What ammo would you carry in your .40 cal and why?

vp9c said:
answer is obvious...

switch to either 9mm or 10mmm
Click to expand...

Nah. Between a Beretta carbine, a Beretta 96, and an M&P pocket pistol I'm pretty committed to the 40. Most don’t, but I actually like how snappy it is. I have big hands so I'm able to get the front sight/optic back where I want it pretty quickly.

But, yes, the thread did go down that path for a while.

I wouldn't trade this thread for actual great advice for 6 pages. This is gold.
 
two fingers said:
I have several different kinds of .40 cal ammo.

Liberty Civil Defense - Light, fast, apparently goes through Type II body armor. I imagine a downside would be that it can go through walls and potentially damage things and or kill innocents on the other side. An obvious factor is that it's LOUD!!! Super lightweight. An 11 round Model 96 magazine feels like it only has a few rounds in it. It's the "easiest" to carry due to weight. My M&P Shield feels unloaded and the extra mag sits in my pocket and vanishes due to weight and size.

Buffalo Bore - Hits like a hammer. +P. Can literally kill a deer. (Ask me how I know.) Heavy as crap. The heaviest ammo I own by far. An 11 round model 96 magazine is like a brick.

Speer Gold Dot (if I recall... got them from my LEO uncle when I got the gun) - Supposedly a pretty good HP. Middle of the road weight.

Federal Syntech Defense - Interesting technology. Middle core plows straight through. Three pedals break off and slice a wide (8") wound cavity. Middle of the road weight.

Several FMJ variants.
Click to expand...

Speer Gold Dot has a proven track record. It's my chosen for 9mm and .45 ACP carry.

Liberty Civil Defense? Never shot any, and I personally don't like the hype I read up on about it when it first came out. I look at it as a gimmick ammo, but it does get good reviews from what I've seen. But then, it's heavily marketed in order to GET those good reviews, so there's that.

The others? No opinion.
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
Speer Gold Dot has a proven track record. It's my chosen for 9mm and .45 ACP carry.

Liberty Civil Defense? Never shot any, and I personally don't like the hype I read up on about it when it first came out. I look at it as a gimmick ammo, but it does get good reviews from what I've seen. But then, it's heavily marketed in order to GET those good reviews, so there's that.

The others? No opinion.
Click to expand...
Honestly, the thing I like about the Liberty is that it's LIGHT! A loaded 11 rd magazine feels like nothing. It drastically reduces the weight of the Model 96 Beretta and a couple of extra mags. My M&P Shield with regular ammo in it and 7 rounds weighs as much as the Beretta with 11 rounds of Liberty. Smaller gun with less ammo weighs the same.

According to videos I've watched, it goes right through Type II body armor when run through a carbine (longer barrel). But I'm not sure I'll ever get into a shootout with someone wearing body armor.

I will tell you this. That round is LOUD!!! It is WAY louder than any other .40 ammo I have shot. It's right up there with my 7mm mag rifle. Like stupid loud. So I guess it would he handy as a psychological tool as well. Even if I miss, anything I'm shooting at will go down from a heart attack.

But, yeah, some of the ballistics data is likely marketing hype.
 
vp9c said:
The FBI is now doing ballistic testing using mayo.

10mm penetrated 17 gallons of Dukes which was the minimum
Click to expand...


I'm torn, as I dont like mayo, but that seems to be a waste of good 10mm!
 
two fingers said:
What ammmo would you carry in your .40 cal and why?
Click to expand...
(After three weeks and over 200 replies, I can no longer resist ...)

I would tend to carry .40 cal because it feeds better and shoots more accurately. .357SIG might feed okay, but I would worry about accuracy with the smaller bullet rattling down the barrel. 9mm might work in a pinch as long as your extractor was tight enough to hold on to the case rim, but the cases are often mangled, making extraction problematic, and you also have the small bullet problem. Yeah, I would just stick to .40 cal.
 
gc70 said:
(After three weeks and over 200 replies, I can no longer resist ...)

I would tend to carry .40 cal because it feeds better and shoots more accurately. .357SIG might feed okay, but I would worry about accuracy with the smaller bullet rattling down the barrel. 9mm might work in a pinch as long as your extractor was tight enough to hold on to the case rim, but the cases are often mangled, making extraction problematic, and you also have the small bullet problem. Yeah, I would just stick to .40 cal.
Click to expand...
What about 380 and 9mm MAK?
 
two fingers said:
Honestly, the thing I like about the Liberty is that it's LIGHT! A loaded 11 rd magazine feels like nothing. It drastically reduces the weight of the Model 96 Beretta and a couple of extra mags. My M&P Shield with regular ammo in it and 7 rounds weighs as much as the Beretta with 11 rounds of Liberty. Smaller gun with less ammo weighs the same.
Click to expand...

Depending on what normal self defense ammo you use, I can see how this could be. If you carried 147 gr JHP normally, that's a 97 gr weight difference. 33 rounds would b 3,201 gr, or just shy of a half pound.

People who don't carry might not think that's a lot...but when you carry routinely, it makes a difference.
 
When I worked at the diner in high school a guy would come in about once a week and get peanut butter on his cheese burger. Lettuce, mayo, mustard, ketchup, cheese, and peanut butter. I hated making that burger.
 
RetiredUSNChief said:
Depending on what normal self defense ammo you use, I can see how this could be. If you carried 147 gr JHP normally, that's a 97 gr weight difference. 33 rounds would b 3,201 gr, or just shy of a half pound.

People who don't carry might not think that's a lot...but when you carry routinely, it makes a difference.
Click to expand...
wow I never thought about this. I carry 124 grain 9 mm all the time.

so in theory a box of fifty 147 grain 9 mm rounds weighs more than a box of fifty 115 grain 9 mm.

🤯
 
vp9c said:
wow I never thought about this. I carry 124 grain 9 mm all the time.

so in theory a box of fifty 147 grain 9 mm rounds weighs more than a box of fifty 115 grain 9 mm.

🤯
Click to expand...

I'm not understanding what you're getting at here. Yeah, a box of 147 grain ammo weighs more than a box of 115 grain ammo. That falls under the "duh" category.

We're talking about the weight difference between whatever "standard" JHP ammo one carries and the 50 grain Liberty Civil Defense ammo.

You carry 124 grain 9mm. That's a 74 grain difference in bullet mass compared to LCD ammo.

That's 3,700 grains, or almost 8.5 ounces. Half a pound difference between boxes.

To use my 147 grain example, that would be 11 ounces difference between boxes.

One of the things people consider when carrying a firearm is weight. The weight difference between a 1911 and Glock 17, for example, is about 16 ounces empty and 14 ounces loaded (depending on your ammo of choice...in this case I'm assuming 230 gr. and 147 gr. respectively). If one loaded LCD ammo at 50 grains per bullet, that would make the loaded weight difference 18 ounces.

While it may not seem a lot by itself, when you add up the total weight difference between changing from a 1991 with 230 grain ammo to a Glock 17 with 50 grain ammo, including spare magazines, you're talking about 22 or more ounces difference.

And a Glock 17 with and empty magazine weighs 22 ounces.

It's a noticeable difference when you carry on a belt all the time.
 
two fingers said:
You joke. But, when those extra ounces are around your belt or in your backpack there's a different over time.
Click to expand...
Ounces make pounds, and pounds make pain.

If you can shed weight without losing effectiveness there is a lot to be said for it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom