Petrol & Powder
Well-Known Member
I’m certain that I will regret this, but we’ve discussed other handgun cartridges so let’s get this one out of the way.
FULL DISCLOSURE, I am not a fan of the 40 S&W. Some people see the 40 S&W as faster than the 45 ACP and heavier than the 9mm. I see it as slower than the 9mm and lighter than the 45 ACP.
I’ll try to keep my bias in check.
I think most people on this forum are well aware of the history of the 40 Smith & Wesson, so I will not dwell on that. For those that may be interested, the 40 S&W was developed in response to the 1986 Miami shootout and the subsequent FBI cartridge trials. As a result of those trials, a downloaded 10mm cartridge was selected and that led to a shortened 10mm cartridge that was the 40 S&W. I’ll leave the politics, rabid self-promotion, justification, and blame shifting of that process out of this discussion. (Or at least I’ll try to)
The 40 S&W was conceived in the late 1980’s and commercially introduced in early 1990. It went on to become very successful. U.S. Law Enforcement had already embraced the semi-auto pistol by the time the 40 S&W arrived on the scene. Many agencies that had adopted pistols chambered in 9mm Luger went on to switch to the 40 S&W cartridge. Currently the trend is reversing and there is a resurgence of the 9mm Luger cartridge.
The 40 S&W and its parent cartridge the 10mm Auto utilize the exact same bullet diameter (.400”). From the perspective of nothing more than bullet diameter, the 40 S&W sits perfectly in between the 9mm (.355”) and the 45 ACP (.452”). The 40 S&W cartridge will physically fit in pistol frames roughly the same size as those used for the 9mm, which was an early selling point. However, simply cramming a 40 S&W into a 9mm platform proved to be somewhat problematic. This was something that many pistol manufacturers discovered the hard way. 34 years into the life of the 40 S&W and it seems most pistol manufactures have learned how to design a pistol around the 40 S&W rather than trying to adopt an existing pistol platform to the 40 S&W.
Compared to the 45 ACP, the overall cartridge diameter of the 40 S&W is smaller, thus allowing a greater magazine capacity in the same length magazine.
An interesting contemporary of the 40 S&W was the .41 Action Express, a cartridge that faded out of favor and died almost immediately after the introduction of the 40 S&W. The .41 AE used a slightly larger bullet (.410”) but the casing had a rebated rim that was similar to the 9mm case head.
The 40 S&W is frequently loaded with bullets ranging from 155 grains up to about 180 grains, but there are loads for bullets as light as 135 grains. The typical self-defense loadings are 155-165 grains. There are countless opinions on the relative recoil of the 40 S&W but personally I’ve never considered it to be an issue. In some of the hotter loads, I would characterize the recoil as “snappy” because the recoil impulse seems a bit sharper than say a 45 ACP. It is by no means difficult to control.
Outside of self-defense and some pistol competitions, the cartridge sees few applications. In the world of semi-auto handgun cartridges, the 40 S&W is fairly young. Cartridges such as the 45 ACP, 380 Auto and 9mm Luger pre-date the 40 S&W by over 80 years each. The 10mm Auto, from which the 40 S&W was derived is only slightly older, having been introduced in 1983.
Cartridge designers have been trying to fill the gap between 35 and 45 caliber for over 150 years. In the world of semi-auto pistol cartridges, the 10mm Auto, 41 Action Express, .400 Cor Bon, 40 Super were all efforts to fill that gap around 40 caliber. The 40 S&W was perhaps the most commercially successful of those efforts.
The 40 S&W is in no danger of becoming extinct, but the time of its peak popularity has passed. The cartridge’s developmental history is an unusual departure from the path normally seen. Where many cartridges develop as more powerful versions of their parent cartridge, such as the progression of the 44 Russian to the 44 Special and then the 44 Magnum; the 40 S&W went in the other direction. It was a downloaded version of the 10mm. It is perhaps this developmental path that shapes some of the perception of the 40 S&W. The 40 S&W is certainly not weak as its derogatory 40 “Short & Weak” sobriquet suggests. However, one cannot avoid comparing it to its larger parent cartridge, the 10mm Auto.
Perhaps, the gap between 35 and 45 caliber isn’t really as large as it first appears.
FULL DISCLOSURE, I am not a fan of the 40 S&W. Some people see the 40 S&W as faster than the 45 ACP and heavier than the 9mm. I see it as slower than the 9mm and lighter than the 45 ACP.
I’ll try to keep my bias in check.
I think most people on this forum are well aware of the history of the 40 Smith & Wesson, so I will not dwell on that. For those that may be interested, the 40 S&W was developed in response to the 1986 Miami shootout and the subsequent FBI cartridge trials. As a result of those trials, a downloaded 10mm cartridge was selected and that led to a shortened 10mm cartridge that was the 40 S&W. I’ll leave the politics, rabid self-promotion, justification, and blame shifting of that process out of this discussion. (Or at least I’ll try to)
The 40 S&W was conceived in the late 1980’s and commercially introduced in early 1990. It went on to become very successful. U.S. Law Enforcement had already embraced the semi-auto pistol by the time the 40 S&W arrived on the scene. Many agencies that had adopted pistols chambered in 9mm Luger went on to switch to the 40 S&W cartridge. Currently the trend is reversing and there is a resurgence of the 9mm Luger cartridge.
The 40 S&W and its parent cartridge the 10mm Auto utilize the exact same bullet diameter (.400”). From the perspective of nothing more than bullet diameter, the 40 S&W sits perfectly in between the 9mm (.355”) and the 45 ACP (.452”). The 40 S&W cartridge will physically fit in pistol frames roughly the same size as those used for the 9mm, which was an early selling point. However, simply cramming a 40 S&W into a 9mm platform proved to be somewhat problematic. This was something that many pistol manufacturers discovered the hard way. 34 years into the life of the 40 S&W and it seems most pistol manufactures have learned how to design a pistol around the 40 S&W rather than trying to adopt an existing pistol platform to the 40 S&W.
Compared to the 45 ACP, the overall cartridge diameter of the 40 S&W is smaller, thus allowing a greater magazine capacity in the same length magazine.
An interesting contemporary of the 40 S&W was the .41 Action Express, a cartridge that faded out of favor and died almost immediately after the introduction of the 40 S&W. The .41 AE used a slightly larger bullet (.410”) but the casing had a rebated rim that was similar to the 9mm case head.
The 40 S&W is frequently loaded with bullets ranging from 155 grains up to about 180 grains, but there are loads for bullets as light as 135 grains. The typical self-defense loadings are 155-165 grains. There are countless opinions on the relative recoil of the 40 S&W but personally I’ve never considered it to be an issue. In some of the hotter loads, I would characterize the recoil as “snappy” because the recoil impulse seems a bit sharper than say a 45 ACP. It is by no means difficult to control.
Outside of self-defense and some pistol competitions, the cartridge sees few applications. In the world of semi-auto handgun cartridges, the 40 S&W is fairly young. Cartridges such as the 45 ACP, 380 Auto and 9mm Luger pre-date the 40 S&W by over 80 years each. The 10mm Auto, from which the 40 S&W was derived is only slightly older, having been introduced in 1983.
Cartridge designers have been trying to fill the gap between 35 and 45 caliber for over 150 years. In the world of semi-auto pistol cartridges, the 10mm Auto, 41 Action Express, .400 Cor Bon, 40 Super were all efforts to fill that gap around 40 caliber. The 40 S&W was perhaps the most commercially successful of those efforts.
The 40 S&W is in no danger of becoming extinct, but the time of its peak popularity has passed. The cartridge’s developmental history is an unusual departure from the path normally seen. Where many cartridges develop as more powerful versions of their parent cartridge, such as the progression of the 44 Russian to the 44 Special and then the 44 Magnum; the 40 S&W went in the other direction. It was a downloaded version of the 10mm. It is perhaps this developmental path that shapes some of the perception of the 40 S&W. The 40 S&W is certainly not weak as its derogatory 40 “Short & Weak” sobriquet suggests. However, one cannot avoid comparing it to its larger parent cartridge, the 10mm Auto.
Perhaps, the gap between 35 and 45 caliber isn’t really as large as it first appears.
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