Buffalo Bore 40 S&W 140gr Barnes TAC-XP – Dependable Standard Pressure Load

Description

The Buffalo Bore 40 S&W 140gr Barnes TAC-XP is the heavier of Buffalo Bore’s two lead free 40 S&W loads. A 140 grain solid copper bullet at 1300 fps produces roughly 525 ft-lbs, and like its lighter stablemate it is loaded to standard pressure rather than +P. Flash suppressed powder. Twenty rounds per box, item 23E/20.

• Buffalo Bore 40 S&W 140gr Barnes TAC-XP Overview
• 40 S&W Deep Penetrating Ammo Ballistics
• Why The 140 Grain TAC-XP Copper Bullet Balances Well
• Specifications
• Range Notes For This Lead Free 40 Cal Carry Load

Buffalo Bore 40 S&W 140gr Barnes TAC-XP Overview

The projectile is a Barnes TAC-XP, turned from a solid piece of copper with a deep hollow nose. There is no jacket to strip and no lead core to separate, so it expands into copper petals and keeps essentially all of its weight after it opens.

Choosing 140 grains over the 125 grain load in the same line trades about 125 fps for fifteen more grains of bullet. On the energy chart the two are close, 525 against 563, but they behave differently once they arrive, and that is the whole reason both exist.

It is standard pressure, which is worth saying plainly. Nothing about the Buffalo Bore 40 S&W 140gr Barnes TAC-XP is hard on your pistol, nothing requires a +P rating, and any 40 S&W handgun in sound working order can shoot it.

40 S&W Deep Penetrating Ammo Ballistics

1300 fps with a 140 grain bullet works out to roughly 525 ft-lbs. For context, a conventional 180 grain 40 S&W load at around 1000 fps makes about 400, so this is a meaningful step up while staying inside normal pressure.

Buffalo Bore chronographs in real pistols rather than laboratory test barrels. Their published figures for the 125 grain load in this line showed a three inch Kahr producing essentially the same velocity as a 4.7 inch Taurus, which is a useful reminder that barrel length alone does not determine what a given gun will do.

Expect a service pistol to land close to the published number rather than well above it. That is the usual pattern with Buffalo Bore data, and it is a good deal more honest than the test barrel figures printed on many boxes of 40 S&W deep penetrating ammo.

Why The 140 Grain TAC-XP Copper Bullet Balances Well

A heavier bullet carries its momentum further. Once two bullets have expanded to roughly the same frontal area, the heavier one has more mass behind that area and will generally drive deeper. That is the argument for the 140 over the 125 in a single sentence.

It matters most when the bullet has to work for it. Through a heavy coat, through an arm, or at an awkward angle, a 140 grain TAC-XP copper bullet has more in reserve than a lighter one that has already spent some of its energy opening up.

Recoil sits in a comfortable place. It is firmer than the 125 grain load and still considerably softer than a full weight 180 grain bullet, because recoil scales with bullet mass and 140 grains is a long way from 180. Most shooters find this the easiest of the three to run quickly.

And it keeps the things that make this line worth buying: solid copper construction that will not come apart, and a flash suppressed powder so that a low flash 40 Smith and Wesson ammunition option does not have to be a separate decision.

Specifications

Range Notes For This Lead Free 40 Cal Carry Load

There is no pressure caveat, which simplifies things. Any sound 40 S&W pistol is a candidate, and you are not shortening the life of the gun by carrying it.

Confirm function with a box before you rely on it. 140 grains is lighter than the 165 and 180 grain loads most 40 S&W pistols were set up around, and in a gun with an unusually heavy recoil spring that is worth verifying rather than assuming.

Check point of impact. A lighter bullet leaves the barrel sooner and shoots a little flatter, so fixed sight pistols regulated for heavy bullets may print somewhat differently with this lead free 40 cal carry load. Find out on paper at your realistic distance.

Practise with inexpensive 180 grain ammunition and confirm with this. The recoil difference between the two is small enough that your training carries over cleanly, which is not always true when you jump between very different kinds of 40 S&W deep penetrating ammo.

Low Flash 40 Smith And Wesson Ammunition Availability

This low flash 40 Smith and Wesson ammunition is in stock and ready to ship from MAG5 Firearms, a family owned FFL dealer in Collegeville, Pennsylvania. Ammunition orders ship to most states, and local customers are welcome to pick up in the shop. If you need case quantities or another Buffalo Bore load, call us and we will check what our distributors have on hand.

Manufacturer details are on the Buffalo Bore site. For a lighter, faster bullet in the same line see the 40 S&W 125gr Barnes TAC-XP. In 9mm, compare the 9mm +P+ 115gr TAC-XP, or browse our full ammunition selection.