40 S&W Chrony Results

[shadowalker]

I took some various 40 S&W ammo the range today and ran it over a my chrony, I measured 10 rounds of each from my Sig P229 at around 84F.

The results were:

Hand. 165 Berry FP, 1.13 OAL 5.7 gr. Univ:
Average: 1006
Lo: 987
Hi: 1020

Hand. 165 Berry FP, 1.13 OAL, 6.0 gr. Univ:
Average: 1035 fps
Lo: 1025 fps
Hi: 1041 fps

Remington 165 gr. Golden Saber:
Advertised FPS: 1150

Average: 1071 fps
Lo: 1042 fps
Hi: 1093 fps

Hornady 180 gr. XTP
Advertised: 950 fps

Average: 948 fps
Lo: 937 fps
Hi: 957 fps

Winchester Ranger 155 gr. JHP (RA40155HP, $14/50 at Cabelas or CDNN)
Advertised: 1195

Average: 1176 fps
Lo: 1155
Hi: 1203

Winchester 180 gr. White Box Self Defense
Advertised: 1010 fps

Average: 925.9 fps
Lo: 917.6
Hi: 936.7

Hornady was closest to claimed velocity in my Sig, I was disappointed in the GS, they fell pretty far short, and were considerably snappier than the rangers.

 

[Socrates]

Not that I've shot it, but, in looking at the 40, the 135 to 155 grain bullets seem to give a great combination of bullet weight, and velocity, giving the 357 mag a run for it's money. I think the sweet spot for the 40 is in that 135-155 range. When the bullet weight gets to 165 grains, velocity plummets, and, the bullet size takes up too much of the case capacity, resulting in not good velocity, and, the bullets don't expand well, either.

The same bullets, for instance Speer 180 grain Gold Dots, at 980 fps, FBI load, may penetrate 17.9" of gello, but, they only expand .60-70". That same bullet, 200 or 300 fps faster, will penetrate 15.5", and expand to .95" or more.

S esq.

 

[shadowalker]

I carry 155 to 165 grain myself, they are at the top of both energy and momentum curve for the 40 S&W.

 

[stevelyn]

Things that I may need to shoot wear Carhartt's and Dutch Harbor Gear.
I think I'll just stick with the 180 gr Gold Dots.

 

[Rexster]

The P229 is a glorified snubby, which is another factor in these figures. A mere 3.9 inches of barrel, part of which is chamber, is not a lot. I was at first thrilled that my agency just authorized the P226, in addition to the currently approved P229, but then I saw the P226 just gives me an additional one-half inch of barrel. I guess I will stay with my P229; it is reliable and superbly accurate. Thanks for the velocity data!

 

[Socrates]

Stevelyn:

Check out the official Mormon Gello results from Double Tap:

DoubleTap .40 S&W Penetration / expansion
135gr. Nosler JHP @ 1375fps - 12.10" / .72"
155gr Gold Dot JHP @ 1275fps - 13.00" / .76"
165gr Gold Dot JHP @ 1200fps - 14.0" / .70"
180gr Gold Dot JHP @ 1100fps - 14.75" / .68"
200gr XTP @ 1050fps - 17.75" / .59"

Draw your own conclusions...

Do keep in mind these snubby results from a Glock 27:
http://www.brassfetcher.com/40SandWVarG27.html

Firearm : Recoil-operated handgun with 3.46" barrel length

Ammunition : Various .40S&W

Block calibration : All depths are corrected, except where noted (From 12.5cm @ 607 ft/sec)

Shot 1 - Federal 165gr Tactical HST HP (part #P40HST3). Impacted at 1064 ft/sec. Penetrated to 11.6" (using velocity range of 800-1000 ft/sec from Figure 10-10 in Bullet Penetration) and was recovered at 0.703" average diameter.

Shot 2 - Winchester 165gr Ranger Bonded JHP (part #RA40BA). Impacted at 996 ft/sec. Penetrated to 13.5" and was recovered at 0.570" average diameter.

Shot 3 - Winchester 180gr Ranger SXT (part #RA40T). Impacted at 894 ft/sec. Penetrated to 12.6" and was recovered at 0.617" average diameter.

Shot 4 - Remington 165gr Golden Saber (part #GS40SWA). Impacted at 994 ft/sec. Penetrated to 11.6" and was recovered at 0.661" average diameter.

Shot 5 - Cor-Bon 165gr JHP (part #40165/20). Impacted at '2031' ft/sec (chronograph malfunction). No correction was attempted as the bullet experienced heavy fragmentation - fragments were recovered at 9.1", 9.5", 9.6", 13.4" and 14.0". The jacket was recovered at 16.0" plus the 4" needed to travel to the front of the polyester bullet arresting box. The lead core was recovered at unknown distance in the bullet arresting box at 0.469" average diameter.

All shots fired at 10 feet distance from the face of the Glock 27 muzzle to the front face of the gelatin block. The picture of the block depicts the penetration track of the 165gr Golden Saber. Please note that no preference to any brand of tested ammunition should be inferred by the relative orders of the ammunition, as they were tested or pictured.

Seems that factory ammo, out of a 3.48" Glock barrel, isn't really great.

Sure is NOT the 18" the FBI load claims.

S esq.