Is .40s&w here to stay?

[MrMurphy]

The .40 gives you nearly .45 power in a 9mm size gun. SO the cops love it. Something like 75% of the cops in the country use the .40, most of them in Glocks.


The FBI uses the Glock 22/23.

The Secret Service uses the Sig P229 in .357 Sig and love it, according to the president's advance detail (sometimes being an ex-news photographer has perks, like being on first name basis with a bunch of Secret Service guys......)

US Customs uses 9mm Glocks, but bet they'll go to .40 eventually.

LAPD just authorized 9mm, .40 and .45 Glocks. Bet most of the 9mm guys who want more power will go to the .40.


You know when they start chambering submachine guns from major makers (H&K UMP .40) in the caliber, it's popular.

 

[Smoke]

Dang I hope so.....I just bought my first .40.

Smoke

 

[rbernie]

I just want to make sure that its success and staying power are true and that it has begun to reach a plateau of existence (like the 9mm and the .45) rather than taking a swift dive into relative obscurity.

You're safe making the investment, if the 40SW does what you want. It's not as if it's gonna hit 41AE status any time soon (if ever).

 

[4thHorseman]

I think the 40 S&W fills a niche between the 9 and 45.
For the longest time, people always thought the 40 cal was an ideal size.
41 AE, 41 mag, 10mm, and so on.With the advent of the 40 cal S&W it materialized. Good expansion with high velocity, low recoil, short cartridge.
It will be here a long time, longer than me.

 

[rich2u]

Blahhh 40 cal the weak wristed mans answer to the 10mm

 

[grampster]

Have 2 Beretta's in .40 and used to have a Glock in
.40. Kilt a bambi with one of my Beretta's using
Federal Hydra shock. The Glock shot the best, I really
liked the recoil, straight back. But the Beretta's have
ambidextrous safties and de-cockers which I particularly like because
I shoot well with both paws and gives me more latitude
with cc.
I just fell into a Walther P99 though, and I really like
that pistol. Like the way it feels in my mitt and the
way it performs. Retired my Beretta's to the safe for
fondling and cleaning and carry the Walther most of the time.
I do have another Beretta, a Tomcat in .32 that I can throw in my back
pocket when the Walther is too big and not easily
concealed. Yeah, I know, it's a mousegun, but something small
is better than nothing at all.

grampster

 

[NewShooter78]

Yeah, its here to stay. If its in WWB then its going to be around for a while. But after shooting both, I prefer .45acp.

 

[Amadeus]

If its in WWB then its going to be around for a while.

Sorry. You lost me. What is WWB?

 

[Preacherman]

Winchester White Box - sold at Wal-Mart and elsewhere (but not at gun-stores, so far as I've seen...).

 

[artherd]

It's here to stay, no question. Just like the .30-06 and .30-30 are never going anywhere.

What it really does that 9mm or .45ACP don't do, I'm not sure. With +P 9mm loadings of 460lb-ft or more (this EXCEEDS .45ACP energy!) basically all you give up is capacity by moving 'up' in caliber.

Shrug, they're all very fine defensive rounds. If you find a gun in that cal, I'd snap it up.

For instance, I like 9mm Glocks, but the HK USP Expert I shot in .45 was just awesome. I would like one of each.

I would not get a .40 as my only gun, just because the paranoid side of me sees that while ammo is out there, 9mm and .45 will be MUCH easier to source for some time yet.


.40 is definately making inroads however. People seem to see it as a 'cure-all' to problems with the 9mm that they never really had to begin with.

 

[Tamara]

Winchester White Box - sold at Wal-Mart and elsewhere (but not at gun-stores, so far as I've seen...).

Winchester White Box (also known as Winchester USA) is their value line of ammo, comparable to American Eagle from Federal and UMC from Remington. Wally-World stocks the stuff in 100-round valu-paks. Gun shops stock the 50-round boxes, but no gun shop in their right mind keeps the valu-paks in stock, because we don't want to hear "Wal-Mart has these things two dollars cheaper than you!" all day long. We'd rather hear "Really? You have 7.62x25 in stock? Set three boxes back; I'll be right over."

 

[Marshall]

I think some benefits we receive are, a slimmer pistol than a .45 in non 1911 frames, more ammo capacity than a .45 and a lighter weight pistol, all while gaining a more potent load than 9mm. Thus, the popularity.

 

[45auto]

I assumed the 40 would be the largest, most volume, pistol caliber sold today. Centerfire anyway.

At least it would be interesting to see a list of the top sellers with new ammo.

 

[7.62FullMetalJacket]

Now, we don't want to compile any numbers, cause Ted Kennedy is sure to rage against the "cop-killer" .40 S&W "sold in numbers exceeding the need of hunters" and "nearly as powerful as the .500 S&W" which "can shoot down helicopters."

 

[ny32182]

IMO, the forty does a great job of filling the niche between the 9 and 45. More speed, more capacity, and better penetration than 45.... and more power and bigger holes than 9mm. I especially like the medium weight loadings (155 grain in particular). A 155gr .40 Gold dot loaded to 1200 or 1300 fps can readily be argued as easily among the best overall SD loads out there, and its advantages will only increase, IMO, if the ban sunsets and the availability of full cap forty mags increases. Forty isn't going anywhere.