The S&W 940 has made its triumphant return. S&W originally produced the 940 series from 1991 to 1998. The S&W 940 is a J-Frame, 5-shot 9mm revolver that uses moon clips. A 9mm revolver seems a little silly, but when you look at the current price of 9mm ammunition compared to the price of .38 Special and .357 Magnum, it starts to look a lot more appealing.
What’s New With the 940
S&W has rolled out this new variant of the 940 as a Davidson’s exclusive. S&W made some smart design decisions with this pocket rocket. First, as a man who can’t use traditional J-frame sights to save his life, the 940 comes with a rear dovetailed sight that matches with an XS front sight.
This gives me what I feel is a proper sight picture, cleans up my groups, and extends my effective range. Beyond that, the barrel isn’t 1 ⅞ inches, it’s actually 2.17 inches and fluted. This looks quite nice and gives the revolver a striking appearance that works well with the stainless steel frame. The longer barrel allows for a slightly longer ejection rod, which makes punching empties easier.
The 940 is made entirely from stainless steel, which gives it a weight of 23.52 ounces. It’s a little heavy for a J-Frame, but there’s a purpose to the heft. 9mm revolvers famously have crimp jump issues. The more recoil a firearm experiences, the more likely your projectile will jump the crimp. A heavier revolver has less recoil and is less likely to cause crimp jump.
The gun’s topped off with red cherry VZ grips that are a minimalist take and quite grippy. S&W includes three moon clips with each revolver. This new Davidson’s exclusive appears to be quite the pocket rocket.
Live Inventory Price Checker
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Smith & Wesson Model 940 9mm Revolver 2.17" 5rd, Stainless Steel - 14328 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 999.00 |
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Smith & Wesson Model 940 9mm Revolver 2.17" 5rd, Stainless Steel - 14328 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 999.00 |
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HKS Glock/Smith & Wesson Sigma 9mm/.40 S&W Plastic Magazine Speedloader, Black - GL-940 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 15.99 $ 14.19 |
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HKS Glock/Smith & Wesson Sigma 9mm/.40 S&W Plastic Magazine Speedloader, Black - GL-940 | Palmetto State Armory | $ 15.99 $ 14.19 |
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Rocking and Rolling With the 940
One thing to know about 9mm revolvers is that they have a preference for brass-cased ammo. Steel-cased ammo will expand, but not shrink back down; this can lead to ejection issues. You might need to tap the ejection rod with something heavy, and that increases the chance of bending the moon clip.
Moon clips are also a little bit of a hassle. S&W beefed these moon clips up compared to other options, but at the end of the day, they are still thin metal clips. They bend, they break, and should be considered disposable. Much like training magazines, I’d keep one moon clip for carry and carry only.
To increase the life of your moon clips, a moon clip tool is a cheap investment to make. The upside is that moon clips often act like speed loaders and make reloading fairly fast. There’s a good reason so many competition revolvers are cut for moon clips.
The gun is a bit hefty for pocket carry, and I think belt carry makes a bit more sense for this gun. Pair it with a Milt Sparks leather rig, and you’d be carrying concealed in both comfort and style. The weight makes it a little tough for pocket carry, but the grips are well designed for the task with their micro-sized design.
At the Range With the 940
I hope dovetailed sights become the standard for small revolvers. Call it the millennial in me, but I suck with a trench-style rear sight. The dovetailed rear sight matches with the XS front sight and makes it easy to keep all of my shots on a piece of printer paper at 25 yards.
Out to 50 yards, I’m able to hit IPSC steel three to four times out of five shots. I’m learning to roll the trigger a bit better, and S&W ensured the 940 had a smooth trigger that rolls nicely. At seven yards, I can fire all five rounds rapidly into an IPSC-sized A-zone in a little over two seconds without a miss.
The big, bright front sight is easy to pick up from the draw and makes it easy to put rounds on target quickly. The only thing I feel that slows me down is the grips. They are very small and don’t do much to absorb or disperse recoil. The texture is aggressive, so it’s not sliding around in my hand, which is fantastic, but you’re getting a full dose of muzzle rise.
Riding the Recoil
The recoil gets tiresome when shooting for extended range sessions. 200 rounds in a single day beat my hand up a fair bit. (I also got tired of unloading moon clips.) There was no bruising or rubbing, but fatigue from dealing with a good bit of recoil.
The rear design and concealed hammer make it easier to ride high on the gun, which can help when it comes to controlling the gun, and I quickly learned to get my hand up as nice and high as I possibly could.
The 940 had no reliability issues. I didn’t run into light strikes or extraction issues. I kept to brass-cased ammo for the entirety of my testing. I also didn’t run into any crimp jump issues. I mostly shot some basic bare-bones American Eagle 115-grain ammo provided by AmmoToGo. I mixed in some 124-grain JHPs to get things hotter, and still didn’t run into any problems.
The New 940
This new 940 is a great re-release of a 9mm revolver. 9mm revolvers are a fairly small market, so it’s good to see the market grow. The addition of a proper rear sight, a bright front sight, and some strategic design has turned an average J-frame into a well-thought-out concealed carry platform. The new 940 has an MSRP of $999 so it’s not on the cheap side.
It’s a chunk of American steel that costs a chunk of American green.
About Travis Pike
Travis Pike is a former Marine Machine Gunner, a lifelong firearms enthusiast, and now a regular guy who likes to shoot, write, and find ways to combine the two. He holds an NRA certification as a Basic Pistol Instructor and is the world’s Okayest firearm’s instructor.
A 9mm handgun that holds 5 rounds for around a grand, sounds like a great idea, NOT. Theres so many semi auto nines for sale for less money and you don’t need a special tool to load them.
Attractive gun. I wish Travis would have disclosed the name of the tool for loading and unloading the moon clips. I might pick one up when or if the price comes down a tad bit.
I think the little missus would appreciate this revolver. She is a wheel gun fan.
Better to brig back the rimmed Federal 9mm round and shrink the S&W down to match it.
This looks like an answer to a question nobody asked.