Pistol used was a first-run S&W M&P40. The ammo was new stock.
In anticipation of receiving a new pistol chambered for the 40 S&W cartridge, I’d gotten some ammo to do the shooting test. I had some left over and at that time, not having shot recently due to some interruptions, I grabbed an old 40 caliber pistol from the safe and went to an indoor range.
The gun was the M&P40, received from the Smith & Wesson rollout of the line, in 2005. The M&P auto was first produced in 40 S&W; the gun was built for the caliber and later chambered for the 9mm, a smart idea.
The 40 Auto round, while not so widely available now, is still being produced. Former police guns in 40 S&W are going for bargain prices. You’ll pay more for ammo, but less for the gun.
The big deal about the S&W M&P being made for 40 first, rather than 9mm, came from the experience at GLOCK. The Austrian company beat Smith & Wesson out of the gate with guns chambered for the 40 S&W. They simply plugged in a new barrel, a slightly redesigned magazine and ejector, with the rest of the gun being practically the same as its 9mm counterpart.
At the rollout of the new M&P auto, I tried a dedicated pair on the old S&W Academy range. It can be fired quickly enough with accuracy. Walt Rauch photo.
This led to more annual maintenance. That issue didn’t arise with the M&P40. I don’t believe it would have with the upsized G22/G23 Gen5 pistols from GLOCK either.
While some users had problems with the recoil, most didn’t shoot enough for it to cause degenerative joint issues.
For duty and defense use, we’ll dispense with “split times” completely.
While I was seeking to shoot for accuracy, I miscalculated the height of the bench versus the available chair. For that reason, I shot somewhat closer, but shot one-handed, and left-handed, as well as “freestyle.” The ammo included Federal 180gr. JHP, Federal Punch 165gr. JHP, Hornady 165gr. FTX Critical Defense and Federal Action Pistol 205gr. Syntech.
I elected to shoot each load variably at a single sheet with four aiming points. The Federal 180gr. load was fired two-handed at a small aiming point. The resulting group, sadly, was three inches. I thought that was my inability to focus on the front sight in the indoor range lighting (the gun predates universal pistol-mounted optics).
The Federal Punch load was fired at a slightly larger aiming point left-handed, with two hands. That effort put five rounds into 2 ¼”.
The target demonstrated my poor pre-planning. All the ammo seemed accurate enough - even shot one-handed. Ammo was from Hornady and Federal.
Hornady Critical Defense was fired at the top circle, one-handed, “bullseye-style.” Five rounds went into 1 ½”.
That led me to believe I was more troubled by grip than the visual solution. Shooting the gun one-handed also helped to force my focus on precision.
The ammo case bench rest, demonstrated at the S&W Academy by Walt Rauch, trainer- and writer emeritus.
Finally, the Syntech load was fired on the largest circle, likewise one-handed. That gave me a 3 ¼” group, but the best three were into 2” flat. The pair outside of the main cluster could have been old-age, fatigue or some other issue. I believe that the Syntech Action Pistol load is capable of great accuracy.
Likely all the rounds would be if there was a better shooter behind the gun.
The M&P40, now over 20 years old, ran without stoppages.
– Rich Grassi