You guys have been all over the map and no one has mentioned the .357 Sig. If you go auto loader then the .357 Sig is a good choice. There was a time when the ammo were not so easy to find. Not so now. It has great ballistics, is cheaper to shoot then the .45 and most .40 rounds. Better still, many auto loaders in .357 Sig will permit the exchange of the barrel to .40. Even the mags accommodate the .40. On a related note. I just found out that the H&K Compact 40 (and I assume other models) will shoot 9mm just fine with a 9mm barrel dropped in. But if you go revolver, get a .357 mag and shoot .38s all day. Load up .357s for night. I know some deputies that still carry .357 mag wheel guns just because of the round.
A third for this round. Absolutely love it. The bottleneck cartridge aids in smooth feeding and I've yet to have any failures to feed, stovepipes, or any other type of malfunctions (through my USP Compact). I've shot multiple thousands of rounds through mine.
The round is vicious, penetrates like a beast (car blocks, doors, etc) which is one reason the Secret Service carries it. In something like Speer Golddot or Glaser rounds it has better terminal ballistics than a .45ACP while reducing the penetration potential. A.k.a, "make the bad man stop" happens a lot faster.
My roommate has a .40 S&W in a USP Compact and I can drop his barrel in and shoot with no problems while using my same mags.
The only downside, the round has a lot of snap to it. I wouldn't say more total recoil, it just peaks faster than a .40. That's in part to the higher pressure of the bullet. One thing to consider on recoil is the platform you're shooting a bullet out of. Any bullet will have more "perceived" (not total) recoil in a smaller/lighter gun, i.e. a USP Compact versus a full size USP, simply because there is less mass in the gun to dampen out the recoil from the shot.
Either way, if you want a heck of a round, this is the way to go.
