Just wanted to say that I recently compared the HK USP40, the Glock 23, and the Smith & Wesson M&P 40 against the new Steyr M40-A1, and the Steyr excelled by far in accuracy and less recoil, with the Smith&Wesson coming in second place concerning recoil. The Steyr was truly the most pleasurable weapon to shoot out of the four that I compared. I used to carry a Glock 23 everyday until now. The new Steyr pistol(M series) is without a doubt , the finest .40 I have ever fired. Accuracy out of the box was incredible. I am truly pleased and 100 percent satisfied with my purchase. =D>
This matches my own experience, but with the earlier M40, not the new M40-A1 model. My Browning Hi-Power in 40 is very nice to point and I think I'm a bit more accurate with it, but the Steyr is bombproof, eats every load, and is a differnt kind of gun. Most telling: I sold all my Glocks and have now only the Browning and my Steyr M40. Enjoy.
I wish my M9A1 was as cooperative - it can be kinda picky about what she gets fed. I had 4 FTF's with one 20rnd box of corbons and and quite a few proload's stovepipe.
My M40 and M40A1 have been 100% They are the most pleasurable 40's I have owned when it comes to recoil. I also have a walther P99, it is a lighter gun and the ergo's are neck and neck with the Steyr but it doesn't come close when it comes to recoil.
That low bore axis just drives the slide back into your hand in such a way that recoil is much lighter in my experience compared to other pistols. The other advantage to the low bore axis is that it prevents the muzzle flip and thereby improves accuracy.
Like beauty, recoil is in the eye of the beholder. I find the recoil on my M9 harsher and the gun flips more than my Glock 34. A 1 1/4" longer barrel on the Glock may have something to do with it. Also, I'm not getting especially good accuracy out of the M9 compared to the G34. Could the M40 be inherently more accurate than the M9? I should probably try different loads. More likely it's a shooter problem since the trigger on my Glock is about 2 3/4 lbs compared to the heavier and grittier (the Glock trigger has been worked over and smoothed out) Steyr trigger.
