.40 s&w a good caliber?and cx4 question

impala

Regular
EE Expired
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Location
Halkirk Alberta
I am looking at buying my first pistol now that I finaly got my card.I was looking at a .40 s&w ruger for me I want to buy a cheaper pistol to start.and I was also looking at the beretta cx4 in .40 for the girlfriend to shoot.and like my other guns I like to keep the chambering the same for as many guns as i can.does anyone have the balistics of the .40sw over say a 9x19.what would the differance in take down power be.also power and speed of the two?another thing I was wondering is what hand gun are the cx4's magazines taken from
 
i shoot a .40 ,brass is free or cheap. nice load to shoot can see the holes ,knocks steel down no problem. cost a little more to shoot than 9mm but cheaper than .45
 
Well you are in Canada, so as far as take down power is concerned, unless you have some pretty mean paper targets with attitide, that shouldnt be a concern:p . Seriously though, there are many opinions on both calibers and this forum will certainly prove that. The 40SW is a great caliber but cheap it isnt, unless you are reloading(and even then, components are not always readily available). For a newbie, the 9mm is an excellent choice as it serves both the new shooter as well as the very experienced shooter. Depending on how you plan on using the weapon, you need to do some research. Weapon choice will also be anything but easy are there are pros and cons with any pistol and opinions are varied and many:confused: . If you have access to a range or a retailer, you would be best to go and look/feel at the choices out there and let your personal preference make the decision, not heresay from somebody else;) . Every shooter has a different hand and grip styles are numerous. Find one that suits you.
Most importantly, don't rush into this. Do some research and get opinions. Remember that they are just that, opinions and ultimately the decision is yours.
Depending on your experience level, the possibility that neither is a good choice for a first time shooter exists. Don't be influenced by dollars. Granted there are some excellent low cost choices out there, but cheap doesnt always mean good. Be aware. And just because it costs $1000 and is an excellent overall weapon doesnt mean that it is right for you. You can always upgrade once you learn the mechanics, but an unreliable cheap gun is the fastest way to lose interest through frustration.
Okay, I have spewed enough. Good luck with your pursuit and take your time.
Cheers
dB:)
 
I was humming and hawing about the same thing when I bought my first handgun. I was more worried about whether I would like the stiffer recoil of the .40S&W, From what I had read some people said they didn't enjoy it as much as the 9mm for that reason. Well, I finally decided I would pick up a Walther p99 and I decided to go with the .40 instead of the 9mm. I have absolutely no regrets. I love shooting the .40. and the gun is definitely a keeper. To offset the ammo cost of the .40 I also picked up a .22. This allows me to spend more time shooting without spending too much money. 100 rounds of 9mm will cost approximately 18-20 dollars while you can add about 7 or 8 dollars to that for the .40. And you burn through 100 rounds relatively fast. 100 rounds of .22 will cost you a couple of dollars. Lots of bang for the buck. Ideally though the cheapest approach is to reload your own ammo or to buy reloaded ammo in bulk.

And yes, the .40S&W is a more powerful round than the 9mm.
 
I don't understand why more "new" shooters don't consider .357 magnum revolvers? Is it because revolvers are passe and not cool? Personally, I like the fact that a .357 revolver can shoot mild .38spcl, .38+P, and full power .357 magnums. That's three different loads in one HG! The best thing is you don't have to buy any mags and you don't have to chase your brass around.;)

That being said....I also enjoy shooting my .9mm Browning 1935HP "T" series.
 
I have the same question as "impala"
I am looking to buy a 40S&W and I am looking at the Glock 22 or the Walther P99. Are these the 2 best choices and which is the better of the 2? Discounting co$t, what is the advantages of the .40 over the 9MM? Is the .40 becoming more popular with law inforcement?
Thanks
Meanea
 
Impala why not get Beretta 92 and Cx4? They both use the same magazines... 9mm is cheaper to shoot than .40, and as far as power goes there isn’t that much difference between 9mm and .40 anyways (plus in Canada it’s a moot point).
I have a couple nines and have no need for .40. I reload so I can make 9mm feel like .40 if wanted to. Plus I got .44mag for power :)

As for Glock vs. P99 I actually like P99 more; it fits my hand better (adjustable back straps) and I like the trigger better too. I don’t get why people don’t like the trigger on Walters. How is Glocks' trigger better? :confused: But they are costly; you can get a Steyr for $400 less.
 
Last edited:
I've got two Beretta 92 pistols (9mm) and two .45 auto (ruger p345 and 1911).

If your not going to reload .40 is waaaay expensive. 9mm is cheap and plentiful. Also, if your into having a gun with knock-down power (so you can play good guy / bad target at the range) you can get some kick butt +P hollow points.

I'm not sure but if your going to spring for a box of .40 it may be more expensive than a box of .45.

Personaly I don't find that much difference between the .45 and 9mm recoil. - I guess I'm just use to it. My wife is sitting next to me and she confirms that she can barely tell the difference between .45 and 9mm in recoil (and she is very small).

I've only heard good things about the CX4 but i'd think about the 9mm if I was you.

- Jeff
 
I personally felt that the .40 was too "snappy" for me compared to the smoothness of 9mm and .45.

my $0.02
 
Meanea said:
I have the same question as "impala"
I am looking to buy a 40S&W and I am looking at the Glock 22 or the Walther P99. Are these the 2 best choices and which is the better of the 2? Discounting co$t, what is the advantages of the .40 over the 9MM? Is the .40 becoming more popular with law inforcement?
Thanks
Meanea


Are those guns the best 2 choices? You'll get a hundred different answers from a hundred different people. My answer would be no, they are 2 among allot of good choices. One of the hardest parts is deciding what gun to buy. I've never shot a Glock so I can't comment on how I like them however the Walther p99 QA trigger is supposed to be similar to the glock. I have the AS trigger on my Walther P99 and I love it.
The advantage of the .40 over the 9mm is the .40 is a more powerful round. Apparently this is why allot of police forces are dropping the 9mm and adopting the .40S&W. Myself, I really enjoy the extra "kick" from the round. I had thought that I would buy my gun in .40 and than download it to lighten the recoil but after shooting it I realized that I really enjoyed it so no downloading is necesary. Some people prefer a little lighter recoil so they tend to go for the 9mm.
On the plus side I think the Glocks are a little less expensive than the Walther but I am 100% happy with my purchase.
 
I have a .40 and a couple of 9mms. I notice a small amount of difference in recoil(snappiness). 9mm is cheaper and a glock 17 is a solid gun with no issues while the glock 22 doesn't have the fully supported chamber hence bulged cases when reloading. I haven't played with the p99 but it is more money than glock and it would be much harder to get accessories and work on the gun it self. I would try to put a few rounds downrange in as many different pistols as possible to find what works for you and stick with it because it takes a bitt of practice to get proficient with any pistol. dont forget the 226 it is a solid weapon with many good features
 
I shoot both 9mm [BHP MkIII and Colt Combat Commander] and .40 S&W [Glock 22, BHP MkIII & S&W 4006]. I also load for both ctgs. Brass in either cgt is pretty much free in these parts.

Either/or for punching paper. Preference goes to the .40 in a 180 gr JHP as a defense round, though. There you have my .02
 
GUNN said:
I personally felt that the .40 was too "snappy" for me compared to the smoothness of 9mm and .45.

my $0.02

Depends on if you reload or not. I shoot a Glock 22 and love it. Factory rounds don't bother me, but even better is downloaded rounds that have far less snap to them than a 9mm. If you are going to reload I would go with the .40 for versatility.
 
^ you can download 9mm as well; a light 9mm will have less recoil/snap than a light .40. And with some powders (and max charges) 9mm is going to recoil like (factory) .40.
 
IM_Lugger said:
^ you can download 9mm as well; a light 9mm will have less recoil/snap than a light .40. And with some powders (and max charges) 9mm is going to recoil like (factory) .40.

Sure, but you can't download it enough and still make minor for IPSC ;) The range of bullet weights on the .40 makes it far more versatile. It all depends on the purpose though, if it is just to punch paper at the range for fun then you're right. If you want to get into other types of shooting like ISPC then my preference is .40.
 
you can't download it enough and still make minor for IPSC
sure you can; a 124gr at 1010fps is going to do it. Right now I shoot 5.8gr of titegroup behind a 138gr bullet at about 1000fps- a powder puff load yet has enought PF to make minor :)
 
IM_Lugger said:
sure you can; a 124gr at 1010fps is going to do it. Right now I shoot 5.8gr of titegroup behind a 138gr bullet at about 1000fps- a powder puff load yet has enought PF to make minor :)

I realize you CAN download a 9mm, it's whether you can download it enough to compare to the .40. It's really a matter of opinion. In my opinion no 9mm, especially one traveling at 1000 fps, compares to a 200 grain bullet traveling at 650 fps. In my mind that is a true powder puff load, and has far less recoil than any 9mm I have ever had the opportunity to shoot (reloads included). That's why I like the .40, but like I said, it's a matter of opinion. I'm sure there are lots of people besides you who would disagree with me :)
 
Back
Top Bottom