From the early 1990s when the .40 Smith & Wesson debuted. It was very popular, especially in law enforcement circles. Now, it seems to be a dying breed. Even more so, it is getting harder to find it, and .357sig. At least here in Texas. Has anyone experienced this, in your State?

I bought a P226 in 40 and soon a 357 barrel. I enjoy owning and shooting it and use it as my bed side lighted companion. Just picked up a M&P 40 with a 357 barrel as well. Either you like them or you don't but reloading really helps with the fun factor. Picking up and catching brass is a challenge as the ejection is like a moon shot.

I love all the calibers. I even have a 22TCM so no help for me.

quote:

Originally posted by Oldjarhead:
Now, it [.40 S&W] seems to be a dying breed.

I have not data to offer you, only conjecture based on what I've read on the internet.

It seems that law enforcement agencies have come to the conclusion that the incremental benefit in effectiveness provided by .40 S&W doesn't justify the increased training necessary to achieve the same proficiency as 9mm.

Here is a long running thread about .40 that you might find interesting.

.40 hasn’t fallen out of favor for me, but most of my guns are 9mm. The best part about a gun chambered in .40 is that you can usually get .357 Sig barrels and most mags shoot both.

I’ve got a couple guns in .40 and .357 Sig that I have the others barrel for. I prefer .40 out of the Glock 23 but .357 Sig out of the P229. I was also eyeballing a .40 DAO Beretta 96 recently. I’ll bet a .40 or a .357 Sig out of that gun would be really fun.

I’ve also got a Ruger GP100 in 10mm that I shoot .40 out of. That’s a fun gun too.

Dying, or just somewhat reduced popularity. While less departments use it, a get the feeling a lot still do. And it was always more popular in the LE than civilian world. Something to do with cost.

I have seen reduced availability of .40, but I've seen reduced availability of everything else as well.

I've said this before, and I stand by it. In the era of limited capacity magazines, .40 was king. If you could only carry 10 rounds, why not have the biggest you could fit?
Without restrictions, the 9mm is supreme... why have 12 rounds of .40 when you can get 15 of 9mm?

It'll be easier to tell what's going on when we're out of the ongoing cycle of ammo shortages and panics.

No, I don't pretend to know when that'll be at the moment.

quote:

Originally posted by Oldjarhead:
From the early 1990s when the .40 Smith & Wesson debuted. It was very popular, especially in law enforcement circles. Now, it seems to be a dying breed. Even more so, it is getting harder to find it, and .357sig. At least here in Texas. Has anyone experienced this, in your State?

Oh, good. The classic ".40 is dying" thread.

Again.

Breath of fresh air.

I have barely looked for ammo in the past 2 years since I stocked up pretty heavy in the years prior, but it’s strange to hear that .40 is harder to find since the last two “panics” .40 was the easiest to find. In fact that history is what lead me to buying my Glock 23 and a .40 barrel for my P229.

I went ahead and picked up a Glock 22 some time back just because every time there's a panic, 9mm is nowhere to be found, but you can still get .40.

quote:

Originally posted by BBMW:
Dying, or just somewhat reduced popularity. While less departments use it, a get the feeling a lot still do. And it was always more popular in the LE than civilian world. Something to do with cost.

It seems when you have around the water cooler chats with agencies using them, just about everyone wants to dump them.

I have had no issues getting .40. I ran .357 for quite a few years and finally decided to switch back to .40. Cannot find .357 anywhere.

In CA the ammo is easy enough to find. The guns are few and far between - everyone wants 9mm

In my fo-tays, I go with the Underwood 165gr Speer Bonded JHP. 1200 FPS and 525 Ft/Lbs of energy. Its the performance level the .40 should be. If I cant get the 165gr load, then I get the Underwood 180 with the Nosler JHP. 1100 FPS and 485 Ft/Lbs.
Underwood also loads the "Extreme Penetrator" load for .40 but thats a bit too much for me.
I just got an EMail from AIM Surplus. Gen 3 Glock 40s Cop turn ins for $379.

The 40 and 45 will just sit back and patiently wait until there is another Miami-style shootout and the 9mm fails again.

quote:

Originally posted by giz55792:
The 40 and 45 will just sit back and patiently wait until there is another Miami-style shootout and the 9mm fails again.

If you look into it, the problem with the 9mm hits was the ammo failing to expand, not the caliber. That, and a whole host of other things that went wrong that having a .40 wouldn’t have magically fixed, like the two agents fucking a waitress in a kitchen instead of doing what they were supposed to do.

quote:

Originally posted by giz55792:
The 40 and 45 will just sit back and patiently wait until there is another Miami-style shootout and the 9mm fails again.

The 9mm didn’t fail, their tactics failed.

IIRC two agents immediately lost their .357 magnum revolvers before the shootout even started. How would a .40 or .45 solved that little problem?

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:
If you look into it, the problem with the 9mm hits was the ammo failing to expand, not the caliber. That, and a whole host of other things that went wrong that having a .40 wouldn’t have magically fixed, like the two agents fucking a waitress in a kitchen instead of doing what they were supposed to do.

Expansion is a gunrag writer's wet dream. Shot placement and penetration incapacitates. Not expansion.

Expansion reduces penetration. More drag, more surface area, lower sectional density.

It's entirely irrelevant if the shot doesn't go where it's needed.

Expansion is useful to prevent overpenetration.

It's well established that most physicians can't tell you what cartridge hit someone, and that the mythology of stopping power and one shot stops and all that garbage is more of that wet dream fodder.

Arguments over which caliber or cartridge is better seem to constantly pop up, and are as pointless as they are circular. Shoot what you feel comfortable with, can afford to shoot, and can shoot well. Shoot what you trust. Your opponent won't be questioning your choice if you do your job. Neither should anyone else.

My next gun will be a Glock 22 MOS. I love the caliber.

Not sure about .40 nor other manufacturers, but Winchester told us they are doing a run of 357SIG in April. I've got orders from 2020 and 2021 waiting to be filled and I ordered more this year so hopefully it will last us until our guns get old enough so I can switch us to the 45 MOS.