And you sir would get my business with that attitude. Just for my own curiosity...
My current handgun is a Colt DA revolver in 32-20 which I can handle easily. My Gramps artillery model Lugar I can also shoot without discomfort. Dad's '09' .45 LC is too much recoil as is my husband's .40. (Although I think that is more because of the grip.) I can handle my husband's 9mm Beretta but not more than three magazines at any one time.
Say in the neighborhood of $400 to $600 and used is OK. What would you suggest for target practice/self defense?
I'm more familiar with a revolver but I wouldn't turn away from a semi-auto.
At this point, I'd probably ask the following questions: what make and models are your husband's .40 and 9mm?; is the three mag limit for the 9mm due to the weapon's weight, or the recoil?; what sort of revolver was the .45 LC?
A large part of finding the proper handgun is finding something that fits your particular hand size properly. IMO, it's somewhat akin to shopping for shoes: it can be the best-made and most expensive shoe out there, but if it's not the right size for you it's completely useless. If your husband is shooting a particularly small or bulky .40 S&W, it might be causing you pain because it's the wrong size/shape for your hand. Personally, I don't find most double-stack service pistols all that comfortable because I have fairly small hands-I'd prefer a single-stack 1911, or slimmer polymer-framed pistol.
Going out on a limb here, and assuming that you found the Beretta M92/M9 (?) tiring because of its weight and size, I might recommend a Glock 19. 9mm, 15rd double-stack magazines, and right in the middle of your price range (higher if you choose tritium night sights, lower if you go for a used model). If the Glock is too bulky, I might suggest trying a 9mm 1911 (although finding one for under $600 is tough), or perhaps a S&W M&P 9mm Compact.
For revolvers, you're probably going to want a .38 Special, because .357 Magnum recoil in a light-to-medium-weight revolver is fairly significant for most shooters. Seeing as you're looking for home defence/range useage, I'd probably recommend at least a 3" or 4" barrel, perhaps something like this:
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...angId=-1&parent_category_rn=15704&isFirearm=Y
On the other hand, if you chose a .357 Magnum revolver, it will give you the ability to shoot .38s at the range, as well as .357 in case your husband wants to shoot something with more power than .40. A few months back I sold a Model 60 5" .357 to a woman who's a family friend, and she does just that: she shoots .38 for practice, and her husband shoots .357. The only catch is that S&W revolvers tend to be a bit pricey new. Taurus is cheaper, but the fit, finish, and quality isn't quite the same. Ruger is also a bit less expensive, but IMO closer in quality to a Smith, although they don't have the range of models that the other two companies offer.
That's not even considering Kahr, SIG, the Beretta .380s, Walther, or half a dozen others I'm forgetting at the moment...
Hope that helped