Is the .40 S&W Still A Dying Caliber?

[seal20]

It's just so thnappy.... It hurts my wrists

[SmallShark]

.40 SW is very popular in competition.

[wpod]

Wife was just given a Sig 2022 in .40s&w. Of course it's now the only 40 we have so no ammo in the inventory.
Do have several hundred spent cases in a tub. Now need dies and bullets.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[BajaJames83]

Dead like 308, 38special, 357mag, 10mm etc... it ain't going no where...
Still blows away 9mm... 180gr at 1150fps

[SoCal326]

I converted my .40 Glocks to 9mm and now I can shoot both. Considering getting another in .40 and doing the same.

9mm is nicer to shoot.

[Rcjackrabbit]

Yes. Dead. .22 long rifle is better. Not as much recoil and faster follow up shots. Women FBI agents prefer it and it is less expensive. All handgun ammo performs the same.

[NeilMo]

Only dead to those who can't handle it.

[SoCal326]

I wouldn't mind a SD .22 with 5 shot bursts.

[Verdha603]

I wouldn’t really call it dying so much as stagnant. With many LE departments moving back towards 9mm due to advances in JHP technology, the 9mm’s risen to the top of the popularity contest and fulfilling the role of “jack of all trades, master of none”, while frankly I think the only reason the .45 ACP sits in second is almost solely due to the popularity of the M1911 pistol. In the case of .40 S&W and .45 ACP, advances in ammunition technology hasn’t jumped as far ahead because to many folks it’s either already adequate and doesn’t need that much more work or they’re already considered perfected with regards to JHP ammunition.

Personally I’ll agree with what was said earlier, .40 S&W is still relevant solely because you know it’ll be on the racks of gun stores squeezed between 9mm and .45 ACP and .40 takes longer to leave the shelf, or sometimes doesn’t completely leave the shelf at all during an ammo shortage, so availability when people start to panic buy is still relevant. It might also be relevant if you know your local police departments still carry .40 S&W duty handguns.

[tabascoz28]

Picking up brass at the range. The ranking of amount found is as follows: (pre-pandemic)

Handgun
1. 9mm
2. 45
3. 40
4. 380

Rifle
1. 223
2. 308
But most rifle cases are picked up

[MOA squirrel]

What, no love for 7.62x 25? The hotrod 30cal

[Barang]

yep! .40 is dead. that's why you can hardly find them now.

[bruss01]

Yes it is dying and will continue dying for the next 60 years or so.

When I'm dead and buried there will still be folks shooting 9mm, 40 & 45.

Maybe not as many as there once were... but still shooting.

And all the guns chambered in 40.... if properly maintained.... they'll still be shooting.

By "dead" did you mean less popular? Or less frequently issued by budget-conscious agencies? That's far from "dead" but yes, agencies have a lot of considerations... one of which being cost, others being their chosen round has to be shootable by all members of the field roster. One day you might see agencies start issuing Ruger SR22's or 5.7's. Doesn't mean I'll be lining up to throw my 40's in the crusher as "useless".

9mm is "almost as good" as 40 with modern projectile design. And costs less. Naturally agencies will spare the buck and boost qual scores for officers, given the chance.

Fortunately I'm not an officer who has to make do with what the bean-counters tell him they can afford nor am I constrained by what the most limp-wristed, recoil-shy member of my force can handle. I can make my own choices around criteria such as what I can handle and afford... and what I have confidence in. I don't have to settle for "almost as good".

[flavor]

Lots of Law Enforcement agencies still use 40.

[kurac]

How did it go from being the cats meow in the 90's and 2000's to dead all of a sudden? It didn't, but dead fish flow with the current so when the FBI switched back to 9mm, all the followers have to flow with the current.