Fun 40S&W Pistol

[Lunker]

During the last two big ammo shortages, many of us noticed that 9mm and 45ACP were nowhere to be found, but 40 S&W was usually on the shelf. I am pretty well stocked with reloading supplies for 9mm, but it is nice to have a gun where you can always find ammo for it regardless of the political environment.
With that in mind, I am looking for a do-it-all semi auto pistol in 40 S&W. it should be accurate, reliable and durable, but mostly it should be fun. It won’t come out of the safe too often, but when it does I want to enjoy shooting it. I welcome your suggestions…

Here are some super non-fun 40 pistols (from my experience only):
Glock 27
Glock 23
HK P30 (surprised at how snappy this was)
Beretta 96 (too bad. I am a Beretta da/sa fanboy)

I do have a few early leaders in my search:
PX4 - i truly love shooting my 9mm, but have not tried in 40.
M&P40 2.0 - I have been shooting my M&P9’s more than any other pistol, and they are my favorite of the striker guns.
And I regret having sold my old CZ P06. That was a great pistol. I don’t see them for sale very often though.

[GJM]

The Gen 5 22/23 are completely different animals than early generations, and are much more fun to shoot.

[OfficeCat]

P229.

[Lunker]

P229.

I just wish those classic metal Sigs weren’t so righty oriented. I used to own a west german P210, but sold it.
I have a Sig 226 Legion SAO in 9 mm, and that is a beauty and a great shooter. It is the gun people reach for when I take friends shooting. I wish Sig made the 229 Legion SAO in 40.

[HeavyDuty]

Have you shot a Gen5 23 or 27? They are a totally different experience compared to earlier Glock .40s. My 27.5 is actually pleasant.

Edit - GJM beat me to it.

[revchuck38]

I'd go with the M&P. The 1.0s can usually be found as LE trade-ins for under $300 and don't suffer from the accuracy issues the 9x19 1.0s had. Magazines are relatively cheap too. I have an M&P40 1.0 with a TLR 1 that pulls full-time nightstand duty.

[Lunker]

Have you shot a Gen5 23 or 27? They are a totally different experience compared to earlier Glock .40s. My 27.5 is actually pleasant.

Edit - GJM beat me to it.

I haven’t. I still own a GEN5 G34 and 43X, but I ditched the rest of my Glocks for M&Ps.
It’s good to know Glock improved the product and the experience. The Gen 3/4 40 guns were unpleasant.


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[Le Français]

You didn’t say affordable, so how about a 2011? Since the .40 fell out of favor with LE agencies, USPSA Limited Division is where .40 actually has a place.

On the other end of the race gun vs. reliability spectrum, I would go with an HK USP40 or USP40c.

[Lunker]

You didn’t say affordable, so how about a 2011? Since the .40 fell out of favor with LE agencies, USPSA Limited Division is where .40 actually has a place.

On the other end of the race gun vs. reliability spectrum, I would go with an HK USP40 or USP40c.

To me, HK’s are one of those guns you shoot because you know they will work. But except for my P7 (another regretful sale) I would never call any of them “fun”.


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[Ichiban]

I have a Sig 1911 in 40S&W that is just a joy to shoot and scary accurate. The only 40S&W that I have left and I don't think I'm ever getting rid of it.