Personally I am a 40 caliber shooter. Fact is I like the caliber and have 3 semi's in the 40 and shoot the 40 in my 610 revolver. As for that comment about it not being well supported, the 40 S&W was about the only caliber that was easy to find during the post Obama ammo droubt. It's also available in bullet weights ranging from 135 grain up to 200 grain. IMO it's an exceptionally well supported caliber and may overtake the 9mm at some point in the US.

For practice I am now exclusively using the Federal Champion 180 gn. from Walmart. At 14.97 per box it's hard to beat the price and I've found it to be reliable, accurate, and clean shooting. Granted it is a bit of a powder puff compared to many SD loads but I really don't think it's much of an issue at typical Defense ranges.

My carry choice is the Speer Gold Dot 165 gr. load. In my P239 the difference in both the loudness of the report and the recoil is quite distinct. However I ran 50 rounds of Gold Dots downrange today and the POI only shifted about 1.5 inches down at 15 yards. I was also shooting groups that were nearly the equal of the Federal at the same rate of fire. BTW, followed up with 100 rounds of the Federal and the difference between the two was noticeable.

However, IMO putting in the time and putting rounds downrange is a lot more critical than the specifics of what you carry. While I would prefer to shoot the Speer Lawman companion round to the Gold Dots, that ammo isn't cheap or easy to find. Quite simply, shoot what you can afford to shoot and that you can find. Then spend a bit of time shooting your carry load from time to time so you stay aware of the difference in how it performs.

Final note, my 610 is equipped with a reflex sight and I use it often for long range practice. On a good day I can group the 610 between 2.5 and 3 inches at 35 yards from a rest with that cheap Federal, so I really don't have any complaints about it's accuracy. Fact is that if I were a bit steadier the 610 might shoot under 2 inches, so IMO it's a pretty straight shooting load even if it is cheap.