The Fading Popularity of the .40S&W

[AZ_CZ]

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

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

Don't forget expensive. (I will admit to almost jumping on the band wagon and drinking the koolaid when this came out - I love a good looking ballistics chart.)

[JimThornTX]

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.

I'm still waiting for the Phased Plasma Rifle in 40-watt range. 

[jwc007]

I'm holding out for these:

[Joe L]

I have to avoid shooting .357 SIG.  The reason?  I like it too much!  I don't have the time and money to become really proficient with it in my SIG P-226 .40 cal frame and slide, but I will shoot it every so often just to get a little taste of the real hot rod 9mm.   I think the Texas Rangers still use it for duty ammo. Not sure who else.   I have shot steel silhouettes at 100 yards with the .357 SIG with good results.  It was a lot of fun.  A "hoot" one might say.

Joe

[Skookum]

I think a 357 SIG would be a great round in a full-size pistol if one were a game warden, park ranger, or some other LEO where offensive shooting at long range may be required (like a TX Ranger) and someone else is buying the ammo.

I must admit to fantacizing about rounding out my collection of steel-framed CZ compacts by scoring a couple of CZ 75 Compacts in .40 S&W and converting one to 357 SIG.

Is it true that one doesn't need to hit what one is shooting at with a 357 SIG, because the muzzle blast is enough to scare a bad guy to death?

[AZ_CZ]

Is it true that one doesn't need to hit what one is shooting at with a 357 SIG, because the muzzle blast is enough to scare a bad guy to death?

I think that is the 7.62 x 25. I know it scared me shooting a gun that old with a blast like that!

[Birds Away]

Is it true that one doesn't need to hit what one is shooting at with a 357 SIG, because the muzzle blast is enough to scare a bad guy to death?

I think that is the 7.62 x 25. I know it scared me shooting a gun that old with a blast like that!

Yes, the Tokarev is a very hot round.  Fun to shoot, though.

[JimThornTX]

Is it true that one doesn't need to hit what one is shooting at with a 357 SIG, because the muzzle blast is enough to scare a bad guy to death?

I think that is the 7.62 x 25. I know it scared me shooting a gun that old with a blast like that!

Yes, the Tokarev is a very hot round.  Fun to shoot, though.

1600 fps. That's why my CZ52 is still my favorite handgun. 

[motosapiens]

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. 

You seem to be confusing 'lots of' with 'optimal'.

Note that there are lots of obese people, and lots of glock owners, and lots of Michael Jackson fans, but no rational person would argue that any of those conditions is 'optimal'.

[Birds Away]

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. 

You seem to be confusing 'lots of' with 'optimal'.

Note that there are lots of obese people, and lots of glock owners, and lots of Michael Jackson fans, but no rational person would argue that any of those conditions is 'optimal'.

You make an excellent point. 

[noylj]

If the idea is to go to the 9x19 instead, then I feel sorry for the LEOs. What next, the .380 or .32 like in Europe?
I was never enamored with the .40, but that was because I had been loading the 10mm Auto for several years and saw no advantage to the .40. I could easily load down to that level or up to levels no .40 could ever go. Then, there were the years of Kbs and case interior redesigns.
I don't see the .40 dying and I hate to see LEOs going to something as pathetic as the 9x19. Too many of them still seem to live by "spray and pray" and a couple extra rounds means a couple more projectiles flying around.

[1SOW]

I don't see the .40 dying and I hate to see LEOs going to something as pathetic as the 9x19. Too many of them still seem to live by "spray and pray" and a couple extra rounds means a couple more projectiles flying around.

Failings of the 'shooter' is not necessarily related to the caliber.  Failings of the caliber can be related to the bullet and load
A problem with LEOs , as mentioned by Armoredman, is that individual LEOs can't use the best pistol for them individually.  They all have to conform to the budget/contract not to shooter and load effectiveness.  A statistical "medium" means MOST aren't shooting optimally.   

[AZ_CZ]

Note that there are lots of obese people, and lots of glock owners, and lots of Michael Jackson fans, but no rational person would argue that any of those conditions is 'optimal'.

So would an obese MJ fan who shoots CZs be considered acceptable or just slightly flawed?

[noylj]

Yes, I can see .357 Sig for LEOs.
The problem I have seen, and my father was a LEO, is that for most there is simply not enough training, not enough practice, and not enough respect for shooting. Many come in not being shooters and never have a desire to become a shooter, though their life, and mine, could depend on it.
I also know that if I was on force that issued Glocks, I would try very hard to get a different gun approved for myself even if I had to buy it myself. I say that because, for me, the gun simply feels like a 2x4 and doesn't point naturally for me -- and it isn't just the different grip angle than a 1911 as I find a P-08 (Luger) to point well for me.
That is why, for me, the "best" pistols are 1911 and CZ75s (and clones).

[Skookum]

You seem to be confusing 'lots of' with 'optimal'.

Note that there are lots of obese people, and lots of glock owners, and lots of Michael Jackson fans, but no rational person would argue that any of those conditions is 'optimal'.

Popularity does not necessarily denote optimaity, but I'm assuming cartridge designers are more objective than pop music fans.  And, in a free market the customer is always right.

Obesity can be optimal during good times in an unstable environment where future food sources are uncertain.  I hate to admit it, but a Glock can be an optimal choice if you are an LEO and you are given one free; I'd even own a Glock if one was given to me.  I'm at a loss to think of how being the fan of a pedophile singer/dancer can be optimal, unless it's a good way to get chicks.