I have SIG P229 in 357sig. My perception is of a sharper pressure wave overall with more muzzle flash in some brands than others than say, a HiPower shooting either standard 9mm or +P or +P+ 9mm. At an indoor range, invariably someone cranes their head around to the back of my stall to see what I'm shooting.
Right, techbrute and aguyindallas?
As far as enduring the recoil, I can shoot the SIG just as long as my BHP without adverse effects on myself. It won't jump out of your hand, it won't conk you on the noggin with muzzle flip, and it won't cause your eyeballs to bleed. I can't say that is true for any +P+ 9mm I've fired, not that I subject my current BHP to that, mostly because a regular diet of +P+ in her isn't nice to slide velocity, in my opinion. What you feed your 9mm is your business. If you care to shoot a lot of +P+ 9mm, then consider a 1911 variant, maybe one Dane Burns has massaged.
Downrange is another deal altogether, though. I think the target butt is glad when I finish for the day when I have the SIG.
There's a reason it has been compared to a lightning bolt.
As to .40S&W, I can't attest to the recoil objectively, because I haven't fired a lot of it, nor do I own a pistol chambered in it.
Regards,
Rabbit.