Is the .40 S&W REALLY dying?

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TruthTellers said:
Depends on the gun. Slim single stack for CCW? The 9mm is king, but a full size for home defense... yeah, maybe .40. Lately tho, I've concluded that if you reload, then for a full size handgun, skip the .40 and go straight to 10mm. More power with the full power loads, but still capable with the light 10mm loads.

I can't say I regret buying a Glock 35 brand new a few years ago, but if I had known at the time I was going to get into reloading, I would have gotten the Glock 40 MOS instead. I bought a 9mm barrel for the G35, nice to have the option of reliably shooting 9mm in it, don't have that capability with the 10mm Glocks.
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9mm aint my king.

I have a Shield 40 that I carry in weak hand front pocket as a 2nd option to the 40/45/10mm that I've got on my belt.
I have a Glock 35 and have carried it quite a bit, but my 20SF (or 21SF) gets carried more.
 
Lots of cartridges are supposed to have died. Only a few actually have. The .40 S&W is what killed the .41 AE, for example. Mind you, like the buffalo, it lives in remote places. Like my house.
"...The original 10mm was a real step up..." Not really. Shot like a hot .45 ACP out of the Colt Delta Elite I shot when they were both new. No 10mm ammo other than Norma at the time. Nothing special.
 
From TunnelRat:

Those other calibers aren't dead, but they don't enjoy anything near the prevalence of 9mm currently... The 10mm is a bit different as it's undergoing a minor hipster-esque (no offense intended people) revival currently. But 357 SIG and 40 SW? Near me a number of stores won't even take pistols in those calibers in on trade anymore.
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That's observant on the 10mm. For some reason I've been getting the same vibe off the recent resurgence of the 10mm. It's as if it's in-organic. Like a Facebook, Twitter sort of thing. Like it's "trending". It's like those fellas who do the videos over to Lucky Gunner, like they just got out of college and are excited to tell me all they things they just learned. Kinda hipsterish. It may just be that I'm out of touch with what many younger folks keep track of.

10 has been a niche caliber for a long time and it's good to see it gaining some. It's a very good round.

40 will be around for a good while. What is it, the third most popular semi-auto round in the U.S. (excluding the .22)?

tipoc
 
That's observant on the 10mm. For some reason I've been getting the same vibe off the recent resurgence of the 10mm. It's as if it's in-organic. Like a Facebook, Twitter sort of thing. Like it's "trending". It's like those fellas who do the videos over to Lucky Gunner, like they just got out of college and are excited to tell me all they things they just learned. Kinda hipsterish. It may just be that I'm out of touch with what many younger folks keep track of.
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Ehh, maybe for some. For me personally, I’ve researched .45 super, .460 Rowland, 9x23 and 9x25, and a couple other boutique calibers to basically find a semi-auto equivalent to 357 mag. Bonus points for capacity over your standard 1911 fare. Why? Because I want one darn it. I finally figured that the most economical and reliable way to get there was a Glock 20 in 10mm. I’m honestly amazed that 10mm isn’t wildly more popular than it is.
 
I would have gladly kept my .40 Sig DA/SA P229. It had nothing to do with its chambering. Superb function, and ammo was about the same price as 9mm.


The objective was to have a former German police gun, which I then had never owned....and we never see an actual P6 or near-twin, 'true' P225 around here.

A very nice Sig P6 ('01) suddenly appeared in the local "used 9mm" gun case at Shoot Point Blank about a year ago, and with six mags. The P229 was with me that night.
At least the P229--whose chambering doesn't matter squat, to me--is still being produced, in stark contrast to the original German-proofed P6, as with my pair of P228s (both are '94).
 
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.45 is never dying

If it's all about cost and capacity, then the question should be is .45 dying, not .40.

.45 has the lowest capacities, the most bullet drop, and the highest cost for ammo out of the three.
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the .45 is AMERICAN as apple pie, it's not going anywhere

From the trenches of WW1 , the campaigns of WW2 , Korea / Pork Chop Hill / to the Jungles of Vietnam, and to present day conflicts, the 45 has stood the test of time.
 
During the next ammo panic, perhaps .40 S&W ammo prices won't jump as quickly as 9x19 ammo.

And we Will have a panic again, whether connected to an election, new law passed by Congress, or mass tragedy.
 
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mr bolo said:
the .45 is AMERICAN as apple pie, it's not going anywhere

From the trenches of WW1 , the campaigns of WW2 , Korea / Pork Chop Hill / to the Jungles of Vietnam, and to present day conflicts, the 45 has stood the test of time.
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It hangs on solely because guys over the age of 50 shoot it. The young guys in their 20s and 30s aren't shooting .45, they're not carrying .45, it's all 9mm and over time as these younger shooters get older and want something more powerful, they're gonna look at what else is there and see that 10mm is way more potent than standard pressure .45 and go with that.

Can list all the reasons .45 is "better" than 10mm like suppressors and lower recoil/blast, but to them the extra recoil and blast is the trade off for such powerful guns and so long as suppressors stay on the NFA list people aren't going to buy cans, so suppressing is a moot point.. If you're not using a can, then no reason to get .45 over 10mm.
 
The 40 isn't, and never will be, dead....

Its heyday is over, that happens to them all, but it gained enough widespread acceptance during its heyday that the 40 will be around for a looooong time to come.

I don't really care for it and wouldn't miss it if it were gone, but that is irrelevant.

The wonder 9 is back in style, and rightfully so... With the latest in bullet and powder technology, and high pressure loads, the 9 is nipping on the heels of the 357 mag, for defense against human predators, in guns with barrels of 4 inches and less with bullets less than 135 grains.

What was old, is new again... Just like revolvers for CCW making a comeback in recent years....a 9mm auto rim round would send it out of the park (not the failed 9mm Federal).
 
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If you're not using a can, then no reason to get .45 over 10mm.
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Pretty much. I love .45 out of nostalgia. It also compliments the 1911 quite well, and despite being over 100 years old both are still going strong.

Short of nostalgia though, my only recommendation for ever considering 45acp is in conjunction with a can. It is perfect for running suppressed. That being said, no average SD minded CCH permit holder is in need of said hardware. Any civilian with such a rig possesses it for fun and nothing else.

Oh, and matches where knocking over bowling pins is a criteria for success. That momentum helps in a limited few gun games.
 
I think pistols in .40 are a bargain right now. Especially considering you can throw a Lone Wolf 9mm barrel in a G2/G3 Glock 22 with the pistol for about the same price as a the same generation G17. And then the interchangeability of mags/barrels with 357 sig in something like a P226.

Would I buy a new .40? No. But for some that need a "Nightstand Gun" that will never shoot more than a box in their lifetime, you can buy a new one and a box of ammo cheaper than the same offering in 9mm. Even better used.
 
No, 40&w isn't going anywhere. The first high profile failure of a 9mm and an LEO gets seriously injured or worse, you'll see 40 make a roaring comeback. And that's from someone who loves 9mm and the last several handguns I have acquired have been 9mm. It's cheap, fun to shoot, and easier to shoot well. But, my 40s aren't going anywhere.
 
TruthTellers said:
It hangs on solely because guys over the age of 50 shoot it. The young guys in their 20s and 30s aren't shooting .45, they're not carrying .45, it's all 9mm and over time as these younger shooters get older and want something more powerful, they're gonna look at what else is there and see that 10mm is way more potent than standard pressure .45 and go with that.

Can list all the reasons .45 is "better" than 10mm like suppressors and lower recoil/blast, but to them the extra recoil and blast is the trade off for such powerful guns and so long as suppressors stay on the NFA list people aren't going to buy cans, so suppressing is a moot point.. If you're not using a can, then no reason to get .45 over 10mm.
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False on the .45 ACP. Here's at least one guy in his 30s who is shooting more .45 than 9mm. The fact is that a .45 ACP pistol is likely to hold up longer than a 10mm, .45 ammo is available everywhere you can find ammo and manufacturers are offering new models in .45 ACP. Last I checked S&W, H&K and Walther don't currently offer any 10mm semi-auto models, but all offer something in .45 ACP.

At any rate, is the current situation with .40 S&W service pistols much different than what happened when law enforcement transitioned from the .38 Special/.357 Magnum revolver to the semi-automatic pistol en masse? I've heard the stories of how cheaply one could pick up clean S&W Model 10s, 15s, 66s, 67s, etc. Those guns are still around today, as are the .38 Special and .357 Magnum ammo to feed them. Neither is as inexpensive or popular as the 9mm Luger, but they aren't dead either.

Heck you can even find .38 Super easily enough, and it would be hard to argue that a semi-rimmed, souped up round fron the end of the Roaring 20s shouldn't be obsolete. Yet it still has fans too.

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As far as I can tell all of the squawking about the .40 having one foot in the bucket and the other on a banana peel are all because police and other official agencies are moving away from it.

I don't think, by any stretch of the imagination, that the cartridge being replaced by police means that it's dying.

Did the .38 Special or .357 Magnum die when agencies in the US moved away from it, and the revolver, for 9mms?
 
Kind of like global warming... we're trying to make blanket statements about the industry with just a narrow view of the timeline/big picture.

The .40S&W is currently going through a waning trend. Give it 20 years +/- and those of us that are still around will be having the same conversation about 9mm or .45ACP, and 40 - 60 years it'll be back to the .40S&W. (unless of course the debate at that point will be if powder and bullet apparatae will become obsolete after the Government legalizes phasers for the general public.
 
CDW4ME said:
40 S&W become more popular if a ineffective nationwide AWB with arbitrary 10 round mag limit and no grandfathering ever gets passed.

Limited to 10 rounds or less, many people might prefer bigger bullets.
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precisely why .40 S&W became so popular in the first place ;)

It's a great caliber, but since the AWB sunsetted, it opened up big mags again...
so until the Libs get back in control, Enjoy!!
When they get a hi-cap mag ban passed, .40 will get REALLY popular again.

So chill, relax, and hang on to your party favors...they'll be big again.
Meanwhile, some of the smart folks are scarfing up .40's while dumb folks are selling low!!
 
A dying round?....In a word...NO...and now is a good time to pick up a used Sig or dare I suggest Glock? They won't get any cheaper and are a good value.

Here's a little food for though...Take a look at the 40's ballistics with a 135 gr JHP bullet...very impressive, eh Komrads? My Sierra manual says that I can get 1350 fps from a 5" bbl. with any number of powders...that crowds up near the old bolt of lightning .357 125 gr LEO load, justifiably famous for its stopping ability.

Recoil with the commercial 135 gr load, from my Browning Hi-Power is comparable to a 9mm 125 gr JHP...and you still have the heavier ones if desired. Locally our County and City gendarmes, for example, are toting 155 & 165 gr JHPs...good choices if you want some add'l punch. Rod
 
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