What's Happened to the .40 S&W

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xseler

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.40 S&W is the only caliber that I just have one pistol ---- a Springfield XD40 that resides in the nightstand. All of my 9mm and .45's shoot much better than the XD40. Maybe it's me, maybe it's not. However, I'm satisfied with only having one...…..and I've probably got a 100 years worth of ammo for it!


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dennishoddy

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minimum of 3 each should be mandatory

Ok, I’ve surpassed that... now what?
I was in bear country the other day and had a choice of a 9mm with 115 Gr Hornady or a .40 with 180 grain, same manufacture, same model of bullet, just a heavier weight.
Knowing what I do about bears and killing them, which should I have taken? The miracle 9mm with ammo that is the chosen round among limp wristed FBI agents or a round that might just penetrate the skull of a charging bear with the kinetic energy of a heavier bullet?
There is a reason 9mm isn’t used against dangerous game. The .40 isn’t either but I’ll carry the .40 because of the extra weight bullet.

Bear on the trail we were hiking on destroyed this log looking for rodents and insects to eat.
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Right next to the destroyed log is one the bear couldn’t open up but the claw marks are evident.

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xseler

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Ok, I’ve surpassed that... now what?
I was in bear country the other day and had a choice of a 9mm with 115 Gr Hornady or a .40 with 180 grain, same manufacture, same model of bullet, just a heavier weight.
Knowing what I do about bears and killing them, which should I have taken? The miracle 9mm with ammo that is the chosen round among limp wristed FBI agents or a round that might just penetrate the skull of a charging bear with the kinetic energy of a heavier bullet?
There is a reason 9mm isn’t used against dangerous game. The .40 isn’t either but I’ll carry the .40 because of the extra weight bullet.


It may not be the correct call, but I always take a .45 when I do wilderness 'excursions' in the mountains. Nothing quite raises the hairs on the back of your neck when you come across a still steaming group of 'nuggets' in the early morning. That means its probably looking at you now.

Come to think of it, I think the only reason I got the XD40 was because I didn't have one. Hmmm.

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O4L

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I have tried other calibers but I'm all in with 9mm for my semi-auto pistols. I will say though, it wouldn't take much arm twisting to for me to add a .357Sig to the lineup again.

If I were going into bear country with a handgun only (which I don't plan on doing) I would probably carry a 450 Casull, 500 Magnum, or whatever the latest and greatest big caliber handgun is available. Maybe a 10mm for higher capacity would fit the bill also. I haven't researched bear stopping with a handgun 101 so I'm not sure.
 

dennishoddy

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It may not be the correct call, but I always take a .45 when I do wilderness 'excursions' in the mountains. Nothing quite raises the hairs on the back of your neck when you come across a still steaming group of 'nuggets' in the early morning. That means its probably looking at you now.

Come to think of it, I think the only reason I got the XD40 was because I didn't have one. Hmmm.

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That wasn’t the only dangerous game sign we saw. A free range cow had a huge flap of skin torn off its spinal area and had claw marks down its flanks. It ran immediately after seeing it before getting a pic. Bear or lion, don’t know.
 

Yeti695

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The way that the government dictates a lot of what people want or use as far as firearms is an enigma to me. When the FBI decided to use the 9mm instead of the .40 S&W you could look on any gun auction or pawn shop and see an abundance of them for sale. The same thing happened when the military went away from the Glock. Now you see them a lot and it’s like everyone is a Sig Sauer fan. I mainly have 9mm and have for years. Two of my favorite pistols to shoot are a Glock 21 Gen2 and an old 38 special. For me it hard to just change every time the government moves on from one manufacture of caliber, I don’t get it but it seems to happen a lot.
 

CorpsVet

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My Pappy always said, "That's why they make chocolate and strawberry, because not everyone likes vanilla."

Boils down to, research your particular circumstance(s) (what you have, what you can afford, etc.), choose your weapon, caliber and cartridge(s), and become proficient and responsible.
 

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