"And No 40Cals!!" Why not?

[88E30M50]

I used to dislike .40 myself. I didn't own one, but had bought into the whole 'too snappy' idea. Then during one of the ammo shortages, there were still plenty of .40 boxes on the shelf so I bought a G27. It was kind of snappy, but nothing awful. So I added a G23 to the family and found that I really liked .40. It's now one of my favorite rounds to shoot and reload. Where others dis it for being a compromise cartridge, I like it for being the perfect blend of capability and capacity. If you calculate potential wound volume, 3 rounds of .40 gets close to a .45 in volume and is way ahead of 9mm. Plus, when you practice with .40, you are generally practicing with a round that's close to the performance of your SD ammo. I like 9mm too, but I am like most people in that I practice with 9mm range ammo, yet carry +P for SD. 9mm +P does not feel much different to me than .40 when shooting but a lot of 9mm fans talk of how much easier it is to keep 9mm on target than .40. They base their choice of 9mm on their experience with 9mm range ammo and quick follow up shots, yet carry 9mm +P and lose that capability. With .40, that tendency is less pronounced.

But, mainly, .40 is fun to shoot. Not as much fun as .45 or 9mm range ammo, but it's still a hoot to shoot.

 

[Birds Away]

I was getting down to one handgun caliber. In doing so I parted with one of my favorite guns. My CZ 75B in .40 was an absolute sweetheart. Of course, it had all the Cajun magic skillfully applied by our own Wizard. I still miss that gun.

 

[88E30M50]

If you ever want to get back into .40 BA, let me know. I have a full size 75B that you'd love.

 

[Tactically Fat]

As an adult out on his own, I "cut my teeth", so to speak, with .40 S&W handguns from CZ, Kahr, and Walther.

I've since shot a plethora of other platforms in .40 S&W - including the venerable G22.

I don't like shooting .40 S&W. Give me a G17 all day vs. a G22. Part of that may very well be ergonomics of the gun, however.

The polymer framed Kahr CW-40 was downright brutal with defensive loads. Again, I'm sure ergonomics played a part. Then that frame broke and I had it replaced.

Anyhow: For me and my lifestyle - I decided to consolidate down to only 9mm.

But I definitely see the merits of having a .40 S&W around to take advantage of ammo when 9 and 45 are scarce.

 

[Hopper]

I got into 40 during the ammo crunch. It kept me shooting, and I very rarely had problems finding a bulk pack or two of 40 on the shelves. And I came to really enjoy it, and shot it pretty well. Then I discovered wheel guns. I couldn't jusify keeping 40 as another handgun caliber (along with 9mm and 45), and ended up divesting everything 40. It wasn't because I didn't like the round, but rather that I like 357/38 better. Getting out of the 40 world made room in the safes for wheel gun ammo.

 

[JAL]

I'm completely ambivalent to the .40 S&W as I don't see it having much advantage over a 9mm Parabellum or .45 ACP. Recovery time for a second shot and hand fatigue in an extended firefight affect marksmanship and ability to get more rounds downrange faster while maintaining fire discipline (versus spray and pray). I've long preferred the .45 ACP although I've grown to appreciate the 9mm Parabellum. If I thought I needed more heft I'd start packing a 4" DA/SA .357 magnum with speed loaders again, most likely a Ruger GP100.

John

 

[snowwalker]

I like them all. My EDC is a Glock 23 Gen 2 and love to shoot it. Sometimes I carry a Kahr CW45 (church) and really enjoy shooting it.

 

[88E30M50]

I need to get a .40 S&W barrel fit to my Delta Elite for cheap plinking. I love shooting 10mm, but hate chasing 10mm brass.

 

[Birds Away]

If you ever want to get back into .40 BA, let me know. I have a full size 75B that you'd love.

I already love it. I just can't afford it right now. I need to start saving my nickels and bring that one home.

 

[88E30M50]

It will always be yours for the asking should you ever want it back.

 

[Birds Away]

It will always be yours for the asking should you ever want it back.

Thank you, sir. You are very kind.

 

[88E30M50]

Thank you, sir. You are very kind.

Nah, just trying to treat others as I've been treated.

 

[warren5421]

I remember before .40 S&W, I was carrying a S&W 1006 or Colt 1911 in .45 ACP. Personally I could not see down sizing the 10 mm as the .45 ACP worked for me as a lesser powered gun. I felt the .40 came about because of gender based issues with the 10 mm. At the time the ballistic issues with 9 mm rounds keep me from even looking at them. I have carried a 1911 from 1953 on till the S&W 1006 hit the market. When the .40 hit the market it was driven more by gender needing a smaller lighter framed gun with less felt recoil than any other reason in my opinion. The 1911 in 10mm or .45 ACP still works for me.

 

[cedartop]

This isn't a thread to see who is still shooting 40 more a thread to see why so many people avoid them?

I was one of these 40 cal haters in my past but the prices on high quality pistols sometimes hundreds under their 9mm brothers made me reconsider and buy one. I love it. I've even had it's brother and I like the 40 more (im talking CZ P07). I'm a fan of the P07's anyway but the 40 is just such a little creampuff to shoot and will poke the same holes every time. I guess I could understand not wanting 40 in anything more compact as some 9mm sub compacts can be unewieldy and the extra umph of 40 would make that even more prevalent.

Used prices are much lower in the 40 market and if other shooters out there are like I was it was almost purely because of the hate speech on the caliber. Ammo cost difference is negligible right now, capacity is only a round or two (I get it for competition pistols) less, and felt recoil between the two P07's was definitely not enough to impact accuracy.

I can also respect that some 40 cal models are slightly larger. I love my cz75 because of its ergonomics and if they change anything in the 40 version it may ruin it (I don't know I've not held a cz75 40 cal).

I guess i'll be the odd man out grabbing up these budget 40 caliber pistols everyone is trying to distance themselves from. I really don't understand the hate.

I guess we have different definitions of negligible. For the amount of rounds I shot last year in 9mm, right now to do that in .40 would be roughly $1,000 more.

 

[throttletony]

I love me some 40.... And it's cal not oz

lol, could it be both

This is a really interesting thread to read through.
I owned a G27 and a G23 at different times and found the G23 to be VERY shootable for me, not so much with the G27.
The size, weight, capacity, etc of the G23 were just about perfect for me. But, I've never handled a big, all steel handgun in .40, I think that would be what it takes to get me to go back to .40. I'd love to try a Beretta or CZ in .40
(now I'm strictly 9mm, 357mag, and soon to be .45 acp)

 

[Tyler-The-Piker]

Admittedly I was glad I had the .40S&W caliber Glocks in jan/feb 2013 because that seemed to be the only ammo I could easily find at the time

 

[JettaKnight]

Someone needs to post Que's video; I can't find it.

 

[jamil]

This isn't a thread to see who is still shooting 40 more a thread to see why so many people avoid them?

I was one of these 40 cal haters in my past but the prices on high quality pistols sometimes hundreds under their 9mm brothers made me reconsider and buy one. I love it. I've even had it's brother and I like the 40 more (im talking CZ P07). I'm a fan of the P07's anyway but the 40 is just such a little creampuff to shoot and will poke the same holes every time. I guess I could understand not wanting 40 in anything more compact as some 9mm sub compacts can be unewieldy and the extra umph of 40 would make that even more prevalent.

Used prices are much lower in the 40 market and if other shooters out there are like I was it was almost purely because of the hate speech on the caliber. Ammo cost difference is negligible right now, capacity is only a round or two (I get it for competition pistols) less, and felt recoil between the two P07's was definitely not enough to impact accuracy.

I can also respect that some 40 cal models are slightly larger. I love my cz75 because of its ergonomics and if they change anything in the 40 version it may ruin it (I don't know I've not held a cz75 40 cal).

I guess i'll be the odd man out grabbing up these budget 40 caliber pistols everyone is trying to distance themselves from. I really don't understand the hate.

Purpose mostly. It's not that I hate them. I've tried to keep variety of guns I have fairly consistent according to popularity of rounds, thinking that equated with availability and price. For handguns I mostly had 9mm. .40 just doesn't have a purpose for me that would make me want to stock the ammo for it unless that's the only thing around.

Well, then along came the ammo crunch in 2013. Back then, if I saw handgun ammo at all it was .40 SW. That got me thinking maybe I should diversify a bit more from the most popular handgun rounds. Sometimes being the step ***** of 10mm has its advantages. When no one wants you, you tend to stay on the shelves longer. I almost bought something in .40SW back then. Almost.

 

[88E30M50]

The ammo crunch was what pushed me into the .40 world. I was not a fan for a lot of the same reasons everyone else has stated. The odd thing is, once I bought a G23, I found that I kind of liked the round. I had a G27 and while that was shootable, it was not my favorite range toy. The G23 was fun to shoot. Enough so that I ended up getting a G19, thinking that if I liked the G23, I'd love the G19. I enjoyed shooting the G19, but sucked while shooting it. I bought a 2nd G19, thinking that if I committed, I'd improve. I still sucked at shooting the G19, but still did well with the G23. I sold the 19s and started buying .40 CZs and have really enjoyed the round ever since.

 

[jamil]

The ammo crunch was what pushed me into the .40 world. I was not a fan for a lot of the same reasons everyone else has stated. The odd thing is, once I bought a G23, I found that I kind of liked the round. I had a G27 and while that was shootable, it was not my favorite range toy. The G23 was fun to shoot. Enough so that I ended up getting a G19, thinking that if I liked the G23, I'd love the G19. I enjoyed shooting the G19, but sucked while shooting it. I bought a 2nd G19, thinking that if I committed, I'd improve. I still sucked at shooting the G19, but still did well with the G23. I sold the 19s and started buying .40 CZs and have really enjoyed the round ever since.

I've been thinking about getting into a .40 Sig P226 lately. A friend has recently inherited a 9mm and a 40 SW. They're both really good shooters. The biggest thing holding me back is having to stock another round. The 10mm addiction is consuming my ammo budget.