Ammunition & Hand Loading > General Ammunition Discussion

What is the .40 S&W?

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Jay:
The .40 S&W is one of my favorite pistol cartridges. Also jokingly known as the 10mm lite, the short version of the story is that it was introduced in 1990 with the hopes that it would be the perfect compromise between the power of the 10mm and the smaller frame size allowed by the 9mm. For a more in depth description, checkout:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.40_S&W

The .40 S&W is a respectable self defense round as handgun rounds go and is widely available at reasonable prices. Some shooters will find the muzzle flip created by this snappy round to be too much for them to comfortably control. I have heard that this cartridge is susceptible to failures (the dreaded KABOOM!) but I know of no one personally that has ever experienced one. I believe if you use quality ammunition and do not cycle rounds over and over which can create setback, you should never have a problem.

JimP:
10mm Lite? I heard it as The .40, S(hort) & W(eak)! LOL.................. ;D   If you've ever fired the full house 10mm, you would understand why! The 10mm is legal to hunt deer with in Nebraska! It's the only production semi-auto round thathat is, that I can think of. Jeff Cooper believed that limp wristed G-Men couldn't handle it........... so it was lightened (hence the "FBI Load" name) to accommodate them.

ranger04:
I need some help here. I want to load .40 S&W 180 grain TC LEAD bullets, I have Winchester 231 powder and small Winchester pistol primers. What would be a good load for  this (powder weight) ?

Jesse T:
am I crazy or is 10mm actually smaller than .40"?  (10.16mm)?

USN Retired:
The history as I remember/read about it - The 10mm was developed for the FBI at their insistance and to their specifications as a replacement for their old .38 service revolver that they had carried for years. They soon found that because it was a double stack magazine the grip was too large for women in general and men with smaller hands could grip it well enough to handle the recoil. The 40 cal is basicly the same size as the 10 mm; S&W just took the cartridge, shortened it, put a smaller charge in it and, as they say, the rest is history. A guy I was stationed with once had one and he said that it was had to find places that stocked the ammo and I didn't find it all that fun to shoot. I can handle the M1911 much better since it is a single stack and the M9 (same as the 92FS) though a double stack it dosn't have the recoile.

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