Should I dump the .40S&W?

Like many others here, I also find .40 to be on the stout end of the spectrum and these days typically only acquire .45s and 9mms. I also recommend that you think hard about the way you're handling the Shield. Not to say that you aren't holding it correctly, but it's possible that the perceived recoil will change if you can get a higher hold and tighter grip. I think figuring out how to grip different handguns properly takes some time and requires a lot of handling to see what's comfortable and effective for the shooter. If you've already got your grip down and it's still punishing, then maybe the gun/caliber combo is no good for you and there's no shame in that.

It does seem true that many people have gravitated away from .40 and I'm also one of those people. My first handgun was a .40 and it was great, but I'll never see myself owning one again. I'm too heavily invested in .45 and 9mm to take on another caliber that really has no benefits over the others.
 
Here are a few quick points developed through my time here and from shooting IRL:

1. Handloads are supposedly frowned upon for self-defense. Find some commercial self-defense ammo that you like. There are plenty of options available.

2. Do you really feel that .40 S&W is lacking in power such that you need to make handloads that push the envelope? Normally at that point, I'd suggest moving to 10mm. However, you are doing this with a Shield! The Shield is a relatively small pistol designed for concealed carry. There is a limit to what you should expect from it power-wise.

3. I'm not alone in disliking the recoil dynamics of regular-strength .40 S&W in smaller or lighter guns. Whether we are talking about how pleasant it is to shoot or how well we can shoot it--including speed and accuracy with multiple shots--I think this is an important consideration. For this reason, I prefer .40 S&W in full-sized guns and preferably either those made of steel or those with recoil-mitigating technologies like the buffering system of the USP or the rotating barrel of the PX4. For a little gun like the Shield or PPS, I stick with 9mm.
 
I would dump the .40 s&w altogether.

With modern defensive ammunition it really doesn't make a difference whether the person is shot with a 9mm, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP.

That being the case, why wouldn't you opt for the cartridge that offers the largest magazine capacity and more importantly, the most recoil mitigation?

9mm
 
I don't know if I would just dump the .40 but for me 9mm and .45 do float my boat. I think I have more than 50 handguns and only one is a .40. That one is a Sig Elite P226 and it shoots fine. I shoot with a couple of police officers who shoot Glocks in .40.

I just don't like those guns at all. I have a G17,G19, G30 and G21. The 19 and the 30 get painful pretty quick if you don't practice regularly.
YMMV
 
I ditched 40 because it was harder to shoot (keeping on target) vs a 9 and the ballistics just are not there to warrant the extra recoil.

Can you get a 9mm barrel that will drop into your smith?
 
Can you get a 9mm barrel that will drop into your smith?
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I could buy an aftermarket barrel for the full size M&P, not sure if they make them for the Shield. I'm not totally sold on the M&P platform. I like the way it feels in my hand, but I hate the trigger. I'm looking to move to a hammer fired gun instead.
 
Trade your M&P in for a 3rd Gen S&W 5900 or 6900 series!!
Hammer fired, similar capacity if you pick the right one,
and will literally last a lifetime :)

5906 (15+1)
S%26W5906LateModel.jpg



6906 compact (12+1)
S%26W6906LEFT.jpg
 
Just to test the waters, I have put both guns up for sale/trade on a few local gun sale pages. Is it just me or my area, or are .40 handguns a lot harder to resell?
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Haven't seen anything, so I'm not sure where you've posted that.

Shield -- safety or no?
 
I made about 150 reloads of 5.8gr of Silouhette under a 180gr HCFP bullet to run through both guns.
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OP, I can find 180 grain Hard Cast Flat Point bullets in 10mm, .357 Sig, and .357 Magnum calibers, but not .40 S&W; the only handgun I know of where you can shoot both 10mm and 40 S&W ammo without a barrel swap is a S&W Model 610 revolver, these are out of production. Can you tell us what this bullet is?
 
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I could buy an aftermarket barrel for the full size M&P, not sure if they make them for the Shield. I'm not totally sold on the M&P platform. I like the way it feels in my hand, but I hate the trigger. I'm looking to move to a hammer fired gun instead.
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Shield -- safety or no?
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I know what you mean about the Shield trigger. It was one of the reasons I originally preferred the PPS. It might have been a phase though. When it comes to concealed carry and personal defense, I keep defaulting to my old preference of either revolvers or DA/SA guns with no manual safety. A harder first pull (or thumb cock) is the safety device. I've also found that many DA/SA guns in SA feel nicer to me than the striker guns.

Of course, I'll reiterate that I'm not interested in shooting .40 S&W out of any of the little guns. I prefer to keep .40 S&W (and .357 magnum for that matter) in full-sized guns. The hottest revolver cartridge I like in a pocket gun is .327 Federal and in a small semi-automatic it's 9mm.
 
JDBerg said:
OP, I can find 180 grain Hard Cast Flat Point bullets in 10mm, .357 Sig, and .357 Magnum calibers, but not .40 S&W; the only handgun I know of where you can shoot both 10mm and 40 S&W ammo without a barrel swap is a S&W Model 610 revolver, these are out of production. Can you tell us what this bullet is?
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The bullet is a cast lead flat point, 180 grain from Missouri Bullet Company. The brinell hardness is 18 I believe. Maybe it's not hard cast?
lee n. field said:
My one experience with armslist was pretty negative. Trying to deal with an idiot seller from LaSalle.



Doesn't mean it doesn't happen....
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You already have the gun. Work on your grip strength and keep the .40. Much better power than a 9mm.
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What do you mean by much better power. ? Change to 9MM effective less recoil cheaper.
 
No, actually, you're right.

Local gun stores, not to mention gunshows, are all awash with someone's "pre-owned" _____ (pick the make & model) .40S&W pistol.

People are either downsizing to a 9mm, or upgrading to a .45acp or 10mm.

The .40 pistol being sold off, when the seller looks back on it, was usually the result of a theoretical compromise which proved unsatisfactory in the real world, after some trigger-time with it, for a variety of reasons.
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Would it be safe to fire 10mm ammo out of a gun designed for .40? I could see going the other way and firing .40 out of a 10mm gun but didn't know the reverse could be done safely.

I might have to start checking around to see if I can get some deals on used .40s.
 
Ocraknife said:
Would it be safe to fire 10mm ammo out of a gun designed for .40? I could see going the other way and firing .40 out of a 10mm gun but didn't know the reverse could be done safely.

I might have to start checking around to see if I can get some deals on used .40s.
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I'm pretty sure you can't fire 10mm in most .40 guns. The pressure would be a lot higher from the extra powder charge alloted by the longer case.

There is only 1 gun I can think of that you could just swap parts and that's the EAA witness.
 
What do you mean by much better power. ? Change to 9MM effective less recoil cheaper.
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40sw hits harder as they are bigger and heavier. Ballistic are similar between calibers yes but in real world they're not. The 40sw will do more damage than the 9mm.

Let's take my 9mm and 40sw pistols. The 40sw has 4" and the 9mm has 4.25" barrels. I use Underwood XTPs for carry.

The 9mm 124+P is 1225 fps and has 413 fpe.

The 40sw 155 is 1300 fps and has 582 fpe. (corrected)

Close but the 40sw has an edge over the 9mm.
 
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40sw hits harder as they are bigger and heavier. Ballistic are similar between calibers yes but in real world they're not. The 40sw will do more damage than the 9mm.

Let's take my 9mm and 40sw pistols. The 40sw has 4" and the 9mm has 4.25" barrels. I use Underwood XTPs for carry.

The 9mm 124+P is 1225 fps and has 413 fpe.

The 40sw 155 is 1300 fps and has 485 fpe.

Close but the 40sw has an edge over the 9mm
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I get what you are saying, but in the real world bullet placement is more important so if you shoot better with 9MM then thats way to go.
 
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