The fading .40 S&W

I own Glocks in five different calibres. First one I bought was a G22 in 1993 when they first came out. Since then I have upgraded to the third gen Glocks but throughout the years when I need a go to handgun for IPSC, range, target shoots etc. I always end up with the .40S&W. Why? I appreciate the recoil, the snappiness of it, of all things the snappiness gets the gun right back into my hand after a shot. I shoot my .40's quicker and more accurately than a 9mm. The recoil seems to roll the firearm back into position, ready for the next shot. I also like the energy of this cartridge. Enough to knock down pepper poppers with ease. Terminal ballistics are great. I don't know about the experts but for me a .40 Glock is always going to be my first choice! That being said I understand that all pistol calibres are essentially the same in terms of ballistics, given the choice of ammo I would trust my life with any handgun calibre!
 
The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,but that's the way to bet. - Damon Runyon.

Bottom line, bigger bullets make bigger holes, bigger holes bleed more, you incapacitate by destroying the central nervous system or through blood loss
and on the subject of shot placement, that's great, if what you're shooting at isn't behind cover or concealment.
I guess you could always just shot the gun out of the bad guy's hand in the heat of battle.

And as far as the 9 being cheaper, some of the better , modern 9 cost pretty close or more then the basic.40 that its supplementing.
 
Greenhorse six said:
The race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong,but that's the way to bet. - Damon Runyon.

Bottom line, bigger bullets make bigger holes, bigger holes bleed more, you incapacitate by destroying the central nervous system or through blood loss
and on the subject of shot placement, that's great, if what you're shooting at isn't behind cover or concealment.
I guess you could always just shot the gun out of the bad guy's hand in the heat of battle.

And as far as the 9 being cheaper, some of the better , modern 9 cost pretty close or more then the basic.40 that its supplementing.
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Targets behind anything other than a windshield are not positively identified nor are they usually a threat. Barrier penetration of handgun ammo is far fron perfect or entirely predictable. Many modern HP rounds simply fill with debris and act like ball. In such a case 1 mm of additional diameter has zero benefit. The pathetic academic advantage of 40 over 9 is eclipsed by the capacity reduction and reduced recoil. As for expensive ammo. Yes good HP/duty ammo is universally pricey, however, practice ammo in 9 is significantly cheaper than that in 40.

Tdc

Eta: if you're relying on calibre and/or bullet design/performance over shot placement, then your tactics are wrong.
 
I can understand that. It's very individual thing I guess, since I can't tell the difference between 9 and 40 in Glock.
Seriously, if there is a difference I simply can't tell. I'm not a big dude at all BTW...nor a strong one either.
 
Nestor said:
I can understand that. It's very individual thing I guess, since I can't tell the difference between 9 and 40 in Glock.
Seriously, if there is a difference I simply can't tell. I'm not a big dude at all BTW...nor a strong one either.
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Everytime i shoot a Glock 22 i cant keep grip formation. 9mm Glock i can but i find Glocks hard to hold,bad grip angle. I guess i should try SW MP!
 
the truth is that if 9mm cant kill what you are shooting, you need a rifle.
Honestly, who would want to face a 9mm?
If someone points at me with a gun, I don't care if it's a .22 or a 9mm or a 40 or a 45, it's still a gun.
The 9mm can hold more rounds and recoil is less and it works. Why go bigger. (talking about police or military).
More recoil = worse score.
I shoot a 9mm much better than a 45. Why, I don't know. Fear of recoil? Finch?
 
Strange. Since I fired a .40 S&W (Glock 22) the very first time, I've done well with it. I carried one daily, shot it often, and have never had a single problem with grip placement, recoil, consistency, accuracy, or anything else with the caliber. Among the 100 or so people that I know personally that shoot the Glock 22, I've never heard of even one of them having any of these problems, including women with small hands.

BTW, I also regularly shoot 9 mm, .38 Spl., and .45ACP, among others. I've never even noticed the recoil from my Glock 22, even with hot loads - it's certainly no more noticeable than the recoil from the several 9 mm's I've owned. Maybe it's my stance or something - even hot loads in .44 Magnum have never bothered me.:confused:
 
mh434 said:
Strange. Since I fired a .40 S&W (Glock 22) the very first time, I've done well with it. I carried one daily, shot it often, and have never had a single problem with grip placement, recoil, consistency, accuracy, or anything else with the caliber. Among the 100 or so people that I know personally that shoot the Glock 22, I've never heard of even one of them having any of these problems, including women with small hands.
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It's fairly popular experience within any LE agency. I've seen small, skinny girls (barely 5' tall) doing just fine with G22.
They never said a word about experiencing any discomfort and qualified easily.
Yet here among the males, the legendary snappiness of .40 is getting more attention than it deserves.
I have a reason to believe that many of the complainants never really tried anything chambered in .40
 
The ability to draw, acquire sights and address the target accurately and quickly with two shots is hampered by the increased recoil of the 40 cal over the 9 - if it takes 2 tenths of a second longer to acquire a sight picture for the second shot, that's 2 tenths you're giving to a person who is ostensibly trying to kill you, or even just trying to beat you in competition - why give them that.
 
enefgee said:
The ability to draw, acquire sights and address the target accurately and quickly with two shots is hampered by the increased recoil of the 40 cal over the 9 - if it takes 2 tenths of a second longer to acquire a sight picture for the second shot, that's 2 tenths you're giving to a person who is ostensibly trying to kill you, or even just trying to beat you in competition - why give them that.
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Ability to draw and acquire the sights has nothing to do with the caliber of your firearm.
It's more about the holster, length of the pistol, clothes that You are wearing and your muscle memory.
Running double AACP line of fire isn't a big problem for someone committed to the proper training.
It's even possible to accomplish for fairly inexperienced person. You just need to stay focused.
Check out the times for AACP course, double the number of the targets and than You may change your mind about being handicapped by the caliber of your pistol.
Yes, You may need more training time to accomplish the same goals by going with the bigger and heavier bullet, but this doesn't mean it can't be done.
Try this technique next time:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBkXdMThD8w

It's worth of your time...
 
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I enjoy shooting 40 as much as 9. Agree that the mythical snappiness gets wayyyy too much airtime. Recoil characteristics depend more on the load in my experience.
 
dallasm said:
I enjoy shooting 40 as much as 9. Agree that the mythical snappiness gets wayyyy too much airtime. Recoil characteristics depend more on the load in my experience.
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Given that the argument comes from the US, where handguns are used for real, you have to assume factory defensive loads are being discussed. The fact that we in Canada have the luxury of turning 40 S&W (or 45 or 357 mag, or 500 S&W) into the worlds most capable mouse gun, while suffering no consequences, is irrelevant.
 
G22 didnt work for me, for some reason I couldnt group with it at all
I tried everything I could think of but for some reason it just didnt come together.
I bought a M&P40 and had no issues...so bought the M&P 9 as well
 
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