This load generated 1,209 fps out of a Glock 22 and the bullet expanded to almost .75 inch in 10-percent ordnance gelatin. High velocity combined with wide expansion always equals a lot of tissue damage. The SilverTip jacket is a crease-fold design, which almost always provides very reliable expansion in soft tissue. The .40 S&W cartridge, and especially the 155-grain loads, appeal to both sides of the stopping-power crowd. You get the high velocity those that like the 9 mm praise and you get the wide expansion the big-bore guys like to offer as their reason to shoot a .45. When it comes to ammunition and bullet selection, everything is a compromise, and the .40 S&W, 155-grain SilverTip load might be the ultimate compromise load. In Evan Marshall's "Street Stoppers" book, this load is rated as delivering one-shot-stops 91 percent of the time. If I carried a .40 S&W, I would load it with 155-grain SilverTips.
Shooting ResultsLoad | IV (fps) | PEN (inches) | ED (inch) | RW (grains) |
.40 S&W 155-grain Winchester SilverTip | 1,209 | 10.25 | .76 | 155 |