.40 S&W (no ontology)

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Revision as of 21:31, 2 January 2013 by SU Tempest (Talk | contribs)

The .40 S&W is a handgun cartridge developed in 1990 by firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson. It is a fairly common handgun cartridge, typically seen as a compromise between 9x19mm and .45 ACP.

Real-life data

The birth of .40 S&W is closely related to that of 10mm Auto, as it is essentially a shorter version of the 10mm Auto cartridge.

The FBI originally adopted 10mm Auto as the caliber for their service pistols, but after reports that most agents had trouble controlling the beastly recoil generated by the original cartridge, it was decided that lighter loads, nicknamed "FBI lite", were to be used in their firearms; this resulted in decreased velocity and energy, but more controllable recoil. Smith & Wesson later realized that the ballistics of this FBI load could be achieved with a smaller cartridge, which went on to become the .40 S&W.

The caliber is, due to its history as the descendant of 10mm Auto, developed to be law enforcement oriented from the ground up. However, because of those same origins as a shortened (and weaker) version of an originally reportedly powerful cartridge, .40 S&W earned the unflattering nickname of .40 Short and Weak.

It, however, became relatively successful with law enforcement agencies in the United States other than the FBI, as well as in Canada and Australia. As a result, civilian demand for .40 S&W pistols quickly rose - although it was indeed less powerful than 10mm Auto, it also meant more manageable recoil and thus was suitable to a greater amount of shooters. The Smith & Wesson 4006 was announced as the first semi-automatic pistol designed to fire .40 S&W, but wasn't made available until several weeks after the official introduction of the caliber itself. In the meantime, Glock beat S&W to it, and was the first to release their .40 pistol, the Glock 22 and its compact variant, the Glock 23.

As the .40 S&W cartridge is shorter and has mild recoil compared to the original 10mm Auto, it was easier to adapt existing platforms to the cartridge and it was only a matter of time to introduce them on the market. Pistols originally intended for 9x19mm were simply adapted to the new caliber; soon followed many of the major firearm manufacturers on the market. Today, .40 S&W enjoys relative popularity and is considered to be a good compromise between 9x19mm and .45 ACP, typically in the domains of stopping power and ammunition capacity.

Mazeworld overview

Type Unarm Light Hardskin Kevlar-2 Kevlar-3 Kevlar-4 HEV
Bullet 44% 40% 37% 29% 18% 8% 3%

How to read this?

  • Available for purchase in a gun shop or a weapon shop, in boxes of 20 or 50 rounds
  • Costs 30 P$ for 20 rounds, and 75 P$ for 50 rounds
  • Value of a single round is 1.50 P$
  • Recoil level of this round is 3 - Normal
  • Availability of this caliber:
    • Can be found at random in the rooms

Weapons compatible

Class 2 weapons

Class 3 weapons

Gallery

(image)

See also