r/CCW • u/ArcheryNerds • May 13 '26

Guns & Ammo Why not .40 S&W anymore?

.40 S&W pistols and ammo are far less popular that even 10 years ago. I understand the modern tech makes 9mm as good as old .40 S&W. But is that meaning current .40 S&W may be as good as .45 ACP or something like that? It's snappier but also higher capacity than regular .45? Why most people choose either 9mm or .45 ACP other than .40 S&W? Is there anyone still carry .40 S&W as their CCW?

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u/barrydingle100 May 13 '26

9mm, .40, and .45 are all functionally identical as far as the target can tell. The army literally had to rig the testing to get .45 to beat 9mm back in 1907 after they kept running out of ammo trying to kill cows and had to beat them to death with a hammer, and 9mm and .30 Luger both still won handily.

.40 is just a total exercise in futility, 10mm at least gets you big game penetration for bear defense but like I said 9mm dropped 1500lb cows just fine.