- Joined
- Apr 23, 2018
- Messages
- 6,544
Speaking of older cartridges, I shoot an "antique" cartridge that nobody shoots anymore and it blows me away- the .40S&W. It was ragingly popular in the 1990s, and is the best choice for what is called major caliber scoring in competition, but unless I'm at a higher tier match, nobody shoots it anymore. Nobody buys them anymore. When the FBI did their big terminal ballistics study, the .40S&W was on par with the .357 magnum in terms of crush cavities and penetration. Both outperformed the devastating but shallow 45ACP. All the cops carried 40s. There has been a massive shift toward 9mm all around. Best I can say is people want capacity and low recoil. Recently, carry optics have exploded. Red dots are 60% of the USPSA and IDPA turnout. Optics are killer fast, and are made faster and more functional with low recoil, so 9mm is king of the hill. For concealed use, all the new toys are nines too. Smaller frame, more ammo. I always carried just the mag in the pistol, and all the kiddies these days are carrying a spare. I'm old because I don't give a hoot about staying in a gunfight, six is plenty if it comes down to it. So yeah, times are changing.