Is 40 dead or dying?

[deltaenterprizes]

I jumped on the bandwagon when it came out because it was more powerful than a 9mm and we were not allowed to carry a 45ACP.
Once the 45 was approved I got one and carried it for a while.
I got sick for an extended period of time and switched to a 9mm for higher capacity and less recoil.
I have one 40, it was an award for Reserve Deputy of the Year the first time so it is unfired in the box.
I have plenty of ammunition and components and I can shoot it in my S&W 610 with full moon clips
When I took the Glock Armorers course the instructor said that 40 destroy themselves.
I have not shot one enough to experience it.
It is a snappy cartridge!

[Divil]

I have a Beretta 96a1, S&W 4013, 1992 Vintage Colt Series 80 .40 Government Model, a Beretta 96 Compact on layaway. Plus I am in the process of having a gunsmith fit a .40 Jarvis barrel (among other things) in a 9mm Auto Ordnance 1911.
I have several other .40’s on my want list. I think the .40 is hardly dead, it is just not the cool kid.
I also handload for the .40 and I will eventually cast for it too.

[steve urquell]

.40 today reminds me of when auto pistols were replacing revolvers and .38/357s were really cheap in the 90s. I think CAS and the .357's higher power level for hunting kept it fairly popular but it was pretty sad there for awhile with all the LE revolvers being dumped for cheap.

I don't think .40 will fare as well.

[Texas by God]

I doubt that anyone ever called the 38-40 Short OR Weak; but it’s a ballistic doppelganger for the .40 Short & Weak.


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[JRD]

40 S&W isn't dead. There is an established base that isn't going to fade away.

However, new 40 S&W pistol sales are diminished to almost nothing. Two decades ago, new service pistols were designed as a 40 S&W that also chambered 9mm, such as the S&W M&P series. Even the S&W Shield was designed as a 40 that also chambered 9mm. That was when the 40 was still as its peak as an LE caliber but was already starting to decline.
Even at it's peak, 9mm duty pistols were outselling 40 S&W duty pistols by probably 3 to 1. 40 Has declined so much that new pistols such as Sig 365, and S&W Shield Plus, Shield X, etc don't even both chambering 40 anymore. It's only legacy guns introduced roughly 15 years ago or more that still chamber 40. Now manufacturers are are scaling guns to 9mm proportions and skipping 40 altogether.
I don't have exact stats, but I'd venture 9mm's are outselling 40 S&W by high double digits to one.
Plus lots of shooting games have gone to 9mm where you don't need a big bore to compete in certain divisions so much anymore.

The folks on this forum are less trendy than the cool kids, so we never stopped liking wheel guns and metal pistols and still happily shoot old fuddy dud calibers. Myself included.

[nueces5]

I've been working in an Argentine hospital for 20 years, in a high-crime area, so it's not uncommon to operate a gunshot wound (good or bad person).
From a surgeon's perspective, in my experience, I prefer to get shot with a .40 or .45 caliber rifle, not two 9mm.

[30calflash]

The 40 is a good round, PD's have gone to 9mm for easier training and lower ammo costs, period. It won't be going anywhere with those who own them for awhile.

The 9 is the rage now, like it was in the early 80's, until it fails in an incident like the Miami shootout. All the work the manufacturers used making to 9 better will be used in 40, 45 and other production.

It's a good time to purchase a PD or other trade in in 40 S&W, prices are very good and the selection decent. I recently got an XD with holster, mags and pouch for a little over $200 at an LGS.

[dverna]

It is dead…or nearly so. But then I am nearly dead too. I have enough brass to last until I die.