When speaking about the 40 S&W Auto cartridge these days, we’re reminded of that famous Samuel Clemens quote: “The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.” While you may think the 40 S&W is dead, it is very much alive. Albeit, it is not as popular as the 9mm is today. The irony is the 40 S&W became law enforcement’s darling when it debuted in early 1990 and nearly eclipsed the 9mm in popularity. The 9mm back then was considered an underpowered cartridge. The FBI geared up with the 40, and other law-enforcement agencies followed.

Smith & Wesson and Winchester designed the 40 S&W, which is basically a shortened 10mm Auto cartridge. As you will recall, the FBI was keen on the 10mm Auto until it was discovered the round had too much recoil, and agents found it difficult to control. So, the FBI had a reduced-velocity 10mm Auto round produced, and that was better until Smith & Wesson and Winchester suggested the same velocity and energy could be had in a medium-frame pistol instead of a large-frame pistol. Hence, the 40 S&W Auto was developed, and the S&W Model 4056 and the Glock G22 and G23 were the first pistols chambered in 40 S&W. By 2007, the pendulum was swinging back as the FBI changed from the 40 S&W to the 9mm due to advances in ballistic technology. So long 40 S&W, hello 9mm.

There still are a number of LE departments that use the 40 S&W, and what improved the 9mm also improved the 40 S&W, as well as other cartridges. Regardless, gone are the days of 9mm pistol introductions followed by the same pistol chambered in 40 S&W. In fact, there are fewer 40 S&W-chambered pistols these days. Still, we think the 40 S&W has a lot to recommend it for self defense, and three manufacturers apparently agree because we found three new pistols in 40 S&W: the Glock G23 Gen5, S&W M&P40 M2.0 Compact, and H&K P30. We also picked up a police trade-in SIG P239 to complete this quartet. We last evaluated the 40 S&W-chambered P239 in the November 2003 issue, in which it earned a “buy it” recommendation.

All of these 40-caliber pistols are similar in dimensions and barrel length. The P30 and P239 are hammer fired, and the G23 and M&P40 are striker fired. All feed off a double-stack magazine except for the P239, which uses a single-stack magazine. In general, the hammer-fired pistols were a bit more complicated to operate due to the additional controls. The decocking button on the SIG was initially confused with the slide stop, and that is due to user error and lack of training. Across the board, we feel the Glock and the S&W were simpler to handle and operate. What can we say, we like simple.

We chose these particular pistols since they represent a good variety of proven, reliable pistol designs. Our test checklist included reliability, accuracy, concealed carry, and ease of use. It had been a while since some of our testers fired a 40 S&W, but the snappy recoil of the round brought back memories. Yes, the 40 S&W is still alive, and kicking. A thin-grip pistol can produce more felt recoil in the palm of your hand, and we anticipated that as well as lots of muzzle flip.

How We Tested

Ammunition consisted of training and defense loads. For defense loads, we used Hornady Critical Defense with a 165-grain FTX bullet. For training, we used MagTechs loaded with a 180-grain FMJ-FLAT and a handload with a 155-grain JHP. These bullet weights are the sweet spot for the snappy 40 S&W.

With these rounds, we saw the wider-grip pistols transfer less felt recoil. We anticipated getting rapped in the palm with the P239, which wasn’t the case, but we do have other gripes about this pistol. The G23 offered a totally new 40-caliber shooting experience in the Gen5 variant. The P30 is a good hammer-fired pistol, but it’s more complicated to operate. The M2.0 variant of the M&P40 was a stellar shooter with good accuracy and good recoil management.

We fired the pistols for accuracy using a rest and cardboard targets at 25 yards. For speed work, we moved the targets in to 7 yards and fired many Bill Drills. We started with our gun at low ready and fired six rounds. We found with these guns that following the front sight was easy, so follow-up shots were quick. The average five-shot group for these pistols averaged 1.7 to 2.9 inches, good accuracy for a defense pistol. In the speed test, we found the H&K was a bit snappy with muzzle flip, while the SIG had flip but was more controllable. The S&W and Glock were the clear winners in the speed shooting, with much softer recoil.

We carried the Glock, H&K, and S&W in a Safariland GLS 575 IWB Pro Fit Compact holster ($68; Safariland.com), which is a multi-fit holster, meaning it can be used with a litany of guns. That said, because of the very nature of being multi-fit, it is slightly oversized. Fine by us. The holster shell is nylon and has a bit of flex and does not scratch the pistol’s finish. We like the Grip Locking System (GLS), which is a retention device. When drawing, your middle finger deactivates the lock. We found the retention device did not impede the draw, and we were able to draw quickly and smoothly. The 575 comes with two clips: an over-the-belt and under-the-belt. We thought the under-the-belt design could be thinner to reduce bulk. Other than that, this is a nice holster with the added value of a retention device. We plan on adding this holster to our EDC routine.

Here’s why we think the 40 S&W will be around for the foreseeable future and is better chambered in striker-fire designs.

Gun Tests Grade: A-

$600

The other hammer-fired pistol tested was a SIG P239. This was a police trade-in that came with three steel single-stack magazines. The P239 was produced from 1996 through 2018 and is a metal-frame pistol designed for conceal carry. It has a DA/SA trigger with an exposed hammer and the typical SIG controls, that is, a decocking lever located on the left side of the pistol just forward the slide stop. The controls are best suited for a right-handed shooter. One tester, not that familiar with this style of SIG pistols, confused the decocker with the slide stop. Obviously, this was our mistake, but it’s something to consider if you are a striker-fired-pistol shooter.

The magazine release was the traditional thumb button located near the trigger guard. While this was a used gun, it did not look like it had had a lot of use. The only discernible wear was the top of the breech block, which was shiny from use.

In hand the P239 was a bit nose heavy, but it has a nice grip angle and felt comfortable. The aluminum-alloy frame was made in Germany. The slide was slightly tapered. The grip girth was thin due to the single-stack magazine. The grip is a textured two-piece black plastic piece that covers the back of the frame, but it left the front grip strap exposed. The rear of the grip was smooth, with no sharp edges. The front grip strap was finely checkered and provided a good grip, especially with the snappy 40 S&W. The trigger had a smooth face, and though the trigger pull was 9.7 pounds, but it felt less. Sights were long-extinguished SIGLite night sights, but the three white dots provided a good sight picture. The rear sight also created a ledge that would allow cocking the pistol on the edge of something with one hand. Slide-retraction effort was 15 pounds.

The steel magazines were easy to load, even to the last round. The plastic floor plates had a slight lip to hold your small finger. There are only rear slide serrations on our P239, and they provided enough traction when manipulating the slide. We missed forward serrations for doing a press check.

Going hot at the range, we felt the P239 offered excellent control. Recoil was pleasant due the design of the grip and the weight of the pistol. We really liked this old-timer.

Our smallest five-shot group at 25 yards (1.56 inches) was with MagTech 180-grain FMJ-FLATs. This is good accuracy. With the handload and the Hornady ammo, we averaged 2.9- and 2.7-inch groups, respectively. In single-action mode, there was about a quarter-inch of take up and then slightly more press to fire the pistol. Shooting for speed, we found we could run the P239 fast. One tester gripped the gun with high thumbs and accidentally hit the slide stop, so the pistol would not lock back on last round fired. Again, this is user error, but does illustrate the slightly more complex mechanism of this hammer-fired pistol and the need to modify your grip per platform. We found right-handed users could decock the pistol using the thumb of our support hand or reposition the pistol in their shooting hand to press the lever. The slide stop was easy to slap with the thumb of the right hand. Users who like DA/SA triggers found the trigger was easy to preload and hold, anticipating the break. This gun ran very well with no malfunctions.

Our Team Said: Recoil was controllable with the P239, and accuracy was good. We did find we needed to pay attention to the controls, but soon became acclimated to them. We wondered why SIG would drop this model, but the future seems to be simpler striker-fired pistols with polymer frames and double-stack magazines. If you find one of these used and it’s not abused, consider buying it.

40 S&W Range Data

Value Guide: 40 S&W & 10MM Handgun Rankings