.40S&W, any thoughts good, bad??

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GWbiker

New member
I checked into my favorite Tucson gun shop this afternoon and noticed a Interarms/Firestar M40, single stack in .40S&W for sale, on consignment. ($250)

I like the Firestar line, having owned a M-43 for a number of years which I find to be very reliable, short distance accurate, inexpensive, all steel, small and easy to conceal.

I'm try to keep my hand gun caliber choices to .38spl, 9mm and .45ACP, but this little Spanish made gun is trying to follow me home!

I noticed .40S&W and .45ACP ammo prices are nearly the same!

So, .40S&W a good choice or should I just stick with .45ACP and 9mm???
 
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Shadi Khalil

New member
Alot of people will disagree with me, but if you've never shot the .40, give it a go before getting one. I find it to be a little more to handle than the .45, it has much more of a snap. However, its a great round. I've been renting that and a .357 sig and have really warmed up to them. If you've shot it and you like it, by all means get one. The .40 is a proven round and is readily available. The price isnt to bad either....
 
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Boris Bush

Moderator
Since you asked. I would stick with 9mm and 45. 40S&W was a marketing ploy to make money, it does nothing a 9mm or 45 cann't already do....
 
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vox rationis

New member
40S&W was a marketing ploy to make money, it does nothing a 9mm or 45 cann't already do....
Click to expand...

The .40 S&W was created because the FBI downloaded the 10 mm and created the 10mm FBI load which was essentially a 180gr JHP moving at around 960fps. It was correctly realized that you can create those same ballistics out of a shorter case that can fit into 9mm sized frames, and alas the .40S&W was created.

As we all know the FBI has adopted the .40S&W, as did many if not most police departments, as it gives you terminal ballistics close to the .45, but allows you to significantly gain in ammo capacity, all in a pistol with a 9mm sized frame.

Some, especially the recoil sensitive, or those with arthritic wrists, find the recoil "snappy", but this doesn't seem to be too much of a problem for the FBI, law enforcement agencies, or to the plethora of .40 shooters out there. A full steel gun will in any case act to reduce some of the recoil.

Personally I find the 180 grain loadings very controllable even in polymer guns, although the full house 165grain Gold Dots start to slow my shot to shot recovery times a little too much for my liking when shooting my USPc, although it is nothing a bit more training couldn't take care of I tend to think.

Rent an all steel pistol, and a polymer one, in both .45 auto and .40, and see if you can tell a difference. I couldn't tell much difference between a USPc in .40 and one in .45; if anything the .40 snapped back on target faster, I thought.

I hope this helps.
 
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Boris Bush

Moderator
SOVT

All I gotta say is if the 40S&W is soo good then the 45GAP has got to be better. 45 ACP ballistics from a 9mm pistol is better than 10mm lite loads from a 9mm size pistol.

Both marketing ploys to make more money by feeding off from human nature to "gotta have it better than that guy syndrom".........
 
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Boris Bush

Moderator
Heck no!

Its a SIG for cryin out loud! All they did was take the 9x25 dillon lite load and make it shorter to fit into a 9mm frame size, geesh, I thought everyone knew that........
 
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Shadi Khalil

New member
Well, with the .40 being adopted by so many Federal agenices and police forces, you can hardley call it a marketing ploy, at least not anymore.
 
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chris in va

New member
I guess it depends on the platform. The ony 40 I've owned was a steel slide/aluminum frame version and it was much too snappy for my liking and I sold it after a month.

The *only* 40 I would ever consider getting is the all steel CZ75. It was the original that turned me on to the CZ line.
 
D

denfoote

New member
I took my G23 (.40S&W) and my G36 (.45acp) to the range today.
Maybe it's just me, but I shoot the 36 far better than the 23!!
The 23 goes back into the safe and the 36 continues on duty!!
 
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B.N.Real

New member
After reading all the .40 shooting stories about the snappy action and the ball of fire that goes out the barrel when you fire the .40 cartridge,I think I'll pass on owning one.

And the smaller the pistol,I would imagine the worse the recoil and blast effect.

I equate the 40 S&W cartridge to the 9mm as I do the 357 mag to the 38.

And as much as I tried to like shooting the 357,I always found it's sharp report real uncomfortable.

I have fired many 9mm's and never found them uncomfortable to shoot or control as far as the cartridge is concerned.

If I go for a more powerful cartridge I'll go with a larger,less pressure filled one.

Like the 45 colt in a revolver or the 45 acp in a semi auto.

Just my opinion.
 
O

Officer's Match

New member
I took my G23 (.40S&W) and my G36 (.45acp) to the range today.
Maybe it's just me, but I shoot the 36 far better than the 23!!
Click to expand...

Just an anecdotal example, but I was the opposite. I rented a 36 and shot it with my 23 right after I bought it, and I shot the 23 much better and faster than the 36.
 
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Rufkarma

New member
Hatcher Rating: "Pistol Cartridge Stopping Power"

While I truly believe that every 'new and improved' item in the marketplace is an attempt to divert our hard earned monies; it doesn't always mean its evil. I have a G23, a S&W 342PDTi, and KelTec .32 w/belt clip. What I carry depends on what I'm wearin' - light jacket + = G23; shorts and t-shirt = KelTeck. While the KelTec (at Hatcher Rating of 11ish) doesn't compare with the G23 (at a score of 53), I wouldn't want to get hit by one - it's reliable and accurage at 10 yards and has either 7 or 10 round mags. Size matters but you gotta be in the fight . . . "the most immportant thing to bring to a knife fight is earplugs."

Sorry for the length of this, but data usually wins out.

You want a handgun cartridge that has a Hatcher value of over 50 for the most effective stopping power. Values over 55 have diminishing returns in that you don’t gain any significant increase in stopping power for the extra recoil and control you must cope with. Handgun cartridges that don’t make a value of at least 50, should not considered for self-defense. If the rating of your handgun cartridge is under 30, it only has about a 30% chance of producing a one shot stop. Hatcher Ratings of 30 to 49 raise a one shot stop to approximately a 50% chance. Ratings of 50 or higher produce a one shot stop about 90% of the time.


Handgun Cartridge Type ..................... Hatcher Rating

.45 ACP full metal jacket 230 grain .......... 49.1

.45 ACP jacketed hollow point 230 grain ...... 60.7

.44 Magnum full metal jacket 240 grain ....... 92.3

*.44 Magnum lead wad cutter 240 grain ......... 136.8

.44 Special full metal jacket 240 grain ...... 51.6

*.44 Special lead wad cutter 240 grain ............. 76.5

.41 Magnum full metal jacket 230 grain ............. 54

*.41 Magnum lead wad cutter 230 grain .............. 80

10 millimeter full metal jacket 180 grain .......... 50.3

10 millimeter jacketed hollow point 180 grain ..62.1

.40 S&W full metal jacket flat nose 180 grain ...... 53.4

.40 S&W jacketed hollow point 180 grain ....... 59.4

.38 Special full metal jacket 158 grain ...... 26.7

*.38 Special lead wad cutter 158 grain ............. 39.7

**.357 Magnum full metal jacket 158 grain ..... 32.7

**.357 Magnum lead wad cutter 158 grain ............ 48.5

.357 SIG full metal jacket 147 grain ................ 36.6

.357 SIG jacketed hollow point 147 grain ..... 45.2

9 millimeter full metal jacket 147 grain ............ 32.3

9 millimeter jacketed hollow point 147 grain ... 39.9

.380 Auto jacketed hollow point 95 grain ..... 18.3

.32 Auto jacketed hollow point 71 grain ...... 11.1

.25 Auto jacketed hollow point 50 grain ...... 3.7

.22 Long Rifle jacketed hollow point 40 grain ... 4.2


* Jacketed hollow points will have the same rating as wad cutter bullets if the bullet hollow tip is greater than 1/2 of the caliber of the bullet.


* .357 Magnum ratings are taken from a firearm with a 3 inch barrel. Longer barrels will raise the rating of the round.
 
O

Officer's Match

New member
I don't know what the Hatcher criteria is, but I'm struggling to see how there can be such a disparity between the 357 Sig and the 40SW. And I shoot and like the 40 - it's my primary carry, 155 gr JHP Winchester Rangers in a P2000SK. I just can't see how a 40 can be rated that much ahead of a 357 Sig in an objective, empirical test.
 
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Dusty Rivers

New member
Wife loved 40 S&W

Took my wife shooting for the first time yesterday. She shot SIG 226 in 9MM, Sig 239 in 40 , and GP 100 in 38. She loved shooting the P239 in 40 cal. She said the recoil, controlability and accuracy was the best for the 40 cal. So I would take all the recoil reports with a grain of salt and go shoot one for yourself. I have shot a couple of thousand rounds of 9mm and I like shooting the 40 cal better.

Aim small, miss small:cool:
 
R

Rufkarma

New member
Hatcher Criteria

It comes from "Hatcher's Notebook". General Hatcher was the Army's Ordanance Chief around 1900; a forensic pathologist (probably the first one with stone tablets), and developed what stands today as the benchmark for pistol cartridge stopping power.

Bottom line is if you can't hit what your shooting at, it doesn't matter if it's a .45, .40, .357 Sig, or .177 pellet pistol.

In a defensive problem it also has to be available; both within reach and easily retrievable, at the moment you need it. A good retention holster (or just a thumbsnap) with a gun in condition 3 (full mag/empty chamber), all adds presentation time, even a paper one where we all practice.

I provided the Hatcher Rating because several were confabutizing about "marketing" and "money"; who cares?

"Your best option for personal security is a lifelong committment to avoidance, deterrence and de-escalation", and, "If your shooting stance is good, your probably not using cover or concealment effectively."

I like my G23; but have fired the P200SK and XD series .40 cal - - I like!

Semper Gumby!
 
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