I used to dislike .40 myself. I didn't own one, but had bought into the whole 'too snappy' idea. Then during one of the ammo shortages, there were still plenty of .40 boxes on the shelf so I bought a G27. It was kind of snappy, but nothing awful. So I added a G23 to the family and found that I really liked .40. It's now one of my favorite rounds to shoot and reload. Where others dis it for being a compromise cartridge, I like it for being the perfect blend of capability and capacity. If you calculate potential wound volume, 3 rounds of .40 gets close to a .45 in volume and is way ahead of 9mm. Plus, when you practice with .40, you are generally practicing with a round that's close to the performance of your SD ammo. I like 9mm too, but I am like most people in that I practice with 9mm range ammo, yet carry +P for SD. 9mm +P does not feel much different to me than .40 when shooting but a lot of 9mm fans talk of how much easier it is to keep 9mm on target than .40. They base their choice of 9mm on their experience with 9mm range ammo and quick follow up shots, yet carry 9mm +P and lose that capability. With .40, that tendency is less pronounced.
But, mainly, .40 is fun to shoot. Not as much fun as .45 or 9mm range ammo, but it's still a hoot to shoot.
But, mainly, .40 is fun to shoot. Not as much fun as .45 or 9mm range ammo, but it's still a hoot to shoot.