.40 Cal

[PAVALKER]

I went to a local gun show today.... and weather permitted taking the Valkyrie actually.  I was looking to sell a Ruger KP944DC .40 Cal NIB unfired pistol.  I've had it with a collection of others and decided not to stock .40 cal.  Most of the vendors were not interested, at the price I wanted for it, but would consider it if it were really cheap (and that wasn't going to happen).  But, quite a few of them indicated that the .40s are not fast sellers and if it were a 9mm or .45 it would be a worthy purchase.

What is the deal with the .40 cal?  I think most of the law enforcement folks are being fed these guns (probably at a  discount for a government contract purchase), and I see a bunch of turn ins being recycled on line, assuming they are Police Turn Ins.  I even talked with an LEO who was a vender (so he said) and he did not like the .40 at all.  To much "snap" he said and the price of the ammo was significantly more than 9mm or .45.

What say ye .40 cal folks?

[Clark]

YEP.. the 40 is a high pressure round.. like a 357 mag.. toooo much muzzle flip because of it.. makes for more difficult accuracy and slower re covering the target.. I had one and couldnt hit the broad side of a barn w it.. love my 45 and 9mm tho

[Serk]

Guess it's a case of different strokes for different folks, in MY hands the most accurate handgun I've got is my XD .40... I love the .40S&W, nice compromise between the carrying capacity of the 9 and the stopping power of the .45...

[klb]

Guess it's a case of different strokes for different folks, in MY hands the most accurate handgun I've got is my XD .40... I love the .40S&W, nice compromise between the carrying capacity of the 9 and the stopping power of the .45...

   My XD .40 subcompact is as accurate as my ruger p-85 or p-90. Also easy to carry.

[FLAVALK]

Different strokes... I have the XD-40 Subcompact as well and like it a lot. I also have the H&K USP in .40 and it is sweet.

[ptgb]

Not a gun guy by any stretch of the imagination, but in LE for 20 years. Started my career with a Beretta 9mm. Terrible gun.

Glock 23, .40 for the last 15 years give or take. A great gun that is compact enough and has reasonable knock down power without too much (in buildings, close quarters, etc.).

.40 has been a widely successful round in LE circles for years. Most I know really like it.

[Gavin_Sons]

I love my 40 xdm. Its the full size and hard to carry. I usually carry my smith and wesson .38. The xdm is one of the mose accurate pistols I have ever shot out of the box.

[fordmano]

.40 ballistics are better than 9mm from sheets I have seen.
I think .40 feels LESS snappy than a 9mm the ones I have shot.

I just bought a used XD-.40 and 2,000rds yes I said 2 THOUSAND rounds for $400.xx plus FFL transfer $15.xx and it was PO-PO  only improved Black Talon. Not bad for $415.00 that's well over $1k value just for the ammo. Oh the guy threw in 500 rds of Police Buckshot.

Can't say I like it more than either of my .45's but it is comfortable other than the long trigger pull.

[Clark]

YOU GUYS ARE ALL WEIRD.. and contrary to my experience and almost EVERYTHING I have read on gun forums.. in fact when i bought my last handgun the 3 salesmen at the gun shop all said they didnt like 40's and all pack 45's and say they are more accurate w em.. and I believe they all shoot competitvly

[Clark]

 

[FLAVALK]

YOU GUYS ARE ALL WEIRD.. and contrary to my experience and almost EVERYTHING I have read on gun forums.. in fact when i bought my last handgun the 3 salesmen at the gun shop all said they didnt like 40's and all pack 45's and say they are more accurate w em.. and I believe they all shoot competitvly

Like I said...different strokes

[musclehead]

I have no experience with the .40, I thought it was a well liked/respected cal.
the 9mm is well liked for the economy of the ammo, the .45 is just the standard of the industry for like 100 years. it's a work horse.

the 9 is a bit wimpy on the ballistics though...

[X Ring]

I carry a Glock 23 with 165 gr Speer Gold Dots.  .40 isn't the most accurate handgun round but we are talking minute of bad guy not minute of angle plus .40 does put bad guys down.

Marty

[fudgie]

I like my .40 Bersa. Does have some flip to it but so does my winchester .45 colt.  I have no prob with target line up after each round. .40 sells big here.

[Clark]

I like my .40 Bersa. Does have some flip to it but so does my winchester .45 colt.  I have no prob with target line up after each round. .40 sells big here.

YER WEIRD TOO.. but we already KNEW THAT

[fudgie]

I like my .40 Bersa. Does have some flip to it but so does my winchester .45 colt.  I have no prob with target line up after each round. .40 sells big here.

YER WEIRD TOO.. but we already KNEW THAT

[PAVALKER]

.40 ballistics are better than 9mm from sheets I have seen.
I think .40 feels LESS snappy than a 9mm the ones I have shot.

I just bought a used XD-.40 and 2,000rds yes I said 2 THOUSAND rounds for $400.xx plus FFL transfer $15.xx and it was PO-PO  only improved Black Talon. Not bad for $415.00 that's well over $1k value just for the ammo. Oh the guy threw in 500 rds of Police Buckshot.

Can't say I like it more than either of my .45's but it is comfortable other than the long trigger pull.

WOW. That sounds like a hell of a deal.... but I am somewhat suspect.  I didn't think you Cali guys could own or shoot anything over a .177 caliber pellet or BB..... with no larger than a 10 pellet/bb gun????   

If I had a deal like that land in my lap.... I'd probably keep my .40 and get that one as well. 

[shooter64]

The .40 s&w is a great round. Most of the police use it for that reason. With a big bullet and good speed there is not much to not like about it. A dealer can't give anything near retail because he has to resell it at a profit.

[solo1]

The .40 S&W is a high pressure round.  It was developed to be a more reasonable round for carry than the 10MM.  Essentially more power than the 9mm in the same package.

Accuracy is not on a par with the.45 ACP but with 135 grain bullets the dependabillty of one shot stops is essentially that of the 125 grain .357 load.

As far as 'snap', etc, it shouldn't bother anyone unless he's a wimp    By the way, us old timers to the game, call it recoil.

It compares quite well to the .45ACP, the Standard in a well balanced pistol cartridge.

My .02 for what it's worth.

[SANDMAN5]

I love my 9mm PT 111 for its accuracy and low cost, but my next semi
will most likely be a 40.

[doubletee]

Just adding to the "thumbs up" for the .40 S&W. I love my XD .40, although it is sometimes a challenge to CCW. Been thinking about an XD .40 subcompact for that.

[Clark]

The .40 S&W is a high pressure round.  It was developed to be a more reasonable round for carry than the 10MM.  Essentially more power than the 9mm in the same package.

Accuracy is not on a par with the.45 ACP but with 135 grain bullets the dependabillty of one shot stops is essentially that of the 125 grain .357 load.

As far as 'snap', etc, it shouldn't bother anyone unless he's a wimp    By the way, us old timers to the game, call it recoil.

It compares quite well to the .45ACP, the Standard in a well balanced pistol cartridge.

My .02 for what it's worth.

WIMP HUH????        

[Serk]

Been thinking about an XD .40 subcompact for that.

That's what I CCW with. I've given up on having that cook biker image, so a fanny pack rig works well for me.

As far as the snap, my personal opinion is that snap and recoil are different things. The 9mm is VERY "Snappy", whereas the 45ACP has more recoil. I'd much rather shoot a .45. Hard to put my finger on the difference exactly, but it's definitely there (Possibly amount of recoil vs. speed of recoil?)

They're all good rounds for different purposes, and since the ammo for all is very readily available, I'd recommend having at least 2 weapons chambered in each caliber... That is, if any of us still had any weapons, of course.

[Clark]

you guys are JERKS..I am headin out the door in 20 seconds. gonna drive 160 miles to boise to the gun show.. gonna look for a bersa compact in 45.. butttttt I DO have about 500 rounds of 40 left.. STOP POSTING THESE DAM GUN THREADS

[solo1]

Clark, I didn't call you a wimp but if the shoe fits.........................

[sugerbear]

+40 on the xd 40.

[fudgie]

.. gonna look for a bersa compact in 45.. 

$370 ish here. They are the exact size of my Bersa USC .40. Love my Bersa's. 

[solo1]

.. gonna look for a bersa compact in 45.. 

$370 ish here. They are the exact size of my Bersa USC .40. Love my Bersa's. 

If all the Bersas are like my .380 Thunder,  they are a reliable, quality handgun at a reasonable price.  I'm with you Brian.

[shooter64]

Just adding to the "thumbs up" for the .40 S&W. I love my XD .40, although it is sometimes a challenge to CCW. Been thinking about an XD .40 subcompact for that.

Consider an XDs. Just got one and it is great. Very small for a .45.

[MNBill]

Most of my Sheriff's office carry Glock 22 or 23 40 cals. The ones that have shot my Glock 21 at practice have changed to the 45 cal Glock 21. The recoil is much more controlable, even in the +p. The 45 is also ALOT more forgiving for begining handloaders. Alot of our folks are going to the 1911 in 45 cal, me included. Family gave me a Kimber for my retirement and when i went back to work part time I carry a 1911 now.
PS I sold all my guns and now own no guns.

[Mr Whiskey]

My Brother carries 40 cal. glock, it's his duty weapon. (Don't know the model #, witch one's the sub compact?)
Any-who, he had a hard time adjusting because of it being a sub comp. Had to have a friend of mine help get him up-to-snuff with the "smaller" weapon to pass his Federal Firearms Instructor Qualification. (Gotta shoot in the 98+ percentile to pass.)
Needless to say, he's a BIG fan now!
Still tryin' to convince me that the stats PROVE it's a better round than my .357.
(Aint nobody gettin' my Colt, 'sept from my cold, dead hand, trust me!)
Peace, Whiskey.

[gregc]

  I changed to a 40 after shooting bowling pins for fun at the range with a 9 mm. Shooting with ball nose ammo 115 grain, the 9 would make the pin wobble and turn in it place when it went thru it. Sometimes if you hit it just right you could knock it off the table.  My buddy was shooting a 45, round nose 230 grain and a 40 round nose lead, he could knock them over with any hit, and clean them off the table with a solid hit. Seems the 9 is so fast and pointed it would go clean thru the pin without transferring any energy to the pin. It made me a beliver in the 40 since then.

[Robert]

In the aftermath of the 1986 F.B.I. Miami shootout, the F.B.I. started the process of testing 9mm and .45 ACP ammunition in preparation to replace its standard issue revolver with a semi-automatic pistol. The semi-automatic pistol offered two advantages over the revolver: 1) it offered increased ammunition capacity, and 2) it was easier to reload during a firefight. The F.B.I. was satisfied with the performance of its .38 Special +P 158 gr (10.2 g) L.S.W.C.H.P. (lead semi-wadcutter hollowpoint) cartridge ("F.B.I. Load") based on decades of dependable performance. Ammunition for the new semi-automatic pistol had to deliver terminal performance equal or superior to the .38 Special F.B.I. Load. The F.B.I. developed a series of practically oriented tests involving eight test events that reasonably represented the kinds of situations that F.B.I. agents commonly encounter in shooting incidents.

During tests of the 9mm and .45 ACP ammunition, the F.B.I. Firearms Training Unit's Special Agent-in-Charge John Hall decided to include tests of the 10mm cartridge, supplying his personally owned Colt Delta Elite 10mm semi-automatic, and personally handloaded ammunition. The F.B.I.'s tests revealed that a 170–180 gr (11–12 g) JHP 10mm bullet, propelled between 900–1,000 ft/s (270–300 m/s), achieved desired terminal performance without the heavy recoil associated with conventional 10mm ammunition (1,300–1,400 ft/s (400–430 m/s)). The F.B.I. contacted Smith & Wesson and requested it to design a handgun to F.B.I. specifications, based on the existing large-frame S&W Model 4506 .45 ACP handgun, that would reliably function with the F.B.I.'s reduced velocity 10mm ammunition. During this collaboration with the FBI, S&W realized that downsizing the 10mm full power to meet the F.B.I. medium velocity specification meant less powder and more airspace in the case. They found that by removing the airspace they could shorten the 10 mm case enough to fit within their medium-frame 9mm handguns and load it with a 180 gr (12 g) JHP bullet to produce ballistic performance identical to the FBI's reduced velocity 10mm cartridge. S&W then teamed with Winchester to produce a new cartridge, the .40 S&W. It uses a small pistol primer whereas the 10mm cartridge uses a large pistol primer.

The .40 S&W cartridge debuted January 17, 1990, along with the new Smith & Wesson Model 4006 pistol, although it was several months before the pistols were available for purchase. Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H. beat Smith & Wesson to the dealer shelves in 1990, with pistols chambered in .40 S&W (the Glock 22 and 23) which were announced a week before the 4006.[5] Glock's rapid introduction was aided by its engineering of a pistol chambered in 10mm Auto, the Glock 20, only a short time earlier. Since the .40 S&W uses the same bore diameter and case head as the 10mm Auto, it was merely a matter of adapting the 10mm design to the shorter 9×19mm Parabellum frames. The new guns and ammunition were an immediate success.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.40_S%26W
Right off wiki it would have taken some time to explain the round when they already have it done.

[Clark]

unbelievably.. I did not buy a gun.. but I did narrow it down to a bersa, ruger SR  or baretta nano in either 40 or 45.. now to do some research

[fudgie]

unbelievably.. I did not buy a gun.. but I did narrow it down to a bersa, ruger SR  or baretta nano in either 40 or 45.. now to do some research

Bersa.  Would I stear you wrong? 

[Serk]

unbelievably.. I did not buy a gun.. but I did narrow it down to a bersa, ruger SR  or baretta nano in either 40 or 45.. now to do some research

Bersa.  Would I stear you wrong? 

B-e-r-s-a? That sure is a funny way to spell "Springfield Armory XD"... 

[fudgie]

unbelievably.. I did not buy a gun.. but I did narrow it down to a bersa, ruger SR  or baretta nano in either 40 or 45.. now to do some research

Bersa.  Would I stear you wrong? 

B-e-r-s-a? That sure is a funny way to spell "Springfield Armory XD"... 

lol true! I hear good things about xd but I'm a 'hammer' kinda guy.

[Serk]

For the record, I'm all about "Different strokes for different folks", and Bersa is a fine gun, was just having a lil' fun... But the XDs ARE the best defensive handgun currently made, in MY hands...

[BIG--T]

I went to a local gun show today.... and weather permitted taking the Valkyrie actually.  I was looking to sell a Ruger KP944DC .40 Cal NIB unfired pistol.  I've had it with a collection of others and decided not to stock .40 cal.  Most of the vendors were not interested, at the price I wanted for it, but would consider it if it were really cheap (and that wasn't going to happen).  But, quite a few of them indicated that the .40s are not fast sellers and if it were a 9mm or .45 it would be a worthy purchase.

What is the deal with the .40 cal?  I think most of the law enforcement folks are being fed these guns (probably at a  discount for a government contract purchase), and I see a bunch of turn ins being recycled on line, assuming they are Police Turn Ins.  I even talked with an LEO who was a vender (so he said) and he did not like the .40 at all.  To much "snap" he said and the price of the ammo was significantly more than 9mm or .45.

What say ye .40 cal folks?

He's right about the price of ammo and not as popular as the .45 or 9mm. Just the same as my .41 mag. 

[BigAl]

They will all make you bleed and if paced just right the big toe will come right off.

40 is a killer, a 9mm is a better killer, more rounds pounded per miilisecond..

357 is my favorite and will scare the crap out of any thief or wantabe murderer.

357 for me.

45 is just the man's round, it ain't no better than the man using it.

In my case you would never clear the holster, till my Generation IV 9mm Mod 19 GLock had 5 to ten holes in your chest, you might get a couple off in the air

in a fair fight, meaning I let you miss first.

Then you r fellow perps would get the other 11. Before I pop another clip in.