40 SW becoming obsolete?

**batman69** · 21-06-2022, 06:36

So... gentleman, I recently acquired a Glock 23 and a Glock 30.

The G23 is a Gen 3 BNIB. The G30 is a Gen 3 that I bought from a fellow gunsiter.

Caliber debates aside, I absolutely love shooting both these guns. I enjoy the snappiness of the 40sw which really tests your ability to get shots on target quickly. I enjoy the "push" of the 45acp.

I was able to find brass and bullets for both without much fuss. I can't see the 40sw becoming obsolete anytime soon.

Would I edc either one? Happily.

Whilst I accept that their is not much of a ballistic difference between these calibers and the 9mmp (provided you shooting premium 9mm hollow points) , I really don't care because I like shooting all them. Pretty much like how I like all women in all their shapes and sizes. Variety is the spice of life.

Now for the Makhulu Boss - the 10mm

And the 357 sig....just because.

Sent from my SM-A725F using Tapatalk

**M43** · 08-09-2022, 09:45

So yesterday morning I went to pick up my my newest baby, a gen 3 Glock 23 that think of as my "Black Label Beer" gun...Like the old beer advert that went "Somewhat bitter, never sweet". This G23 is "somewhat carried but never fired"

From what I can see after detail stripping and cleaning yesterday, I think this gun probably shot less than 2 mags in its entire life. The breechface and all the internals are almost pristine but the outside of the gun has some wear on the high spots and there is a scratch or two on the frame and the original plastic "sights" were nicely rounded and worn down; so I replaced them with another set of new Glock plastic sights untill I get a chance to pick up some real sights from Rescomp.

So this weekend I will be running my new baby in a 7 stage IPSC club shoot in Standard Major with 180 factor ammo (The same load I use in my G22) and with Glock "sight recess protectors" for sights...

The only reason I'm telling this whole story is because I used to be one of those people who dismmissed the .40 as a fad / sollution looking for a problem / kicks like a mule stings like a butterfly kind of cartridge. But over the years I regularly found .40 cases inbetween my 9mm cases when coming from the range, and I just chucked them in a coffee can with the idea of selling them when I had enough. And then one day I counted them... OVER 600 cases... which got me thinking... And the next month (Back in 2017) I found an as new G22 gen 2 here on GS at such a good price I had to buy it.

That G22 quickly became my favourite gun, mostly for IDPA SSP division at first but later for IPSC Standard Major. For IDPA I innitially downloaded to 145 factor, which with Hodgdon Titegroup recoils about as much as a 125 factor 9mm load out of my G17 but it makes poppers go down just a little faster than a 9mm. And After shooting Standard Major with it in IPSC I realised the slight increase in recoil doesnt realy slow me down enough to notice a difference. It is still scary accurate (in my subjective oppinion) but man does it make a heavy popper or activator plate go down like friggin RIGHT NOW! There is no waiting or need to come back to whack it a second time.

So this weekend I'm going to experiment and see for myself if a compact .40 running full power ammo is really such a handicap as some claim it is...
And the other thing is; My EDC G19 is standing at about 75K or 80K rounds through it. It still works but for an EDC perhaps it is a little long in the tooth. So just maybe the new "old" G23 is going to get some EDC time until I can find another G19 or a G17 or 22 that I can chop the grip of to make it conceal like a G19/23.

**vinmarvin** · 08-09-2022, 11:17

I EDC a Glock 23 Gen 4 as it was too good a deal to let go and its a better choice than my 9mm BHP or .357Mag rollie. Will be interetsing to see your feedback after the weekend....

**-=zv=-** · 08-09-2022, 12:46

No caliber is dead for a reloader...

**batman69** · 10-09-2022, 23:28

Since my initial post I've acquired two G23s.
Gen3 and Gen4.
Love 'em.

Sent from my SM-A725F using Tapatalk

**Slamfire** · 11-09-2022, 17:02

If popularity is determined by the brass left on the ground, 9mm is the winner by far. Used to pick up a fair amount of 40 cal; now it is infrequent.

Heck if I know. I try to pick up all my brass, and it is 45 ACP. Never jumped on the 40 caliber band wagon.

I miss the days when I picked up coffee cans worth of 38 Special.

**M43** · 11-09-2022, 17:13

Originally Posted by vinmarvin

I EDC a Glock 23 Gen 4 as it was too good a deal to let go and its a better choice than my 9mm BHP or .357Mag rollie. Will be interetsing to see your feedback after the weekend....

I will post my feedback going forward in a few different posts because I realised that a lot of what I "knew to be fact" and that; fits in with common perception, wasnt so clear cut as I had innitially thought... I will go into specific topics (or things I learned) that I now realise are contrary to what I believed / "knew" before yesterday and some theories as to why some things have changed or formed peoples' perception of .40 S&W as a calibre (Specifically for defence or law enforcement duty use)

My first "misconception" that was shattered is the common knowledge that a small / compact EDC type gun cannot really perform well against full size competition guns...
I used to shoot a lot with my G19 specifically in IDPA SSP division, and then I got a G17 and I couldnt dump the G19 for competition use fast enough. I have shot IPSC with my G19 exactly once; while I waited for my G17 licence. And the last few years I have shot a lot of revolver in IPSC but mostly its either my G21 or G22 (depending on how I feel) in Standard Major. I have shot Standard Minor with the G17 a few times here and there. I did OK with the G17 but to me it wasnt as much fun as shooting in Major. (But thats just me)

So yesterday I shot Standard Major with a stock standard Gen 3 Glock complete with those useless plastic factory sights in a division filled with a tricked out G17's, some Double stack 1911's and some Shadow 2's. And in previous clubshoots in standard division many of those people beat the crap out of me (or just plain shot and moved faster and smoother and more acurate than I can). But "subjectively" yestrday was one of the "easiest" / most enjoyable shoots I ever had. I have never shot a G23 previously (Closest thing was a compact Steyr in .40... that recoiled...a LOT) and on my first stage I fully expected the gun to recoil uncomfortably and worse; I just "knew" I was going to struggle with the shitty plastic sights. Turns out the shitty sights and the recoil was a non-event... From my limmited exposure now (refering to yesterday) I have come to the conclusion that a compact gun can be just as competitive and easy to shoot well and fast (within reason and bounds) as a "full size-modded for competition" gun. Though I could feel the gun was a little more snappy than a G17 (that has in my oppinion almost zero recoil), I am of the oppinion that I shot the G23 just as / or almost just as fast as I can shoot my G17.

Shattered Misconception #2: (Glock plastic sights suck)
I used to dismiss Glock plastic sights as useless. And I never shot with them, I have in the past always upgraded the sights to something "better" before even going to the range. I'm still trying to wrap my brain around this but every time the buzzer went the sights just magically settled on target and the holes appeared exactly where I wanted them. I cannot say that I struggled at any moment even on far targets or really small plates that some people chose to shoot from closer distances. On our second stage there was a really fast swinger at 10 meters. I whacked the popper and then put two on the swinger... but my brain didnt think I hit the swinger because it couldnt see the hits on paper like it can with a thinner front sight and wide notch plain black rear, so I engaged it with two more shots eachon two more exposures and then moved on hoping for the best. What the RO saw and what I couldnt see; was that on every exposure of the swinger I was getting an Alpha and a Charlie...
And on our third last stage there were two small plates that everybody ignored untill they could get closer before engaging them, and most people (in our detail) still struggled with those two plates. I was tired by then and just thought what the heck I'll shoot them from the furthest (start position) and if I miss I can allways re-engage from the front. On the first plate I just nicked the stand but with the second round it got centre punched and plate two went down on the first shot. And I still remember thinking to myself "F---- that was too easy".

So in summary my two biggest take aways from yesterday (at least for me) was that a Compact .40 (A G23 specifically using full power ammo) is not that hard to shoot fast and accurate compared to a G17 or G22 for example.
And the next thing is the ease with which I could make hits (at speed) on small / far way targets with those "shitty" standard plastic sights. The sights are what puzzle me the most. So for now I'm going to take back everything I ever said about standard Glock sights. But I will experiment with this a little more...

But now its loadshedding time, so like AK gunner in some of his more interesting stories I'm going to be a "Doos" and leave you with a "But that is a story for another time"

when the electricity is back and my wife stops looking at me in "that way" for spending so much time on GS, I will tell some more.

**drie57** · 11-09-2022, 20:36

Excellent read M43, especially about the sights. Don't stay a "doos". Please.

**DirkB** · 11-09-2022, 21:25

We have a club member that shoots his stock G19 better than most guys shoot anything else so yes, stock Glock sight are not the best but it works and it works very well... He shoots a G19 better than anyone I have seen.

**oafpatroll** · 12-09-2022, 08:01

I've seen more than a few outcomes that go against the common knowledge that M43 refers to above. My absolute favourite was at an IDPA club match where a >60 year old shooter using a bone stock CZ P10C with IWB holster and mag carrier carried deep concealment street style cleaned up on every stage against competition that included 2 optics equipped Shadow 2s. This wasn't against the top shooters from the club but they were not noobs.