Why does .40 S&W suck?

[Erik]

Two things:

1. The .40 s&w doesn't suck. It is one of the dominant cartridges on the market today because it doesn't suck.

2. If a person poses an imminent threat to yourself or another at 25 yards you can shoot him. Rare if it doesn't involve a firearm? Sure. But if the threat exists, it exists.

 

[kidcoltoutlaw]

I dont't know about all this less power stuff

I get 1460 FPS in my P226 with a 135 Nosler JHP and 1150 with a 180 JHP I don,t think that is weak. My 4.7 inch Bar-Sto will give me 1567 with a 135 JHP. 800X is said to be even better. My 5 inch 40 will give you 1207 with a 180 is that weak ? Accuracy is 2.25 at 25 yards it might do better if I tuned the load but that is good enough for now.

 

[SkiLune]

I shoot 9mm, .40 S&W, and little .22s.

I will say the .40 has a hell of a kick. I shoot .40 from my HK USP Comp. Its a small gun but kicks like a big mule. I also shoot .40 from my Glock 22, and the recoil feels much lighter when using the same cartridges.

When I switch to my 9mm for IDPA, it seems like I'm shooting a .22. When I shoot the .22, it feels like an air gun.

I use the .40s for home defense and on occassions where I want to carry. But, I shoot the 9mm much more accurately.

I'm seriously considering a different caliber, but the .45s that are carryable mostly have a low (8 +1) mag capacity. So, what are my alternatives if I want something with high capacity, but with less zingo than the .40?

 

[rman43]

But it don't suck

It doesn't - I've got a 9, a 40 and a bunch of .45's. I like them all. (But the .45 is my favorite.)

 

[rantingredneck]

I won't say it sucks, because obviously it doesn't. I've just never fired it in a platform that allowed me to shoot it well.

I shoot 9mm and .45ACP because they both work better for me. YMMV.

 

[jkingrph]

Because it came out after the 10mm auto!!

 

[brashboy]

The .40 is a good round, kind of pricey. It's not that bad to shoot, depends on the gun. It seems that in the same gun the .40 is noticeably sharper in recoil than a 9mm.

I just don't want to add another caliber to keep up with, even thinking about getting out of the .380 for that reason, though kind of fond of it. The .45 is there if I want a big heavy slug, the 9 is there if I want big heavy round capacity, some good .22s if I need it. If I had started with the .40 I wouldn't switch from it now.

 

[goings_51]

If one thinks about it, it truly is a compromise in every aspect; it takes the desirable qualities of other gun/cartridge combinations and sacrifices a bit of each to gain some of another.

That sounds like a good thing.

 

[Hoppy590]

it doesnt suck. its just the answer to a question i didnt ask

some people like it because 40 has more power than 9. more rounds than 45. personaly i never bought that idea as theres plenty of HiCap .45's out there now. i also dont care for most of the guns chambered in .40 as just a preferance thing. theres no gun out there in .40 that cant be had in .45 or 9.

i do like the .38 Super though

 

[briang2ad]

Its because...

I get 1460 FPS in my P226 with a 135 Nosler JHP and 1150 with a 180 JHP...

See - it comes the closest of any autoloader to the wimpy and ineffective 357 Magnum - a well known loser in a gunfight. Because it is so CLOSE to this round, it has a BAD REPUTATION for gunfights!

(OK - a little hyperbole to make a point - and yes, the 357 SIG is closer, but, try buying ammo...

 

[gandog56]

Nope, I don't find it sucks. As a matter of fact, I use a Sig P229 40 S&W as my home defense gun, even though I also a have the 357 Sig barrel. It's just I am afraid of overpenetration with the 357 Sig. Of course for hunting I break out the 10mm.

 

[Juna]

I guess if you're wanting a good power:diameter ratio, then 10mm might be the way to go as it allows higher capacity than a .45 and more power than a .40. That said, I wouldn't want to be shot with a .22.

 

[peacemaker45]

I've had weird experiences with .40s. The one I owned was an HK USP, fullsize. Some esoteric combination of factors ranging from my hand size/shape, to the odd balance of a poly gun, and the snappy character of the .40, caused me to intensely dislike shooting that gun. Since then, I've rented 3 guns in .40. One was a Walther P99 AS, one a Springfield XD Service, and one a Glock. All three known to be excellent, reliable guns, right? Well, not one of the three could make it through a mag without some sort of failure. When I went back and griped, and got a 9 to finish out my range session, the same model in a different caliber worked just fine. Don't know why all that crap goes on between me and 40 S&W, but I've come to the conclusion that I don't like the round, and the round doesn't much care for me, either.

~~~Mat

 

[geojap]

I love my 40 S&W. I have a Sig 229 in 40 S&W, a Sig 239 in 357 SIG, and a Browning Hi-Power in 9mm and they all shoot fine and are wonderful calibers.

 

[CountGlockula]

Judging a book by its cover.

It sucks because most haven't tried shooting one...I mean REALLY tried.

 

[Kimber1911_06238]

My favorite is the .45 acp, but I like the .40 S&W also. Fun to shoot

 

[dleong]

Gosh, I wish somebody had told me that the 40S&W sucks before I had accumulated 13 pistols chambered in that caliber!

 

[okiewita40]

I must be the biggest gluton for punishment there is. Not only do I own a .40 It is a Sigma too boot. I guess I'll just keep shooting a crappy gun that takes crappy ammo. But hey it works for me.

 

[bearmgc]

Out of a P99, it works for me. OKIE, if your gun shoots, it ain't crappy.

 

[.357 magnum]

.40 cal Is an excellent Round!

I have two .40 cals and just purchased a new SW-MP in a .40 [now I have three] The .45 version of the Smith MP only had 10 rd mag capacity , so I went for the .40 The .40 is very close to being on par with the .45 in stopping power. There are many excellent self defense rounds. The majority of LE uses the .40. It took me a little longer to shoot it well, but with the mag capacity at 15 rds on all of mine-it is a great defensive weapon. I am first and foremost a .45 fan, but the .40 is a winner and it sure does not suck. I have a couple of 9mm that are really nice too. So I guess I am diverse in my caliber choices.

The Best to All!

Frank

 

[Redneck with a 40]

A good example of why the 40 S&W is a great caliber is in the Taurus 24/7 series guns. The 9mm has a 17 round capacity, the 40 has a 15 round capacity, and the 45 has a 12 round capacity. You're only giving up TWO rounds to the 9mm, however each of those rounds is bigger and more potent. I'd much rather have 15 rounds of 40 over 17 rounds of 9mm, or 12 rounds of 45.

I've handloaded some Speer Gold Dot 155's with 7.5 grains of Unique, they chrono'd 1215 fps out of my 4" XD. That's a pretty stout round for self defense purposes.

With Hogden Longshot, I could push some 135 grain JHP's over 1400 fps, very close to 357 mag, but with a bigger bullet. The 40 may not be a barnstormer in factory configuration, but if you handload it, it has a lot of potential. One other tidbit, the 40 ranks second to the 357 mag in one shot stop percentage.

 

[20nickels]

Wow, I didn't realize so many people hated a powerfull modern pistol round easily chambered in a 9mm sized platform that has quickly & clearly proven itself. Am I missing something here? This argument is as old as the caveman that wanted to throw a different sized rock at something because it worked for his needs better.

 

[dstorm1911]

Yep it really sucks....... As ya might guess from my User ID I've been a die hard 1911 .45 ACP fan for literally most of my life..... Then a few years ago a friend calls me up and tells me to read his torture test story in a very popular gun rag..... ohhh man another Tupperware gun, well I go ahead and read bout his test he beats hell outa an XD 9mm and it out performs everything under the sun etc etc... well I didn't have a single plastic gun so... might as well make this XD my first and well I also had no .40 S&W guns cr@p load of .45 acps, 9 mm , 357s etc etc etc but no .40 so may as well checkout both and got the 5" tactical XD .40

man that thing was down right fun to shoot, never noticed any snappy recoil etc.. everyone complains bout, my only comment at the time of purchase was "too bad this puppy ain't available in .45 ACP" well....... now I have one of every XD to date my Step daughter at 4'10" and 75 lbs shoots her best with her Taurus Mil pro .40 and my .45 ACP XD tactical is a pleasure to shoot but no where near as vesatile as the .40 and....... I can roll coffee cans at 130 yards all day with the .40 5" with my personal 165 grn cast slugs just can't do that with the .45 ACP trajectory has too much in common with a rainbow but no gold pot at the end of it And out here in the desert right in the middle of smugglers ally on the AZ/Mex border...... that ability to hit out at 130 yards has gotten my @ss safly back to my rail and the AK therin several times as the bad guys get other ideas when those slugs start rippin the rocks up right in fromt of their faces

 

[nemoaz]

I don't come on the internet to try to impress people with my training regiment, my aim, my stories or a buncha exaggerated BS stories about shooting a 6" target at 75 feet either.

My agency qualifies at 25 yards and we will soon return to shooting from the 50. I shoot in the upper 30 percentile or so and rarely miss the 5 ring (about 6") from 25 yard supported position. It's really not that big of a deal. I certainly don't consider myself an expert pistol shot by any means. Front sight and squeeze is really all there is to it. Keep practicing and I'm sure you will agree.

 

[dstorm1911]

get into silhouette or bullseye competition if ya want to really tighten up for longer ranges, For some reason Americans have forgotten about the good ol days of Turkey shoots with the ol' S&W .32/20 or the .38 Special used to be extremally popular here but its just been lost except for a very few small groups who still practice. Folks have gotten locked into this 25 yard B.S and its become a trap American shooters just can't seem to get out of........ Or maybe its our guns have degraded in quality so much that they are no longer capable of 75 yard accuracy? 100 yards? Thats bad as now we have much better rifling equipment and Autoloaders that can reuse the same chamber for more consistancy etc... ohhhh wait no it can't be the guns cause there are folks still shooting extended ranges with late model guns! So it must be American shooters who are the problem?

The Hong kong Royal police were famouse for pistol marksmanship with their Old S&W .38s (the old M&P 5 screw) the average officer had to qualify at 50 yards! Look at what departments are accepting as sufficient in the 21st century..... Just give the officer more rounds in an Autoloade as long as 40% hit the target we're good...... If ya wanna be really impressed look up a bullseye match in your area then go watch, ya will see some useing red dots etc.. ignore them look for the old guy who'll be packing an old S&W K38 materpiece or an old pencil barrel M&P with iron sites he won't win the match bein up against all the new guns and toys but watch his targets........ there is at least one at every shoot, the young guys will scoff at his old revolver etc... until he starts shooting if your really lucky onea the old .32/20 S&Ws will show up that was a tack driver!!

I don't "make" my kids or friends etc.. practice at 75 or 100 yards but when we have our weekly shoots out here I'll start shooting on the 100 yard range and pretty soon everyones wantin to try it... then it becomes an obsession to be able to do it next thing they are searchin the net for old 6" revolvers The .40 S&W does really really well at extended ranges very similar to the .357 without the recoil