I have been interested in handguns and calibers for the passed fifty years. No I am not an expert, just an observer. I am always amused when the newest darling/fad caliber comes out and it is reported that LEO/military are switching to it is droves. Shoot, I am old enough to remember when the 357 Mag. was thought to be the be all and end all of man stoppers. The one constant in all this fad caliber foolishness, is that after it has run it's course, we always come back to either 9mm or 45ACP or both. I have never owned a handgun that wasn't either 9mm or 45ACP and I doubt I ever will. I'll let others spend their money on fad calibers and then take a beating selling them when the caliber goes out of favor.
I will now put on my flame retardant coveralls, so feel free to flame away.
Rod

There are a lot of discussions to be had about cartridge chambering, but the notion of which is "best" is tired and pointless.

.40 is still widely in use, and many of us own .40 firearms. That it has been a law enforcement mainstay for decades is not really a "fad." You're free to choose what you wish to own or carry, of course.

.40 firearms, especially used firearms, represent an exceptional value presently. During recently past hoarding, .40 was easier to get. It's nearly the same cost to reload. Most .40 firearms are easily converted to .357 Sig, and many can also be quickly converted to use 9X19 for range use, if desired...or one can purchase .40 firearms and make it a 9mm with little effort or expense.

Then there's the satisfaction of dropping an empty 9mm case into a .40 and watching it disappear...

To each, there own. Both the military & LE make decisions based upon costs. The military, except for a few small elite groups, never adapted to the 40. These groups respected the effectiveness of the caliber. I’m personally a fan of the caliber, I can shoot it and believe it to be ballistically effective. The 40 is as capable as it was ten years ago. I agree that with so many shooters trading in there 40’s, there are remarkable bargains to be found. I have a 4013 & 4006 that are still strong performers, twenty years later, go figure...

I like the caliber foolishness. Not everybody would prefer a .440 Cor-Bon, 41 Magnum, 9mm Steyr, or 7.65 Para. Kinda knew it wouldn't be in stock at Walmart when I bought it.

More common rounds are easily obtainable. I have no problems with my 10mm P220, 2011 in .40 S&W, or Glock in .38 Super.

I haven't gotten to the 'selling it' part of shooting, so to me this is not an issue. For the record: I do not have a 9mm Glock, 1911 in 45 ACP, or an AR-15 of any kind (but I recently aquired an AK 47) so what do I know?

You know now that I think of it I really am only a proponent of 2 calibers myself.

RIMFIRE AND CENTERFIRE. THE HELL WITH THE REST!!

The 40 had roughly a 20 year run. The 10mm may actually surpass it in popularity/use, at some point, which is interesting, considering the origins of the 40. The 40 started floundering 5-10 years ago, and some folks will always have it, just like some folks will always have a 357sig, or 41 magnum. The difference is, there are most likely more guns out there in 40 than 357sig and 41 mag combined. While the 40 will wind down even more over the next decade, it will most likely never completely go away. Will it ever see the resurgence like the 10mm? Probably not...it was a compromise round from the get go. Gave up the power of 10mm for supposed ease of shooting, yet gave up ease of shooting for size/grip of 9mm while losing a little capacity.

I have one pistol in .40 and I like the caliber. To me, the recoil is not much more than +p in 9mm. My P229 is very mild and follow up shots are easy to make. Everyone has a favorite or a preference as to caliber, which is the joy of having conversations and sprouts ideas for new calibers.

.41 magnum ring any bells? Like the .41 the .40 will still do the job and it will still have it's proponents.

If my post gave the impression (I can see how it would) that I thought the .40 S&W was a poor caliber or that everyone should get rid of it and never go back, well I'm sorry. That was not my intention. If you like the .40 S&W then by all means get/keep several. I understand there are some great buys on them almost every where. Shoot what you enjoy and shoot well. My OP was of what I have noticed over the years, not a caliber war argument. Although I did clearly state my personal preference, but that's all it was, my preference.
Rod

quote:

I have never owned a handgun that wasn't either 9mm or 45ACP and I doubt I ever will.

Too damn bad you will never know the fun of a 22 LR pistol.

I have shot and enjoyed shooting a 22LR pistol many times, just don't own one.
Rod

9mm is fine, if you can't handle 10mm.

j/k

I also like 357sig.

I have four .40 S&W’s, three .357 Sigs, three .41 magnums, and a 10mm. I can’t help myself.

sure I have mostly 9s. but i also love my 40. When i need something to go through a car door, I reach for my 40.

quote:

Originally posted by CD228:
.41 magnum ring any bells?

Yes, it does.

Hard and fast.

I love the 9mm ,but just bought a Gen 4 Glock 40 cal with night sights I think about a late 2014 build or maybe 2015. 305 bucks , not a mark on it waiting to get it . I never left the 40 cal have some CHP guns , I like it .

I have a variety of calibers between semi auto and revolvers. 9mm, .40, .45, .357sig, .357 magnum, .380, .38 special and an older inheritance .32-20. Not to mention the 22.

If 10mm, .38 super and.41 calibers of ammo are all that’s available in crisis times, I am SOL!

We take chances each time we pull out onto a highway. I guess that I am taking chances that some of the ammo in the first group above will be available.

To each his own.

I have 3 guns in .40, a P239, a P226 and a Beretta CX4 carbine. All are very accurate and I shoot them well. The CX4 is scary accurate with one hole groups at 30 yrd if I do my part. So I like the round, but my favorite caliber in hand guns is .45 ACP and .22 LR for rifles.

I yam what I yam.

Jim

The decline of the .40 S&W was the result of a few factors...cost being one of the top reasons.

Buying 9mm is just so much cheaper in mass. Imagine a 100 member police force in a medium sized town. What pistol would you choose if you needed to get funding every year for service and training ammunition?

9mm
40
357 Sig
45

If all of the data suggested that the difference in all of these rounds is minimal.

I have carried all of these calibers (less the 357 Sig) over the past 20 years. I currently carry a 9mm. I traded a 45 to be able to carry it.

The Civilian market largely mirrors the Military/LE market. So....hopefully we can have another 20 year run with the 9mm before something else knocks it off the podium.

Ive changed all my 40's over to 357 Sig. Love that round.

I still keep 1k rounds of 40 on hand.