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Category: Ammo
In the spirt of full disclosure and to get the hate mail started “tout suite,” I have never liked the .40 S&W and will make my case after recounting a bit of its history. The .40 S&W was designed as a compromise resulting from the aftermath of the infamous 1986 FBI Miami shootout, in which two FBI special agents were killed and five wounded. (Of the eight agents at the scene, two had Remington 870 shotguns in their vehicles, three were armed with Smith & Wesson Model 459 9mm semi-automatic pistols, and the rest were armed with Smith & Wesson revolvers (two had .357 Magnums and five had .38 Specials).
Two of the agents had backup .38 Special revolvers and both used them during the fight. The Bureau started the testing process for a new pistol using both the 9×19mm Parabellum and .45 ACP ammunition in preparation to replace its standard-issue revolver with a semi-automatic pistol. The FBI believed that a semi-automatic pistol would offer two important advantages over the revolvers currently being issued — increased ammunition capacity and faster reloading under stress. The choice of caliber, however, was influenced by events that no one had foreseen.
9mm or .40? It takes about 20 percent more practice to master the .40 (minimum).In the 1970s, semi-automatic pistols offered high rates of fire and quick reloading, but used less powerful rounds than could be chambered in revolvers. The revolvers in use at the time came in a variety of calibers firing more powerful cartridges than the semi-automatic pistols of the day, but they were slow to reload and held less ammunition.
.40 S&W Development
So, in December of 1979, Thomas Dornaus and Michael Dixon decided to start development on a new semi-automatic pistol that would close the gap between the power of revolvers and semi-automatic pistols. Their objective was to develop something that would deliver a power level that would exceed both the .45 ACP and .357 Magnum.
To start their process, they sought advice from the most knowledgeable sources of the day. That search led them to Jeff Cooper where they learned that he had already started formulating such a concept. They wisely decided to combine their efforts. Dornaus and Dixon were tasked with the engineering, development, manufacturing, and marketing, while Cooper was to provide the conceptual design criteria and technical advice.
With that understanding, the company was incorporated as Dornaus & Dixon Enterprises Inc. on July 15, 1981, with a new factory established in Huntington Beach, California. The first pistols started life as heavily-modified CZ 75s but on stainless-steel frames with additional features that could only be found on a highly-customized pistol. Additionally, Cooper insisted it be chambered in a .40 caliber cartridge.
Cooper’s specifications for the requirements of the new round were a .40 caliber, 200-grain bullet, fired from a 5-inch barrel, and having an impact velocity of 1,000 feet per second at 50 yards. With that goal in mind, work began on a .45 ACP length, .40 caliber, using shortened .30 caliber Remington rifle brass. The resulting cartridge and pistol was then named the Bren Ten by Cooper.
The Dornaus & Dixon Enterprises Inc. Bren Ten complete with the GunSite Raven.And so it was that the Miami Shoot out became the driving force behind the 10mm Auto’s adoption along with the validation of Jeff Cooper’s concept of magnum-level performance in a semi-auto with law enforcement applications. After a series of tests using the 10mm Auto in both pistols and submachine guns, the FBI adopted the cartridge. However, the romance between the FBI and the 10mm was a brief affair.
For a time, the FBI’s adoption of the 10mm influenced other law enforcement and police agencies around the country to acquire their own 10 millimeters. But with increased exposure, it was quickly realized that the 10mm had too much recoil, and was too powerful for most agents to handle. The truth is that most agents and others in law enforcement are not serious shooters. For inexperienced shooters, the 10mm is too much to handle.
As a result, the FBI contacted Smith & Wesson and requested it design a new handgun and cartridge to the modified FBI specifications, based on a reduced-velocity 10mm cartridge. During this collaboration, S&W shortened the 10 millimeter case enough to fit within medium-size framed 9mm handguns and loaded it with a 180-grain JHP bullet to produce ballistic performance to match the FBI’s new reduced-velocity parameters.
Smith & Wesson, in conjunction with Winchester, produced the new cartridge. The .40 S&W was born in January of 1990 along with the new Smith & Wesson Model 4006 pistol (although it was several months before pistols became available).
This is the author’s early issue of the Colt Delta 10 a fine shooting and good handling 10mm platform. Of course, it’s a 1911.Now, as it worked out, the decision to go with a shorter case length was a ‘good news, bad news’ kind of thing. The good news was that it allowed the new cartridge to fit and function in 9mm Luger size chambered pistols, which is why it’s no coincident that most .40 caliber guns are just retrofitted 9 millimeters.
Coincidentally, Austrian-manufactured Glock pistols in the new cartridge were commercially available before the Smith & Wesson pistols. Chambered in .40 S&W, the Glock 22 and Glock 23 were announced a week before the 4006. Glock’s ability to beat Smith & Wesson to the punch was because the .40 S&W uses the same bore diameter and case head as the 10mm Auto which allowed Glock to adapt its 10mm design to its shorter 9×19mm Parabellum frames.
Due to Gaston Glock’s marketing genius, the new guns and ammunition were an immediate success. His pistols, in the new caliber, were adopted by several law enforcement agencies around the nation — including the FBI, which adopted the Glock pistol in .40 S&W in May of 1997.
And Now, the Bad News… Lots of it!
Because of the rapid rush to market, and the adoption of designs that could not contain the higher pressures of the new cartridge, a litany of problems ensued. The .40 S&W has been documented as suffering numerous cartridge case failures involving Glock pistols. The reason for the failures is believed to be the relatively high chamber pressure coupled with the large unsupported area of the case head in the Glock .40 S&W pistol design.
Most, but not all the failures have occurred with ammunition loaded at, or above, the SAAMI pressures that fire out of battery. And yes, the Glocks will fire ‘out of battery!’ These failures are so common that they are referred to as “kaBooms” or “kB” for short on the internet. These case failures will routinely eject the magazine out of the pistol and blowing the top of the chamber off the barrel in a spectacular fashion, usually destroying the pistol.
Because of the high operating pressures and the light-for-caliber pistols that were adopted to fire the .40 S&W, the recoil impulse is very abrupt. That results in a muzzle rise that is dramatic making it slower and harder to recover from the previous shot. It is also accompanied by a very loud report and large muzzle flash that are not conducive to fast, accurate shooting when your life may be on the line.
The recoil impulse is far more than most people can master — especially those with less shooting experience, smaller in stature, or with less body strength. Because women fall into that description more than men, all those “woke” Law Enforcement agencies had to lower qualification requirements. I’m sure you can figure out what that meant.
Here are some examples of the all too common Glock “kaBooms” the author mentioned.Truth be told, many of the men who bought a .40 S&W, and don’t practice enough to master it (most of you), don’t shoot it well either. That is of course the dirty little secret of the .40 S&W and the reason why most people can’t shoot it well. Please don’t wait to be in a fight for your life to admit that.
I suppose I should save you some aggravation and tell you what all those law enforcement agencies found out the hard way. The recoil impulse of the .40 S&W on the 9mm-size guns destroys them in short order resulting in frequent, often, and expensive repairs and/or replacement. Why do you think the FBI and all the other agencies went back to the 9mm Parabellum? It wasn’t because they wanted to spend more of the taxpayers’ money… Or was it?
Additionally, at this point, it must be noted that the popularity and versatility of the 1911 platform cannot be ignored because it’s everywhere. Colt was aware of this and developed a 1911 chambered in the 10mm Auto round — the Delta Elite was born. The Delta Elite was much more successful than the Bren Ten and is much sturdier and more reliable. The Delta Elite is also responsible for the current resurgence in the 10mm Auto round.
The author’s Browning Hi-Power in .40 S&W issued after they made the design changes to correct the problems of too much power for a 9mm platform.Once again, in the spirt of full disclosure, it must be noted that manufacturers other than Glock have struggled with providing reliable and lasting performance with the .40 S&W. When FN first released its version of the Browning Hi-Power in the .40 S&W all Hi-Power frames were forged. However, after the Browning Hi-Power forty debut, warped and/or cracked frame rails were reported after only 2,500 rounds. The resulting fix was that the slides on the .40’s are wider, and all Hi-Power frames are now cast.
As for a personal experience with .40 issues. I was dating my (then soon to be) wife when she decided it was time to arm herself, so I took her to the local gun emporium. Once there, she handled a plethora of handguns. Through the process of elimination, she ended up with two Star Firestar pistols — one in 9mm and the other in .40 S&W.
The lovely and talented Debbie’s Star Firestar in .40 Smith & Wesson.Unbeknownst to me, in choosing the one she purchased (against my advice), she set the stage for all our future marriage making decisions and bought the forty. I must admit, she shoots it well but that it also has seen more trips to be repaired than its limited firing would/should require. Because of that, it has been retired to the rear of the safe. In case you are curious, she has not found a suitable replacement (for me or it) yet.
Stay safe, train often and practice, practice, practice!
Categories
SHOOTING THE MOST POWERFUL HANDGUN
My choice of Caliber? See below Grumpy
The re-barreled Colt Police Positive Special and proper handloads.
Picking up where we left off after Special Projects Editor Roy Huntington kindly re-barreled my .32 Colt Police Positive Special, I finally had the chance to handload some of my favorite loads for it. If you remember, the replacement barrel has a thicker front sight on it, so it’s easier for me to see. Because of the thicker front sight, Roy also opened up the fixed rear sight channel for me.
He obviously got things lined up pretty good because the gun shoots to sights with the handloads used.
Bringing an old gun back to life is satisfying. Shooting one is like
stepping into a time machine, as you live in the past by shooting guns of yesteryear.
Nice close-up of the checkered hammer and cylinder latch,
along with Colt’s prancing pony trademark.
Name Only?
When certain manufacturers come out with a new cartridge, competing manufacturers don’t like advertising for the competition, so they stamp their own, or some benign moniker for the cartridge. Examples include Ruger marking .45 Colt revolvers with .45 Caliber. Well, Colt was no different. When the .32 S&W Long came out, Colt went with the .32 Colt New Police for the same cartridge.
All handloads were loaded on Tank’s Lee
Precision Classic Turret Press.
Handload Heaven
The .32 S&W Long is best suited for quicker burning powders such as Red Dot, Winchester 231, and the old standby, Unique. I use two cast bullets suitable for this gun, both weighing just over 100 grains. The first is an RCBS SWC that looks like a baby “Keith” slug. I’ve always had good luck with this bullet, accuracy-wise, when shooting it in my other .32 H&R sixguns.
The other bullet used is from MP Molds, based in Slovenia. It is a radiused flat-nose design, with a hollow point (HP). It, too, has always shown good manners in the accuracy department and is deadly on varmints with the huge HP cavity.
All loads were assembled using my Lee Precision Classic Turret Press and Lee dies. Since the charges were so small, a Lee Auto-Disk Powder Dispenser was used with the Lee Micro Disk (#441523) since the charges.
I was able to drop 3.0 grains of 231 with this disk. For handloading numerous calibers, the Lee Classic Turret is the way to go. With dies pre-set and stored in the die plate, swapping calibers is quick and easy, taking just seconds to accomplish.
When using 3.0 grains of Winchester 231 powder with both bullets’ velocity runs right at 880 FPS from the 4” barrel of the Police Positive Special. With 3.5 grains of Unique, muzzle velocity was almost identical. Friend Glen Fryxell shared his favorite load of 2.6 grains of Red Dot with the RCBS SWC, and it runs at 800 FPS, also shooting very well.
The heavy barrel looks “just right” on the gun.
The serrated, thicker front sight on the replacement
barrel was a welcome addition to the old shooter.
Shooting
As I mentioned earlier, the replacement barrel has a much thicker front sight (.125”) and is much easier to see with my tri-focal corrective lenses. Being transitional lenses there is no distinct line, rather the focal planes blend into each other. All I have to do is find the “sweet” spot where the front sight looks sharp and clear like it did when my eyes were just 20 years old.
From a distance was 50 feet, I had my hands resting on top of a 12” section of 6” x 6” post standing on end with a sandbag perched on top. The raised position allowed my eyes to automatically align with the “sweet” spot of my transitional tri-focal glasses, providing a sharp sight picture.
My targets consisted of 2” florescent orange squares turned ¼ turn, giving them a diamond shape appearance. Using a 6 o’clock hold with the top of the front sight at the bottom of the diamond shape is natural and provides a wonderful sight picture when everything is all lined up. Groups consisted of five shots each.
Not bad for an old, re-barreled gun. The satisfaction of this whole
project was heartwarming and fun. Can it get any better?
Special thanks to “The Fixer” Roy Huntington.
Results
First off, shooting these loads is a pure pleasure. There is no recoil to speak off, yet a 100-grain cast slug traveling in excess of 850 FPS packs enough punch to do some damage. Groups were consistently accurate no matter what bullet or powder was used, running anywhere between 1-1.5” as you can see in the target photos.
Shooting old guns with handloads you made yourself is wonderful therapy for beating boredom or taking a break from the routine of shooting modern guns and loads. It’s just different, in its own pleasing way.
The old barrel and the gun after Roy re-barreled it. He’s handy indeed!
Marvelous Misfits
Also of note is shooting a gun once considered a candidate for the scrap heap. With a little computer research, an even better barrel was obtained, making it more suitable for my eyes than the factory original. Plus, I think the heavier barrel looks better.
By making these changes, along with having a friend doing the work, it adds a personal touch to the gun and makes it seem more yours. Old guns taken from the pile of “misfit toys” (referencing “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer”), and giving them a little care and love, rendering them to shooter status once again, is very satisfying to say the least.
Plus, these “misfits” are usually sold “as is” at bargain prices. So, if you have a little “misfit” in yourself and enjoy making broken guns become shooters again, this is a satisfying and affordable way of keeping yourself occupied until the next project presents itself.
Categories
Revolutionary War Cartridge-making
(Photo by Peerapon Boonyakiat / SOPA Images/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)
This morning, a briefing will be held by the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) for “the Hill” regarding their interim rule regarding the “pause” on the issuance of new government licenses for firearms, related components and ammunition for “nongovernmental end users.”
The Outdoor Wire has learned the Commerce Department plans to make that “pause” on the issuance of new export licenses for firearms, related components and ammunition permanent.
That announcement, we’ve learned, could come as soon as tomorrow and “most definitely” by the first of next week.
More than a few United States Senators are already less than thrilled at what they call yet another example of Biden administration bureaucratic overreach, but there’s little they can do at this point.
If Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo presses forward with the change and Congress can’t reverse it, the costs to the gun industry could be as much as $238 million in annual revenues.
That’s a far cry from the $10 million dollar cost estimate Commerce reportedly has assigned to the change. That estimate, to be clear, would put it under the threshold requiring Congressional approval.
Like the original announcement of BIS’s 90-day pause, the timing of this status change appears to be based on the old “Friday news dump” theory. Bad news, or controversial decisions, are historically dropped late on Fridays, preferably in the spring and summer.
The “pause” has already put a financial hurt on many smaller producers in the industry. One machine company in Tennessee has already closed, putting ten people out of work. Company owners attribute the business closure to the Biden “pause” that stopped a major contract for more than $6.5 million worth of components to a single gun company.
Other small companies nationwide are suffering significant losses. Larger companies haven’t commented, but the pause has essentially stopped more than a thousand export licenses.
The “pause” began on October 27, 2023, when the Commerce Department announced a “temporary pause” on the issuance of new licenses involving firearms, related components and ammunition for “nongovernmental end users” in certain countries.
The pause by the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) was to last “approximately 90 days” and allow the department to “assess current firearm export control review policies to determine whether any changes are warranted to advance U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.”
In February, well past the 90-day pause window, Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Kevin Cramer (R-ND) sent a letter to the Commerce Department. In it, they expressed a concern that while there was little evidence the pause on new export licenses improved U.S. national security, there was extensive evidence it harmed small and medium-sized American businesses.
Here’s what they concluded:
According to industry experts, the 90-day pause implemented by the Commerce Department is likely to cost American businesses hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenue.
The Department’s pause on issuing new export licenses for firearms comes at the very same time that the Department has loosened restrictions on exporting products controlled under the Chemical Weapons Convention and Missile Technology Control Regime.
It is difficult, therefore, for us to conclude that the Commerce Department’s pause on issuing new licenses is truly motivated by a desire to promote U.S. national security. […] Nevertheless, 90 days have now passed and the Commerce Department’s pause remains in full effect.”
A fairly significant political “fingerprint” indicates the whole pause scheme was initiated by the White House’s newest gun control group, the White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention.
Unable to pass gun control legislation, the current administration appears to have included anti-gun moves in their “whole of government approach” to getting their agenda implemented without approval from Congress.
By changing administrative language and rule interpretations (think the ATF’s “in the business” or firearm definition changes) they achieve immediate results.
Reversing those administrative decisions requires slogging through the court system. In the interim, the damage is done, harming those affected by the rules with no risk of penalty to the administrators.
According to the Senators, the pause appeared to be a “concerted and deliberate attempt to punitively target the American firearms industry.” They urged the Commerce Department to lift the pause and “refrain from imposing any new regulations that would unduly harm countless small and medium sized businesses across the United States.”
The letter appears to have neither motivated nor intimidated the BIS. Seven months after announcing the 90-day pause, and more than a month since the Senators’ letter was sent, the pause remains in effect. Now, it appears Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is prepared to make it permanent.
Sources tell us the Secretary is also “cleansing” the Department of longtime employees and administrators who have gone on record as opposing the scheme. Earlier this week, a whistleblower in Commerce tipped Senators to the impending change. Shortly afterwards, he was told to “start making plans for future employment.”
The whistleblower also told members of Congress that Commerce Department employees involved in the BIS were “assembled” and told to “either get onboard or prepare to get out” prior to the plan being announced as permanent.
Small companies that manufacture components for firearms companies have already been suffering under the “pause.” But that doesn’t appear to bother either the bureaucrats or Secretary Raimondo one whit.
A permanent ban on exporting civilian products by the firearms industry will have a serious impact, and it won’t only hit firearms or ammunition manufacturers. Companies that supply the industry with everything from raw goods to machined component parts will share in the discomfort and some won’t survive.
We have the BIS briefing covered and as always, we’ll keep you posted.
