I shoot more 40S&W than anything and I really like the balance of power & capacity. True, I was initially forced into adopting it for competition, but I really have become a fan after years of loading & shooting it.
The 40 has immense versatility (esp if you roll your own) and can send 135gr or 140's slow or with impressive speed. Push 200gr like a 45Auto or send 180's or 165's hot. Load it up or load it down using a wide variety of powders.... all with more capacity than 45 & more punch than 9. It has versatility.
.40S&W is my preferred semiauto round, and I also like its beefier brother the 10mm. I see them as the .38Spl+P and .357Magnum of the semiauto world. I am also a big fan of the 1911 pistol. I see nothing wrong with a .40 in a 1911, although I'd prefer it in a compact version, like a Commander or Officer sized pistol and save the full size 1911 for 10mm and .45Auto (or .38 Super, which would work well in any size 1911). While I don't have a 1911 in .40S&W (yet, but working on it), I do have a MkIII BHP in .40 and find it to be an excellent combination. I have a Ruger plastic gun (SR40C) in .40; it's been my EDC for some years now. I reload, and I've stuck with one size bullet for both my 10mm and my .40s (155 JHP), just driving them at different speeds. In the .40, you can get over 1300 fps and the 10mm will give you almost 1500, both very potent.
Once I find (and I have) a 1911 in .40S&W, I'll have five 1911's, all in different calibers: .45 Auto, 10mm Auto, .38 Super Auto, .40S&W, and 9mm. Why all different? I'd counter that question with , why own 5 of the same gun, all in the same caliber? Maybe, as
smithra claims, the .45 works best, but the others do pretty darn well, too, and it's fun to enjoy the differences. My accumulating/collecting philosophy has always been to have the same platform in many different calibers. Instead of having 6 M27's in different barrel lengths, I'd rather have six different .357 magnum models, or six revolvers of 6 different calibers.
