Steyr M40 Discussion

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WaMason

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Whatcom County Washington State
Selecting my first pistol was an almost year long affair. I tried Glocks, of all shapes and sizes, XD's, and any number of 1911's.

My requirements were for a mid sized gun, something I could carry concealed if I chose, but big enough and with a long enough barrel that target shooting out to 25-50 yards could still be fun. I also wanted whatever I selected to be no smaller then .380, and with a solid reputation for being capable of consistent one shot stops.

All of the above criteria were fairly easy to fulfill, I found the Springfield XD platform to be the most promising, but ultimately I wanted something that just felt right in my hands, with a natural "pointability". For whatever reason, I have always had issues with grips on tools, video games, and generally whatever is meant to be manipulated with ones digits.

Ultimately where this whole ramble is going, I had searched and been to the range dozens of times with friends and relatives before I visited a pawn shop and was intrigued by the mere look of the gun I saw before me in the case. The gun before me was a Steyr M9A1, and was unlike anything I had seen up until that point. I asked the clerk to take it out, and immediately upon taking it into hand, it just felt right. I flipped it over, checked the tag, and upon seeing what the store was asking, laughed and handed it back.

A couple weeks later, luck had it that my favorite gun store had a similar model brought to them, with the front sight a little shipped, in the bottom left corner, and th price tag there was more then reasonable. I walked out that night the proud owner of a Steyr M40 pistol, my friend who had accompanied me there purchased the XD i had been going in to purchase before seeing the Steyr.

I have been consistently able to shoot groups of around 4 inch in circumference at 40 FEET with it, and have yet to find a gun that fits my hand anywhere near as well.(although I did come to realize later that a lot of my grip issue had to do with my inexperience in how to hold a handgun)

Has anyone else in this community been similarly blessed to come across one of these pistols, or have any criticisms or issues that they would like to bring to light?
 
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Good guns but they are no longer imported into the country. They still have warranty support and they have a cult following but they have never sold well.

In my experience they fit great in the hand. Great ergos and they have a nice trigger for a DAO polymer. IMHO better than the Glock. Less mushy.

I liked the sights. Lots of people hate them but most have not shot many round with them and they take a little time to get used to. Once you do they are fast to the target. I would not consider them target sights but are good for defense shooting similar to the Big Dots made by XS.

Thats the good news.... :D Here is the bad.

My original S40 frame was damaged and my gun had to be replaced. It took over 6 months to get a new gun out of Stery USA. They were no longer importing them and they literally had to find one. They could not or would not offer me my money back or a replacement gun that was a different model. They did however finally replace it.

Keep an eye on the safety which is on the frame. There were reports of it failing and slipping into a lock position thus locking the trigger. I believe later models removed this feature. There were not too many reports of this but I remember a few so keep and eye on it.

I used to own several. M40/S40 and a S9. I sold all of mine after they stopped importing them and there was an issue with importation of parts. It was not that there was anything wrong with the guns at that time it was just that I did not want to have a gun which was no longer supported in the US.

If you like it enjoy it. Hope you got a good price on it.
 
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I own sigs, glocks, Xd's, CZ's, M&P's, Rugers, and Taurus's.... My Steyr M9 is heads and shoulders above the rest. Its the most ergonomical gun ive ever fired. I truly believe this is the Austrian gun that the "Glock" should have been. Im shockingly accurate with it and it has one AMAZING factory trigger!...

By far the best polymer gun i own and i will never every get rid of it. I enjoy shooting it ALMOST as much as my 1911's.

They just got it right all around with it, its a shame their not being imported anymore... if i come across another im snagging it for sure.

JOe
 
I purchased my Steyr M40 about a year ago, almost bought a glock, but saw this one in the case and thought to myself that this was an impresive looking weapon. I picked it up, and been using it for target shooting and had to use it for a time as a CCW.

After experimenting with powder charges and bullets I got it down that I could shoot a 3 shot group at 25 yards and could cover the holes up with a quarter out of my pocket. Father looked at the weapon, he's a huge glock fan, and he stated that the Steyr M40 was like a glock, but built better.

I love my Steyr, and I have also heard about how Steyr was going to stop importing them, am considering retireing that little pistol. Maybe value will go up, but in all I don't want anything to happen to it and then I got a broke pistol that I can't get repaired.

But as stated, all in all, I love my Steyr
 
I own a M40A1 and love it.

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Nice tight slide to frame fit, decent trigger (great amount the polymer), nice mag release bottom and drop free. Frame is much heavier than Glock because it use a steel internal assembly frame (very similar to Sig 250 but it's not removed-able).
 
They are better than the Glocks hands down. Not sure why they were not popular though. The M40 and S40 are one of the only guns that were actually designed as a .40 caliber first instead of the other way around.
 
WaMason, welcome to THR and to being a Steyr fan. Like others have said, these are the guns that just seem to "fit" some folks better than Glocks. :evil:

And they are very well made. Which is why I don't worry too much about the current lack of importation. Then, I own both a M357 and an S9, and a lot of the parts are interchangeable, if I ever need to cannibalize one for the other.

Be sure to check out the Steyr Club: http://www.steyrclub.com/

Jim D.
 
WaMason, welcome to THR and to being a Steyr fan. Like others have said, these are the guns that just seem to "fit" some folks better than Glocks.

Thanks Jim D. I have been "guesting" this forum for a year or so now, scavenging bits of info, and scampering off to the range to employ whatever tips i collected. Great to be a member now!

As far as the Steyr goes, do any of you find that the -A1 made any big improvements? I have yet to test fire anyone's as I have yet to see one at the range, or at local shops for sale.
 
You need to get on the Steyr Club wagon as linked. Folks there are pretty hospitable!

The A1 model adds a rail, and I think they look much better. Same basic platform.

These pistols are VERY fun. I generally like to shoot my M9A1 better than my CZs. They have superb ergos, robust build, excellent fit and finish, and superior chamber support. And, they look WAY cool in that teutonic green/gray. The sights are actually great when you get used to them.

Here is the ONLY downside as to the design. The trigger which IS the crispest OTB on any striker gun, can be a little finicky. It tends to hitch or stage before it breaks - leaving the pull a bit inconsistent at times. Mine was worse, then got better. A thorough lubing left it worse again. Then it got better. You have to polish the heck out of the guide rod, and even then the c-clip on the rod/spring assembly may do the hitching, etc. It CAN be somewhat frustrating. I suppose some guns do NOT have this problem, but enough do from what I can tell on the Club site, so I would guess that Steyr could not break into the Glock/MP/XD market (all good guns), with a trigger that was not always consistent in all its guns. That is my GUESS.

If they could fix this ONE issue, these guns would be better than the rest. Take the barrel and put a dummy round in it - they were MADE for the 40. The 9mm I have swallows the WHOLE HEAD of the 9mm round - in fact, I'll bet the head is 'over-supported' by about a 1/16th of an inch! That is ROBUST with all caps!

They are neat, accurate, and cool. But... while they are supported, there is little in the way of parts and accessories. Too bad - they are excellent guns with ALMOST perfect triggers.
 
I've long been a fan of the Steyrs ... got my first one back in aught one (an M40).

My EDC is an S40.
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Since I'll have a hard time replacing it I keep trying to find other guns to carry daily and I just can't find a gun I like to CCW anywhere near as well. If I could get my hands on another M40 I'd cut the grip down to S length and carry that instead of my S.

While I like the A1s I actually prefer the first generation guns.

I am convinced that Wilhelm Bubits and I could probably share custom made gloves. Would love to get my hands on a Caracal.
 
I remember them being dirt cheap at CDNN for a long time, and I always thought about ordering one. I did like how they feel. Good luck with your new purchase!
 
I really liked my M40 it was just that I had an offer for it from a friend who liked it better than me. He is the proud owner and loves to take it to the range to show me how well he can do with it. No problems during the years I owned it just that the money was tempting and I have more than one polymer 40.
 
love my M9-A1... it is by far the best polymer gun I have ever had the pleasure of handling/shooting. the trigger is superior to other polymers as are the ergonomics, sights, and pretty much everything else about the gun... also.. you can modify 33 round browning HP mags to work flawlessly through them. LOVE MINE!

steyr%20pic.jpg
 
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Used to own a M357 , great lil pistol , I used it for trade bait on day after I saw a 3rd gen S&W I just had to have . Ergonomics were fantastic and the trapizoid sights were wonderful to use . If I ever stop spending my cash on procuring S&Ws I'd probably pick up another one . BTW the Steyr series were designed with help by a former engineer that worked on the Glock design . I forgot his name I'm sure someone on the Styer forum site knows it .
 
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