{"id":135138,"date":"2021-01-31T16:32:21","date_gmt":"2021-01-31T21:32:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.gunsamerica.com\/digest\/?p=135138"},"modified":"2021-01-31T16:32:21","modified_gmt":"2023-09-07T04:47:58","slug":"the-40-sw-come-back-great-for-personal-defense-and-available-during-the-ammo-drought","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gunsamerica.com\/digest\/the-40-sw-come-back-great-for-personal-defense-and-available-during-the-ammo-drought\/","title":{"rendered":"The .40 S&W Comeback: Great for Personal Defense and Available During the Ammo Drought"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The best feature of the .40 Smith and Wesson today might be its falling popularity. That means quality handguns and ammunition are available now when other calibers aren\u2019t. After the FBI\u2019s adoption of the 9mm, the .40 has lost favor with law enforcement agencies, but it is still around and remains a very good self-defense cartridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.40 it is still available and a very good self-defense cartridge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The .40 S&W, also called .40 caliber, was a popular caliber for law enforcement duty pistols for 20 years. This means that police trade-ins are available providing lightly used quality at affordable prices. Less popular than 9mm, there is still a wide selection of .40 S&W ammunition for training and personal defense when other calibers are sold out. Despite conventional wisdom, gun buyers, new and old should consider the .40 S&W.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The .40 has more energy but the same sized pistol in 9mm will hold more rounds since the cartridge is smaller. A pistol chambered in .40 S&W holds more rounds than a.45, but the energy of the .45 ACP is higher than the .40.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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There are many other .40 platforms that use handgun mags. AR conversions like the Stern Defense and dedicated AR Glock magazine lowers can use .40 with the simple addition of a .40 upper and .40 mags. Stern Defense models can use SIG P-320, S&W M&P, and Glock mags if you already own them.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Black Creek Precision<\/a> dedicated lower uses Glock magazines like this KCI USA drum.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It is useful to look back and see why the .40 was so popular for so many years. This is not another caliber debate. Do your homework and your range work before picking a handgun caliber. When you do pick one, remember, it is rude to talk about politics, religion, or handgun caliber at the supper table.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
CMMG<\/a>\u2018s Resolute 300 Series carbine in .40 S&W with a KCI USA drum magazine. It is a joy to shoot with plenty of energy for practical work. Law enforcement asked for a .40 S&W carbine that used the same magazine as their Glocks. CMMG answered the call and tamed the recoil with Radial Delayed Blowback. This system delays and reduces the velocity of the bolt so that powerful pistol cartridges like .40 S&W can be used without a heavy buffer system. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

All around the internet, .40 S&W ammo is available in dozens of different loads. I didn\u2019t find any .40-caliber ammunition at my local box stores, but I did find several cases at my local gun shop. It was priced slightly higher than what is available from online retailers, but there are no added shipping fees and I walked out of the store with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kahr
The .40 S&W strikes a solid balance between energy and magazine capacity. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The .40 S&W was specifically developed to duplicate the performance of the FBI\u2019s reduced-velocity 10mm cartridge and fit into medium-frame (9mm size) automatic handguns. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
This Rock Island double stack 1911 in .40 cal is powerful and accurate. Not every shooter can handle this much steel.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Since the 1900s, the .38, .45, and 9mm had been the main cartridges for law enforcement and the military in the United States. In the early 1970\u2019s Whit Collins had a better idea. He wanted to rechamber the 9mm Browning Hi-Power in a more powerful cartridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The 10mm round on the left shares the 0.400\u2033 caliber bullet with the .40 S&W round on the right. There is a .142\u2033 reduction in overall case length, resulting in less powder capacity in the .40 S&W. The .40 uses a small pistol primer whereas the 10mm cartridge uses a large pistol primer.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Collins originally considered the .38 Super, but read Jeff Cooper\u2019s concept of an ideal cartridge of a .40 caliber bullet weighing 200gr moving at 1,000fps. After much study of geometry Collins began looking for existing rifle cases that had the right dimensions and could be trimmed to proper length a Browning Hi-Power magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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New ammo tech like this SIG .40 S&W ammo are another good argument in favor of carrying .40<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Cooper approved and helped Collins get his idea to Guns & Ammo. By 1972 a Browning Hi-Power chambered in .40 G&A was test-fired. The loads being fired consisted of a 180gn bullet at 1,050fps out of the 5\u2033 barrel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 1973 Cooper and Collins explored the idea of a longer cased .40 caliber round developed for large frame .45 platforms. Whit Collins continued working on his .40 G&A and Jeff Cooper began work on his .40 Super. In 1978 Cooper helped conceive the Bren Ten semiautomatic pistol, and his .40 Super evolved into 10mm Auto. Bren didn\u2019t last long, but the 10mm would be re-born.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The
In 1978 Jeff Cooper helped conceive the Bren Ten semiautomatic pistol and his .40 Super evolved into 10mm Auto. Bren Ten image from GunsAmerica.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The true genesis of the .40 S&W was on April 11, 1986, in Miami Dade county Florida. Eight FBI agents and two bank robbers engaged in a fight to the death. FBI Special Agents Jerry L. Dove and Benjamin P. Grogan were killed, while five other agents were wounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two robbery suspects, both with military experience, William Russell Matix and Michael Lee Platt, were also killed. These were bad men armed with an S&W M3000 12-gauge shotgun and a Ruger Mini-14. They had decided they were not going to be taken alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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