Going to be making a switch over from sig to HK in a few days and I am very excited and nervous at the same time. I have owned my sig for close to a year and it has never done me wrong and I love it, but before it I had a HK USP45T and I was blown away by how great it shot and felt. I just couldn't seem to get passed the threaded barrel so I made myself hate it and trade it for the sig. Well recently I was having an itch the P220 just couldn't scratch and I found myself missing my HK, so I found a good fair even trade with another gentlemen here in a few days for his HK USP 40 full size. I have no experience with the 40 S&W outside of a glock 22 once a year to qualify for my jail and that was only one and a half mags max. I have only shot 9,45,and 357 mag. I have heard that 40 is very snappy and while my HK 45 dumbed down recoil to almost nothing I was wondering the 40 is the same? I am not worried about ccw with this gun as all specs on both sites show the HK 40 is smaller by half inch in every dimension and I am 6'5" 250 so keeping a full size on me is not much of a problem. My only worry is about the round itself just with no knowledge of it, so please convert me more and show me your ways make me a believer in 40S&W. I don't care about caliber wars and why 9 is better or 40 is weak 10mm and blah de blah de blah. Caliber don't matter just matters where I hit you all I want to know is felt/perceived recoil of the caliber on this frame. The only reason I am even considering the 40 cal is because it is the USP frame anything else I would have said no. So thank you all for incite on the matter also its going to have the V1 trigger in it but comes with all hardwear to convert to Light LEM so should I switch it out cause I only have basic knowledge of what it is.
Making a Switch
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The USP Series is great--- I prefer the .45 ACP, specifically, the USP45FS (Variant 1)!!! :biggrin:
Tony
Tony
40 is very snappy compared to 9 & even more so compared to 45. I had a Glock 23 and hated it because it would just wreck your wrist, and these are with soft reloads too. If you don't mind the feel of 40 then its no big deal, ammo sin't very expensive compared to 9, but if you want to be sure you like the caliber, try & rent a similar gun and shoot it for a while first
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I don't know what people mean by "snappy" with the 40. It's called recoil and all pistols have it. Does the 40 have more perceived recoil than the 9, yes. Does the 45 have more perceived recoil than the 40, yes.
But that matters not, what matters is accuracy and speed measured on a shot timer. My speed and accuracy are the same between 9 and 40 with same model HK pistols.
Further, the 40 displaces more cubic inches of tissue than the 9 does, not matter what people say about "advances in 9mm ammo" that are somehow specific only to the 9mm.
The USP 40 is a fine pistol. And at the end of the day, you are getting an HK for a Sig, which is always good.
But that matters not, what matters is accuracy and speed measured on a shot timer. My speed and accuracy are the same between 9 and 40 with same model HK pistols.
Further, the 40 displaces more cubic inches of tissue than the 9 does, not matter what people say about "advances in 9mm ammo" that are somehow specific only to the 9mm.
The USP 40 is a fine pistol. And at the end of the day, you are getting an HK for a Sig, which is always good.
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5,689 Posts
I would think that at your size you should just get a Desert Eagle .50 and be the boss.
I have a buddy that has one in 44 mag and 50 and it takes a day and a half to get it out of the holster it's so big. But I'm good with the 45 caliber and I'm thinking that I will be just as good with the 40 to me a S&W 44 mag has snappy recoil along with my 357 mag so if it whips my arm up like those then maybe a problem but I highly doubt it does.
I absolutely agree. A lot of people claim that the .45 is more of a push than a snap like with the .40, but I don't get it. I don't really mind the .40... I think people who don't like it haven't spent any time with an old school .357 magnum. I have plenty of other opinions on calibers, but I'll keep them to myself since we can't engage in a caliber war here.
YOU WILL LIKE THE 40 S&W
Get several bullets weight and try a box of each. Then decide which one is for you for carry purposes.
Can't go wrong in the long run with this caliber.
I'm surprised BSOE didn't suggest an HK P7 M10 - 40 cal - but they ARE a bit hard to find and $$$... so I get that.
But what a pistol to shoot.
Get several bullets weight and try a box of each. Then decide which one is for you for carry purposes.
Can't go wrong in the long run with this caliber.
I'm surprised BSOE didn't suggest an HK P7 M10 - 40 cal - but they ARE a bit hard to find and $$$... so I get that.
But what a pistol to shoot.
I've shot each caliber and the 45 (at least in a 1911) is fore sure much more of a "push". Not very much muzzle rise and a soft kick. The 9mm definitely snaps in comparison & the 40 will snap moreso that the 9mm, how much depends on the gun. They're all fine calibers and do the job, just depends what your expectation of the gun is
It's mainly gonna be for self defense for the house and for a ccw. I don't do idpa or anything like that just friendly competition among friends. I have no issues with the switch from DA to SA as it is what I prefer. It has the Light LEM with it if I desire to put it in but I don't know enough about it to make the coversion
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The USP was designed around the .40 cartridge. The USP dual recoil spring makes the .40 feel like a cream puff. You will have no issues.
It's also as durable as a tank.
Consider converting to V3 which makes the safety lever a "decocker only" if you are used to that on your Sig. It's one $15 part and easy to do.
And since everyone is going nuts over 9mm these days I'm finding ridiculous deals on .40.
Also a few places have mags for $29 or so. Grab a bunch.
Good luck.
It's also as durable as a tank.
Consider converting to V3 which makes the safety lever a "decocker only" if you are used to that on your Sig. It's one $15 part and easy to do.
And since everyone is going nuts over 9mm these days I'm finding ridiculous deals on .40.
Also a few places have mags for $29 or so. Grab a bunch.
Good luck.
In that case its no big deal at all. Get it and enjoy it, it will for sure be cheaper to shoot than 45 so you can shoot it more
It's really the same I shoot mainly federal aluminum case and 40 and 45 are both the same price but in the case of WWB and REM yeah it's about 3 dollars cheaper
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The only .40 I have shot is a friend's glock about 4 years ago. It was actually my first time shooting any firearm at all, which may have a little to do with recoil perception, but even accounting for that I say that I absolutely agree .40 "snaps" much more than 9mm or .45. Every shot with the .40 whipped my wrists back. I didn't like shooting it at all, and previously said if I never shot .40 again I'd be fine with that. I have recently resolved to go rent one or two and give it another chance here soon. The possibility of having a .40/.357 intrigues me, along with the pretty fantastic prices .40s are falling to these days. .45 generally feels like someone lightly punching me in the palm. Mostly the same characteristic as 9mm, just harder.
23 and 27 are some of the hardest guns to shoot well. I don't like the "snappy" term, not sure what it means, but I know that a standard .40 requires more effort to turn in the same performance than a standard pressure .45. Even .357SIG needs more effort. Bullet holes and timers don't lie.
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