Went to all 9mm a while ago but yesterday i run into a HK P2000SK in .40 at my local shop. It was unfired for $500. I had to grab it along with several hundred rounds of .40 which they had in abundance. My first .40 cal pistol purchase in about 15 years.
Shot it, was accurate and snappy but not at all unpleasant. You definitely knew you were not shooting 9mm.
I kind of lost track of .40 over the last decade. Is anyone still shooting it ?? Is it favored/disfavored for any particular reason ??

I had one of those years ago. Shoots smooth and a great CCW option.

I have divested myself of .40S&W pistols sometime ago. I kind of miss them, as it is a good round.

During the ammo-shortage post-Sandy Hook, I was carrying a SIG P229 in .357 SIG for which I also had a .40 barrel. .40 ammo remained more or less available while .357 SIG availability never seemed to bounce back locally (with the caveat that I’d not yet started buying ammo online at that point).

I wound up shooting .40 almost exclusively for a while, even picked up a .40 SIG P226 along the way. Out of those SIGs, .40 was a very enjoyable round to shoot.

My 229 in 40 is still probably my favorite pistol. It’s my only 40 and gets carried less, but I always enjoy shooting it.

One of my favorite pistols is a P239 in .40- I love the feel and the size of it. But it’s hard to want to carry it over a P365 that is smaller and lighter and holds more rounds of perfectly adequate 9mm.

And to my knowledge, that is the only reason that .40 is out of favor- 9mm is good enough, and more rounds per size/weight.

Some (most) people say that .40 is snappy, but I find that shooting .40 in my P239 is very similar to shooting 9mm in my similarly sized P6.

.40 is substantially on the decline. A lot of law enforcement agencies have or are moving on to 9mm and the majority of the reputable SME/trainer community did the same years ago.

There will still be plenty of ammo and guns available for a long time, though.

I have been buying up the unloved .40 pistols when I see them. I have liked them all except the P229 in .40, owned several but just couldn't shoot them well for some reason

Kahr K40
P226 X5
P226
P239
Ruger PC4
Several G22's

One of these days I will find an Italian Beretta 96 Inox

40 S&W works fine in the Allround. 9mm Para works fine in a P220.

Ammo availability and price would be a more determining factor for me.

Currently I can get 9x21 for $15 a box, so that is what I've got right now.

I think of the .40 as a .45 acp lite. I carry a 9mm on duty but, off duty mostly a Glock 22. I have looked at the stats of so much stuff that my head hurts. I have been on several OIS and talked to the officers involved to come to the basic understanding that one again shot placement is supreme. I like 180 gn hollow points that me. Our agency jumped into the 9mm because the alphabet kids did. Their thinking was ammo will be cheaper and scores will go up... Once again wishful thinking. Buy the HK you will like it, the one I shot was great. VI

Congrats on the HK. I have a few boxes of food for my p239 and SP2022.

Been shooting .40 since 1995 when I got a P229 DA/SA .40. IMO, it's a fine caliber. The so-call "snappiness", never bothered me and seems to vary by gun model. A gun writer friend of mine said the P229 handles it the best of any of the pistols in that caliber. As an early adopter, I discovered on the Internet that the .40 I owned for several years was supposed to be "snappy". Yawn.

I have the following .40's: P229, P226, P239, P320C FS. Have a ton of brass for reloading and see no reason to stop using the caliber.

My understanding is that once the FBI adopted the nine, it was off to the races and bye-bye for the forty. Generally speaking, if you are an LEA, it is easier to train recruits with the nine than the forty. Same with civilians.

Anecdotally, I also have several Glock and P320 nines. My carry load is the old Federal 9mm 115gr BPLE +P+. I don't consider that "snappy" either. I would say subjectively that the recoil of the +P+ is about the same as the .40. Different in character, but in the same ball park re recoil.

FWIW, I started in the shooting game around 1962 with a surplus WW II .45 Auto. Had a number of revolvers and shot full-house .357 Mag and .41 Mag. Guns go bang...recoil must be managed by the shooter. Good fundamentals don't hurt either.

Long live the Forty!

NOTE: Corrected original post. Erroneously said the BPLE was Remington, S/B Federal.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Nipper,

quote:

Is anyone still shooting it ?

Yup. It still remains my carry caliber of choice. I have several Glock models chambered for .40, each around my trio of EDC G23s. I also have a VP40 and P229 chambered in the caliber, and have long had a P226 SSE and a CZ75 SP-01 Tactical in .40 on my wantlist, though I admit other guns always seem to push those two down the list whenever I would come across one of them.

You did well on that 2000sk, I carried the same for a long time. I should dig mine back out, it’s been a while. I’m quite fond of the .40.

9BPLE +P+ is made by Federal.

Yes it is! Sorry about that. Thanks for the correction. I've edited the post.

Besides a large stockpile of BPLE, I also have a lot of Remington UMC 115gr FMJ. Bought 100 boxes (50ea) about nine years ago. Have 34 boxes left. Can you believe I paid $5.50 a box at Dick's Sporting Goods back then?

Thanks for replies. The same shop had a full size USP in .40 (along with a couple models of .45). I may go back and pick up the full size .40 to go with the SK.

quote:

Originally posted by BigSwede:
I have been buying up the unloved .40 pistols when I see them. I have liked them all except the P229 in .40, owned several but just couldn't shoot them well for some reason

Kahr K40
P226 X5
P226
P239
Ruger PC4
Several G22's

One of these days I will find an Italian Beretta 96 Inox

I have a Ruger PC4. My second one, the first one I foolishy sold.

I would not consider PCC in 9mm, at longer ranges ( for pistol calibers in carbines), the 40 cal retains more energy.

I think the .40 is a fine cartridge. My current carry is a .40 P250. Good combination of size, capacity and ballistic performance. Ammo is Underwood 180. I also have a .40 P239 that is a great shooter. My only real .40 regret is my Glock 23 has the worst recoil of any auto pistol I own. I dont plan abandoning the .40 anytime soon.

Some of my favorite guns are chambered in .40.