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40 S&W

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40 S&W Ammo in ballistic gel

We shot 28 self-defense loads of 40 S&W ammo into ballistic gel

See the results below

Smith and Wesson and Winchester partnered to develop 40 Smith and Wesson ammo or the "40 cal" cartridge as a round for law enforcement. Their hope was to create a caliber that could mimic the performance of the FBI's reduced-velocity 10mm automatic round with rounds small enough in physical size to be carried with a medium-frame pistol.

40 S&W quickly caught on and remains a popular caliber for personal protection and range training today. Range shooters will likely opt for full metal jacket (FMJ) rounds with a non-expanding bullet while those seeking a round for protection will want to look at jacketed hollow point (JHP) ammo. In terms of ballistic performance, expect the lighter 40 cal rounds (155-grain) to leave the muzzle at about 1,205 feet per second and the heavier rounds (180-grain) to bring a muzzle velocity of about 1,050 feet per second.

Look for a wide selection of 40 S&W ammo for sale from trusted manufacturers like Federal, PMC and Hornady in the most common bullet types out there today, like full metal jacket (FMJ), jacketed hollow point (JHP) in the categories listed below:

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5 Item(s)

  1. 50rds - 40 S&W Remington UMC 180gr. Flat Nose Enclosed Base Leadless Ammo 50rds - 40 S&W Remington UMC 180gr. Flat Nose Enclosed Base Leadless Ammo
    $18.00
    $0.36/ppr

    105 In Stock

  2. 1000rds - 40 S&W PMC 165gr. FMJ Ammo 1000rds - 40 S&W PMC 165gr. FMJ Ammo
    $359.95
    $0.36/ppr

    13 In Stock

  3. 500rds – 40 S&W Federal Hydra-Shok 165 gr. JHP Ammo 500rds – 40 S&W Federal Hydra-Shok 165 gr. JHP Ammo
    $400.00
    $0.80/ppr

    37 In Stock

  4. 20rds – 40 S&W Federal Syntech Defense 175gr. SHP Ammo 20rds – 40 S&W Federal Syntech Defense 175gr. SHP Ammo

    ☆☆☆☆☆ 1 Review(s)

    $19.95
    $1.00/ppr

    9 In Stock

  5. 20rds – 40 S&W Speer Gold Dot 165gr. JHP Ammo 20rds – 40 S&W Speer Gold Dot 165gr. JHP Ammo
    $23.95
    $1.20/ppr

    164 In Stock

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5 Item(s)

40 S&W Ballistic Gel Test Results

About This Data

Used firearms icon
Firearm Used S&W M&P40c
Barrel length icon
Barrel Length 3.5"
Distance target icon
Distance to Target 10 Feet
Barrier icon
Barrier 4-layer cloth
Ammo 5-shot average penetration depth 5-shot average diameter 5-shot average velocity
20rds - 40 S&W Barnes 140gr. TAC-XPD HP Ammo
  11.7"
0.76" 1027
20rds – 40 S&W Black Hills 140gr. Barnes TAC-XP HP Ammo
  11.06"
0.73" 1088
20rds – 40 S&W Black Hills 180gr. JHP Ammo
  21.98"
0.43" 957
20rds - 40 S&W Federal Hydra-Shok 165gr. HP Ammo 500rds – 40 S&W Federal Hydra-Shok 165 gr. JHP Ammo
  16.7"
0.48" 960
50rds - 40 S&W Federal LE Tactical HST 165gr. HP Ammo 1000rds – 40 S&W Federal Premium Law Enforcement 165gr. HST JHP Ammo
  18.92"
0.68" 1037
20rds – 40 S&W Federal Personal Defense 180gr. HST Ammo
  15.4"
0.72" 940
1000rds - 40 S&W Federal Premium Tactical 180gr. HST JHP Ammo 50rds – 40 S&W Federal Tactical 180gr. HST Ammo
  15.38"
0.69" 983
20rds - 40 S&W G2 Research RIP 115gr. HP LF Ammo
  10.68"
0.4" 1082
20rds - 40 S&W Hornady 180gr. XTP Jacketed Hollow Point Ammo 200rds – 40 S&W Hornady Custom 180gr. XTP Ammo
  23.28"
0.4" 913
20rds - 40 S&W Hornady Critical Defense 165gr. HP Ammo 200rds - 40 S&W Hornady Critical Defense 165gr HP Ammo
  18.68"
0.47" 1047
20rds – 40 S&W Hornady Critical Duty 175gr. FlexLock Ammo 200rds - 40 S&W Hornady Critical Duty 175gr. FlexLock HP Ammo
  19.34"
0.47" 978
20rds - 40 S&W Magtech First Defense Justice 130gr. SCHP Ammo
  13.7"
0.69" 1233
50rds - 40 S&W Remington Golden Saber Black Belt 180gr. BJHP Ammo
  20.84"
0.45" 864
20rds - 40 S&W Sig-Sauer Elite Performance Ammunition 165gr. V-Crown JHP Ammo
  20.26"
0.48" 1016
1000rds - 40 S&W Speer Gold Dot LE 155gr. GDHP Ammo 50rds – 40 S&W Speer LE Gold Dot 155gr. JHP Ammo
  15.08"
0.63" 1143
50rds – 40 S&W Speer LE Gold Dot 165gr. JHP Ammo 1000rds - 40 S&W Speer Gold Dot LE 165gr. JHP Ammo
  15.88"
0.62" 1080
50rds - 40 S&W Speer LE Gold Dot 180gr. HP Ammo 1000rds – 40 S&W Speer Gold Dot 180gr. Bonded JHP Ammo
  14.58"
0.64" 969
20rds – 40 S&W Speer Gold Dot 165gr. JHP Ammo
  17.24"
0.54" 1036
50rds - 40 S&W Winchester Silvertip 155gr. Hollow Point Ammo 500rds - 40 S&W Winchester Silvertip 155gr. Hollow Point Ammo
  16.26"
0.62" 1214
20rds – 40 S&W Winchester Defender 165gr. PDX1 Bonded JHP Ammo
  16.44"
0.71" 1069
20rds – 40 S&W Winchester Defender 180gr. PDX1 Bonded JHP Ammo
  17.02"
0.67" 979
20rds - 40 S&W Winchester W Train and Defend 180gr. JHP Ammo 200rds - 40 S&W Winchester W Train and Defend 180gr. JHP Ammo
  16"
0.66" 868
50rds – 40 S&W Winchester Ranger T-Series 180gr. JHP Ammo - Law Enforcement Trade-In 500rds – 40 S&W Winchester Ranger T-Series 180gr. JHP Ammo - Law Enforcement Trade-In
  16.46"
0.74" 1118
50rds – 40 S&W Winchester Ranger T-Series 165gr. JHP Ammo - Law Enforcement Trade-In 500rds - 40 S&W Winchester Ranger Talon 165gr. HP Ammo
  15.84"
0.73" 1127
50rds - 40 S&W Federal LE Tactical HST 180gr. HP Ammo 1000rds - 40 S&W Federal Premium Law Enforcement HST 180gr. JHP Ammo
  16.4"
0.57" 962
50rds - 40 S&W Federal Train + Protect 180gr. VHP Ammo
  21.72"
0.46" 914
20rds - 40 S&W Magtech 130gr. First Defense Solid Copper HP Ammo
  13.5"
0.59" 1086
20rds - 40 S&W MAGTECH Guardian Gold 155gr. HP Ammo
  18.1"
0.58" 1175

Recent 40 S&W Reviews

  • ☆☆☆☆☆
    Good stuff. Not too dirty, fairly accurate, and feeds well from my experience. I fire mine from a shield 2.0. No problems here and priced right.
    BRANDON NORMAN on 100rds - 40 S&W Winchester USA 165gr. FMJ Value Pack Ammo
  • ☆☆☆☆☆
    I have used this round in my S&W Sigma handgun for hunting, I've taken both hogs and whitetails with them, all clean kills and usually drops them in their tracks under 40 yards! I would and do not hesitate to carry this round in my self defense firearm, if it dispatches hogs with ease bad guys don't have a chance!
    Daniel Navo on 25rds - 40 S&W Remington Golden Saber 165gr. HP Ammo
  • ☆☆☆☆☆
    Hello, This is RickMax and I just tried out the 40 S&W 175 Grain SHP ammo and I was impressed. I was shooting my S&W SD40 VE which is a pretty reliable piece in my opinion at 25'. This ammo came out smooth and straight which is the highest praise I can give a bullet, I mean what more can it do. 40 rnds at my best target hitting speed and each rnd hit where I wanted with nary a foul. This 40 has a 14 rnd clip with one in the pipe so I was at max load firing 3 clips. So what's this mean to me? It tells me that since I carry fully loaded with one extra clip, in an emergency I am going to toss 28 rnds in the general direction of the problem with out worrying about a jam. If that does not dissuade the squirrel that is attacking me nothing will.
    RickMax on 20rds – 40 S&W Federal Syntech Defense 175gr. SHP Ammo
  • ☆☆☆☆☆
    Awesome! Great ammo and customer service..
    TC on 50rds - 40 S&W Federal LE Hi-Shok 180gr. Hollow Point Ammo