What is the .40 S&W?

[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..................    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.

[JimP]

The .40 S&W dublicates the 10mm "FBI Load", which was a reduced recoil 10 mm load developed when Agents complained that recoil of the 10mm, even in their 40 oz. 1076's was to much...... true, 200 grains at 1200f/sec is going to shove ya, but it's not like it's a .44 Mag or anything- some of the energy is bled off by the slide of a semi-auto......

[SemperFiGuy]

Jesse:

I don't know whether or not you're crazy.  You'll have to ask Mrs. Jesse for a definitive answer on that item.  Better not to ask.  I would never ask my own lady that question, for fear.

Now, back to work:

As it happens, 10mm = 0.3937 inches  [which clearly ain't .40 cal.   Just like you said up above.]

But then, .38 cal and .357 cal both fit into the same cylinder of my Model 19 S&W.  And they both go through the same barrel, just alike.

For fun in slow times, you could get out your micrometer and measure the diameter of a .38 caliber bullet.  It isn't .38 caliber and it isn't .357 caliber.  It's a whole something else different.

So........ammo-wise, you're not crazy.

It's the ammo designers, manufacturers, and----most of all----the AMMO Namers!!!!!

They are as crazy as a gaggle of weasels.

SemperFiGuy

[Grunt167]

I have two .40's a HK USP Compact that is my CCW piece and a Springfield XDm that I keep in my bedstand... Both damn nice weapons, the HK holds 12+1 while the XDm holds 16+1. While not as powerful as a 10mm you can get some JHP loads that are very effective. Both of my weapons really like the 165 gr. and 180 PDX1 from Winchester. There have been some good deals on bulk Speer Gold Dot and Gold Sabre from Remington online also... For practice loads I go with 8.2 gr of Hodgon HS-6 with 180 gr Speer TMJ.

[Grunt167]

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) ?

For a load with W231 and a lead 180 gr bullet you'd need to start low, probably around 4 gr... I'd look around on some of the other sites and do a web search for lead loads for the .40... One thing to watch out for with powders like W231 or Titegroup is that is possible to double charge them because they are so hot that you don't need much powder.

[tut]

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

Well, they call the .38 "thirty eight"  ya know, even tho it's .357.  Yeah, but there are a good number of intelligent, common sense filled good people in da shoot'n bizness.