This or the H&K USP40The original 229
In .40 S&W...lotta good recommendations listed above - Beretta, Glock, H&K, Sig Sauer, etc.
All good guns that have gotten the job done for many years...
I do concur with the 'it was designed as a service round...keep it in a service-sized pistol'...
It does handle better in a service-sized pistol, including the Glock 23, but I've carried and shot .40 S&W in the Glock 27 subcompact-sized pistol for years and have had no issues with it. It does have a bit more felt-recoil than a 9mm, but with practice, that can be managed. I also like heavier calibers, such as .454 Casull, so maybe I'm a bit more used to handling a heavier recoil which is why the .40 S&W in a subcompact-sized pistol doesn't bother me as much???
I will say this, if you get something in Glock - and the new Gen 5 Glock 22 and 23, with the heavier (or more 'robust' slide) designed to handle the heavier recoil - felt recoil is mitigated a bit just because of the heavier slide.
If you get a Gen 2-4 Glock 22 or 23, you would have the option to add a .357 SIG barrel and/or a 9mm conversion barrel to it and then shoot multiple calibers through one handgun!
A lot of it is what you're going to feel comfortable with...so if you can get to a range where you can rent a few different .40 S&W pistols, and shoot them, you might have a better idea of what is more comfortable for you and help take you in a direction you want to go with it?
I'm with you on this...I got out of .357 SIG back after the '09 economic meltdown and had to sell off a bunch of stuff to pay bills. I was a teacher, who had just switched school districts, and got caught in the economic downturn crunch!For a long time, I considered the G23 to be the epitome of an EDC handgun. It’s really good, but then I found the P229 and P226 and now the G23 feels awkward and odd to me. A plus with the P229 and P226 is that it’s just a barrel swap from shooting .357 Sig. The Glock is as well, but while the .357 Sig is a sweet round through the Sigs, it feels sharp to me in a Glock. I hesitate to say snappy because it’s different than snappy.
Right now, I have a P229 Legion that was bought in .40, but is carried with a .357 Sig barrel on my hip as I type this. Love this setup