Who has gotten away from the 40?

[MMCSRET]

It is purchased for police use by purchasing agents, not police. And police use them because Uniformed Officers in every service do what they are told. That is why we got away from the M14 for 40+ years and are now gravitating back to it out of necessity.

 

[420Stainless]

Not me. I like it and carry one with some frequency.

 

[JR47]

It is purchased for police use by purchasing agents, not police. And police use them because Uniformed Officers in every service do what they are told.

Won't wash. Purchasing agents will always get the cheapest combination available. That would be the 9mm. The .40 S&W enjoys a good reputation in most police departments for the combination of accuracy, reliability, and stopping power. Departments that conduct their own research have discovered that the .40 isn't as debilitating in recoil as the 9mm+P+ loads. It also doesn't require a release from the Department to be supplied by the manufacturers.

The Police deal in full-size duty guns for the most part. They aren't worried about the mini-gun fads. Their weapons, by and large, sit on their belts.

 

[glockman19]

I never did see a need for that particular
caliber to begin with~!

I agree and while I have shot many .40 caliber pistols I prefer 9mm, .45ACP, .38/.357, .44 Mag and .22LR. I did just get a .380 for the wife to carry but only will have a 2-300 rounds on hand as opposed to 1,000+ for other calibers. I might get a Beretta Tomcat INOX in .32ACP just because it would be a nice backup to my 92FS INOX.

IF...if I ever add .40 to my collection, I will get a Sig, Hk, and Beretta. I might get a 96 since they stopped making them.

 

[possum]

not me, and as a matter of fact, i am steadily pumping out reloads, and as long as i have the brass and the componets, .40 ain't going anywhere for me.

 

[4v50 Gary]

I've never owned a .40 caliber handgun. However, I did get a .40 S&W barrel for my Glock 20. I bought some ammo cheap (after a training conference) and so I needed a barrel to go with the bullets.

 

[Predator26]

Own a 1911 and two .40's. A G22 & G27. Haven't shot the 1911 in I don't know how long because dare I say it, the .40 is better! IMHO the .40 has more capacity and hits harder than the .45. I love the old .45 and the 1911 platform as much as the next guy, but to me the only thing it has going is "a .40 may expand, but a .45 will never shrink" argument. Today's bullet technology from the major players ensures the .40 expands. For my money I stay away from the 180gr. .40 offerings and use the 155 or 165gr. offerings in the Gold Dot or HST version.

I don't understand all these "seasoned shooters" on many of these boards that complain about the .40's recoil versus the 9mm and .45. I do understand that recoil is subjective, but my wife shoots all 3 with equal accuracy and time splits. If she can do it, I'm sure many of you TUFF pistol afficienados* can do the same. I think it's just a "trendy" argument against the .40 for some unknown reason that's "its' hard to control and get back on target."

Flame suit on. Go ahead!

 

[MMCSRET]

Several Depts in my part of the world are moving to 45 Auto from 40. My cousin carries a Smith 625 in 45 Colt because the new Sheriff had experienced malfunctions with poorly maintained semi auto while on another dept and decided to let his more experienced members carry 45 autos or revolvers of at least 357 energy level. 40s are slightly more highly regarded than 9s.

 

[mpmarty]

With four 10MM pistols why on earth would I keep the weak sister?

 

[Kind of Blued]

I did the exact same thing. The way I see it, the .40 S&W is a compromise between 9mm and .45. I sold my .40s.

I realized that every autoloading pistol that I will ever want to buy will be available in either 9mm or .45, and the only reason I carry a 9mm is because there are so many tiny concealable guns that are chambered for it. These tiny guns tend to be hard to control, and the .40 makes them even more difficult. When you start buying, shooting, and CARRYING tiny guns, having the extra round or two makes a big difference.

15 is a little more than 12, but in a gunfight, eight is A LOT more than six or seven.

If we were to be talking about The S H'ing the F, I'd feel stupid when the only thing Wal-Mart had left was .357 Sig and .40 S&W, but let's hope for the best.

 

[High Tower]

The only 40 I own is my Hi Point 4095 carbine. It works good for me in that format. I like my Glock 21 to switch in a handgun.

 

[cornman]

I wanted to like the .40, but after trying it several times I find that I seen no reason for it to exist. I found the snap annoying and the accuracy poor.

 

[zx12rider]

Have a few

I find no issue with the .40 in the right gun. I have a Beretta cx storm carbine in .40 as well as an HK USP and S&W 4013tsw. If I find a used gun I like I really don't care if it's 9mm or 40. That being said I wouldn't buy a compact or sub compact in .40 as I think I would notice the recoil. I like options and find no reason to discard the .40.

 

[GRIZ22]

I never had any interest in the 40 and never owned one. If I want to go bigger than a 9 I'll skip the middle man and go to a 45.

 

[Black Knight]

Earlier this year I took a Sig SP 2340 in 40 (used to be my off duty carry piece) to a firearms instructors course and failed because of so many malfunctions. The pistol had a defective ejector that caused the pistol to jam (failure to feed and stovepipe). I had it repaired and retired it. I find myself carrying a 357 Mag revolver more and more when off duty. On duty I am still stuck with a 9mm. Oh how I wish we could carry personal choice when on duty. I would choose a good 45 ACP or 357 Mag.

 

[jhco]

not I said the man who just bought 2 usp 40s

 

[YZR]

.40 is one of the only calibers I don't own right now and I plan on it being my next purchase.
This thread is really bursting my bubble

 

[MagnumDweeb]

Having never owned a .40 but having fired them at the range on rental in XD and Glock I can say it is an oddly alluring caliber.

Having sold my one and only 9mm a good bit ago to my cousin for her CCW (Arucs, Browning Clone) I find myslef missing the calibe at times. Don't know why I just do.

With that said if I take the 9mm plunge again I'd double it with a .40 by buying a Glock 22 of 23 with a 9mm conversion barrell and magazines. It'd be my one and only 9mm and .40 though.

I'm a fan of the 10mm and am saving my single dollar bills and change up for one (it'll take about four months) for a Glock 29 (I'll later get the Glock 20) and 9x25 conversion barrel.

The .40 to me is a good mass distribution standard carry kind of gun. I used to dismiss the Glock until I discovered how much I like Double Tap Ammo out of my cousins Glock 29 and 20, I'm a magnum dweeb who loves his snub .357s and 4" and 7.5" .44 Magnums. Now cured of occassional bits of ignorance on gun dweebing I feel for those whose only options are the 9mm or .40, the .40 is a better choice (like in Miami as I understand it, you can only carry a 9mm for your first year on the job no matter the fact you can qualify with a .45 or so). For regular civilian shooters who want more from their guns than 9mm ballistics even in JHP, but are not ready for .45, the .40 is a good choice.

We all have different likes and tastes. Some people think I'm odd because I love Double Tap .44 Magnum out of my 4" Redhawk and that I love to double tap it and shoot it one handed. It takes all types, but we are all brothers and sisters of the 2nd Amenment.

 

[Phil DeGraves]

I have a half dozen or more of each in .45 and 9mm. I have 1 .40, just so I can shoot up the ammo that I have. That said, even though I prefer .45 and 9mm over the .40 , doesn't mean I would feel inadequately armed if that was all I had with me.

 

[Hawk]

While I can certainly understand why some folks would spend time thinking about specific types of ammunition, I've never been able to get too wound up about it - provided it was above a certain minimum and below that which would be used on African plains game.

So I got my .40 because the pistol I wanted was in short supply and the only one I could find was chambered in .40. Hence I now have a .40 and rather like it though I could not have predicted it two years ago.

A happy side effect was discovering that Federal HST .40 from Ammoman cost about the same as .45ACP Federal Red Box. That was nice. I suppose it's something of an advantage to practice with one's carry ammo - something I didn't do so much in .45. 'Course now that the HST has gone from 299.00 / K delv'd to 379.00 some of that shine has worn off. It's still about what Wally's WWB .45 cost locally after sales tax.

The pistol that "forced' the .40 on me turned out to be pleasant to shoot and it and the .40 make a nice pair. So, though I'd have bet I'd never own one, it's working out rather well.

I guess there's a number of folks that, before setting out to buy a car, decide first if they'd prefer to feed it 87, 91 or 93 octane and make it a major part of their purchase decision. Then there's those of us that don't ask what kind of fuel it takes until we're signing the papers - that hurts when it's a Firehawk that whines at anything other than 93. Though the introduction was unintentional, I'm growing rather fond of the round.

 

[againstthagrane]

people who complain about the .40's "snappiness" (whatever the heck that means) shouldn't even be shooting guns. my .40 recoils a tiny bit more than my 1911 and we're talking about a small subcompact 40 against a fullsize 1911.

my advice is to grow a pair. the 40 gives you within 50lbs/ft of energy per round as a .45acp and 20-30% more capacity in most cases. where is the compromise? its win win if you ask me.

i have pistols chambered in 9mm, .40 and .45. i love them all.

 

[TestPilot]

I've read posts from a number of people who complained about 40S&W being snappier than a 45ACP. They compared the two by shooting a 45ACP out of a 40 oz all steel pistol, and 40S&W out of something like a 22oz Glock.

Anyway, all my primary self loaders are unified to 40S&W.

 

[ShooterMcGavin]

I started with an M&P40. It is much better for handling recoil than all other plastic .40s I have shot and seems to have comparable recoil to many 9mm guns, so there's no problem with it for me. After that, I got a small compact 9mm, the PF-9. With standard pressure ammo, it is harsh and snappy. With +P ammo, it is even worse. I thoroughly enjoy putting my PF-9 down in exchange for my .40!!!

I really enjoy 9mm for the price savings!!!

 

[Keoni]

I have gotten away from The .40s&W

Not entirely though. Keeping the Bar-Sto barreled .40 High Power. More accurate than the three other .40's I've owned. Two Glocks and a Star were sold. Besides, I have 500 brass and 1K bullets to use up.

 

[skinewmexico]

The 40 didn't do anything my 45s wouldn't do, and it cost a lot more than my 9s, and it was just one more caliber to have to keep in stock. So it's gone.