Advantages of 40 S&W?

[ReadyontheRight]

What are the advantages, if any, of 40 S&W over 45 ACP?

 

[N3rday]

You can fit more .40s in a magazine, and have about the same stopping power as a .45, albeit with a little more muzzle flip. .40 is a little harder on the gun because of the high pressure, but not really anything to worry about too much.

the .40 is basically a smaller, lighter 10mm that fits smaller, 9mm size guns.
Luckily they cost about the same.

 

[Ala Dan]

Greeting's All,

I know the ole' saying, "to each his own"; and "opinions
are like a$$holes, everybody has got one" but I'm still
a fan of the .45 ACP! So, most .40 caliber's
hold more round's; but STOP and THINK,
if you are a good shot do you really need more?

I can see the only difference as being the fact that most
.40 caliber JHP's offer a little deeper penetration, and
a smigdon better expansion. Other than that,
I can see no advantage to the .40, over the .45.

Best Wishes,
Ala Dan, N.R.A. Life Member

 

[jrpeterman]

How about cost of the ammunition. If your not a reloader, 40 S & W is about $ 5.00 less for a 100 pack of WWB. I shoot both .45 ACP and .40 S & W. IMO, I prefer the .40 because it has a little more snap and punch to it.

 

[stans]

Looks like the 40 S&W is just as effective (or ineffective) as the 45 ACP. The advantage of the 40 is that it puts 45 power into a 9mm sized handgun.

 

[DJCharlie]

the .40S&W is just the ideal round and is far more superior than the other rounds... flame away

 

[wingman]

the .40S&W is just the ideal round

While I reload and enjoy shooting the 40 I still prefer the 45acp and doubt the
40S&W will have the same life as the 45 except in small numbers of diehard
reloaders..

 

[agtman]

"...the .40S&W is just the ideal round ..."




Wow, ... there are several really BIG "if"s packed into that statement, like:

* only if you accept the compromise theory of packing low-end 10mm stopping power into 9mm-sized guns ... Many prefer sticking with the real deal: a 10mm/45-size platform in which even the power of an upper level 10mm load actually generates less felt recoil than the .40 does fired from a 9mm-frame gun ...

* only if you're willing to accept mediocre accuracy from most .40 pistols out of the box (happily, the Sig 229 seems to be an exception), which in my experience varies anywhere from XL pie-plate "groups" at "combat range" to minute-of-barn-door as distance from the target increases...

* only if you have a very good reason, once you've decided to move up from the enfeebling 9mm, for not going straight to either a 10mm AUTO or .45acp ... ( personally, I've yet to hear one, but that's me ...).

 

[Arub]

I shoot 9mm, .40S&W and .45auto. I really get a charge out of the .45, but when you look at my reloading bench, it becomes clear that the .40S&W is my mistress. Even have two identical auto loaders, chambered in the .40 for competition, just in case I have a failure with one of them (back up gun, not have had to use yet). I probably shoot three or four times the number of .40 rounds than the 9mm or .45. I'm just hooked on it, no particular reason, just like the .40s.

 

[customfret]

I like the 40 too. It allows me to carry a cartridge with what I feel is plenty of power to handle any situation I might encounter with all the rounds the present law allows in package light enough to carry all day without really noticing it's there. My Keltec P-40 weighs 26 oz. with 10 + 1 rounds (includes +1 Keltec mag extension) & rides in an Alessi Talon + every day all day long. The trigger takes a little practice, but 40 ammo is cheap (esp if you reload) and 100 + rounds /week will keep you in the 10 ring.

 

[Flashpoint]

I would say that it is a good compromise between the 9 and the 45 and it seem to me to get a quality gun in a .45 you would have to spend a lot more cash than you would to get quality gun in a 40.

 

[9mmepiphany]

IMO the MAJOR advantage of the .40 is the ability to pack it's punch (what you think that may be) into a 9mm platform. there are far more folks who can wrap their mitts around a glock 22/23 (.40) than a glock 20/21 (.45)

 

[PCRCCW]

I like it because it works. Think about this, any chambering that causes such replies as it typically gets, much like this one, cant be all bad!

Shoot well.

 

[clubsoda22]

only if you're willing to accept mediocre accuracy from most .40 pistols out of the box

That's more the gunmakers fault than the bullet. Guns that were designed for the .40 with fully supported chambers, not just some bored out 9mm, tend to have excellent accuracy. My HK USP .40 has excellent accuracy.