quote:

Originally posted by Hobie:
astonished that you'd go out intending to use the .40 S&W for a hunt (NOTE: illegal in VA),

Hey Hobie,
the VA game law reads that any pistol or revolver over .23 cal and generating over 350ft#'s at the muzzle is legal for deer.
Every Federal hydra shock load is over that.

So why is the .40S&W illegal??

Browning Guy,

Did You ever get any deer or hogs with that forty????
CDNN had a hell of a sale on FN's gloss blue, fixed sights in forty. $412 shipped, so bought one. It has fast become one of my favorite guns to grab when I take a hike or walk the dogs in the hills.

FN in MT

would i use one probably not i have better guns for that duty. Would it kill a deer? certainly it would with proper shot placement. Id feel more confortable with a .40 using hardcast then a 357 using any bullet and 357s have killed alot of deer and game even bigger.

lighten up on old hobie too. THe guy did ask for opinions and hobie gave him his. Theres allways differing opinions on everything and i dont expect people to agree with every thing i say and if you dont want to here negitives dont ask the question if you think you allready know the answer. He may have gotten a little carried away with the way he answered it but i sometimes do that myself.

Use the heavier bullets and I'd bet it works fine. I have exactly zero experience with a .40, but have shot nine or 10 with a .45 ACP with no problems. It doesn't work as well as a .41 Mag revolver either, but dead is dead, usually run 75 yards and fall over. I just used a flat nosed SWC 200 grain cast bullet in mine.

I'd say the biggest challenge isn't an issue of power but rather how accurately you can shoot the pistol. Most .40 pistol have a fairly short sight radius.

If you're don't reload, try out DoubleTap ammo. Mike has a 200gr XTP at 1050 fps which would make a fine deer load. His 180gr Gold Dot runs at 1100 fps and should work also.

He has a 135 too that's fairly fast at 1375 fps, and I've heard of several folks having good results using 135's in general. My bet would be on 200gr XTP, which could even work as a hog and black bear load.