In terms of effectiveness and recoil, is one consistently better?

I will compare the HST versions. thanks.

Effectiveness, I'm not sure. Recoil, every 165 grain loading I've shot has noticeably more recoil than any 180 grain loading I've shot. The 180s have a softer push that makes me wonder why people ever complain about the 40's recoil. The 165s are snappier. I'd rather shoot and carry 180s, and I do.

I shoot both for practice but only 165gr for SD; HSTs specifically.

Here's a good article about the shortcomings of 180gr 40 cal rounds (I still wouldn't want to take one in the chest )

Article

Of those two Federal loadings; it is only the 180 grain HST that is on The recommended list on the Ammo FAQ.

Both 180 grain and 165 grain Winchester Ranger T are on the list but not 165 grain HST.

Nope. IMHO. I shoot/carry both.

FBI did use 165 at one point, possibly when the article was written, they use 180gr Ranger Bonded now though.

In that article I also noticed another thing that's off:


The article states that the SAAMI max pressure for .40 and 9mm are the same, at 35k psi (which is correct) but it states that .40 was never intended to be a high pressure round like the .357mag. The problem is, .357mag also has a SAAMI max pressure of 35kpsi, the same as .40 and 9mm. 10mm and .357sig do have higher max pressures (37.5k and 40k psi, respectively).

Im currently in the same predicament, trying to find what ammo to carry in my Glock 23

Yeah, they guy really lost me at the KaBooms for the .40 calibers. With the newer feed ramp designs of the Glocks, this is no longer a problem. The newer feed ramps are more straight as opposed to the more curved ramps of the older .40s. Because they are more straight, they support the case more. If they support the case more then KaBooms aren't a problem.

Then of course there is the "Power Factor" joke of his. Judging a pistol cartridge on numbers like velocity x bullet weight divided by 1000 is incredibly stupid. Hey I got a great idea, lets judge bullet performance on "Taylor Knockdown Values" rather than how well the bullet does in an actual gunfight or in human tissue.

As for ammo, I think I'll stick to what is recomended and on the list rather than rely on third hand information or a 10 year old study.

Not really sure WHEN it was made, only that it WAS made. I have an old Glock barrel that I can compare it to. Hang on and I'll see if I can get some pictures up.

O.K. Here it is. Sorry I wasn't able to get a stock old G-23 barrel, but this Lonewolf barrel will do.

Lonewolf barrel: (Mind you, it still was better supported than the stock barrel.)



Stock new barrel.



Notice how on the new stock barrel the feed ramps are mostly flat compared to the more rounded lonewolf barrel.

I was going to post exactly this. That article is ten years old. You might as well quote a hundred year old Medical journal for medical advice.

There are only two 165gr .40 S&W on "the list". The majority of the loads are 180gr.

They also issue 9mm 147 Ranger Bonded as well.

KB's are from bad ammo. Not the gun. The only thing the case support in the 40's do is limit damage once a KB happens.

I recently decided to go with the Federal HST for home defense also. The Barnes all copper bullets are just a wee bit too spicy and inaccurate for me.

At seven yards the HST will shoot one hole groups. That is not a lie. I actually had to aim slightly off the "X" to see if the rounds were still hitting the target. Please pay no heed to the headshots. They were done by my reloads and the gun kept malfunctioning due to poor springs. Like Ramathorne said "That one, I wouldn't worry about that one." They also seem accurate at 25 yards as well. Once I got the rear sight changed to one that was a little lower the gun now shoots like a champ. The first shot was high. That was a fouling shot as I had just cleaned the gun, but the rest were fired in sequence. I'll post some picts of them in a bit.

@ 7 Yards


@ 25 yards


Homebrew @ 7 yards


Recoverd slug: 7 yards, four layers of denim, penetrated into two 5 gallon water bladders