What's up with the .40's?

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Brandi

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I've always preferred the .45acp for anything two-legged related. The Glock 21, Ruger Blackhawk and my STI Elektra being my current guns in that caliber. The reason I bought my first and only 9mm was because after seeing Beretta 92's in the movies and be carried by our military I wanted one. Then I saw one online that had the pink Hogue wrap around grips on it and that was it, I had to have one so I did my research and chose a 92A1.

So after that I had handguns in .22LR, 9MM, 45acp, 45Colt, .38/357magnum and 44 magnum but one the crazy hit finding ammo for any of them was impossible but we almost always found 40S&W. We decided to get .40's so we could finally go shoot. We (my sister and I ) did our individual researched and chose which .40 we liked. She chose a Walther P99 (a much nicer gun than I thought it was - I LIKE it) and I chose the M&P40 which, with the exception of the terrible trigger, is the best feeling/shooting polymer gun I've ever shot. After my first time to the range I found out that I loved both the M&P and the .40 caliber, the recoil wasn't even that noticeable.

I can't say anything about all the other .40S&W guns but in the M&P the recoil was a non issue and I love the gun/caliber combo.
 

NightShade

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I had owned a shotgun and ruger 10/22 in the past but only purchased a handgun a few years ago. I had been helping someone I knew out and keeping an eye on a large building. Long story short I heard something and with the area the building was in being industrial and the fact that it had been broken in to before I went out with my shotgun and a flashlight to see what was going on. I figured really quickly that was not going to be a viable option and when taxes came in my wife and I went and started looking at some handguns.

The .40 was readily available and felt good when we shot it. Some recoil but nothing unbearable and my wifes words for the 9mm was "it felt wimpy" so we ended up with a M&P 40. I am glad for it since I can drop in a factory 9mm or 357sig if I want and when someone did break into the building it was a seamless extension of my body, it literally felt like it was molded in my hand. I now have a M&P 45 as well and I have no problem with it's recoil either but still prefer to carry the .40 on me.

I can understand that some people prefer the mythical round over it or the recoiless round but for me it's the best of both worlds.
 

Dukester

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I had owned a shotgun and ruger 10/22 in the past but only purchased a handgun a few years ago. I had been helping someone I knew out and keeping an eye on a large building. Long story short I heard something and with the area the building was in being industrial and the fact that it had been broken in to before I went out with my shotgun and a flashlight to see what was going on. I figured really quickly that was not going to be a viable option and when taxes came in my wife and I went and started looking at some handguns.

The .40 was readily available and felt good when we shot it. Some recoil but nothing unbearable and my wifes words for the 9mm was "it felt wimpy" so we ended up with a M&P 40. I am glad for it since I can drop in a factory 9mm or 357sig if I want and when someone did break into the building it was a seamless extension of my body, it literally felt like it was molded in my hand. I now have a M&P 45 as well and I have no problem with it's recoil either but still prefer to carry the .40 on me.

I can understand that some people prefer the mythical round over it or the recoiless round but for me it's the best of both worlds.
Mythical? Recoilless?
 

Dukester

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Mythical, the .45 kills every bad guy in one shot and he flys backwards through the air when it hits.

Recoiless, the 9mm that has so little recoil that you can shoot many rounds with minimal adjustment dropping your target where it stands instantly.
I'm sensing a little butt hurt.....
 

Perplexed

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I've wondered about the profusion of .40 handguns as well. I've noticed lately that if there's any handgun ammo on the shelf at Walmart, it's most likely going to be .40 S&W, which leads me to think demand for that caliber is not as great as for 9mm or .45 ACP.
 

ASP785

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The FBI developed a series of qualitative scientific experiments to measure terminal performance after the Miami shootout involving the FBI. The 10mm cartridge achieved the desired terminal performance set forth by the FBI. S&W teamed up with Winchester to develop the .40 S&W. While the 40 was superior at the time, the creation of these terminal performance standards gave ammunition manufacturers a 'target' to shoot for when developing projectiles.

Fast forward to 2013 and there is very little difference in terminal performance between properly designed 9mm, .40 S&W, and .45 Auto cartridges. I don't believe that the .40 S&W will fade into oblivion, but if you can achieve the same terminal results with less recoil, what purpose does the .40 S&W serve?

I only own one one .40 caliber handgun, an M&P. It hasn't been out of the safe in years.
 

mightymouse

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The gang bangers in L-Town have been shooting each other with .40's lately. Probably they like it because of the name association with some of their favorite beverages.
 

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