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.40 Super

December 15, 2023

The .40 Super is a powerful automatic pistol cartridge developed in 1996 and introduced to the market by Triton Cartridge. The cartridge was co-developed by Fernando Coelho and Tom Burczynski.

.40 Super
TypePistol
Place of originUnited States
Production history
Designed1996
ManufacturerTriton Cartridge
Specifications
Parent case.45 Winchester Magnum
Case typeRimless, bottleneck
Bullet diameter.400 in (10.2 mm)
Base diameter.471 in (12.0 mm)
Rim diameter.475 in (12.1 mm)
Rim thickness.049 in (1.2 mm)
Case length.988 in (25.1 mm)
Primer typeSmall pistol magnum or small rifle magnum
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy
135 gr (9 g) JHP 1,800 ft/s (550 m/s) 971 ft⋅lbf (1,316 J)
140 gr (9 g) Solid Cu 1,600 ft/s (490 m/s) 795 ft⋅lbf (1,078 J)
200 gr (13 g) XTP 1,400 ft/s (430 m/s) 870 ft⋅lbf (1,180 J)
220 gr (14 g) WFNHCGC 1,350 ft/s (410 m/s) 890 ft⋅lbf (1,210 J)

It never attained mainstream success, Triton Cartridge folded, and supplies and support is now very limited.[1]

History and design edit

In 1994 Triton Cartridge, an ammunition company based in upstate NY, released a cartridge called the .45 Super. Essentially, the .45 Super is based on a .451 Detonics[2] case trimmed to .45 ACP length. Pioneered by writers Dean Grennell and the late Tom Ferguson, the .45 Super raised the performance level for .45 ACP-chambered autos beyond that of the .45 ACP+P and even the 10mm Auto.

 
Triton logo

With the availability of the strong .45 Super cartridge case, in January 1996 Fernando Coelho (president and founder of Triton Cartridge) and Tom Burczynski (inventor of Hydra-Shok, Starfire and Quik-Shok bullets) began work on a new, more radical cartridge. Based on a .45 Super necked down to .40 caliber, the new cartridge began to take shape.

Necking a .45 ACP to .40 caliber was nothing new. Before the public debut of the .40 S&W, Charles Petty, a well-known and respected writer, had already ventured into the bottleneck arena. His cartridge, called the "10mm Centaur", was based on a .45 ACP case necked to .40 caliber using 10 mm dies. Prior to that, Dean Grennell took .451[2] Detonics cases and necked them down to 9 mm, calling it the ".38/45 Hard Head". In 1984 J.D. Jones of SSK Industries created a wildcat based on the full length .451 Detonics Magnum case necked to hold the 170 JHP .41 caliber bullet designed for the 41 Remington Magnum. He called this wildcat the 41 Avenger... SSK offered 41 Avenger barrels with case forming and reloading dies as a kit for the Colt 1911...

Petty and Tony Rumore (Tromix) were major contributors in the initial load development for Triton's new cartridge. During that time, Triton began closely examining the specific attributes of the cartridge (feed reliability, case strength, down-range ballistic performance, etc.). In order to maximize the performance potential and reliability of the new cartridge, it was decided to lengthen the cartridge case from .45 ACP (.898 in) to 10 mm (.992 in) length. By trimming .45 Winchester Magnum brass to 10 mm case length and necking them to .40 caliber, the .40 Super began to take final shape.

 
.40 Super ammunition box

Working closely with Starline Brass Company, more testing was conducted on the cartridge case. These tests led to further improvements. A small primer pocket replaced the large primer pocket. This allowed the use of small pistol magnum or small rifle primers and helped control primer flow. The final improvement came with the increased thickness of the cartridge case wall from the web area up to the beginning of the shoulder. This created a cartridge case stronger than the .45 Winchester Magnum cartridge case.

The .40 Super cartridge case was designed for a balance of strength and powder capacity. To maximize bullet pull and overall feeding characteristics, the case has a neck length of .175 in. The shoulder angle is an optimum 25 degrees. The neck yields more precise bullet alignment than can be achieved using a cartridge with a shorter neck. This translates to increased accuracy. The pressure limit for factory .40 Super ammunition from Triton was 37,000 PSI, well below the strength limits of the cartridge case.

The .40 Super drives a 135 grain bullet to 1,800 feet per second while generating less chamber pressure than the 9x23mm Winchester. With a 200-grain bullet, the .40 Super delivers more foot-pounds of energy at 100 yards than the .45 ACP does at the muzzle.

The original plan was to market the .40 Super as the .40 SIG, the big brother to the .357 SIG. The cartridge was introduced in 1996 to Michael Bussard, the assistant to the president of SigArms, and he was interested in the cartridge for use in the P220 pistol. Safari Arms also produced a couple of barrels marked "Triton 10", presumably prior to Triton selecting the .40 Super moniker.

Initial prototype .40 Super brass actually had a headstamp that read, ".45 Colt" with the second batch of prototype cases stamped "45 WinMag". Starline Brass, the manufacturer of the .40 Super cartridge case, used .45 Colt forming dies and later the 45 Win Mag dies. Ultimately the headstamp was updated to read, "Triton .40 Super" and the previous large pistol primer pocket was changed to accept small rifle and pistol primers.

 
.40 Super case dimensions

Ammunition and handloading edit

From a reloader standpoint, there was tremendous versatility in the .40 Super. Bullet weights on the market included: 125, 135, 150, 155, 165, 170, 180, 190, 200 and 220 grains. Loads were developed with a dozen powders. Small pistol magnum or small rifle primers could be utilized. Brass was available from both Triton and Starline Brass Company.

Many semi-automatic pistols can accommodate the .40 Super, especially those already chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge are the easiest to convert. This is accomplished by simply swapping out the .45 ACP barrel with the .40 Super barrel and upgrading the recoil spring system with a heavy duty spring. Existing .45 ACP magazines are utilized with no modifications.

Handguns converted to .40 Super include the S&W 4506, Glock 21, Glock 30, SIG P220, FNH FNP-45, FNH FNX-45, HK USP, Tanfoglio Witness and the 1911 Government Model (and its variants). Handguns set up for the .45 Super cartridge only need a barrel swap. Handguns chambered for the .400 Cor-Bon can have their barrels rechambered to .40 Super.Gun World magazine (July 2000 ed.). 2000.

Factory-chambered 1911 handguns were introduced by STI. Barrel reamers were produced by Clymer Mfg and Pacific Tool and Gauge. Barrels and conversions were available from Bar-Sto Barrels, Jarvis, Inc., Storm Lake Machine, Cylinder & Slide, Al's Custom, Inc., Morris Custom, LaRocca Gunworks, and EFK Fire Dragon. Reloading dies are available from RCBS and Redding.

 
.40 Super ballistics comparison

Current status edit

The .40 Super cartridge lost momentum when Triton Cartridge was sold and later closed. Double Tap Ammo and Underwood Ammo still offer loaded ammunition for the .40 Super. Today brass is still available from Starline Brass Company and DoubleTap. 1911 conversion kits or barrels are no longer available as of 2013, the last known source was Bar-Sto Precision Machine. Lone Wolf Distributors and RockYourGlock still offer the conversion barrel for a Glock 21 and you must use a Glock 21 10-round single-stack magazine in order for the ammo to feed correctly, a double-stack 13-round magazine will not feed reliably.

Related rounds edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Gun World magazine (July 2000 ed.). 2000.
  2. ^ a b . Z3BigDaddy. 2012-08-05. Archived from the original on 2015-06-23. Retrieved 2015-06-24.

External links edit

  • The Near Death of the .40 Super <link broken>
  • , Guns & Ammo
  • [1], Underwood Ammo .40 Super

December 15, 2023
super, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january, 2013, learn. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources 40 Super news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2013 Learn how and when to remove this template message The 40 Super is a powerful automatic pistol cartridge developed in 1996 and introduced to the market by Triton Cartridge The cartridge was co developed by Fernando Coelho and Tom Burczynski 40 SuperTypePistolPlace of originUnited StatesProduction historyDesigned1996ManufacturerTriton CartridgeSpecificationsParent case 45 Winchester MagnumCase typeRimless bottleneckBullet diameter 400 in 10 2 mm Base diameter 471 in 12 0 mm Rim diameter 475 in 12 1 mm Rim thickness 049 in 1 2 mm Case length 988 in 25 1 mm Primer typeSmall pistol magnum or small rifle magnumBallistic performanceBullet mass type Velocity Energy135 gr 9 g JHP 1 800 ft s 550 m s 971 ft lbf 1 316 J 140 gr 9 g Solid Cu 1 600 ft s 490 m s 795 ft lbf 1 078 J 200 gr 13 g XTP 1 400 ft s 430 m s 870 ft lbf 1 180 J 220 gr 14 g WFNHCGC 1 350 ft s 410 m s 890 ft lbf 1 210 J It never attained mainstream success Triton Cartridge folded and supplies and support is now very limited 1 Contents 1 History and design 2 Ammunition and handloading 3 Current status 4 Related rounds 5 See also 6 References 7 External linksHistory and design editIn 1994 Triton Cartridge an ammunition company based in upstate NY released a cartridge called the 45 Super Essentially the 45 Super is based on a 451 Detonics 2 case trimmed to 45 ACP length Pioneered by writers Dean Grennell and the late Tom Ferguson the 45 Super raised the performance level for 45 ACP chambered autos beyond that of the 45 ACP P and even the 10mm Auto nbsp Triton logoWith the availability of the strong 45 Super cartridge case in January 1996 Fernando Coelho president and founder of Triton Cartridge and Tom Burczynski inventor of Hydra Shok Starfire and Quik Shok bullets began work on a new more radical cartridge Based on a 45 Super necked down to 40 caliber the new cartridge began to take shape Necking a 45 ACP to 40 caliber was nothing new Before the public debut of the 40 S amp W Charles Petty a well known and respected writer had already ventured into the bottleneck arena His cartridge called the 10mm Centaur was based on a 45 ACP case necked to 40 caliber using 10 mm dies Prior to that Dean Grennell took 451 2 Detonics cases and necked them down to 9 mm calling it the 38 45 Hard Head In 1984 J D Jones of SSK Industries created a wildcat based on the full length 451 Detonics Magnum case necked to hold the 170 JHP 41 caliber bullet designed for the 41 Remington Magnum He called this wildcat the 41 Avenger SSK offered 41 Avenger barrels with case forming and reloading dies as a kit for the Colt 1911 Petty and Tony Rumore Tromix were major contributors in the initial load development for Triton s new cartridge During that time Triton began closely examining the specific attributes of the cartridge feed reliability case strength down range ballistic performance etc In order to maximize the performance potential and reliability of the new cartridge it was decided to lengthen the cartridge case from 45 ACP 898 in to 10 mm 992 in length By trimming 45 Winchester Magnum brass to 10 mm case length and necking them to 40 caliber the 40 Super began to take final shape nbsp 40 Super ammunition boxWorking closely with Starline Brass Company more testing was conducted on the cartridge case These tests led to further improvements A small primer pocket replaced the large primer pocket This allowed the use of small pistol magnum or small rifle primers and helped control primer flow The final improvement came with the increased thickness of the cartridge case wall from the web area up to the beginning of the shoulder This created a cartridge case stronger than the 45 Winchester Magnum cartridge case The 40 Super cartridge case was designed for a balance of strength and powder capacity To maximize bullet pull and overall feeding characteristics the case has a neck length of 175 in The shoulder angle is an optimum 25 degrees The neck yields more precise bullet alignment than can be achieved using a cartridge with a shorter neck This translates to increased accuracy The pressure limit for factory 40 Super ammunition from Triton was 37 000 PSI well below the strength limits of the cartridge case The 40 Super drives a 135 grain bullet to 1 800 feet per second while generating less chamber pressure than the 9x23mm Winchester With a 200 grain bullet the 40 Super delivers more foot pounds of energy at 100 yards than the 45 ACP does at the muzzle The original plan was to market the 40 Super as the 40 SIG the big brother to the 357 SIG The cartridge was introduced in 1996 to Michael Bussard the assistant to the president of SigArms and he was interested in the cartridge for use in the P220 pistol Safari Arms also produced a couple of barrels marked Triton 10 presumably prior to Triton selecting the 40 Super moniker Initial prototype 40 Super brass actually had a headstamp that read 45 Colt with the second batch of prototype cases stamped 45 WinMag Starline Brass the manufacturer of the 40 Super cartridge case used 45 Colt forming dies and later the 45 Win Mag dies Ultimately the headstamp was updated to read Triton 40 Super and the previous large pistol primer pocket was changed to accept small rifle and pistol primers nbsp 40 Super case dimensionsAmmunition and handloading editFrom a reloader standpoint there was tremendous versatility in the 40 Super Bullet weights on the market included 125 135 150 155 165 170 180 190 200 and 220 grains Loads were developed with a dozen powders Small pistol magnum or small rifle primers could be utilized Brass was available from both Triton and Starline Brass Company Many semi automatic pistols can accommodate the 40 Super especially those already chambered for the 45 ACP cartridge are the easiest to convert This is accomplished by simply swapping out the 45 ACP barrel with the 40 Super barrel and upgrading the recoil spring system with a heavy duty spring Existing 45 ACP magazines are utilized with no modifications Handguns converted to 40 Super include the S amp W 4506 Glock 21 Glock 30 SIG P220 FNH FNP 45 FNH FNX 45 HK USP Tanfoglio Witness and the 1911 Government Model and its variants Handguns set up for the 45 Super cartridge only need a barrel swap Handguns chambered for the 400 Cor Bon can have their barrels rechambered to 40 Super Gun World magazine July 2000 ed 2000 Factory chambered 1911 handguns were introduced by STI Barrel reamers were produced by Clymer Mfg and Pacific Tool and Gauge Barrels and conversions were available from Bar Sto Barrels Jarvis Inc Storm Lake Machine Cylinder amp Slide Al s Custom Inc Morris Custom LaRocca Gunworks and EFK Fire Dragon Reloading dies are available from RCBS and Redding nbsp 40 Super ballistics comparisonCurrent status editThe 40 Super cartridge lost momentum when Triton Cartridge was sold and later closed Double Tap Ammo and Underwood Ammo still offer loaded ammunition for the 40 Super Today brass is still available from Starline Brass Company and DoubleTap 1911 conversion kits or barrels are no longer available as of 2013 the last known source was Bar Sto Precision Machine Lone Wolf Distributors and RockYourGlock still offer the conversion barrel for a Glock 21 and you must use a Glock 21 10 round single stack magazine in order for the ammo to feed correctly a double stack 13 round magazine will not feed reliably Related rounds edit 45 Super 45 Winchester Magnum 45 ACP 41 Avenger 400 Corbon 357 SIG 38 45 Clerke 38 CasullSee also editList of handgun cartridgesReferences edit Gun World magazine July 2000 ed 2000 a b Short History of the 451 Detonics Magnum Z3BigDaddy 2012 08 05 Archived from the original on 2015 06 23 Retrieved 2015 06 24 External links editThe Near Death of the 40 Super lt link broken gt 1911 Hot Rods Guns amp Ammo 1 Underwood Ammo 40 Super Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 40 Super amp oldid 1188373062, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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