Although inaccuracy isn't precisely the right term, the .40 is certainly accurate enough. Still, I've never been overwhelmed with the accuracy performance of any .40 S&W handgun. Admittedly, I've never had use for one, and never owned one. I've shot many, but never owned one...I may get around to owning one, but when you have a .45, why?

So, can anyone explain why from an accuracy standpoint that the .40 S&W tends to under-perform in comparison to the 9mm and .45 ACP?

The platform that launches it? The first .40 S&W pistol I recall seeing was a 1911 that had recently been converted to fire the then-new round. A friend and mentor in his 60's brought it when he came to visit an LFI-III course we were conducting in L.A. County. When the students got down on the ground to shoot B-27 silhouette targets at 100 yards from rollover prone, Jim remained standing and broke some clay pigeons that were lying on the small berm beyond the 100-yard targets. I suspect that the 1911 had had the .40 S&W barrel fitted by John Qunitrall, who still had a shop in Sacramento at the time. I don't know the source of the barrel but it may have been Bar-Sto.

My first 40 had an "X" serial number and wouldn't shoot for beans. At first I was blaming the ammo until I got a 610 that shot the same ammo much better.

Since then I've probably tested a dozen guns that range from 2-4" @25 yd. I've got a Kimber that I fitted with a Kart barrel that shoots<2" routinely.

There were some issues with early ammo in terms of powder selection but once I got some experience with handloads I got some pretty decent accuracy. IMX the Federal 165 gr. Hydra-shock FBI load was the most accurate factory ammo.

I have a 5 inch XD in 40 that will shoot very well, I have hit the black at 100 yards on a standard NRA 100 yard target more often than I have missed when shooting that gun....

I also tried a match EAA witness in it, that was a sub 2 inch at 25 yards gun, prior to my buying one in 38 super,9x23

I don't know much about the inherent accuracy of most pistol ammunition. Sure, I've had Eley ammo perform well in a 22 LR. I've, also, been able to achieve what I regarded as much better than average accuracy from 44 magnum rounds at 100 + yards; but, generally speaking, I don't think of most pistol ammunition as being exceptionally accurate.

Over the past 10 years I've, probably, fired more 45 ACP rounds than any other caliber. (In fact I know I have.) Is the 45 ACP more accurate than the 40 S&W; or is the 9 MM more accurate than 40 S&W? In most semiautomatic pistols I really don't think so.

Then, 'Why' do so many of us tend to shoot better (straighter or faster) with either 9 MM or 45 ACP? 'Why' does the 40 S&W always seem to come in dead last among those of us who do a very great deal of this sort of pistol shooting? My own personal answer is recoil impulse - That's right, recoil impulse!

Now, admittedly, I'm getting older; but, still, I find it much easier to work with the, 'soft fast crack' of standard velocity 9 MM, or the, 'slow heavy push' of 45 ACP than I do with the, 'hard fast crack' of 40 S&W ammo. Either a 45 ACP or a 9 MM will be more manageable in my hands, give me back the front sight sooner, and cut down on the split time between (accurate) rapid fire shots.

Inherent accuracy with pistol ammunition really doesn't mean a heck of a lot to me; and I think it highly unlikely that a more accurate pistol bullet is going to serve me any better - or even as well - as a more manageable (faster-to-fire) bullet.

Yes, I'm able to work effectively with 40 S&W; however, like I said, I'm getting older; and I really don't feel like using that much arm strength or having to concentrate that intensely with a pistol in my hands. Any, 'accuracy' that can be squeezed out of a 40 S&W I'm certain can be easily equaled or, even, exceeded with either a 45 ACP or 9 MM.

Besides, I like the bigger bullets, too. That's the reason, 'Why' I only rarely carry a 9 MM as a primary. If someone really wants to compare inherent accuracy among popular pistol calibers, my own suggestion would be to get a Thompson Contender with a selection of applicable 12" barrels. Then see what you can do. Otherwise the inherent accuracy of most popular pistol ammunition is genuinely moot - A non-sequitur to much of what most shooters do with their semiautomatic pistols.

I suspect it depends on the handgun itself and whether "likes" the particular load. I can tell no difference in accuracy between similar Glocks, Brownings and S&W's in 9mm and .40 that I have owned and/or shot. These are service style pistols: Glock 19 v. 23, 17 v. 22; S&W 5906 v. 4006.

Most of my shooting and reloading is geared toward IDPA/defensive practice. I'm satisfied with 2" at 15 yards with these pistols.

My G-22 was not very accurate at all, but my little Taurus PT 140 is very accurate, go figure. I shot GSSF with the glock for many years and the pistol was a good representation of the model. But my hits got considerably better with the Taurus. I score in the 98% range with it on certification and its my EDC. It must be the pistol/round combination that is the problem.

Guess I just need to get out there and shoot some more .40's...thanks for the replies guys.

Or not. If you're happy with what you've got, your money might be better spent on other projects.

That's going back a ways; haven't heard that name in about 15 years.

I assume your referring to John and not Bar-Sto. That's just about right on the time frame. In the early days of the first Clinton administration, John shut down his shop and moved his business into his garage, downgrading to a one-man operation. His statement to me was that he was not going to allow the government to make him buy health insurance for his employees that he could not afford to buy for himself. (Unfortunately, this is a concept that is not grasped by the do-gooders who seek and pass such legislation as minimum-wage laws, mandatory health insurance, etc.)

Has anybody noticed that elephant standing in the corner?

We are talking about the accuracy of a gun or cartridge but we have no definition of what "accuracy" is. I guarantee that my expectation is probably far more stringent than it needs to be but then I grew up thinking that a 1911 that shot much over 2" for 10 shots @50 yd was good but not magic. For that it needed to be under 2".

For a long time I thought that 9mm pistols simply weren't going to shoot very well until I got a PPC 9mm from Springfield that routinely shot 2" or so with good ammo... with ball it was disappointing.

So if we want to have any hope of defining "accurate" we need to know what the ammo can do from a test barrel and then we can see the gun's contribution.

The standard that Bob Day used building guns for the USAF "big" team was to shoot the barrel in a test fixture with ammo that was known to be good and then he didn't want the finished gun to exceed that by more than 1/4".

Come to think of it, when was the last time anyone saw 185 gr target wadcutters in .45 available over the counter? I haven't seen target ammo in 9mm since S&W stopped importing Fiocci back in the 70s!

What is match target ammo now days?

Geoff
Who puts 230 gr inexpensive ball in his Mk IV, S70, but I'm shooting Action Pistol, not target.

Well, I really like a combat pistol to shoot very close to 2” at 25 yards, and I like to cut that in half for my target guns; that’s my definition of accuracy. Basically, that's what makes me feel rather confident with a pistol. Certainly, most any defensive job can be done with a gun that shoots 3x larger groups; but the heart likes what the heart likes.

Actually Federal is the only one still making 185 SWC. Both Remington and Winchester discontinued it. Although I don't shoot bullseye anymore it wasn't too hard to get the equivalent with handloads using the Remington 185 bullet that is still available in bulk.

Federal has had a couple of 9mm Match loads that were really good and at one time both Remington and Winchester had one although I don't know if they still do. A few years ago I went to the PPC Nationals and the guy who came in second by just a point or two was shooting 124 gr. Hydra-shok.

I'm on the same page Kevin but how many out of the box defense guns can do 2"?