Tag: .40 S&W | 40 Cal | Smith and Wesson

.40 S&W

The 40 S&W is a rimless pistol cartridge jointly developed by Smith & Wesson and Winchester. This cartridge was developed to replicate the performance of the FBI’s 10mm cartridge. This cartridge serves as a middle ground between the 9mm and 10mm, uses bullets that are .40 inch in diameter, and weighs in at the range of 135 – 200 grains. The 40 S&W made its debut, along with the S&W 4006 pistol, on January 17, 1990. But just a week earlier, GLOCK beat Smith & Wesson and came up with the Glocks 22 and 23 which were chambered with the 40 S&W.

The 40 S&W has the same case head and bore diameter as the 10mm auto cartridge, but has shorter case length and cartridge length, and more manageable recoil than the 10mm.  When compared with the 9x19mm Parabellum, it has the same accuracy but has an energy advantage over it. In terms of ballistics, it is similar to the .38-40 Winchester as they have the same bullet diameter and weight, as well as muzzle velocity.

The 40 S&W cartridge is used by several law enforcement agencies in the US and Canada and it has been said that this is “the ideal cartridge for personal defense and law enforcement.” This cartridge has inspired the creation of the 357 SIG.