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Posted: 12/21/2023 10:08:42 AM EDT
I recently came into a fair pile of .40 S&W ammo so I did the right thing and ordered a cheap LE trade-in Glock 22.3 to play around with.
Curious to hear what ammo you all use/carry in your .40 S&W for personal defense/duty. I currently have both 165grn Winchester Ranger and 165grn Speer Gold Dot in tap for those purposes. Other recommendations? |
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180gr HST, but I'm cheap and would just use the gold dots.
Not sure I'd buy the 23.3, but you do you. I'm sure the price was right. |
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I really like Gold Dots in .40 and after carrying them as a cop and seeing how well they perform against the human body they are what I recommend.
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The 22.3 is a good pistol just don't hang a light on it. We had occasional malfunctions on pistols with lights. As for ammunition, either one will be a good choice. I'm using Winchester Ranger 180 grain right now.
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I carried 180 gr Gold Dots back when I was carrying an HK USPc .40, as that was the round a lot of law enforcement (e.g. Texas DPS) were using. Now I would go with 180 gr HSTs, but I'd still be confident with Gold Dots.
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I shot so much 40 in the day I dedicated a Dillon to it. Settled on 155/165 gr stuff for competition, never had a carry gun in the caliber.
The heavier 180-200 gr stuff shot milder, but in reloads with cases that had been used repeatedly you were going to blow a case out eventually. It is a very good round, but we all know what happened. This is a 165 gr *I think ranger 40 that blew thru a jackrabbit and was recovered in an ant hill. Any good HP should suffice. Attached File |
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Quoted: The 22.3 is a good pistol just don't hang a light on it. We had occasional malfunctions on pistols with lights. As for ammunition, either one will be a good choice. I'm using Winchester Ranger 180 grain right now. View Quote I have a Surefire X300 on it with no malfunctions of any kind with about 600-700 rounds shot so far, but I will keep an eye out for that. |
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My EDC is a Glock 22 gen 4. I mostly carry 180gr Gold Dot or HST depending on what’s available or on sale when I need more ammo. I have no problem carrying Ranger T or Bonded or even Critical Duty. I only use 165gr on occasions when I can’t get any 180s.
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Nothing wrong with the 40 Glock
I will admit I only have one in the closet. I like 180s and 165 loads Enjoy your new pistol |
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I used 180 gr HST when 40 was my thing.
Glock fixed the light issue quite a while ago. |
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Underwood 135 grain at 1350-1400 fps, is my preference. I like speedy projectiles.
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Why the preference for 180grn over 165grn? On paper the 165grn rounds have more energy.
The light projectile run out of steam quicker? Heavier bullet more barrier blind? |
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Quoted: Why the preference for 180grn over 165grn? On paper the 165grn rounds have more energy. The light projectile run out of steam quicker? Heavier bullet more barrier blind? View Quote Attached File |
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I've got 180 grain HST in mine, but I'd carry the 165s you listed if that's what I had.
The .40 is a pretty fantastic round against two-legged predators and does well with both 165s and 180s. |
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This thread and the thread with the dude who is loading the 1k fps 65 grain 9mm makes me want to experiment with faster carry ammo over heavier.
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Quoted: The ultra-light for caliber bullets are generally a gimmick. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: This thread and the thread with the dude who is loading the 1k fps 65 grain 9mm makes me want to experiment with faster carry ammo over heavier. The ultra-light for caliber bullets are generally a gimmick. I agree. They also tend to not meet the minimum penetration requirements plus more muzzle blast and recoil impulse. |
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180gr Ranger bonded mostly, but have 180gr Gold Dots, & 180gr HST's.
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Quoted: Thank you for the warning. I followed the published data for C.O.A.L. and went middle of the road with the powder charge weight. View Quote I bet that’ll be fine, my case failed probably due to too many reloadings. No idea how many times, at least 4-5. Probably more. I never bought factory for the range and was active in uspsa. Only wrecked the base pad on my mag. Para 16-40. Over 25k reloads thru that gun, one bad one. Attached File |
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Quoted: The ultra-light for caliber bullets are generally a gimmick. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: This thread and the thread with the dude who is loading the 1k fps 65 grain 9mm makes me want to experiment with faster carry ammo over heavier. The ultra-light for caliber bullets are generally a gimmick. I think I still have some of the contract over run .40 HST they made in 135 grain. Once it disappeared from the online places no one really talked about it. Always wondered how it would perform. |
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Quoted: I think I still have some of the contract over run .40 HST they made in 135 grain. Once it disappeared from the online places no one really talked about it. Always wondered how it would perform. View Quote I bet those would move out. Was there an issue with them? The 180/200 really do shoot softer, but in my big 5” steel gun loaded with 18 rounds it was hard to tell. |
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I have a bunch of 180 HST but my 40s are currently loaded with 180gr Ranger bonded.
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150-165's in my 4006, because those are most accurate. 180's in my Shield, same reason.
I've always been confident with the 40. I have only killed groundhogs and porcupines with it, those get destroyed. |
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Just ordered 250 rounds of 165grn Gold Dots and reloaded 1,000rds of 180grn FMJ for practice ammo last week so I should be good for a while. May experiment with other ammo as I have the opportunity.
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I have a line on a case of 180grn HST for a good price. Have other expenses to pay at the moment though, unfortunately.
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I've always been a .40 fan. Most of mine are 165Gr JHP or FMJ. Even have some +Ps.
I was buying it when it was readily available and relatively inexpensive, usually at gun shows from Georgia Arms tables -- during the good-old-days. |
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I like 135 up to 155s in 40s&w. The velocity really lends itself to massive exoansion
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I shoot a lot of 165s. Both factory and reloads. Some 180s but not so much. I carry 165 hydra shocks or 155 rangers. I have some 135 Corbons, they are hot! I have 4 40s. Glock 23,27 and Hk USP and USP compact.
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40 is great.
I load a 180gn cast fn for my outdoors load and carry it in a G23.3 that I’ve had for years. It’s more than enough for my area. It carries a lot lighter than a wheel gun, even more so if I down load it to ten rounds or so. |
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Quoted: Long-term experience with the .40S&W made the 10mm AUTO great again. /media/mediaFiles/sharedAlbum/this-gif-793.gif View Quote |
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Quoted: I like the 155’s…and I’m old. https://static-cdn.ammunitiontogo.com/media/catalog/product/cache/10/image/500x/e087136f637eb091f36b6b3dc5977dc7/8/2/8230580920f23afd1a69bb8d8bdc4dab.jpg View Quote 155 is the lightest I’d go with 40SW. Definitely wouldn’t use any 135gr to much blast and recoil for no gain and under penetration. |
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Quoted: I have a Surefire X300 on it with no malfunctions of any kind with about 600-700 rounds shot so far, but I will keep an eye out for that. View Quote View All Quotes View All Quotes Quoted: Quoted: The 22.3 is a good pistol just don't hang a light on it. We had occasional malfunctions on pistols with lights. As for ammunition, either one will be a good choice. I'm using Winchester Ranger 180 grain right now. I have a Surefire X300 on it with no malfunctions of any kind with about 600-700 rounds shot so far, but I will keep an eye out for that. Stay on top of recoil and mag springs and you'll be fine. The dust cover of the frame on Gen 3 Glocks rubs the front of the slide slowing velocity down. Weapon lights, particularly clamp on type like the TLR-1, can reduce that pressure allowing more slide velocity. Paired with weak recoil springs that increase slide velocity and weak magazine springs that can't keep up you get malfunctions. This is less of an issue with the X300U-A. The 9mm Glocks have a pretty wide operating envelope and can be run forever without changing the springs (though if I remember right even Glock recommends every 5,000 rounds), but .40s require you to be on top of it. |
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Quoted: Stay on top of recoil and mag springs and you'll be fine. The dust cover of the frame on Gen 3 Glocks rubs the front of the slide slowing velocity down. Weapon lights, particularly clamp on type like the TLR-1, can reduce that pressure allowing more slide velocity. Paired with weak recoil springs that increase slide velocity and weak magazine springs that can't keep up you get malfunctions. This is less of an issue with the X300U-A. The 9mm Glocks have a pretty wide operating envelope and can be run forever without changing the springs (though if I remember right even Glock recommends every 5,000 rounds), but .40s require you to be on top of it. View Quote Is this only an issue with the Gen 3? I don’t run a light currently on it but I do keep up on my spring replacements but I have a gen 4 with a decent amount of rounds through it. |
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My preference is Hornady Critical Duty, but I typically use 180gr. HST because the Hornady is so expensive.
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Nothing wrong with .40 S&W. I will occasionally carry a Beretta 96 Compact L or an 8040F Cougar.
Ammo is 180 grain Hydra Shock or Hornady XTP. Bought lots of both types years ago for cheap. |
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180 grain Federal HST for SD carry. In all honesty though, I haven't carried any .40 pistol for daily carry for about 10 years now. I still like it and have a couple thousand rounds of .40, so it still gets range time. Nothing will convince me that it isn't still an excellent SD round.
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