Does .40 s&w stand for 'Short & Weak'?

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The 40 did briefly suck, before projectiles meant to expand in it's performance envelope came out.

Personally, I carry loads matching 10mm performance (very hot 357mag) and both myself and my gun are big enough to cope with that kind of horsepower. But I believe that well-chosen 9mm or 38Spl are adequate for personal defense. The 40 is "adequate-er". I went hotter because my firepower is limited and in tradeoff, I *can* control more power.

I could easily get ahold of 357Mag ammo that matches 40S&W power and effectiveness, such as Cor-Bon's 125gr DPX load and that sort of thing is highly regarded by myself and others.
 
Short & Weak as a moniker was given to the .40 by the 10mm crowd. Because no matter what you say about the .40's performance, be it compared to 9mm, or .45 ACP, when you compare it to 10mm it comes up short and weak, period. Spouting nuclear .40 loads that are bordering on blowing up a gun compared to factory 10s that remind us only too well of .45 Colt seems rather disingenuous at best. 10mm guns need a fairly large and robust frame to be really efficient, and the Glock 29 seems the smallest practical at this time. Hot-rodding a .40 to 10mm ballistics in a 9mm sized gun is an accident waiting to happen.
 
I have found this thread to be very educational and a lot of good info was imparted. The U.S. Govt. issued a .40SW weapon to me for CQB. I liked the gun so much that I bought one for off duty use and now own three .40SW guns as compared to about 40 .45ACP's. The .40SW has a lot more bite to it and if anyone has any thoughts that it is a Short & Weak round, they have obviously never fired it and are using tactics typical of those with inferiority complexes, belittle others to make themselves look good.
 
A pretty good portion (by no means "all") of the 10mm fans I've come across have...ummm... "issues.":D

I considered the .40 but decided on the .45ACP because I used it in the military & it's a caliber that's more forgiving of a n00b handloader...
 
Saw a guy get shot once in the gut with one on videotape and he crumpled. I'll take the performance I saw there any day.
 
Mike Irwin said:
"The .40 S&W is shorter and weaker than the 10mm"

As with all things, it's seldom a case of the situation being absolutely black and white.

In SOME loadings the .40 S&W is weaker than the 10mm.

In SOME loadings the .40 S&W matches the power of the 10mm.

In SOME loadings the .40 S&W is more powerful than the 10mm.
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Of course, you could make the same comparison with .38 special +p and a wimpy .357 magnum loading, but no one would disagree that .38 special is shorter and weaker than .357 magnum. I agree with Stevie Ray here,

Stevie-Ray said:
Because no matter what you say about the .40's performance, be it compared to 9mm, or .45 ACP, when you compare it to 10mm it comes up short and weak, period. Spouting nuclear .40 loads that are bordering on blowing up a gun compared to factory 10s that remind us only too well of .45 Colt seems rather disingenuous at best.
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"to factory 10s...."

Federal Classic 10mm loads, in their original guise and as loaded for at least a decade, were WELL below many .40 caliber loads that didn't even come close to maxing out either the case OR the platform.

As for the .38 Special +P vs. the .357 Magnum, I know of NO commercial .38 Special +P loads that are anywhere near any .357 Magnum loading. It's not a similar situation.
 
40 S&W is to 10 mm like .380 is to 9mm, .38 spl to .357 mag, .44 spl to .44 mag. The shell casing of the first is shorter then the latter. But they are all goods rounds and have plus and minuses to each. Get what suites you.

I hate the argument why buy caliber A when B is more powerful. If we all used that logic then we'd all be carrying 500 S&W's.
 
Just currious to know what you think about Deagle fans.
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Dunno any. BUT... I wouldn't mind owning one of those freakin' beasts just so I could go on internet forums & ask about IWB holsters for concealed Deagle carry.:D
 
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Sneer at the 40 if you like but it's been very successful in police use.In my shooting of feral dogs and 'chucks I find no difference between it and the 45acp !
I wish some of you who comment would first shoot something live before you do !!
 
"Sneer at the 40 if you like but it's been very successful in police use"

If you equate popularity with LE as success, the reason for that has little to do the with the comparable terminal ballistics of the two rounds. It has a LOT to do with:

1. Reduced recoil (you draw your own conclusions)

2. The economics of equipping complete LE Departments with 9mm sized guns compared to a .45 sized gun, the same brand and of similar construction & features. Keep in mind that this occurred before the current tactical tupperware became the rage and most handguns were composed almost completely of steel.

There are few, if any .40 S&W loads which compare with the Norma ammunition loaded to Dornaus & Dixon's original spec's or that of current Double Tap and a couple of other manufacturers. Is less (.40 S&W) still enough? Maybe or maybe not. Ballistics comparisons had little to do with the the .40's popularity with police and the subsequent carry over to the civilian market.

Bruce
 
hey......

Just for the record, 'cause it seems this may have been inferred or slipped by.

There were 9mm auto's at the FBI Miami shoot out. Certain members of the team had been issued same not to long prior. I think they were S&W 59 types, but later models (459?) Nothing to do w/ the OP but referenced in discussion.
The 10/40 issues came out of a search to improve on the 9's perceived failure.
(Not a baiting statement)

Wouldn't the original .40/10 mm be the .38-40 revolver/carbine round?
 
.40 S&W "strong & willing" to finish the job you might get caught in. That's what I carry, beastly little thing. Personally I don't want to get shot with any caliber, they all "hurt" :D
 
I hate the argument why buy caliber A when B is more powerful. If we all used that logic then we'd all be carrying 500 S&W's.
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Amen! My wife carries a .32 ACP. If she empties the mag into a BG COM, I think he'll take notice.

What did we ever do before the venerable .45 ACP? We had the .40 S&W, before that was the 9mm, before that was the .357 Mag., and before that was the lowly .38 spcl. All can be effective stopping rounds - or not. SHOT PLACEMENT IS CRITICAL. Keep in mind that LEO use is very different than our use. No one wants to be shot with ANYTHING.

Carry the largest caliber you shoot the best.
 
Slopemeno, I guess you never saw the video of the cop who gut shot a BG with a 45acp. It had little effect and you hear the cop say 'I thought a 45 would have more effect ' !!


BruceM, my comments had nothing to do with recoil or economics, only terminal effect ! The 40S&W works on the street , in the real world !!
 
I always though....

S&W were made for the cops, or the cops chose them, so projectiles missing thier target (the BG) dont travel as far beyond the target and kill others who might be in its path, or at least do less damage than a full sized load? In other words, the S&W were purposely chosen to limit potential damage from stray shots from the police force..... even tho the BG's can shoot what they like :rolleyes:
 
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