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40 cal vs 9mm/45

4K views 17 replies 14 participants last post by  ajole 
#1 ·
Every time i go to Wal Mart i see the same ammo,,,,22, 308, 12 ga and alot of boxes of 40 cal. i have a 380 as my only pistol right now and i want a C-9 or 38. That ammo is about non existent also so what is the thing about a 40 cal? No one likes it the reason there is always ammo avail for it? Kick can not be as bad as a 45 and have had a few 38 semis supprise me, so 40 cal owners/non owners........what do you say?
 
#5 ·
I'm starting to see more and more .40 on the shelves, however the local WM has started carrying Federal as opposed to Blazer Brass, same price though. The local shop has PMC all day everyday for $15.

I personally like the .40 round over the .45, no real technical reason, just a familiar and comfortable with the round.
 
#7 ·
I wouldnt touch a Ruger on several grounds. Springfield has a good one in the XD series, also the Taurus Millennium Pro PT140 has had the bugs worked out and is now pretty decent, plenty out there so just look around. I go with the 45ACP since even FMJ has great knock down potential, 230gr just has to freaking hurt. My main use of the 40SW is in a Sub2K carbine and Glock that use the same mags to go into a BoB "light" for easy carry and greater utility than 9mm.
 
#9 ·
Like the others have stated, 40s must just not be very popular in certain regions. This is one of the reasons I went with it for my handgun choice and why I am foaming at the mouth for a 4095. Its always in stock at my WM. IMHO, a savings of a few dollars a box doesn't mean a whole lot if the lower priced caliber is nowhere to be found. I love my glk 23C, but that is just my own personal preference. I did get to shoot a friend's new sprgfld XDM40, and I was very impressed with it. Not a cheap piece though. Ruger, not a big fan of their centerfire autos. What is your main purpose for this new handgun? CCW, HD, plinking, hunting sidearm? I looked at several makes and sizes and the midsized glk 23 fit right smack dab in the middle of all of my potential uses.
 
#12 ·
It's true, the .40 is popular by region, but the main reason .40 ammo has been more available, is due to the majority of the 9mm and .45 ACP ammo has been going to the Gulf. Federal also re-tooled their ammo production lines, which has not helped, Winchester took up the slack in the military orders, add to this all the hording, new owners trying to find feed for their new purchases, alot of them being horders, panic buying started by the election issues, again, alot of the new buyers being in this crowd, and we had the shortage. In my location, the .40 is popular, however, there has always been ammo available, while .380 is all but non-existant, 9mm, and .45ACP, mostly CCI Balzer, and import stuff(MagTech, PMC, etc.), and Rem. UMC has trickled in here and there, only to be bought up as son as the horders found it.

Go with the .40, it's a good round, my go to pistol is a Glock 22, and has a good reputaion with law enforcement, almost all of the top defensive loads are available in the .40, Hornanday TAP being one of the top picks. There alot of good choices in makes and models. If you are on a tight budget, the S&WE Sigma series is a good pistol for the price, had one years ago, and it was one of the best I owned.
 
#14 ·
The thing is with a .40 and a polymer frame you get a pretty good bit of recoil and a lot of people don't really like that. For the most part a .40 is gonna be a little bit wider of a gun thus its a little harder to conceal. All these reasons I believe are why so many go with a 9. I'll stick with my PT140 Mil Pro. I LOVE it.
 
#16 ·
yes i agree when i took out my 40 for the 1st time i had no problems but wen the wife shot it you could tell the difference in strength levels. she was all over the target and hurt her thumb. both my kids shot my 40 . 10 and 16 . i helped the 10 hold the gun wen he shot and the 16 held it her self. but as you said you can tell the recoil wen they were shooting. but it was fun. 8)
 
#17 ·
In my area 40S&W is all over the place and sometimes cheaper than 9mm.

9mm is often sold out even at gun shows unless you want pricey Corbon or hi end defense ammo.

Luckily this week we got a good supply at the show and Cabelas but i havent checked WM yet. 40 was still way more common at this weekends gun show but atleast i got reloadable 9mm for a fair price and no tax. CCI Blazer BRASS was $12 per 50 if you bought 2 boxes and even cheaper per 250 rounds. The new CCI Blazer BRASS seems to be very good brass too, the ammo (ballistics) is only average. Affordable good reloadable brass was my goal.

I strongly prefer 45ACP over either 9mm or 40sw but its mainly a preference not backed up by all data. 40sw is actually a very good multi purpose round with a good variety of weights. The 180gr will normally penetrate further than even a 230gr 45acp FMJ. The light weights easily beat 9mm in energy and KTO factors with only slighty more recoil.

In the real world good bullet placement and good bullet construction have an edge over just FPS or ftlbs energy for clean 1 shot kills, human or animal.
 
#18 ·
At least with the HP pistols, I think the JCP kicks LESS than the C9...maybe just because of the weight of the guns...I know my 4095 slaps me a little harder than the 995 tho...
 
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