What does S&W stand for on .40 S&W?

[Vtwin]

So I'm still trying to figure this out.. I know that S&W normally stands for Smith and Wesson.... But it wouldn't make any sense to me if you had an XD .40 S&W (Smith & Wesson)... To me that's just a contradiction...

Also why are the round for my 9mm called Luger? I know Luger is a manufacture (or used to be... not sure if they still are in business)....

Maybe I'm still green, but can anyone help me out here....????

Thanks!

[NiK]

Here's a good history of the .40 Smith and Wesson from wikipedia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.40_S&W

The .40 S&W cartridge evolved from the 10 mm Auto pistol ammunition which had been adopted by the FBI, but turned out to be too powerful. The FBI started using a lowered charge version of the 10 mm Auto ammunition, a subsonic load often referred to as the "FBI load" or "10 mm lite." Smith & Wesson redesigned the cartridge to make it shorter while maintaining the performance of the FBI load. The .40 S&W cartridge quickly surpassed the 10 mm cartridge in popularity and units sold. With the .40 S&W being shorter than the 10 mm Auto and approximately the same length as the 9 mm Luger cartridge, many existing 9 mm Luger pistols could be adapted by their respective manufacturers to fire the new cartridge.

In a great irony, Austrian manufacturer GLOCK beat Smith & Wesson to the market with a pistol chambered in .40 S&W, the GLOCK 22 and 23. GLOCK's rapid introduction was aided by its engineering of a pistol chambered in 10 mm Auto only a short time earlier, the GLOCK 20. The GLOCK 20 was and still is considered an excellent pistol in 10 mm Auto, but has sold vastly fewer units than the .40 S&W GLOCKs.

Initial acceptance of the .40 S&W was slow, since the round was considerably less powerful than the 10mm Auto it was based on. This lead to derogatory names such as ".40 Short and Wimpy" or ".40 Short and Weak." It was, however, a ballistically better choice than the 9mm for police and defensive use, and it quickly gained popularity once pistol manufacturers began to adapt their 9mm pistol designs to create additional models chambering .40 S&W..

[NiK]

Originally Posted by Vtwin

Also why are the round for my 9mm called Luger?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9mm_Luger

The 9 mm Parabellum pistol cartridge (9 x 19 mm Parabellum, 9 x 19 mm NATO) was introduced by Deutsche Waffen und Munitions Fabriken for their Pistole Parabellum. It was a higher power version of the earlier 7.65 mm Luger Parabellum, itself developed from a earlier 7.65 cartridge Borchardt cartridge. It is commonly known by the DWM worker, firearms designer Georg Luger who was one of the primary people to work on the round and the pistol.

....Based upon his earlier 7.65 mm Parabellum pistol cartridge, Georg Luger designed the 9 mm Luger cartridge at the German company Deutsche Waffen-und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) and presented a 9 mm version of his Pistole Parabellum to the British Small Arms Committee in 1902 via Vickers Limited. Three 9 mm Pistole Parabellum prototype pistols were delivered to the US Army for testing at Springfield Arsenal in mid 1903. The German military showed an interest in a 9 mm version of the Parabellum in March 1904. The word "Parabellum" comes from the Latin phrase "si vis pacem, para bellum" or "if you want peace, prepare for war".

[JD McDorce]

It's nice to see that wiki makes no mention of Winchester in the development of the .40S&W cartridge, as I imagine that in a similar fashion many will forget (or even know) about Speer's involvement in the development of the .45GAP...

[NiK]

Originally Posted by JD McDorce

It's nice to see that wiki makes no mention of Winchester in the development of the .40S&W cartridge, as I imagine that in a similar fashion many will forget (or even know) about Speer's involvement in the development of the .45GAP...

I think they did, but I paraphrased the article, pasting in only a couple paragraphs

[mr0w1]

Originally Posted by JD McDorce

It's nice to see that wiki makes no mention of Winchester in the development of the .40S&W cartridge, as I imagine that in a similar fashion many will forget (or even know) about Speer's involvement in the development of the .45GAP...

If they did, just go add it. That's the beauty of Wikipedia; you can add it, but if you add BS, someone else will call you on it.

[Brickboy240]

Yep, they have you covered. Just like the 308 Winchester - the 40S&W was named after the company that may not have developed the round, but offered the first firearms FOR that caliber.

Strange, because the 44 Magnum is technically called the 44 Remington Magnum, although Ruger beat S&W in bringing out their Blackhawk in that caliber, instead of the S&W Model 29 being the original launching pad for the caliber. Most people don't know that, but it's true...Ruger beat S&W to market with the first pistols to shoot the 44 Rem Mag. Remington developed the round and THEY got the credit in the round's name.

Cartridge names and how they got the name is an interesting topic. You can learn alot about firearms history and sometimes history in general by studying these things.

- Brickboy240