My grandfather was a mounted NYPD officer during WWII in lower Manhattan. He kept a Colt vest pocket in his uniform.Originally Posted by HCM
This one.
My grandfather was a mounted NYPD officer during WWII in lower Manhattan. He kept a Colt vest pocket in his uniform.
This one.
"... And miles to go before I sleep".
Well said. I would add that most of the 9mm loads that "equal" the .40 are +P loads. Apples to apples, +P 9mm loads aren't much more pleasant to shoot than .40s. There are no +P .40 loads, its all full-house. Handloaders can cook up their own softballs (which I do) but off the shelf its all the boom all the time. It may be out of vogue and it'll never be a plinker like the 9, but I think it'll be around for awhile.
This is one of the few handguns in .40 I'd consider owning, IMO. I already have one in 9mm so I won't be seeking one out, but if you wanted a classy .40, this would be one of the best options. The 4006TSW CHP would be my other top choice, at least for DA/SA options. Well done!
Did someone say 4006 TSW?
He selected it because prior to that the NYPD didn't have a standard revolver or training, officers either carried nothing or brought their own, usually the super small pocket guns like derringers or .22 revolvers.
And their marksmanship was terrible.
So he selected .32 because it was known to be very accurate, low recoil, easy to carry, and easy to train a large group of men with varying degrees of experience up to a similar standard.
.32 S&W was a very common police and civilian choice back then, for a lot of reasons similar to why modern 9mm is now.
Neat. Probably a BUG if he worked in uniform.
This is how I view the .40 and how it fits into things now. It's not a BAD cartridge by any means, it's just overshadowed by 9mm now given modern loadings and projectiles. It's hardly useless and still does its job very well, and at times is even the better choice. For most uses however, the 9mm does the job perfectly with lower recoil, higher capacity, and less cost. I'm not opposed to adding one to my safe, but it's far from a priority at the moment primarily due to the fact that I'd have to stock another caliber. I buy new guns occasionally so I can't use the excuse of having to add new ancillary items, but feeding the .40 is really the main issue for me.
That being said, I see it sticking around for quite awhile purely based on how many of them are out there. It may not be a huge seller these days, but it'll be kept alive by the sheer number of firearms that are chambered for it for a few decades at least, IMO.
I did, indeed! Those are some nice pistols, I'm jealous! I've still never gotten into the 3rd Gen Smiths despite wanting to for some time. Funds are such that current purchases need a justifiable use and have to be in 9mm as that's what I have stocked up. But hopefully soon! I'd like to have saved up for one by summer next year so I get one before they get too stupid expensive. Even if it sits for awhile so I can start stashing .40, I'd be OK with that. But gotta get through the holidays and a few other more pressing issues first.Did someone say 4006 TSW?
Give it some time and maybe we'll see .40 come back around again. I think the instinct is that many are a victim of either/or mentality and must proclaim the .40 is dead. I do not agree but my take is that the market was absolutely hammered with .40 pistols for decades and since the popularity has peaked and come back to a low there is a large surplus of firearms now on the secondary market. These will dry up in time just be being sold at giveaway pricing like the P2000. There are also less pistols even produced with .40 as an option now so at one point we may see values come back up again. Look at .357 SIG pistols from H&K and what they command now on the secondary market, I would expect we may see the same with .40 should H&K severely limit or discontinue .40 as a whole.
I think in general this cartridge suffers from the fact that it's always +P loaded without being labeled as such, therefore everyone tends to compare it to -P 9mm ammo and proclaim that it's too wild to handle. Their pistol and/or grip sucks combined with the cartridge characteristics mean that it's easy to look for an argument to get rid of it and ride the 9mm train. FBI never said .40 was a poor choice, simply decided it made sense in their agency as a whole with a wide variety of people. They also tend to use Glock for everything and pre-Gen 5 why on earth would they think firing .40 from that platform makes sense to equip the whole force? If Gen 5 were a thing when they were deciding a move back to 9mm then it may have never even happened and they'd still be using .40 for everything. I get the sense they love the round, just not so much how it played with Glock.
I managed to pick up both of those years ago when they were still affordable. I found the regular TSW locally and grabbed it up but sold it after scoring the CHP version from someone here. Maybe one day I'll get my hands on a 5906 TSW or 5946 TSW and that with the 4006 and my 4506-1 will be good enough to satisfy my 3rd gen desires.
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