Is the .40 Really Dead?

Exploring the current viability of the good old .40 S&W!
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Hickock 45 here yes we’re going to talk about the 40 yes is it gone is it dead did it die rest in peace I don’t know you know I went to a nine from a 40 for the most part a few years ago mainly because of the style and the fashion because it was fashionable to go to 9 from 40 it was trendy and that’s what everybody was doing and you know it was just a stylish thing to do but this morning I was looking at these two firearms and look at them we’ve got a glock 19 and a Glock 23 and I realize you know they’re exactly the same so really there was no advantage in style fashion they’re both equally ugly or equally beautiful don’t you think let’s just shoot one how about this one it looks like it might be the nine let’s just take a couple shots with it see if we can tell yeah that was a nine gen four uh in the Glock 19 configuration and this happens to be the Glock 23 that I used to slobber on for many many years and carry for many many years uh not this exact one I’ve had this one a long time but Glock 2340 yeah let’s shoot it I’ve not fired this in Forever I might not be able to hit anything so we’ll start out close here all right got that let’s take our time and see if I can smoke pot with it yeah I just don’t don’t shoot 40 anymore I don’t want to embarrass myself but I got two pins that were split with one bullet how about that J right there yeah how about a arm oh thought he was going to get away from me couldn’t manage it could he let’s see if I can still hit the gong with one all right maybe it still has a place I don’t know wow looks like it hits pretty hard yeah looks pretty powerful and it feels powerful so so we’ll talk a little bit about uh you know I don’t know the status and what I think about all that because obviously whatever I think is extremely important right it’s what everybody else bases their thoughts on they base their thoughts on my thoughts what I’m thinking don’t you think probably not before we start let’s thank buds gunshop for all their support and the reason we have so many wonderful firearms on this table from time to time in fact some some of these uh and uh then of course silencer Central they’re very good at what they do you’ve seen the banish line in many of our videos and just wonderful products and then the Sor and desert Institute great place to from a distance to learn about all sorts of things about Firearms technology drone technology you name it go to sdi.edu and uh who did all that cool artwork no my grandson’s not around he actually draws better than than I do yeah I I just cannot draw I’m sorry but I had to draw a little tomstone with uh rip on it uh so yeah what’s the status I’m not going to take a long time I’m just going to shoot this some I hadn’t fired it in a while and been thinking about it and uh what drew me to it I was doing USPSA at the time and you know it’s people still use the 40 in that that game because you can make major you’re pretty easily with it and there’s all kinds of guns chambered in 40 Smith Wesson and I so that’s what drew me to it uh mainly in the limited class cuz I like the Glock 22 and 23 and 27 and I just fell in love with it I carried it for at least 10 years uh regularly competed with it and everything else uh never had a problem with the 40 yeah it does beat up guns a little bit more I had to replac a locking Block in my uh my glock 23 my original after about 10 years firing many many thousands of rounds of 40 I hand and loaded for it for a long time and part of the question here again is it dead I think not if you go into uh any gun shop Big Box store anything there’s there’s 9 mm ammo there’s 40 ammo right there’s 40 caliber guns there’s 9mm guns probably more 9mm guns uh the you know the FBI labor all that story they went through the 10 you know back after 86 and that shooting all that thing all that ordeal thinking they get a better bullet and uh but the agents couldn’t handle that 10 mm very well a big gun heavy guns and uh a lot of recoil so then they went to a 40 for a long time when was that 90 in ’90s they adopted the 40 you basically this this gun most of them I think carried a 23 some a 27 maybe some a 22 and in 40 caliber for a long time and that helped lead other people into it other police agencies and so for a period of time as you know I guess late ’90s early th 2000s what was the percentage about 80% of police departments around the country were carrying a 40 caliber Glock most cases a Glock you so uh so if it was that bad you know was everybody that stupid I don’t think so let’s shoot it you do get more recoil and you do get uh you know it’s harder in Firearms especially if it’s a 9 mm size firearm which is my preference actually yeah it really is Cowboy what do you think I am I missing that uh yeah was I was missing you can really feel the difference and this is just range ammo but you can definitely feel the difference and uh you can shoot them just as well if you have experience I think but if you don’t have experience shooting and you shoot the nine in the same way gun basically same gun and then you shoot this you’re whoa that thing is jumpy you know it’s jumpy everything but if you shoot it much you get to where you don’t notice that so much I noticed that back when I was transitioning back to or to a 9 mm a lot ways was I had trouble shooting an IR or even when I wasn’t transitioning if I uh grabbed one of my 9mm Glocks same size and I got came in a shot wow I mean I I don’t know just it bothered me I didn’t get that recoil and I actually could not shoot it as well for a long time cuz I I got used to that that feel in that recoil uh that just was part of the experience and uh I think that’s one reason people have trouble when they go back and forth or they go from 9 to a 40 it seems even worse than it is just by contrast you know and that makes sense I saw a video uh in fact by the late great Paul Harold where he compared to 40 and the N you’ve probably seen it many of you he did penetration tests and accuracy testing him shooting you know at various distances with 40 and N shooting slow fire and then shooting faster and and everything and you know trying to get the followup uh stuff and his results were as a lot of people’s are it it’s bigger it makes a big bigger hole and better penetration so I mean there’s nothing wrong with a 40 it’s a good cartridge it’s just that there’s not a lot of difference there’s not a lot of difference between it and the nine not enough to make all that much difference in most people’s minds some people think it still does make enough difference it’s worth carrying and shooting it right uh and yeah I don’t know I can go either way I like the 40 still I’m I make carry it sometimes I I like it if there’s something comforting about that round when you fire that you know you’re firing a real firearm okay got a yes it’s a little jumpy but it’s a good feeling like me fire 45 1911 or something yeah comes back but that would feel good if Mr Grizz or a zombie was coming after you and it’s got a bad wrap I think I still think uh and I think a lot of it comes from the old 40s short and weak comparing it with 10 mm well no kidding uh it’s not a 10 mm to me it should be compared with nine you know the same gun nine or 40 10 mm guns are bigger they’re heavier and yeah they’re more power ful so is a 500 Smith and Wesson Magnum uh so is a 44 magnum they’re bigger heavier power I can always name any more powerful cartridge than any cartridge you want to name you know we can come over one it’s yeah more powerful so your 44 is a wimp cuz I got a 454 you know get a 500 that 454 is a you know that that doesn’t end but when you’re comparing 40 with nine it is a little more powerful just that simple makes a little bit bigger co uh so don’t compare it with a 10 it’s a different firearm compare it with a nine and I my my answer to the question and no it should not be dead and I still like it I this Glock 23 I used to say back in the day is like the ultimate handgun and it’s still still might be you know it’s reliable uh you you don’t sacrifice a lot of capacity you still got nice capacity you got a reliable around I think it’s proven that it’s reliable and back when every Police Department was was carrying it there was enough evidence from incidents to demonstrate that it it performed very very well you know so don’t have to carry it uh it it does make training harder because you know that recoil and everything but uh and you don’t have to like it but let’s not pretend it’s just worthless okay let’s just not pretend that and one can I shoot it one more time before I make you leave I’ve got this 20 round mag here and I uh I meant to bring out one of my Alabama holsters but I didn’t do it we appreciate Alabama holster for their support of the channel I’ve got a real nice their uh they outside the belt holster I really like and I’ve got one for this gun I couldn’t put my hands on it right away but I’m going to shoot the Alabama state line oh I’m shooting my stand all right let’s shoot a couple things here and then make you leave d i yeah I shot the 40 over there didn’t let’s try the ram over there while I’m pull of ammo here yeah and cowboy he needs some bullets on him I’m going to put some more on him that really makes him ring doesn’t it how about that Buffalo see how hard it hits how about that red plate yeah so it it is a little bit of a handful especially in a 9mm size firearm which is the reason I don’t really care for the uh Glock 23 Gen 5 it’s heavier and thicker and uh I like this one right here if I’m going to carry a 40 and uh I I don’t think it’s that hard to handle and you do have some punch with the 40 so it might be dead to you and I have to confess I don’t carry it lately much or shoot it much but it is definitely not in dead for me life is good oh yeah that’s better this is a great gun for the fence oh hey didn’t see you guys there uh what I’ve got you here I want to remind you of our friends over at Talon grips and ball Talon grips makes uh grips can you believe it uh for all different types of firearms you can get rough texture or more of a rubberized texture uh just sticks right on there you know really affordable really cool option to and improve the grip for your handguns um or or rifles uh so please check them out at Talon grips.com you’ll be glad you did and also ballistol dad has been using ballistol for many years as a clean CLE ER and a lubricant and it’s non-toxic it works really great and we’re happy to have them on board since it’s been a part of our shooting Endeavor for a very long time so go to ball.com Talon grips.com and also while you’re out there I’m juggling all these things here also uh while you’re on the internet please do check out our other social media like hicock 45 on Facebook there’s also hicock 45 on Twitter the real hickock45 on Instagram there’s a John hickock45 on Instagram where I do some things there’s hickok45.com uh you can find us also on gunstreamer so check out all that stuff and then watch more videos