.40 Caliber Owner Rejoice!

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PigPen

New member
I own a Kahr in .40 S&W. I'm not at all sure why. I've considered getting rid of it.

You see to me the issue is why a .40. I have three a 9mms which are lighter to carry, have less recoil, are cheaper to shoot, and I have a rainy day stash of several thousand rounds of ball and several hundred rounds of hydroshoks.

I have 4 1911s in ,45 ACP which are more powerful, proven, possibly more reliable and safer (but I doubt it). I can already shot them pretty well for the amount of practice I do. I have 5 thousand rounds of ball ammo and several hundred Black Talons and hydroshoks.

Now the point is not what do I have against a .40 S&W. The point is what does it offer me that I do not already have. IMO, the cartridge is the answer to a question which has not been asked. If I bought one (and kept it), I would feel that I had to buy the same stash to hedge against Executive orders prohibiting me acess to ammunition as I have done with the other calibers :). And for what?.....What would I gain?. If the .40 had preceded either of the other two then one of them would be outside looking in but it did not.

No need for a 40 S&W that I can see.

PigPen
 
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krept

New member
PigPen - you hit the nail right on the head.

You really don't have much, if anything, to gain at all from goin to the .40. In fact, a fellow on GlockTalk was asking about trading in his G26 9mm for a G27 .40. My response? Don't do it. Stick with the 9mm, especially considering all the time and energy spent with the pistol and the cost of a new piece to fit the -exact- same role.

IMO: there really isn't any advantage a caliber can give that makes up for a lack in experience.

BUT... for those who do not already have a carry gun, home defense gun, CCW gun or established arsenal, but already have experience... the .40 can be a great choice (I'm not going to spew more propaganda as to why ;)). Like the fellow on GT, your roles seem to be filled perfectly. No need for a .40!

I have a fullsize .45 for HD and for open carry (USP), but did not have a CCW until recently. I love the .45, but was not thrilled by having it come out of a short bbl with larger dimensions. The .40 fit the bill perfectly, I wanted it, and was impressed with the ballistics out of a short barrel.

Nothing against the 9mm, but I had a completely fresh slate to work with and I chose the .40. On the other hand, if I had the cash to buy a P7M8, it would be 9mm all with no hesitation, but because of the package and not the caliber.
 
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bullet44

New member
sorry to rain on anyone's parade but the 40 never will
stand the test of time as the 9 and 45acp has, most
calibers stay around only if adopted by the military.
 
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hube1236

New member
40 is here to stay, whether or not it is adopted by the military. Whether or not it is better than your round is immaterial.

I seen a mil spec SA 1911 in 40 with 6 hi caps in SS for (used) $650 and I passed it up because I wanted my next pistol to be 45. What a f*(&$#*($ idiot I am.

I shoot 40, I will always shoot 40.
 
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bullet44

New member
Most 40's show signs of premature unlocking and wear
due to pressure and the fact that accuracy does not
equal either 9mm or 45acp tells me it will not hang
in like the above cal's.
 
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FratBoyTX

New member
IMHO, the .40 S&W has been adopted by too many police agencies to be ignored. So has the .357 SIG. While both are new, I think that both are here to stay. BTW, I carry a Sig P239 in .40, and will buy the .357 bbl soon.

CFB
 
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Quantum Singularity

New member
It does its job well.......

I don't like the .40 personally, but I acknowledge that it is one of the better semi-auto handgun defensive cartridges out there.
 
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TCW

New member
....and for those that want more power than a 9mm but don't want to be stuck with 7 rounds.
 
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TCW

New member
7 rounds of .45 is fine, but some people prefer the 43% increase in capacity of an equally effective round.
 
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krept

New member
Yeah, but haven't you noticed that the G30 is too big for you? It's all cause of that darn .45 round. ;)

Everyone settle down, lets start a new thread if this is going to be a caliber war :D
 
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IanS

New member
Now, now, no fighting in the sandbox. Why don't you two exchange email addresses? Or.... maybe not.

I think the saying goes, "To each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs" or something like that. Guns are not one size fits all.

I'm sticking with the .40 as my primary for compelling reasons and conclusions. "Compelling" because these were reasons that were important to ME. So the following are personal reasons only applicable TO ME. I decided against the 9mm and .45 after owning several different models in all 3 calibers. Again this was after my personal journey, YMMV.


.45 ACP: great round but needs a larger or thicker pistol. 1911s are either too big or needs to shoot stout +P rounds out of compact barrels to retain its "legendary" performance. (I don't like using +P in any of my guns.) If it "fits" you goody for you, it didn't fit me. (10mm kinda applies here too)

9mm: I can shoot this round more effectively for combat than any other caliber because of its soft recoil. With good hollowpoints its a very effective round. But, at the range I kinda like the feel of stout recoil in my hands. So I feel rather bored shooting 9mm.

.357 Sig (or the 9mm +P+): Superb cartridge and am tempted (the P226/P229 is like butta') but personally I'm a bit tired of playing musical chairs with different calibers and guns. Don't want to make another expensive switch. Also, still expensive to shoot. Sure it may ALLEGEDLY be more powerful and accurate than the .40 but for combat we are really splitting hairs here. The difference in my mind is not enough to make a switch.


So I'm ready to settle down. I'm tired of the dating scene. I've decided to make the .40 my constant companion. Now, the only thing I need to decide is whether I like Sig or Glock better.:)
 
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TCW

New member
Since I prefer the Sigs (ergonomics, quality, reliability, reputattion...etc.), my choice was between the P226 (.40/.357) or the 220 (.45). The 226 carries 10 rounds and the 220 carries 7. Those were MY available Sig choices and that's what my numbers are based on.
 
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Rob62

New member
I too am a fan of the .40 S&W. I believe that it is as close as to a perfect all around cartridge as there is. It falls nicely between the 9mm and the .45 ACP. Of which I own guns chambered for both.

I haven't done much research on the 357 SIG but I am anti bottleneck cartridges in a pistol. (Just my personal preference)

Rob
 
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