Local gun shop owner's comments on the .40 S & W...

[Hokkmike]

For what its worth. I spend a bit of time jawing at the local gunstore. When I told my friend, the gun store owner, about my late love affair with the .40 S & W as an ideal all around pistol caliber he gave me the following argument:

1. After the new year (he says) expect the price of ammo to double, therefore stay with the 9mm! I don't know how he would know or how accurate his info is. I guess I should have asked.

2. Calibers that are not in the mainstay, he cites the 9mm and .45 in semi auto calibers as "essential rounds", will, because of lack of volume sales get priced out of use. His "essential" round for revolvers, BTW, include only the
.357 and .44 magnum. (We did not talk .22's)

He encouraged me not to pick up another .40 S&W pistol as I am intending to do, but in fact - stick with the 9mm.

I think his arguments are kind of spurious but it DOES make you wonder about spending $40 for a box of 50 rounds in the near future!

 

[Cougfan2]

The price of metal is what is driving price increases right now. I'm not sure where your guy is getting that ammo prices will double as I doubt he has a crystal ball, but as metal prices are driven up the price will be passed on to the consumer.

 

[D-Man]

1) Ammo increases just seem to be a normal thing these days. Unfortunately I can't see any time in the near future that prices would stabilize or even start going down (wouldnt that be nice!).

2) I can't see .40S&W not being listed as a mainstay caliber. It's too ingrained in official use, and think that there are enough civilians using it to ensure it's longevity.

Now I can easily see things like .45 GAP going by the wayside eventually, but ammo development will still continue to produce supposedly better cartridges. For example, the .357 Sig seems to be gaining momentum (but possibly only on gunboards which may not be enough).

 

[strat81]

I call shenanigans. I'd wager that the .40S&W has been the most popular caliber introduced over the past 25 years. It's also one of the three must-have calibers for a semi-auto. When manufacturers come out with new guns or update lines, 9x19, .40S&W, and .45ACP are the calibers you have to offer. Only specialty/niche guns (i.e., Kel-Tec P3AT, PF-9) can get away without offering it.

I'd bet money that .40S&W ammo outsells .357 Magnum ammo.

The .40, love it or hate it, is going nowhere. Buy with confidence.

 

[Majic]

Ask your all knowing gunstore owner to look around this country and see what caliber of handguns rides in the holsters of our LEO?

 

[gandog56]

Or ask him if he happens to have a severe overstock of 9mm's in shop?

 

[BridgeWalker]

He definitely knows what he is talking about. Heck, when I was in the business of selling computers and computer equipment, I knew exactly what everyone needed, for anything, all the time. That kind of expertise just comes with making a living getting people to buy what you need to sell.

 

[shadowalker]

The OP is kind of confusing but the way it is written it sounds like his friend told him not to buy the 40 S&W, not the gun store owner.

In any case with law enforcement agencies throughout the country very heavily using 40 S&W I doubt it is going anywhere, it is getting hard to find 9mm handguns in models I want in gun shows around here.

9mm will be cheaper to shoot but if you already have one that isn't a reason not to get a 40 S&W, 45 ACP is typically more expensive and the price for it should go up more as it uses heavier bullets.

 

[Camjr]

The article I read a couple of weeks ago said that while all ammunition will be increasing in price, 9mm and .223 (and to some extent .308) will increase more since these are the primary military calibers, and are therefore getting squeezed by the supply/demand curve caused by the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Police departments that use the rounds are finding they need to curtail training to some extent and place orders now for future deliveries to lock in today's price.

I don't see 40s&w going anywhere.

 

[briang2ad]

SOunds like...

His 9mms aren't moving...

 

[Mad Magyar]

because of lack of volume sales

The .40S&W is about even in price with my lowly .32acp & .380 ammo. I complain all the time to the retail outlets and they tell me it all has to do with demand and not supply. In other words, demand fosters competition, lack of it: charge what they like? Sounds like the free-market at work....

 

[CoRoMo]

Price increases pushed me to reloading.

 

[Scorpiusdeus]

Hmmm, I read somewhere that Glock sold more .40 S&W models than any other caliber. I can not attest to the validity of that information though. Let's see, when S&W made the M&P 9mm and .40 S&W were first and .45 came when? I think the same holds true for the HK USP. These companies do massive market research and they came out with .40 before .45 so that should tell you something. I'm sure there are other examples.

I'd wager that .40 S&W is carried more than any other caliber in LE. If the military is buying up a lot of 9mm that could jack up the price of that caliber.

Price of metals, price of fuel is increasing the cost of a lot of things and not just ammo.

 

[Floppy_D]

1. Double? I'll believe it when I see it.
2. Just in case? Start handloading, if you haven't.
3. 40sw will fade out? Right.
4. If he "prices popular rounds out of use" he will "lose a buttload of business".
5. To be safe, re-read number 2.

 

[Cougfan2]

Who was it here that said "reloading to save money is a myth".

 

[Floppy_D]

My dad told me I should never reload to save money... I should reload because I like it, or because I want to tinker with my ammo, or because I want speed or consistency. The side effect may be that I save money, but it will never be enough to justify the amount I invest in reloading gear.

Needless to say, he is right. However, whether you save money or not, refer to #2.

 

[RyanM]

I don't know about reloading not saving money. Maybe in rifle calibers. But I've only reloaded 500 pistol rounds, and that's saved me about $60 vs. retail prices. Another 500 rounds loaded, and I will have paid for my reloading equiment. From there on, it's ammo for half price.

Also, given that .40 is heavily in use with almost every police department out there, its chances of disappearing are about nil.

 

[eldon519]

I'm not so worried about the prices of ammo because I reload, but if it gives you a hint of where I think things are headed, I won't buy guns that can't handle cast lead.

 

[ClickClickD'oh]

Judging by the brass I scrounge up at the range, .40 S&W and 9mm are the most commonly used ammunition in my area followed in distant third by .45acp. .357 sig, .32acp and .38 are occasional smatterings. Anything else and I'm mildly surprised. .40 S&W going away, not very likely. But I still have right about 1000 Speer TMJs and Gold Dots needing loading just in case.

 

[FieroCDSP]

Ryan, have you started shooting more, or kept it the same rate. That's the big kicker. Once you start reloading, you think it's cheaper, so you shoot twice as much. I'm only now seeing savings as I have cut back my pistol shooting quite a bit, but that's only because gas is too high.

 

[ThomasT]

I saw a report at coast to coast (i think) about the price of lead. I found the same report by googling the word "lead". In the report it stated that the lead miners and scrap merchants had taken advantage of the record amout of $ paid for lead. They were mining lead as fast as possible. Now it seems that they have created a glut on the market. The report stated that lead would drop to a low in 2008.

I could not find any forecast on brass or copper. Maybe the same thing will happen and prices will slide back down. Who knows?

I have been stockpiling components for a long time. I agree with the one poster who said he likes lead compatible guns. Thats why i like revolvers, bolts and my 7615 pump, they don't throw my brass all over hell and half of Georgia

 

[Floppy_D]

@RyanM...
It saves $$$ by my math... but if I only broke even, I'd still do it for fun. Fiero is right when he said you shoot more and still spend the same.

 

[R.W.Dale]

Price increases pushed me to reloading.

Then you're in for a disappointment. As a reloader I can state with conviction that reloading WILL NOT save you money. What it will allow you to do is shoot a lot more on the same amount of cash. I have a room FULL of reloading equipment and supplies telling me that no money was actually saved.

. Calibers that are not in the mainstay, he cites the 9mm and .45 in semi auto calibers as "essential rounds", will, because of lack of volume sales get priced out of use.

This guy is obviously stuck in the 70's hell if anything 9mm and 40 S&W would be the sole survivors of an ammo mass extinction.

Who uses .45 in an essential role nowdays????????

 

[RyanM]

Ryan, have you started shooting more, or kept it the same rate. That's the big kicker. Once you start reloading, you think it's cheaper, so you shoot twice as much. I'm only now seeing savings as I have cut back my pistol shooting quite a bit, but that's only because gas is too high.

Don't know. I've reloaded since day one, so I've bought very little ammo in stores. I only shoot like 50 a month, though. Wish I could shoot more.

 

[eldon519]

I agree with these guys. For handguns, you just end up shooting more. For rifles, you just end up shooting better ammo. Instead of rattling off a box of Remington green box, you brew up some match load with Sierra Matchkings and shoot twice as much of it too. Not to mention when you're working up a load.