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Why does everybody hate 40 s&w
- Thread starter Ferguson0089
- Start date
Phffft. Neither.
I used to hate the hell out of .40. But I have been shooting it for the past 4 years and have gotten used to it and I don't hate it at all now.
"Felt recoil" is subjective, "actual recoil" is quantifiable. In guns of equal weight shooting bullets of equal weight and muzzle velocity, the actual recoil will be the same. No one has repealed Newton's 3rd law yet.
"Felt recoil" can be affected by the configuration of the stocks, technique, training, and collateral issues such as noise and flash.
Although I'm fascinated by the concept of a 9mm+ that can shoot the same weight bullet at "roughly the same speed" as a .357, as I don't believe that such a beast exists.
So looking at ballistic charts, I see that a the hottest loads are from Buffalo and Cor-bon, and are in the range of 1300 fps.
Looking at the charts for the .357 magnum, the maximum velocity for the 125 gr. bullet is 1600 fps (except for one insane Buffalo Bore at 1700 fps.) Being as energy increases by the square of velocity, the .357 round at 1600 fps. has approximately 75% more energy than the 9mm (750 Ft/lbs. v. 405 ft./lbs). Correspondingly the "felt recoil" in a lighter .357 snub will be more than a heavier long slide semi-auto. To find a .357 caliber round that goes downrange at the leisurely pace of a 9mm+, you have to use a .38+P, where you can find 125 gr. bullets at 1100-1200 fps.
So comparing apples to apples, a 9mm+P will generate slightly more muzzle energy than a .38 Spec.+p. unless you favor bullets heavier than 147 gr. then it's all .38 or .40 caliber.
It does when you compare ballistics of a 9mm+p with 6" of barrel to a .357 with 2" of barrel. I find it interesting too considering the massive recoil a snub nose 357 has when compared to a 9mm longslide. But that was just an example, I realize it has no bearings on the comparison of a 40 to 9mm in the same gun.
Again I'm not saying the 9mm has the same energy as the .40. I completely understand the increase in recoil is a direct result in the increase in energy. All I'm saying is the extra recoil is not worth the small energy gain. That's a personal preference obviously but it's a very popular preference as well, hence this thread and many like it.
On a side note me and some friends did some "scientific" research a few weeks ago. There was a cheap particle board book shelf in the trash pile at our range so we decided to use it for some testing. Laying the shelf side ways we wanted to see how many wet 3/4" particle boards a round could penetrate. Turns out 9mm, 40sw, 45acp, 357mag, and 44mag all penetrated 4 boards and bounced off the 5th. No I'm not saying they're all equal but it was interesting.
A 12 gauge won't do that
