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Seriously, what's wrong with .40s?

Radtekk

Radtekk

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I don't get it, what's wrong with them? I admit it, I'm relatively new, only been shooting 4 years or so. I started with my xD45 in Arizona. When I got here a couple+ years ago and found out about the laws, I decided something more compact was appropriate. I found my k40 used at Four Seasons, bought it, and have never had a lick of trouble 1000+ rounds later. I've shot WWB, Wolf, Federal, and a few others out of it, and a couple of different HP rounds also. Never had a failure personally, the only one was a female friend that limp-wristed it. The truncated bullets ARE a little funny looking, but they make holes in what I aim at, so I don't care.

So what's wrong with them? Go ahead, I'm a big boy...
 
For me its only the extra couple of bucks per 50 trigger pulls that makes me want to leave the .40 in the safe and shoot a 9mm more often. Just getting into shooting myself and I'm not ready to start reloading until I build my gun collection.
 
There is nothing wrong with them. It's a running joke, like the Glocks that go BOOM all the time.

Some seem to think that there is reasons why they are bad, I think they are just cat haters myself..........................
 
We have had a love affair with the .45 since it came out, just like we have a love affair with the .38 spl, .357 magnum, .44 magnum. These cartridges, and others, have deep roots in modern Americana, and for good reason, they are all effective cartridges that our grandfathers, and fathers have shot. Even though the 9mm has become extremely common, many people still refer to it as the gun for girly men. As the .40 gains popularity, not much will change in the playful banter between those who carry and shoot .45 and those who carry and shoot .40 as the banter has never gone away from the .45 vs. the 9mm.

I like listening to people who have zero experience with firearms, and try to figure out where their information comes from. I have heard guys who do not own a single gun, talk about Glocks having no metal in them, not being able to kill with a .22, any cartridge other than the .45 being weak, all semiauto pistols being cheap and are throwaways that are not dependable, etc etc etc.

Bottom line is, shoot what you like. I like the .45 because I am a 1911 guy. Also, I do not want to stock too many different calibers of ammo. My non-1911 semiautos are also mostly .45s and a couple 9mm for cheaper practice. My first reloading cartridge will be .45 ACP. I have a friend who is the same way with .40s - he would rather only stock .40 ammo, so he is realigning his collection to only include this cartridge. Whichever cartridge you have - if you can shoot it effectively, it is common enough to find if and when the SHTF, and it is a quality and effective cartridge, and is not way underpowered, then go for it.

I would not want to be shot with a .40, even if it is a kid's round. [rofl]
 
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I like my .40...... And I'm sure anyone on the receiving end will not have the same opinion as me. The cost is a bit higher than 9mm but it is a bigger round.


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The number one reason I have been told that people don't like the .40 is because of the way it came to be.
The .40 was created by making a 10mm weaker so everyone would be able to handle it.
This always hits a nerve with a certain crowd because they believe it is wussified.
These are the folks that remember a strong and proud America where you built yourself up to handle something instead of making something weaker so everybody could do it.
For example it is like telling someone you ride a Harley and then they find out it is an 883
 
PixelPusher said:
I think our illustrious EddieCoyle put it best HERE.

Other than that like it was said earlier... it is mostly a running joke.
Click to expand...

+1

As usual, EddieCoyle explains this perfectly. It's a compromise round and compromise rounds will always have haters. Add to this that Glock had some bad experiences with .40 handguns in their past and it's understandable that there's a collection of people who will never have anything good to say about the caliber.

It's not scientific though. Personal preference based on conjecture and personal experience. Don't take it seriously here on the if someone bad mouths .40 at the range, dare then to explain why and back it with data. Give them 20 seconds to form a coherent sentence. If they can't, plant one in their leg.
 
Nothing......its a good round....

On the opposite side of the spectrum of wussified..... we have people saying on this site that the glock 27 is too much to handle.....

Shoot stuff and form your own opinion.....

Listening to internet cowboys is like listening to .gov to get your way thru life.....
 
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... because it's not a 45.

Get into a discussion about caliber at home work or the internet and everyone is a judgmental expert.

Shoot at a range and no one gives a sh..... All of a sudden the concepts of skill and function become more important.

A kid or arthritic man with an oversized pistol makes everyone nervous. If he shoots - proficiently - a caliber he can handle no one cares about the few hundreths of an inch in difference between one round or another.
 
EddieCoyle said:
It was invented by French women so that they could have something to shoot while their husbands cooked.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Jim. That explains why the wife handed me an apron when I walked in the door with my spankin' new Sig 229, .40. BTW, can I rustle you up a little breakfast? [smile]
 
PixelPusher said:
I think our illustrious EddieCoyle put it best HERE.

Other than that like it was said earlier... it is mostly a running joke.
Click to expand...

If I was so cool as to sip whiskey while sitting on a stool made from elephant tusks and smoking cuban sigars, I'd spill the whiskey all over my keyboard. That's a classic! [rofl]
 
edhead35 said:
We have had a love affair with the .45 since it came out, just like we have a love affair with the .38 spl, .357 magnum, .44 magnum. These cartridges, and others, have deep roots in modern Americana, and for good reason, they are all effective cartridges that our grandfathers, and fathers have shot. Even though the 9mm has become extremely common, many people still refer to it as the gun for girly men. As the .40 gains popularity, not much will change in the playful banter between those who carry and shoot .45 and those who carry and shoot .40 as the banter has never gone away from the .45 vs. the 9mm.

I like listening to people who have zero experience with firearms, and try to figure out where their information comes from. I have heard guys who do not own a single gun, talk about Glocks having no metal in them, not being able to kill with a .22, any cartridge other than the .45 being weak, all semiauto pistols being cheap and are throwaways that are not dependable, etc etc etc.

Bottom line is, shoot what you like. I like the .45 because I am a 1911 guy. Also, I do not want to stock too many different calibers of ammo. My non-1911 semiautos are also mostly .45s and a couple 9mm for cheaper practice. My first reloading cartridge will be .45 ACP. I have a friend who is the same way with .40s - he would rather only stock .40 ammo, so he is realigning his collection to only include this cartridge. Whichever cartridge you have - if you can shoot it effectively, it is common enough to find if and when the SHTF, and it is a quality and effective cartridge, and is not way underpowered, then go for it.

I would not want to be shot with a .40, even if it is a kid's round. [rofl]
Click to expand...

Ed, I'm going to add that I wouldn't want to get hit by a .22LR, either [wink]...being ventilated sucks, no matter what size. And a buttshot into an artery is bad no matter the size.
 
The only down side of the all the .40 hate is that I find so many new shooters that simply can not handle a .45 turn to a 9mm without at consideration of anything else.

By handle, I'm not just talking about recoil (although that is one issue), but rather just being able to physically hold the firearm. Not everyone is given a huge hand to fill and I've seen many a person struggle to use a tool far too large for them as a result. And while the FBI downloading of the 10mm was a dumb solution to the 'problem', the selection of a cartridge that is sized in a firearm that more people can properly hold IS a good thing. However, that said, just slowing down the cartridge that was tested as being the 'best' is not the right way to do things. Instead, someone should have looked at the ballistic results and said "OK, the 10mm is great, but only about 70% (or less) of our agents can realistically hold the gun chambered in this round due to the grip size. What would we give up by selecting the cartridge that fit a more reasonable sized gun?"

I honestly think the answer would have been "Too Much" and we might have seen the dawning of a new round better able to meet the ballistic needs. Something that could fit into a 9mm sized gun, and still pack the power needed. Yes, it might be too much for some people, but it would be a training issue, not a physical one.

The .40 isn't a lot better than a 9 in many respects. But it does make slightly larger holes and can expand to measurably larger mushrooms. When it comes to stopping a person, the size of the wound channel CAN and DOES make a difference. Since both the 9mm and the .40 are popular, there is a wide selection of factory ammo to choose from. Price might be an issue to some. In which case, if 9mm gets you shooting more and that makes you a better shot - by all means stick with the 9mm. A good shot beats a bad shot regardless of the size of the hole.

It all boils down to a very simple statement:

Pick the biggest caliber you can consistently and accurately makes hits on the target.

The caveat is of course that the pistol design might have a lot to do with this. One caliber in one design might be unmanageable, but the same caliber in a different design might be perfect.

I think the Executive Summary of this whole discussion is:

Find the gun/caliber combination that works for YOU. Find the best fitting gun and THEN decide what caliber works best for you in that gun. In some cases, you don't have much of a choice, but in others you will. In the end, only good hits count.
 
Field agents loved the additional firepower, but some of the sissy office staff complained about the 10mm's recoil. One day, some pale doughy accountant picked up a 10mm and said,
"If someone else would make this smaller and weaker, it wouldn't hurt my little hand as much when I shoot it." His transgender assistant said, "That a great idea! They could even make the guns smaller to fit in my evening bag", and the .40 was born.

I never new, that's it I'm selling my shorty forty.[wink]
 
.40sw out of a glock 23 is not a easy combination to shoot. A 10mm out of the same sized platform would be very difficult to shoot. I would wager that many here would have issues shooting a .40 out of a 23. I don't mean, standing shooting 1 round a sec at 1 paper target faggotry, that most think is rapid fire.

Is 10mm a better round? Only if you can shoot it well
 
Supermoto said:
.40sw out of a glock 23 is not a easy combination to shoot. A 10mm out of the same sized platform would be very difficult to shoot. I would wager that many here would have issues shooting a .40 out of a 23. I don't mean, standing shooting 1 round a sec at 1 paper target faggotry, that most think is rapid fire.

Is 10mm a better round? Only if you can shoot it well
Click to expand...

True.

My Glock 29 is a little smaller then a 23, but it is surprisingly easy for me to run it fast and effectively. It doesn't hurt that I have large man hands though. I would love to try a 10mm 1911 and see how that feels.

Different strokes for different folks. I have a .40 barrel I put in my 29 for cheap practice, I just like to make silly internet comments on these silly internet caliber debates.
 

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