The Fading Popularity of the .40S&W

[Wobbly]

Good article about the fading popularity of .40S&W ammo for law enforcement and civilian use.

Oh boy, here we go again!

The roller coaster of the gun world rolls again! Last winter you couldn't buy a black rifle for love or money. This coming winter there will be so many 40 cal trade-ins that pawn and gun shops will have them piled up in the corner. They'll soon be running specials: Buy a bottle of Hoppes and get 2 free 40 cal pistols.

 

Thanks for posting that.

[jameslovesjammie]

Caliber myopia is as bad as brand myopia.  I like the .40, but I also like the .45; and the .32; and the .38 caliber firearms.  Why do I like the .40?  I shoot it better than 9mm.  I just don't get that excited about shooting 9mm.  That doesn't mean there is anything wrong with 9mm, and it doesn't mean the .40 is any better.  For me, personally, I just enjoy shooting it more.  That's it.

As far as "popularity" goes...I could care less.  Brass for most calibers is available, even oddball ones.  I've got a large box of once fired .357 Sig brass that I bought because I was going to get an EFK Firedragon conversion barrel for my 75B.  The .357 Sig is the worst combination of both .40 and 9mm offerings, but is interesting to me.  To each their own.

[1SOW]

Caliber myopia is as bad as brand myopia

OR buying ONLY V-8s in Chevy instead of Ford or Dodge trucks.   

[armoredman]

*smack* I coulda had a V-8!

Sorry, I had to...

[Jake G]

It really depends where you are at.  I've lived in a rural area where the 9mm is the dominate caliber seen at shooting ranges and the amount of brass I have picked up.  .40's had a decent showing though.  Then when my job took me to a larger, more densely populated area the .40 became the dominant gun seen at the ranges in addition to the most picked up brass.  Kind of the city vs. rural comparison.  Not the most scientific study but enough observations to make me take notice.  I shoot 9's and .40's as well as many others.  I also carry both and never worry about if one is better than the other.

[Skookum]

Good article about the fading popularity of .40S&W ammo for law enforcement and civilian use.

http://www.thebangswitch.com/the-fading-40/

Very interesting article.  The pistol-training.com article linked to at the end of the above article is very interesting, too.

There must be some reason why a nominally 9mm-diameter bullet has been the most popular handgun bullet size for a long time, well before today's advanced hollowpoint bullet technology:

.

And why, out of the above 9mms, the 9 Luger has been the world's most popular handgun cartridge, again prior to advances in seen in current hollowpoint bullet tecnology.

It seems that, putting economics and availability (in a normal market) aside, the edge for the 9 Luger is due to reduced free recoil energy.  For example, the free recoil energy of the .40 S&W in a CZ 75 B and that of the .45 Auto in a CZ 97 B is 6.42 ft?lb, while that of the 9 Luger in a VZ 75 B is only 4.12 ft?lb, lower by 35.8%.  You can't drop what you can't hit.

The big-bore advocates argument has always been that more range time will compensate for greater recoil.  However, in a post-constitutional socialist market where ammo is expensive, if you can find it, the big-bore solution becomes impractical.

[jameslovesjammie]

And why, out of the above 9mms, the 9 Luger has been the world's most popular handgun cartridge, again prior to advances in seen in current hollowpoint bullet tecnology. Because it's been a standard issue military cartridge since 1901.  There has almost always been a military surplus market for both the cartridge and ammunition, and military cartridges are always the most popular in the civilian market (if the country allows civilians to own military calibers.)

It seems that, putting economics and availability (in a normal market) aside, the edge for the 9 Luger is due to reduced free recoil energy.  For example, the free recoil energy of the .40 S&W in a CZ 75 B and that of the .45 Auto in a CZ 97 B is 6.42 ft?lb, while that of the 9 Luger in a VZ 75 B is only 4.12 ft?lb, lower by 35.8%.  You can't drop what you can't hit.  The military's decision to use the said cartridge has more to do with logistics than economics or recoil.  You can fit more 9mm Luger in the same amount of space than you can .40 or .45 caliber.  Same reason the military will never go with a different rifle cartridge than the 5.56.  Yes, there are better cartridges available, but they take up more room than the tiny 5.56.  Larger cartridges take up more magazine space and are heavier to transport than the small cartridge with the small bullet.  100,000 rounds of 9mm take up less space and weigh less than 100,000 rounds of anything beginning with a .4

The big-bore advocates argument has always been that more range time will compensate for greater recoil.  However, in a post-constitutional socialist market where ammo is expensive, if you can find it, the big-bore solution becomes impractical.

All in all, I think the 9mm Luger has always done well because of what it is: a small cartridge that can fit a large number of rounds in a full size firearm.  It is efficient due to its small powder charge burning at high pressures to push a moderate weight bullet at high speed. 

[Skookum]

A bullet diameter of about 9mm must be optimal.  Per this list of handgun cartridges, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_handgun_cartridges, 9.00 mm (+/-0.25mm) appears to be the most common diameter cartridge designers have experimented with.  For example, I count 40 cartridges vs only 12 in 10.00 mm (.40 caliber +/-0.25mm) and 29 in 11.50 mm (.45 caliber +/-0.25mm).

That the 9 Luger being a military cartridge does give it an edge, but other 9mms started out as military cartridges, too, for example, the 9 Browning Long.  One reason  the Luger beat out the now-extinct Browning Long is likely the Luger hurls a bigger bullet at a much higher speed.  My guess is the 9 Luger is near optimal amongst its 9mm competitors.

[larryflew]

. On ours you will find 9mm, .223 and 12 gauge, but look quick before we clean it all up...*sniff*, and toss it ALL into the dump under armed guard. No, I'm not kidding...

TEARSSS  

Since you now have a law that they can no longer melt down guns try for no dumping brass.

[1SOW]

. On ours you will find 9mm, .223 and 12 gauge, but look quick before we clean it all up...*sniff*, and toss it ALL into the dump under armed guard. No, I'm not kidding...

TEARSSS  

Since you now have a law that they can no longer melt down guns try for no dumping brass.

You might suggest they could "BUY NEW PISTOLS" with the return from that brass; and, of course,  leo's that reload would get a discount on brass. 

[Birds Away]

I've owned several .40s.  I could never fall in love with one.  I really tried.  I have had two P-06s, two 40Ps, a 40B and a 75B in .40.  All are now gone.

[italianbreadman]

I never bought into the .40, myself. I feel like it was designed to take the best of the 9mm and .45acp, but failed to deliver in a significant enough way to replace those two cartridges.

[Joe L]

I don't have anything againse .40.  My problem is that I don't have anything much to say for it either.  I love my Kahr PM-40 and shoot it well, but that is the only .40 I ever shoot any more. 

The last 100 rounds of .40 I bought was for a present for a police detective friend of mine.  The department range had run out and they had cancelled live ammo practice.  I gave him the box and told him to spend his money on a date with his wife.  One way or another, the citizens would cover practice ammo. 

Joe

[AZ_CZ]

I remember when the 45 ACP was ushered out and deemed ineffective and outdated. (This was right after revolvers were being scraped and used as door stops because they were outdated, heavy, and low capacity) The once popular 1911 was best used as a club for self defense. It was the era of the wonder 9mm (never mind that the cartridge was developed in 1902, two years before the 45acp) Then came the 10mm and we found out we might as well have been throwing rocks. When only a chosen few could shoot the TEN a new revelation was unveiled: The Forty ( yeah I went there)  Why did they say: cheaper, capacity, and controllable. I will ignore the 357 Sig since everyone else did too.

So what is old is new again. Everyone wants a 1911 or a polymer 45 lead slinger, the 9 is now the "wonder why we stopped using it 9mm". Why because they are a proven battle-tested design or cheaper or easier to shoot AND because they are also versatile; wide range of bullet weights, function in revolvers to submachine guns, and can be loaded subsonic for suppressors yet still retain stopping power.

I must say it sure is nice to be back on be cutting edge of things again! I WILL switch when CZ comes out with a 40 gigawatt pulse-phased laser with a 50 charge rated non-explosive lithium-ion battery pack. Let's be realistic a 9 gigawatt is best used to make popcorn.

[Skookum]

I will ignore the 357 Sig since everyone else did too.

But it's a heck of a flat shooting cartridge.