compared to hot 9mm rounds, such as Cor Bon, 350'ish foot pounds seems weak.

Well that's cuz it is. It should surprise no one that some loads of the .40 are weaker than some loads of the 9mm when it comes to energy and velocity. Some loads are also more powerful than anything the 9mm can do. Note that in what I listed above the 180 gr. load and the 155 gr. are both "more powerful" than the 165 gr. load. And this is from the same manufacturer.

Poke around the Midway site I gave you a link to to see some of what else is available for the .40. Than select a round you can shoot well out your piece based on your needs.

tipoc

 

[wnycollector]

I get ~1140fps/475lbs of energy from Doubletaps 165gr gold dots out of my CZ40B (4.3" barrel).

 

[jakemccoy]

If you're talking about muzzle energy from a pistol, it's important to mention the barrel length and bullet weight. That way, comparisons to other calibers, brands, etc., are possible. Only one person above (wnycollector) mentioned barrel length. We know that DoubleTap publishes energies of their .40 caliber bullets based on a 4.0" Glock 23 barrel. The energies from my 3.5" Glock 27 barrel are notably less.

I use DoubleTap 155 gr .40 caliber for my Glock 27. These bullets are not lacking in muzzle energy.

Generally, muzzle energy isn't everything. Many people think bullet momentum is more important than bullet energy.

 

[tipoc]

Yep barrel length oughta be mentioned.

jakemccoy is correct that energy and velocity figures show you an important piece of the picture but not all of it. Selection of the right type bullet for what you aim to do does not rely on energy figures (other than to make sure if it's a JHP that there is enough energy and velocity to expand).

tipoc

 

[JTQ]

If you are going to compare "apples to oranges" you should at least compare the produce from the same "farmer".

CorBon offers
- 9 MM ammo ranging from 434-466 ft/lbs (all is +P+)
- .40 S&W ammo ranging from 480-526 ft/lbs

So in CorBon offerings, the weakest .40 S&W is more powerful than the most powerful 9 MM.

There are a lot of ammo makers and each carry a wide variety of offerings. No doubt, there is a .40 S&W "match" round from somebody that has less than 300 ft/lbs. However, in general, the .40 S&W will be more powerful than the 9 MM.

 

[KBintheSLC]

+1 on the Double Tap loadings. If those are still too weak for your tastes, look into a real .40 caliber cartridge... the 10mm Auto. Double Tap 10mm loadings unleash upwards of 700 ft/lbs.

 

[Oro]

Should I switch to a different load?

If you are using it for bears, but you'd need to change caliber, too!

There are lots of variables about the power levels claimed - test barrel length, method of averaging, etc. Also, power levels vary considerably with bullet weight - lighter ones delivering more, but at the expense of other desirable characteristic (remember, energy increases as a square function of the muzzle speed - lighter bullets thus look much, much more favorable in this measurement).

That is one reason some people have strove to come up with "knock-down" figures that use momentum instead of total energy. I'm not advocating any one measurement more than another, but it's just not so simple as comparing pure kinetic energy and declaring that "the magic bullet." It's much more than just a numbers game.

Peronsally, I would carry those loads happily in a .40 and never feel like I was "undergunned."

 

[EOD Guy in VA]

This chart may be useful to you...

http://handloads.com/misc/stoppingpower.asp?Caliber=11&Weight=All