Soft recoiling 40 S&W?

[Chuck]

Hi,

For a few reasons: frequent practice, the wife wanting to shoot my Glock 23, and IDPA; I would like some suggestiosn for a 40 S&W round that has a softer recoil then most. Since I'm talking Glock, no lead; must be FMJ. For my uses something inexpensive too. Hope I'm not asking for too much!

Maybe someone who likes to handload for others, if that's legal here in the PRoM?

Thanks for the tips,
Chuck

 

[Len-2A Training]

No it's not legal in PRM.

However you might consider the investment yourself. You need to "work up" a load that works well for her and the particular gun. This is different than "just buying reloads".

Also, call me quirky, but I don't want to shoot anyone else's reloads but my own.

 

[Chris]

One of the rules in IDPA is that you must use "full power" ammunition. Bullet weight in grains multiplied by the muzzle velocity in feet per second must exceed 125,000.

Also keep in mind that some guns do not like low power cartridges and do not cycle well.

I would seriously go look for a full size 9mm if the .40 is too much. If it were a SIG, I'd tell you to just do a magazine and barrel swap, but I don't know if that works with the Glock family.

That said, pistol handloading is a great way to start. And since you are looking for light rounds not heavier, the .40 isn't a bad choice.

You could also replace the Glock Barrel with one that uses standard rifling and shoot lead.

One last thought.. You could go shoot a few rounds of .500 Magnum and then the .40 won't feel like anything more than a slight breeze blowing up your arm. (^_^)

 

[GTOShootr]

I would do what Chris said. Get an aftermarket barrel to convert from .40 to 9mm. It would feel softer and be cheaper ammo. Look at KKM or Fereral Arms barrels from www.glockmeister.com or www.lonewolfdist.com. You are suppose to change the trigger housing in order to have the corresponding ejector, but a .40 ejector works with 9 (from what I hear). In addition to being able to shoot lead, the aftermarket barrels are fully supported chambers, unlike factory Glock.

All factory .40 feels snappy.

 

[Nickle]

It's not cheap to go from a .40 Glock to a 9. You have to replace the barrel, slide and mag. Not cheap. And, light springs are not available for a Glock 23 or 19.

 

[GTOShootr]

The slide is the same. Mags are $20 each and the barrel is about $165. It is listed as "9mm G23 barrel" (part KKM-G23B1) from Lone Wolf. The ammo is the cheap part, as well as being softer.

There is always the simple option of investing in the whole refurbished 9mm G17 with 2 mags for only $400. A light recoil spring that Nickle mentioned (13#) in a 17 with WWB is pretty nice shooting. WWB (Winchester White Box) is right about the 135PF in reference to the 125 power factor floor Chris mentioned. That way you are getting the same competitive advantage in IDPA that those handloading soft .40s are with all the convenience and economy of store bought ammo.

 

[Nickle]

I beg to differ about the slide. Everything I've seen says they're different. I have 2 reference books that say the same thing. One is the PTOOMA (sp?) book. THey seem to know their stuff.

Yes, a G19 and G23 slide physically interchange, but that's for changing calibers. The problem is extraction. And changing the extractor alone isn't enough.

Also, the light springs aren't available (from Wolff anyways) for the G19 and G23. I've been down this road already.

 

[GTOShootr]

I'm sorry. I reread something and you're right. They are not the same, but the conversion still can be done. They sell the barrels as "conversion" barrels. The way it works is when you go from 40 to 9, you can't go the other way around. You may or may not have to change the extractor but the 9mm works in the .40 breachface (only 1mm bigger). They successfully use .40 slides with 9mm in 1911s too.

A friend did this successfully with converting a G22 to 9mm with a Federal Arms barrel. He did so for the cheaper ammo. Read up on Glock Talk and I'm sure there are descriptions of it. (G23 to 9mm on Glock Talk)

 

[Nickle]

Yeah, it CAN be done, but reliability of extraction will suffer to some extent.