KRWeiss

You might want to give it a try and decide for yourself what YOUR gun prefers, as many gun/shooter combinations are different. From my experience the full size M&P40 pistols we've had invariably prefer 165 for accuracy but 180 for the lowest recoil, which averages a couple inches high (at 25 yards, sight picture dependent).

Our Shields don't seem to have quite as much of a preference, although the 180's lower recoil would tend to make your range session a little more enjoyable if you're recoil sensitive.

JeffWard

No personal experience, just "rules of thumb", but your mileage may vary.

I general, the shorter the barrel, the less velocity a bullet will have. The Shield is a short barreled 40. Therefore, a lighter (faster) bullet should be better, as the bigger, heavier bullet may not generate enough velocity to expand correctly.

On the other hand, many high velocity lighter bullets have a powder charge that's a bit slower burning, to take advantage of the full 4-5" barrel. This results in a LOT of flash with unburnt powder burning OUTSIDE the barrel, helping nothing for velocity.

The answer... Ammo DESIGNED for short barreled guns. Speer Gold Dot Short Barrel is an example. Likely a great choice.

Jeff

Martys

Since I have a Glock 23c it made good sense for me to get my Shield in 40 S&W as well. I've only had the Shield for several weeks but have been loading it up with 180gr FMJ's with either 4.2 gr of Tite Group or 4.5 gr of W231. In both cases this load is both accurate and very mild recoil. I'll probably try Unique and WST sometime down the road as well.

WxManOZ

I shoot 180gr. All my .40 pistols, shield included, love the 180gr Fed Champion and Ficocci. Both my m&p's hated the WWB 165gr. My XDM doesn't care what you feed it, it's like a garbage disposal, but still likes the 180 better, so I only feed them 180gr. YMMV.

ANGEL KING

Have you thought about 135gr. Weight? For me, I don't see the point of getting an air weight concealed carry pistol and adding extra lead to the weight. IMHO.

executioner

No but I am actually carrying the Winchester 155gr silvertips at the moment. I think I want to use the Winchester Ranger T in 165 if I can ever find some. I plan on running an assortment of brands and sizes through it but I wanted to make sure there wasnt anything that would harm it.

JeffWard

Talk about recoil... Cor-Bon 135s baby... at like 1500FPS.

12" fireball out the muzzle!

JW

ANGEL KING

I don't think you need to worry about anything hurting it. Your Silvertips from what I remember reading are pretty hot also at around 1200fps according to advertisements. Our duty rounds in .40 are the Federal HST in 180gr. Very hot and over penetrative. Perfect for police work. Not for Off duty or CC IMO.

we were recently briefed on certain bad batches of winchester rangers. Be careful about it.

That .40 hits so hard, anything you use will easily do the job. Especially since you're not going to fire one round and wait for feedback if it worked. That's why I say use the lightest stuff. Use 100gr. Powerball if you want. It dont matter if it cycles. Use FMJ. Other than over penetration, they all do the job. Believe me.

KRWeiss

Please expand on this. I'm using mostly XM40HC in my Shield, which are a slightly hotter load than P40HST1.

P.S. IMHO (and DocGKR's too) Federal P40HST1 is GTG for duty and defensive ammo.

ANGEL KING

Forgive me for not looking up the round code for the ammo you use, but what I meant was, in a couple of OIS, the HST .40 has gone through car door and glass barriers and still got the bad guy no problem. It also nearly exited out of the butt of a hundred pound pitbull dog when center punched in the chest. Great round.

Too much for what the Shield was designed for (IMO). I'd use something lighter in bullet weight.

But, it's mostly about me wanting the lightest gun to carry. I'm lazy.

KRWeiss

Ah, Lazy you say. 6 rounds at a difference of 25 gr each is about 1/3 oz., not that much of a difference on a 25 oz. firearm (loaded). Perhaps you're more sensitive to that kind of a thing than I am.

I like it because it looses less velocity from the shorter barrel than the lighter rounds and packs a wallop closer to the f/s. The lighter rounds have so much unburnt powder (a.k.a. muzzle flash) it seems more of a waste. I also like that the XM40HC has a little more velocity with the same bullet as the P40HST1, so when I loose a little bit of velocity from the short barrel it should still expand properly.

BTW; Those are both loaded with the same 180 gr. bullets. I thought you would have known that since your department issues them, my bad. Expansion is greater but penetration is nearly identical to the Speer Gold Dot 180 gr. and Ranger-T.

ANGEL KING

Yah, they issue it, but I never bothered looking at the ammo code on the boxes.

Regarding this topic, you know it's purely entertainment purposes only. This .40 vs. that. ANY of these .40 rounds we're discussing will destroy thier target with good shot placement. Feed reliability is more important IMO, but shouldn't be an issue with our M&P's.

I choose to use a 9mm OD. Purely for the ability of fitting more rounds in the gun. Most of your .40's will out do it.


But, who the hell is going to fire one round and see if it did the job?

TOF

NYPD is certainly not going to stop at one! Whats the count now, 9 injured and all by Cops!!!

Crusader762

Gold Dot Short Barrel or Hornady Critical Defense.

http://www.prestoimages.net/store/rd...d2088545_1.jpg

http://media.midwayusa.com/productim...147/147764.jpg

ANGEL KING

No kidding. I couldn't believe it when I heard that. Aim guys.

jasonuscg

Buffalo Bore has started loading Barnes Bullets, give the BGs some copper roses.

https://www.buffalobore.com/index.ph...uct_list&c=110