I've reloaded many thousands of 9mm, 38 SPL and .357 Mag. Testing shot counters for the INS, we put 12,000 Remington Golden Saber +P .40 S&W through two Berettas in less than a week (that really wasn't fun at all). Both suffered failures (broken slide and a front sight fell off). We fired at a local indoor range. The owner was stunned when a truck pulled up and delivered a pallet of ammo. He wasn't completely unhappy... We let him keep the brass.
I like the 9mm cartridge for plinking, but I believe it to be marginal as a people stopper. I prefer the .357 Mag for revolvers and .45 ACP for semi-autos. In between those and the 9mm, I would not be unhappy with the .40 S&W, it is a stellar round. I also like the .38 Super. It doesn't like me though... I collected a .38 Super ricochet at a match. It hit steel, came almost straight back and hit me just above my lower right rib. The mangled round cut through my flannel shirt, t-shirt and penetrated flesh to the rib. One rib was fractured, another badly bruised. A trip to the hospital and a police report later, I was sent home. I was sore for a few weeks, as one could imagine. Another time, a ricochet whacked my ankle. Badly bruised.... Limped for a week. I'm sure Strip has seen his share of dings occurring at the range. Spend enough time on an indoor a pistol range, and you'll get dinged a few times. That's why shooting glasses are a must.
My regards,
Widewing