The 40 cal round (.40 S&W) round is great all around cartridge. Many think it's the perfect compromise between the stopping power of the .45 ACP and the compact size of the 9mm. The 40 cal bullet is a decently wide and heavy, so it has very good stopping power, which is why many police and law enforcement personnel switched to it from the 9mm. Its size makes it able to be double stacked in a magazine for maximum capacity when you really need it. But what gun can be considered the Best 40 Cal Handgun? Some possibilities are the Glock 40 cals, Springfield XDm's, Walther P99, the SIGs and the Smith and Wesson M&P's. But what one can claim the position as the Best 40 Caliber Handgun?

Keeping in mind reliability, reputation, price and size, we have chosen the Glock 23 as the Best 40 cal Handgun available today. Some may disagree with this choice, but so much of guns comes down to personal preference.

Reliability

Glock has proven to make some of the most reliable handguns available. Their simple design makes them both rugged and very reliable. Some of the torture tests that people have done to these guns are downright crazy, yet they still are able to perform fantastically well. They have put them in sand, dirt, mud, water, paste, snow and about anything and everything else you can imagine. People have ran over them with trucks and dropped them out of planes, and they function just fine. Their design is made to be very reliable and durable. The Glock 23 is a great example of the Glock line of handguns, and while others may be reliable also, the Glock wins in this category.

Reputation

Glock handguns have always had a pretty good overall reputation. Their modern and blocky look isn't very pretty, but I'm looking for a gun that will shoot when I want it to, every single time, not just look pretty when I'm trying to clear a jam when someone's coming at me. In those situations you also will not have to worry about the safety switch being flicked, because it is built into the trigger. When you pull the trigger, the gun will shoot, period.

Price

For the price of a little over $500, the Glock 23 is an absolutely fantastic gun. When you compare them to many other comparable guns that can easily run over one thousand, you'll see no benefit in performance or reliability from spending that extra few hundred dollars. Sure other might look better, but I'd rather my guns function better than look better. There are some other great guns out there, like the SIG's, Kimbers and H&K's, but for the price, the Glock is a better choice.

Size

The Glock 23 is a compact, or medium sized semi auto handgun. This size of gun is a great size for a general use gun. It's big enough to be comfortable to shoot repeatedly, feels great as it sits in the hand, and tames the snappy recoil of the 40 cal round very well. Its size makes it big enough to strap to your hip and take in place of the full sized gun, yet is small enough to potentially carry as a concealed weapon. The overall frame size makes the gun not very difficult at all to conceal in semi-loose clothing somewhere on the body. In my opinion, it is a little large to conceal carry daily unless you are a very big guy (I'm 6'3" and 230lbs, and I think it's a little big) or normally dress in a way that you can easily conceal it.

Bottom Line

The conclusion that we've come to is that the Glock 23 is all around the Best 40 Cal Handgun you can buy. It isn't the prettiest gun out there, but it will fire every single time. The polymer frame makes it lightweight and durable, and for the average price of around $500, you really can't go wrong with this gun. Heck, you could even buy two of them for less than a Kimber or the H&K. It holds a great balance between being large enough to shoot comfortably, yet small enough to carry concealed. I grew up shooting one and it is still probably my all time favorite gun.

For more articles like this, that determine the best handgun, the best ammo, or the best holster in different categories and demands, please visit our website, Best-Handgun.com. Some of the sample articles include the Best Pistol Caliber, the Best Handgun for Women, and the Best Glock.