.40 S&W Handgun Cartridges

Learn more about .40 S&W Handgun Cartridges

Looking to find out more about firearms before you apply for your SAPS firearm licence? Learn all there is to know about .40 S&W Handgun Cartridges right here.

This cartridge was developed as a joint venture between Winchester and Smith & Wesson. It was an effort to create a cartridge with the same power as the 10mm Norma round that the FBI had just started using, but in a shorter case. The shorter cartridge would facilitate accuracy and allow use of a smaller, more comfortable grip frame. The .40 S&W has become the cartridge of choice for many law enforcement agencies in the United States.

.40 S&W Handgun Cartridges

Cartridge Specifications
Case Type:	Rimless, straight
Introduced:	1990	Made For:	Semi-Auto
Cart Len:	1.135-in	Case Len:	0.850-in
Case Dia:	0.424-in	Bul Dia:	0.401-in

Ballistics measured with:
4-inch pistol barrel

Cartridge Variants:
	Weight	Velocity	Energy
From:	135 gr	1325 ft/sec	526 ft-lbs
To:	200 gr	1000 ft/sec	444 ft-lbs

Cartridge Used in Database
Weight	Velocity	Energy
180 gr	1000 ft/sec	400 ft-lbs

Rankings for Cartridge Used in Database
PF:	180000	TKO:	10.299

**See below for further reference regarding the power rankings listed in the tables above:

MV-Muzzle Velocity
Muzzle velocity when fired from a typical handgun. Measured in feet-per-second.

ME-Muzzle Energy
Muzzle energy when fired from a typical handgun. Measured in foot-pounds.

PF-Power Factor
In shooting competition the Power Factor is used to determine the competitive division in which a particular handgun/cartridge can be used. A simple calculation of the bullet's mass times its muzzle velocity.
PF = bull. mass x muzzle vel.

TKO-Taylor Knock Out Formula
Developed by big-game hunter John Howard Taylor in the 1940's. Calculates the relative effectiveness of bullets for hunting game.
TKO = (bull. mass x muzzle vel. x bull. dia.)/7000

Link back to the main table listing of handgun and rifle cartridges HERE.