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Is .40 S&W really dying?

Well? .40: it’s 10mm with the velocity set to ‘factory load.’” It’s why you see competition shooters running it out of their 10's.

I mean if you like 10mm, .40 is still cheaper to shoot. Same case family reunion — .40 just shows up a little shorter, a little slower.”

After all .40 is 10mm that listened to the FBI’s feelings. For backpacking, I would take the 10mm (or for hunting), .40 is what stays home to qualify at the range.

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I wonder what would happen if someone asked "What caliber is that?" and you said 1 cm?

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I bought my first gun in February of 1996. So, roughly 10 years after the Miami shootout that gave us the 40 Smith & Wesson.

It was a Smith & Wesson model 915. At the time I remember 9 mm being considered somewhat anemic.

When I got my CHP I was carrying an RIA 1911 and my wife told me I should get a .40S&W because the ammunition would be cheaper. When your wife tells you to buy a new gun you buy it.

When the .40S&W came out I think it was a more effective round but as time went on advances in ballistic technology brought the 9mm into the the FBI's standards.
Since the 9mm meets FBI standards people are migrating back to 9mm.

Here is a very good article that addresses this issue


QUOTE from the article

I thought back to the effects different pistol rounds having on animals, victim's of shootings, and Officer involved shootings that I had seen personally and read about during my career. I couldn't think of a single shooting where the person or animal was shot with a 9mm and lived, but would have died if the round would have been a .40S&W or a .45acp. And I could not think of a single shooting where a person or animal was shot with a .40S&W or a .45acp and died, but would have survived if the round would have been a 9mm.
 
Jsimon78 said:
I honestly wish I had the money for the M&P40 M2.0 in metal. I honestly like how it felt in the hand compared to the other 2 M&P’s I have. Don’t get me wrong the G23 I have is solid and shoots great along with reliability.
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I really like the Meal M&P and I feel the 40 is better suited in a alloy or steel frame over polymer (outside the HK USP which was made as a 40 from the ground up)

Great guns
 
I like my 23.3. That 19 size just fits my hand well. To be able to shoot 357 and 9mm makes it a versatile weapon. When Covid hit, there was no 9mm to be found nor 357 but I could get .40. I'm a believer in owning several calibers for that reason. Palmetto was selling G22's for $399 recently which I think is a steal. Ammo for the .40 is also fairly affordable these days. Good reasons for why I'm hangin on.
 
Dead? Hardley. Obsolete? Not a chance.

Less popular, yes, but the 40 for all it’s positive attributes only suffers from one drawback….many think it is a solution in search of a problem.

I’m not giving up my 9mms or 45s. I’ve embraced the 40 round. It’s like the 41 Magnum of the semiautomatic world.
It gets the job done.
 
Reminds me of something,

obsolete twilight zone https://share.google/2Jsu5cpUrbeFNBBCC

Dont believe it is obsolete, but I do think it will slowly get rarer to sn extent as less pistols are made in it, less police use it, and 9mm continues to replace its use.

Young people will become exposed less to it and that will create less demand.

The .41 magnum is possibly a good comparison. Not gone nor forgotten, just rarer...
 
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Musashi said:
I like my 23.3. That 19 size just fits my hand well. To be able to shoot 357 and 9mm makes it a versatile weapon. When Covid hit, there was no 9mm to be found nor 357 but I could get .40. I'm a believer in owning several calibers for that reason. Palmetto was selling G22's for $399 recently which I think is a steal. Ammo for the .40 is also fairly affordable these days. Good reasons for why I'm hangin on.
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I’m on the same page. If there’s a shortage again and want to shoot then I have a fail safe. Yes I love my 1CM and 9MM is cheap and .45 is when everything thing has had its turn. The .40 has its place and think it’ll have a mild come back
 
Musashi said:
I like my 23.3. That 19 size just fits my hand well. To be able to shoot 357 and 9mm makes it a versatile weapon. When Covid hit, there was no 9mm to be found nor 357 but I could get .40. I'm a believer in owning several calibers for that reason. Palmetto was selling G22's for $399 recently which I think is a steal. Ammo for the .40 is also fairly affordable these days. Good reasons for why I'm hangin on.
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When Covid hit I already had a stockpile of ammo and never ran out.
Be prepared. Always have more ammo than you need on hand
 
My first striker gun was a Shield PC .40. I bought it because at that time I was not sold on 9mm at all. And they didn't have the Shield in .45 ACP yet. When it came out, I bought it and the .40 rarely saw the light of day. I ended up giving it to my sister. It's an accurate gun and didn't seem particularly "Snappy" to me.

These days I have 4 or 5 9MMs. All German except one Israeli.
 
The Night Rider said:
A lot of people talk about diversifying as a hedge against a shortage.

Ammunition was plentiful and relatively cheap from the end of Obama's first term till Biden was elected.

Was that not ample time to build up quite a stock?
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I wasn’t into the hobby yet at the moment for different reasons. Basically when I moved and then I got hooked.
 
HansGruber said:
There’s no real evidence that .40 is actually more effective (see the Ellifritz study) than 9mm.
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Terminal Performance, by whichever name , and whichever measure . Always rightly of interest , never reached a consensus definition . Never reached a consensus ranking either by caliber or specific load . And not insignificant number of observers/ commentator insist that differences only exist between broad categories, or even no difference at all between any caliber at all .

Disclaimers out of the way , my takes and observations .

There are differences . Albeit among ( duty / defensive calibers, using what l consider top performing loads ) , the differences can be small enough to not be a big deal . And individual Loads of say 9mm can overlap with certain individual loads for say .40S&W. ( Other calibers similar situation ) .

It is my * opinion * ( but l can make good argument ) , that many , if not majority , of users / PD selected the less than best choice of bullet weight for .40 .

From the experiences of " urban medium " size PD of my intimate acquaintance , and my digging into available testing, l can point to a handful of 155 / 165 gr duty loads ( that l believe ) to outperform any 9mm duty load .

[ No , l'm not saying good 9mm loads suck , or might not be rational choices to use / issue . I have no issue saying that good 9mm can be "plenty good " , or carrying 9mm . But claims that 9mm is "Better" than
40 , 10 , .45 , .357 , etc irk me .]
 
Biggfoot44 said:
Terminal Performance, by whichever name , and whichever measure . Always rightly of interest , never reached a consensus definition . Never reached a consensus ranking either by caliber or specific load . And not insignificant number of observers/ commentator insist that differences only exist between broad categories, or even no difference at all between any caliber at all .

Disclaimers out of the way , my takes and observations .

There are differences . Albeit among ( duty / defensive calibers, using what l consider top performing loads ) , the differences can be small enough to not be a big deal . And individual Loads of say 9mm can overlap with certain individual loads for say .40S&W. ( Other calibers similar situation ) .

It is my * opinion * ( but l can make good argument ) , that many , if not majority , of users / PD selected the less than best choice of bullet weight for .40 .

From the experiences of " urban medium " size PD of my intimate acquaintance , and my digging into available testing, l can point to a handful of 155 / 165 gr duty loads ( that l believe ) to outperform any 9mm duty load .

[ No , l'm not saying good 9mm loads suck , or might not be rational choices to use / issue . I have no issue saying that good 9mm can be "plenty good " , or carrying 9mm . But claims that 9mm is "Better" than
40 , 10 , .45 , .357 , etc irk me .]
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Pretty much all service calibers (9, .38, .357, .40, .45) perform the same when looked at as a whole…I mean with 1-2%.

What studies DO show us is that two rapid hits are MUCH more effective in stopping a threat than just one…and while platform, user ability, etc comes in to play there, it’s not unfair to say that a 9mm is a easier to do this with than .40.
 
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