TexasCHLforum.com

Tonight I'm in a sporting goods store, and I hear a 20-something year old sales clerk passionately telling a woman at the gun counter why a .40 is the wrong choice. "If you get a .40, you'll learn to hate to shoot. I know cops that turn their .40's in because they're too powerful. They're essentially a 10mm short, and the recoil is bad and will make your wrists hurt....", etc, etc, etc.

I get it....it's a retail environment, and yea...it's ______, not Carter's Country or Briley, but you'd think they'd have some level of knowledge behind the counter.

My rant for the night/day/week.

I was at Academy buying some .22s when I hear a shotgun rack and turn to see it pointed at my head. The sales person was busy flirting with this guys wife or girlfriend and not paying attention to gun safety. I quickly stepped into an isle for cover.

To be honest, it is not bad advice IMO. .40 is a brutal round as for recoil compared to .45 or 9mm. Now, until that person shoots the specific gun with .40, then they will not know, but it is much harsher and normally not fun to shoot.

SO, while the sales person maybe should have prefaced their comments with 'A lot of people feel....', it was not that far off base on how a lot of people feel, especially women who may not have as much wrist strength, or people with wrist and hand issues.

chuckybrown wrote:Tonight I'm in a sporting goods store, and I hear a 20-something year old sales clerk passionately telling a woman at the gun counter why a .40 is the wrong choice. "If you get a .40, you'll learn to hate to shoot. I know cops that turn their .40's in because they're too powerful. They're essentially a 10mm short, and the recoil is bad and will make your wrists hurt....", etc, etc, etc.

I get it....it's a retail environment, and yea...it's ______, not Carter's Country or Briley, but you'd think they'd have some level of knowledge behind the counter.

Even Gibbs says that .40S&W stands for ".40 Short & Weak".

Sorry guys, but which is it ?? Is the 40 a brutal cal. or a short, weak cal. ? For the record I like Gibbs & his 'crew' (I'm also a fan of the 40).

Dave2 wrote:

chuckybrown wrote:Tonight I'm in a sporting goods store, and I hear a 20-something year old sales clerk passionately telling a woman at the gun counter why a .40 is the wrong choice. "If you get a .40, you'll learn to hate to shoot. I know cops that turn their .40's in because they're too powerful. They're essentially a 10mm short, and the recoil is bad and will make your wrists hurt....", etc, etc, etc.

I get it....it's a retail environment, and yea...it's ______, not Carter's Country or Briley, but you'd think they'd have some level of knowledge behind the counter.

Even Gibbs says that .40S&W stands for ".40 Short & Weak".

I hadn't heard him say that. That's funny.

I'd always heard short and wimpy. /shrug Never shot a .40 so don't know. I've had girlfriends that loved shooting a .45acp and ones that hated the recoil. So you can never tell about people. It is why when current girlfriend got her chl we went to the range and rented around 15 pistols I think it was. People will test drive cars but not guns, never understood that.

Dave2 wrote:

chuckybrown wrote:Tonight I'm in a sporting goods store, and I hear a 20-something year old sales clerk passionately telling a woman at the gun counter why a .40 is the wrong choice. "If you get a .40, you'll learn to hate to shoot. I know cops that turn their .40's in because they're too powerful. They're essentially a 10mm short, and the recoil is bad and will make your wrists hurt....", etc, etc, etc.

I get it....it's a retail environment, and yea...it's ______, not Carter's Country or Briley, but you'd think they'd have some level of knowledge behind the counter.

Even Gibbs says that .40S&W stands for ".40 Short & Weak".

Umm, who the heck is Gibbs??

Keith B wrote:To be honest, it is not bad advice IMO. .40 is a brutal round as for recoil compared to .45 or 9mm. Now, until that person shoots the specific gun with .40, then they will not know, but it is much harsher and normally not fun to shoot.

SO, while the sales person maybe should have prefaced their comments with 'A lot of people feel....', it was not that far off base on how a lot of people feel, especially women who may not have as much wrist strength, or people with wrist and hand issues.

I was thinking the same thing. I love my .40's but know so many who just don't like shooting it. I wouldn't recommend it for a new shooter either, though I may have phrased it different.

pushpullpete wrote:Sorry guys, but which is it ?? Is the 40 a brutal cal. or a short, weak cal. ? For the record I like Gibbs & his 'crew' (I'm also a fan of the 40).

Well it's all in what you compare it to. It is weaker than the 10mm and was developed to meet the specs of a reduced power 10mm load for the FBI and while not a true cut down of a 10mm it's close enough so some make the joke that the 40 is short and weak. While it may be so compared to a full power 10mm it's generally more powerful and generates more energy than either the 9mm or even the 45. Either way and regardless of what one believes about the power and how it stacks up against other rounds the 40 is similar guns just has a greater felt recoil and is often described a snappier even by people who like the round. I think it's a great round but to be honest new ammunition design has made the difference between rounds less of an issue.

Thanks for the insightful ballistics debate, but that wasn't my point.

is "Gibbs" from NCIS?


As far as a .40
My only comparison is the M&P series
I have the 9mm, .40 and .45.

I shoot both the 9mm and .45 quite well, and absolutely cannot stand the .40.
Doesn't feel right, cant shoot with the same consistency, am all over the board.

So for me. the .40 is a horrible round.
Saying all of that, even my bad shots would be good torso shots in a defensive situation, so any caliber is better than no caliber.

Mike S wrote:

Dave2 wrote:

chuckybrown wrote:Tonight I'm in a sporting goods store, and I hear a 20-something year old sales clerk passionately telling a woman at the gun counter why a .40 is the wrong choice. "If you get a .40, you'll learn to hate to shoot. I know cops that turn their .40's in because they're too powerful. They're essentially a 10mm short, and the recoil is bad and will make your wrists hurt....", etc, etc, etc.

I get it....it's a retail environment, and yea...it's ______, not Carter's Country or Briley, but you'd think they'd have some level of knowledge behind the counter.

Even Gibbs says that .40S&W stands for ".40 Short & Weak".

Umm, who the heck is Gibbs??

The lead character in NCIS.

I think it was Abby who called the .40 S&W "short and wimpy".

Keith B wrote:To be honest, it is not bad advice IMO. .40 is a brutal round as for recoil compared to .45 or 9mm. Now, until that person shoots the specific gun with .40, then they will not know, but it is much harsher and normally not fun to shoot.

SO, while the sales person maybe should have prefaced their comments with 'A lot of people feel....', it was not that far off base on how a lot of people feel, especially women who may not have as much wrist strength, or people with wrist and hand issues.

When teaching my ex wife to shoot, I took my Glock .45, Sig .40, S&W 9mm. and Taurus .38 to give her different views of each. She shot the .45 & 9mm. very well with a couple of bullseyes. When she shot the .40 & .38s she couldn't hit the broadside of a barn. She shot the .40 about 5 shots a refused to shoot it anymore. I personally have no issues with any of them, but I wouldn't recommend a .40 for a female new to shooting. She ended up buying herself a S&W 9mm. and is a better shot than me on most days.

Teamless wrote: I have the 9mm, .40 and .45.

I shoot both the 9mm and .45 quite well, and absolutely cannot stand the .40.
Doesn't feel right, cant shoot with the same consistency, am all over the board.

So for me. the .40 is a horrible round.
Saying all of that, even my bad shots would be good torso shots in a defensive situation, so any caliber is better than no caliber.

Truth!!!

I have great success with the 9mm or the .45, striker or hammer fired pistols.
I just don't like the .40 round. I do have a SIG p239 in .40 that is probably the most accurate shooting pistol that I have owned, but it belongs to my Mother in Law for her defense.

** Shameless Plug: My .40 SIG P299 SAS is for sale for this very reason. Nothing wrong with the pistol at all, it is just me.

I will stick to the 9mm/.45 pistols myself.