[dwsmithjr]

Now .357sig, that is sharp! If you've shot 10mm just about anything else can be comfortable.

As I understood it, .40S&W was developed as a compromise over 10mm which in turn was designed to produce the effectiveness of .38 special used at the time by the FBI, but in an auto load handgun. However, 10mm proved to be too much for many of the agents, was abandoned and that gave birth to .40S&W.

It was intended to be the next generation of military, police and self-defense caliber, a succession to 9mm. Then some police went to .40S&W then went back to 9mm. Peoples considered it a "bastard" cartridge and so on. It was something that didn't live up to it's design intention and really wasn't adopted very widely.

I have a couple of .40S&W handguns and have not found them difficult to sharp to shoot but generally have stuck with .45ACP or 10mm apart from revolver calibers. I also have a few 9mm handguns which are certainly more gentle to shoot.