the best .40 cal for comp shooting

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spoonman72

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Hi guys I'm looking for a good .40 cal to shoot competition with. I'm new into the pistol world as far as competition shooting goes, I've shot around with some guys at the local range and they thought I should sign up.
Currently i've been using my 9mm and .45 to shoot but, I encountered a few problems, with my 9mm i'm dead on accurate but on steel plates i tend to shoot low on the target. So the target dosen't always tend to fall on the first shot, and with my .45 on rapid firing it tends to jam. So i tested out my buddies h&k .40 cal and my buddies glock .40 and with those both my times were a lot lower than with my 9 and .45. So my question is who would be a good brand and model to use, right now I've got my eye on a sig p229 .40 but I don't know how it would be for comp shooting,but I might just purchase it anyways since the asking price on it is 425 with two mags and holster. please let me know what you think a good gun would be and also about the sig
 
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No idea what competition you shoot in but I used a Springfield XD .40 with 4" barrel for PPC and it worked all of the time and accurately. It fit my hand and was a point & shoot; no manual safety. My favorite kind of gun. I used Blazer Brass 40 S&W 180gr. FMJ instead of thre Winchester white box because it was easier on the hand and more accurate. I did very well in competition.:D
 
If your sentence has more than three commas, consider that it may be too long to read fluently. Also, consistent capitalisation and paragraphs are your friends. They make your post easier to read and thus increase the odds of someone actually reading and posting something useful to you.

I personally own an Hk UspC in .40. It's not ideal for all forms of competition, but it's accurate and the ergonomics are great for me. Try and find a range where you can rent a .40 229 before you buy one.

Consider the above as opposed to:

If your sentence has more than three commas, consider that it may be too long to read fluently, consistent capitalisation and paragraphs are your friends, they make your post easier to read and thus increase the odds of someone actually reading and posting something useful to you, i personally own an Hk UspC in .40, it's not ideal for all forms of competition, but it's accurate and the ergonomics are great for me, try and find a range where you can rent a .40 229 before you buy one.

See? I cast Wall of Text. Make a saving throw against blindness.
 
Well, you said you shot low with the Glock so my suggestion probably won't be your first choice. But I was using a Glock 35 (the long slide model with adjustable sights) for a while. It worked well for me.
 
A lot will depend on what Gun game you want to play. There are different restrictions for IDPA vs IPSC/USPSA ect.

If you go USPSA I've shot a Sig P226ST in .40. The all stainless version really helps tame the .40 S&W. I've shot the XD .40 5" Tacticool. I was apprehensive about using this firearm for competition as I was very used to my P226, BUT I shot my first perfect stage with the XD so I can't complain too much.

I'm seeing more M&P's show up as well, and I own one, so I might try that next time out. Despite the fact that the M&P is a Polymer it really tames the .40 S&W well.

First you need to decide what game and what class you want to shoot in. I will warn you though. It's like CRACK. Once you do it, there's no going back.
 
If you quit jerking the trigger on the 9mm, you will hit the plates in the center.
If your .45 jams, get it fixed.

If you just must have a .40 to Keep Up With The Joneses, the P229 is not a good match gun, Marcus' P226ST would be a lot more manageable.
 
If you quit jerking the trigger on the 9mm, you will hit the plates in the center.
Click to expand...

Also, steel plates and similar small binary targets (as opposed to a big piece of paper or cardboard with a scoring range) can cause your eye to get drawn to the target--i.e., away from and typically OVER the sights. And if you're shooting over the sights, your hits are going to go low.

The .40 is a useful caliber, but there are precious few competitions in which it has any advantage over a 9mm or a .45--and those are usually the result of rules that dictate it (like USPSA/IPSC). If you don't have to shoot a .40, you'd probably do better to master (and/or fix) the guns you have. It's unlikely to solve any problems for you in the long run.
 
Not sure if it's the "best", but I use and do quite well in my little local club with a bone stock CZ-75 Tactical Sports in .40S&W
 
Well I honestly don't know which Group I am going to Join.There are both IDPA and USPSA events in the area. Most of the guys I was shooting against were in IDPA. As far as my .45 goes there isn't a problem with the gun, brand new kimber .45 it's just when i get to about 250+ rounds it tends to not want to feed every round under rapid fire, I could quite possibly be jerking when I move from target to target. I sort of "swing shoot" more so than "aim" when it comes to plates, luckily i've gotten good enough not to miss, but the result is I shoot a Little lower than center.
 
Well if you have ambitions of shooting USPSA limited class you need a .40 with at least 16+1 capacity. Most of the time the targets are arranged in arrays of 4 (requiring 8 shots.) This way you can engage 2 arrays before making a mag change. Anything less than 16+1 you have to make a mag change after each array. The Glock .40 with the arredondo extended basepad is 20+1 so you got 4 pick up shots if you needed them. This gives you a lot more options in how you engage the stage. Magazines cannot be longer than 140mm.

The Sig will not have enough capacity to make 16+1 and their 20 round mag is longer than 140mm (it's damn near 170mm). Same with the CZ.

Really you choices are the Svi/STI, Glock, XD, or M&P. I really don't care for the extractor on the XD, and dislike how you cannot get replacement parts for it without sending the gun off to springfield. The M&P I don't care for the trigger. I'm sure somebody out there is doing trigger jobs for it, but I don't know of any.

The glock has a ton of aftermarket parts. Is relatively inexpensive to get into the game compared to a Svi/Sti. There is a reason why you see so many of them at the IDPA and USPSA/IPSC matches.
 
thanks I think i'm going to check out svi and see If i can fit it in my budget, i also had already planned on getting a glock, Well really just because there affordability and durability.I think I'll go to my local range or store and see if there's an SVI I can pick up and shoot around and make sure it's a right fit for me I already know I can shoot well with the glock. So I might try and purchase the one my buddy has or try and find me one. Model 35 Correct??
 
I like the 35 it's what I use for limited. It has the longer sight radius, and a lightened slide.
 
I am afraid I am one of those persons who will just say, fix your guns. Running a gun in IDPA, or more particularly USPSA, is much different than most range use. 1911's are a little touchy as they like to run wet, so high round count competitions may necessitate a little extra lube between stages if you have a tight gun and feel the slide slowing. Some other guns may just bang away. The classification you want to shoot will, more than likely, dictate to an extent what gun you want to look at.

Waiting for the grammar nazis. :D
 
haha yea I've already been corrected on my grammar lol, but yes don't get me wrong I love LOVE my kimber 1911,but after a couple hundred rounds you feel it to drag a Little bit. Although the accuracy has never suffered at this time it just seems if i try and go into rapid firing it just can't keep up.
 
The SVI pistols and STI pistols share the same patent/design; however, the SVI’s are all custom pistols and carry the price tag to prove it. I have one SVI that is set setup in both 9mm and 45 (two barrels, breech faces, ejectors and extractors and is the best fit pistol that I own. The STI’s that I have are very well made pistols as well but anyone that fondles them can tell the difference. If you are not looking to spend into the four digit range you should look at other pistols. The better shooter will win against a poor shooter with almost any pistol. If you are new to gun games I would suggest starting with a pistol that you can afford to practice with as ammo isn’t as cheap as it used to be.
 
yes i checked the prices on both I went to SVI's website a bulit one to my specs and they priced me at around 2300.Which is a little more than i wanted to spend I was looking to stay under 1500 for one,but you can't put a price on quality. I did find an excellent condition STI for 1100 though chambered in .40 s&w. Is this a good price? The gun has had about 50 rounds fired thru it according to the owner, shows no signs of wear,no stracths no powder residue,not even stracthes to the mags which around bound to happen when quickly reloading, but in response to the last post, No I'm not new to the gun world, More so the pistol world, I've shot comp air rifles for about 3 years,moved on to high powers and love them both, but now I want to become well rounded and want to enter the pistol world, I own a couple High end guns so to speak so Possible saleing one could front me the extra 800 I wasn't plan on spending,but could make that scarfice,haha and yes true a pistol dosne't make a good shooter, but I feel as if I can hang with the best of them, and with a better pistol it will give me the added edge to Beat the best of them.HAHA and true ammo isn't cheap, but i keep it stocked and reload as often as possible
 
If your used to the 1911 grip angle I would go for that STI for $1100. That is a pretty decent price. Just be aware that it may need some work as there is proably a reason the guy is selling it so cheap. People don't tend to sell guns that shoot tits.
 
If your aren't looking to spend more than $2,000 you might want to consider a target model from one of the big name manufactures.
 
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