"Classic"/"Standard Setting" .40 S&W?

[Hammerhead6814]

When someone says "9mm Pistol", these will undoubtably cross someones mind:

Beretta 92FS
CZ 75b
Glock 17/19
Springfield XD9

When it comes to 9x19 pistols, those four are always mentioned. More civilized enthusiast will quickly bring up the SIG P226 or the S&W M&P. The 9mm has truly become the spoiled princess of cartridges as it can't have just one bicycle, and wasn't satisfied when it had twenty!

But when it comes to the second most-popular handgun cartridge, the .40 S&W, the average consumers mind couldn't be more blank. We're always thinking of one of those 9mm's that have been converted to shoot .40 S&W, such as the Glock 22 or XD40. Just today I asked a gentlemen what his favorite .40 S&W pistol was and he couldn't honesty think of one despite owning two!

So I have to ask, under the pretense that someone here is a true .40 enthusiast, when you think of .40 S&W, does one in-particular design stand out above all else? I don't mean "Well I like the Glock", but "When I bought the Glock/Springfield, I was thinking of (name)".

Is there a .40 S&W pistol that sets the standards for all others? Or is it the one cartridge that really doesn't have a design all it's own?

 

[Zundfolge]

The Smith & Wesson 4006 was the first.

I would argue that the Glock 22 and 23 are the most popular and put the .40 in the most hands.

The Steyr M40 was designed around the .40S&W (and then "converted" to 9x19).


I was going to say the SIG P229, but it was really designed around SIG's new at the time .357SIG (which is a .40S&W necked down to 9mm).


Overall I'd have to say the 4006 fills the bill as "The Definitive .40"

 

[NG VI]

Negative Zundfolge, Glock made it to market with the 22 before S&W got their .40 pistol out. It was a major coup, and I think a hilarious one.

I would say that when I think iconic .40, designed for and associated with .40 purely, I go with the first pistol to begin life as a .40, the USP. No other pistol prior to this was designed specifically for .40 and adapted to 9mm or .45 later. I also think of the Sig P229, since it was an overhaul of a popular pistol and series to optimize it for the caliber.

I would say you need to remove the M&P 9mm from your list of "classy" 9mm shooters. Put the CZ in that category instead, along with the P7M8, High Power, and 5906. There are others I forgot about. Those stick out to me.

 

[Zundfolge]

Glock may have beat S&W to the market but the 4006 was the first pistol ever chambered in .40S&W (its the pistol that Smith & Wesson used to develop the .40 Smith & Wesson caliber).

I acknowledged that the G22 and G23 probably did more to expand use of the .40 to where it is today, but the G22 is still essentially a G17 re-chambered in .40.

Yes the USP is an iconic .40 but the SIG was overhauled and upgraded for .357SIG, not .40S&W

Thus I stand by my statement that the 4006 is the definitive .40 (but with the USP coming in a close second).

 

[NG VI]

I am going to go ahead and stand by my knowledge of the Glock 22 as the first sold pistol in .40 S&W, though I would ordinarily defer to you on any other issue. the 4006 is just a rechamered 5906 after all, and didn't get into shops as quickly as the G22 did.

USP wasn't one of the first, but it was early and was definitely the first pistol designed entirely around the .40 and released in other chamberings later on.

 

[Manco]

When it comes to 9x19 pistols, those four are always mentioned. More civilized enthusiast will quickly bring up the SIG P226 or the S&W M&P.

The P226 is one of the first that come to mind for me regarding 9mm, along with the Luger Parabellum of course, and I most closely associate the M&P with .40 S&W, not 9mm, because it was originally designed around the .40 S&W like the HK USP before it. These two and the S&W 4006 are the ones that come to mind first regarding .40 S&W, at least for me.

 

[Quiet]

For .40S&W, it's the Glock 22.
Even though the S&W Model 4006 was the first pistol to be chambered with it, the Glock 22 was available first and has been adopted by more LE agencies than the S&W Model 4006.

For 9x19mm, it's the Browning High Power.
Even though the Luger P-08 was the first pistol to be chambered with it, the BHP has been in service/available the longest and was the first "high capacity wonder nine".

 

[GZOh]

The 'good-ole' CZ-75B has a great .40 S&W model. Very accurate, great trigger, low recoil and a real pleasure to shoot!!...
Like all CZs, doesn't have quite the 'popularity/notoriety' of Glocks, Sigs, S&Ws, etc., but still a great gun!

 

[9mmepiphany]

I was going to say the SIG P229, but it was really designed around SIG's new at the time .357SIG (which is a .40S&W necked down to 9mm).

i'm going to have to disagree with this

the Sig 229 was the first Sig with a stainless steel milled slide. it was a development of the 228, with the heavier slide to handle the additional recoil/pressure spike of the .40 chambering. when the 229 was introduced, the 357Sig cartridge did not exist, the 229 was built/designed to cater to the demand of the LE market for guns chambering the .40 round. when the 357Sig came into being, marketed as a replacement for the LEO's beloved 125gr loading in the .357 Magnum, it was a simple matter to chamber the 229 for it

the 228 and 229 were in production at the same time, until the demand for the .40 was under control, a lightened milled slide was then introduced for the 229 chambered in 9mm...this guns frame will not accept magazines from the .40 229, nor can it be converted, through swapping the barrel, to handle the .40 or 357Sig cartridge

 

[REAPER4206969]

Glock 22/23. They are the first and by far the most widely used .40S&W pistols on the planet. Nothing else comes close. Nothing.

 

[CPshooter]

For .40S&W, it's the Glock 22.

The OP was basically asking which guns were designed around the .40s&w cartridge, not which .40 is most popular with LE. The Glock 22 was not built properly to handle the higher pressures of the .40s&w. It lacks adequate slide mass and a fully-supported barrel chamber. They were just redesigned or "modified" Glock 17s that were produced as a cost-effective way to meet the demands of LEOs that wanted .40s&w pistols to replace their 9mm pistols.

The Sig P229 and USP.40 were both originally designed to shoot .40s&w first, and then released as over-built 9mm pistols. Both are fantastic pistols and handle the .40s&w with ease. Here's a pic of mine:

 

[9mmepiphany]

The OP was basically asking which guns were designed around the .40s&w cartridge, not which .40 is most popular with LE

that's the way i read it too

another built around the .40 is the Walther P99

 

[CPshooter]

another built around the .40 is the Walther P99

You're right. I forgot about that one...I used to have a P99 .40 A/S and I remember how the slide was much beefier up front compared to the tapered-down 9mm version. I didn't like it though. It was painful to shoot for some reason, so I sold it.

 

[REAPER4206969]

The entire point of the .40S&W cartridge was that it could be chambered in preexisting 9x19mm frames. That's why it exists.

 

[REAPER4206969]

The Glock 22 was not built properly to handle the higher pressures of the .40s&w. It lacks adequate slide mass and a fully-supported barrel chamber.

Is that why it is the .40 pistol? It is so improperly built that no other .40 pistol even comes close to its usage?

GEN2 GEN3 Aftermarket

 

[SwampWolf]

I am going to go ahead and stand by my knowledge of the Glock 22 as the first sold pistol in .40 S&W, though I would ordinarily defer to you on any other issue. the 4006 is just a rechamered 5906 after all, and didn't get into shops as quickly as the G22 did.

I'm not sure which of the two pistols made it to the store before the other but I'm pretty sure the Model 4006 was cataloged first.

 

[SwampWolf]

The OP was basically asking which guns were designed around the .40s&w cartridge, not which .40 is most popular with LE.

And if that's the OP's question, my answer would be the HK USP40.

 

[Manco]

The Sig P229 and USP.40 were both originally designed to shoot .40s&w first, and then released as over-built 9mm pistols.

The same is true of the S&W M&P, by the way, which is why I thought it was ironic of the original poster to list it among the 9mm pistols.

 

[bigfatdave]

When I hear ".40 cal", ".40S&W", or "forty" I always think of this image:

and the accompanying video.

I'm sure that isn't the answer you were hoping for, Hammerhead6814, but that's the truth.

 

[Manco]

When I hear ".40 cal", ".40S&W", or "forty" I always think of this image:

and the accompanying video.

I'm sure that isn't the answer you were hoping for, Hammerhead6814, but that's the truth.

That's funny, whenever I hear "9mm", "9mm Parabellum", or especially "9mm Luger" I always think of it being on the wrong side of two world wars.

 

[REAPER4206969]

Many of the allies used 9x19mm as well.

 

[Manco]

Many of the allies used 9x19mm as well.

Well, many non-stupid people use .40 S&W, too, but it still makes bigfatdave think of that infamous idiot who shot himself in a classroom. OK, fine, the same goes for 9mm--allies then and the US military itself now might use 9mm, but it still makes me think of the bad guys in both world wars, and that's the truth. I won't hold history against it, of course, but this whole thread is about associations between things.

 

[rcmodel]

FoTay = Glock.

rc

 

[9mmepiphany]

i asked some friend and have to admit that even though it wasn't originally designed for the round...rap and other gangbanger culture have linked the .40 with the Glock 22 in the mind of most Americans

it is much like the image of the Beretta 92 being linked to the 9mm through military images or the Colt SAA being linked to the .45 (even though most working "cowboy" pistols weren't chambered in that round, but rather the 44-40 or 38-40)

 

[Jed Carter]

No matter what the caliber, I never think of Springfield XDs. Although I might if they built one in 5.7x28 for about $450.