40s&w

Westcoastmountainman · May 2, 2018

Hey all. Curious quest here. What was the original grain weight intended for the 40 s&w. I know 230 gr was and still is standard for 45 acp. But can't seem to find what is the standard go to bullet weight is for my 40. I am shooting an sd40ve and 180 gr ball and hollow points are tending to shoot low. But man is this thing fantastic. Cycling everything I feed it.

Added a picture of my sd40ve and bersa thunder 380.

DirectDrive · May 2, 2018

I'd say 180 is the sweet spot.

Medic! · May 2, 2018

FBI settled on 180gr.
I say you need to neck it down to .357 and go with 125 gr.

KKG · May 2, 2018

180grs. is where the .40S&W started. In my book it should have been called the 10mm S&W Special. It was a reduced 10mm loading but the FBI didn't want it loaded in 10mm cases.

Westcoastmountainman · May 2, 2018

Haha I wish I could do that. Financial reasons and a wife say otherwise.

Medic! · May 2, 2018

KKG said:
180grs. is where the .40S&W started. In my book it should have been called the 10mm S&W Special. It was a reduced 10mm loading but the FBI didn't want it loaded in 10mm cases.

Or you could say.

It's that they did want it loaded in a 9mm frame gun.

Westcoastmountainman · May 2, 2018

This is a wincWinche white box 180gr jhp. We decided to shoot a target in front of an old TV lol. I was surprised to see this when I checked the target. This was recovered behind the TV.

Medic! · May 2, 2018

He killed his TV. :s0131:

Westcoastmountainman · May 2, 2018

I saw something I didn't like :s0007:

No_Regerts · May 2, 2018

Westcoastmountainman said:
I saw something I didn't like

Please say it was a Kardashian...

Westcoastmountainman · May 3, 2018

Close but no cigar. The damn thing kept spouting lies.

I'm thinking about switching the sights from the stock sights to the truglows tfos. A

Colts4me · May 3, 2018

After the great Miami shootout they blamed the 9mm Silvertip for the failure that got FBI agents killed. So the hunt was on for a better gun and cartridge for the FBI because it was settled science that the 9mm just wasn' good enough. So they went to Smith&Wesson semi autos in 10mm but the heavy recoil and high bore axis made it so most could not shoot accurate. So Smith and the ammo companies came up with the 40S&W to replace the 10mm because they had no where else to go.

40S&W was called the short and weak because it didnt' have the power the 10mm had but after its acceptance by the FBI all the cops started going to it because after all the FBI is the premier agency to follow. Plus it gave the cops a reason to buy all new equipment

.

Balistics wise the talk has always been what is the best combination of speed and bullet weight to carry in a handgun. The combination had to give accuracy and the ability to control the weapon in rapid fire. It looks as though in the 40 it's the 180 that most carry but now the FBI has gone full circle back to the 9mm so expect all the cops to do the same, new gear makes them happy

. Once the 9mm fails again the search will go on again and again and again.

JRuby · May 3, 2018

I find it ironic that when we talk about the 9X19 we talk about 124G bullets not the 147G bullets yet with both 45ACp and 40S&W we shoot the heaviest bullets made for them. I have always thought a better comparison would be to use the 155G bullet in the 40 and the 180 in the 45. It has been my experience that the 40S&W does really well with the 155G bullets.

Westcoastmountainman · May 3, 2018

Colts4me said:
After the great Miami shootout they blamed the 9mm Silvertip for the failure that got FBI agents killed. So the hunt was on for a better gun and cartridge for the FBI because it was settled science that the 9mm just wasn' good enough. So they went to Smith&Wesson semi autos in 10mm but the heavy recoil and high bore axis made it so most could not shoot accurate. So Smith and the ammo companies came up with the 40S&W to replace the 10mm because they had no where else to go.

40S&W was called the short and weak because it didnt' have the power the 10mm had but after its acceptance by the FBI all the cops started going to it because after all the FBI is the premier agency to follow. Plus it gave the cops a reason to buy all new equipment.

Balistics wise the talk has always been what is the best combination of speed and bullet weight to carry in a handgun. The combination had to give accuracy and the ability to control the weapon in rapid fire. It looks as though in the 40 it's the 180 that most carry but now the FBI has gone full circle back to the 9mm so expect all the cops to do the same, new gear makes them happy. Once the 9mm fails again the search will go on again and again and again.

The FBI used to be famous for the 38/357. But agents complained about recoil, uncomfortable etc. My grandpa worked for Titan security in Sacramento, he was issued these silver 158 gr jhp for is 357. They were supposed to penetrate only 12 inches and not come back out. Upon leaving Titan security, he was "supposed" to return all unfired ammo back to the FBI. He told the agent that he didn't have any left lol. While horse back in the Rubicon mountains during our fall cattle gathering. A infamous stock eating bear nicknamed three toes jumped out my grandfather. He was bucked off, but was able to get to his feet and climb a tree. Three toes was doing everything it could to get my Gramps. He was packing his Ruger black hawk (Gen 1) and a cylinder full of those loads from his time as a armed guard. The bear took all six of them before being made a Christian. He unloaded all six center mass in the bears chest. Upon the autopsy, the bullets were found just past the heart and lungs fully expanded. All internal organs were mush/jelly. That settled the argument with him, he only carries 158 grs in both of his 357s. He was also a sworn range officer at that time. The us Forrest service and blm both made him and his boss a officer when they leased the summer range. We ran 1000 head of cattle. Which probably saved his rump from the feds.

Colts4me · May 3, 2018

FBI has always gone for the latest greatest equipment our money can buy, without them expressing the need I doubt the 40S&W would have ever come about. What is funny is while the push for the 40 was center in their mind other elite units were having great success with the 9mm. So the FBI had a special unit called HRT or the FBI swat team and for a while the issue handgun was the BHP just like the Brits SAS had. They found with good training the 9mm worked just fine but they went to the 40 anyway.

2Wheels4Ever · May 3, 2018

Westcoastmountainman said:
The FBI used to be famous for the 38/357. But agents complained about recoil, uncomfortable etc. My grandpa worked for Titan security in Sacramento, he was issued these silver 158 gr jhp for is 357. They were supposed to penetrate only 12 inches and not come back out. Upon leaving Titan security, he was "supposed" to return all unfired ammo back to the FBI. He told the agent that he didn't have any left lol. While horse back in the Rubicon mountains during our fall cattle gathering. A infamous stock eating bear nicknamed three toes jumped out my grandfather. He was bucked off, but was able to get to his feet and climb a tree. Three toes was doing everything it could to get my Gramps. He was packing his Ruger black hawk (Gen 1) and a cylinder full of those loads from his time as a armed guard. The bear took all six of them before being made a Christian. He unloaded all six center mass in the bears chest. Upon the autopsy, the bullets were found just past the heart and lungs fully expanded. All internal organs were mush/jelly. That settled the argument with him, he only carries 158 grs in both of his 357s. He was also a sworn range officer at that time. The us Forrest service and blm both made him and his boss a officer when they leased the summer range. We ran 1000 head of cattle. Which probably saved his rump from the feds.

You have that story and your handle is not Old Three Toes??!!

v0lcom13sn0w · May 3, 2018

180gr seems to be standard. i own a suppressor and like the 180gr in 40 and 230gr in 45 due to the fact that theyre subsonic.

if youre a handloader and want some velocity the 150gr-165gr bullets can be loaded supersonic.