I'm brand new to AR15.com and this is my first post in the forums.

I am looking into the possible purchase a Smith & Wesson 4060 .40ACP handgun, but have seen very little in the way of reviews. If anyone out there has one and can enlighten me on the pros and cons of this weapon, I would appreciate the feedback. Also, suggestions from other members with regards to other large caliber handguns is appreciated as well. Thanks in advance for your help.

[pistol]

S & W's duty autoloaders are perfectly usable firearms.  Their politics ticks off a lot of people but they make sound and servicable firearms.  Not the "in" gun, and haven't been for some years, but alot of LEO's still carry them.  I've owned a couple of their nines and have no complaints.  They do like to be kept clean and properly oiled, but you should do that with all your guns anyway. Quite a few state police agencies still use S & W 40's, including California.

I happen to own three .40 cals. and two .45 ACP's. All my .40's are Glocks and one of my .45's is the G30, the other a 1911. Clearly I am a Glock Fan. I highly rec. then to anyone who understands they will easily let you shoot yourself in the leg, groin, or butt; if you carry them wrong.  I like the caliber because it's as close to.45 as you can get, and the package is efficient. Don't care a lot for SW autos. Should one of the Glocks in .40 not turn you on, try a Sig or Berretta Cougar before you buy the Smith.

 Here is my experience with Smith autos. Despite people bad talking them, they work.     There are also plenty of mags for them. The first Smith auto I carried was the 5946. It is the all steel, DAO, doublestack 9mm. This gun snapped a drawbar at 20K rounds. That's acceptable and now they use a beefed up drawbar. That gun was accurate enough. However, it was HEAVY. If you are thinking of getting the full size 40 you will find the all steel version too heavy for comfortable concealment.
Now I carry the 4043. It is the full size, DAO, alloy frame 40. I like it alot and it is accurate enough. However, these guns have alot of problems. The gun I have now is my second one. The first one's frame cracked under the grips. That was at about 5K rounds.
Other guy's guns have cracked the frame at different locations, but the under the grip spot is number one. Also they tend to jam on the last round. This is a combination problem with the mag springs and the fact that the frame is alloy and the part that holds the mag in is steel. The steel part keeps digging into the frame until it lets the mag droop down a little too low and you start to have trouble.
 This is all very unfortunate because I really like these guns and while they are not works of the gunmaker's art, they are good weapons. With the 180 gr Talon rounds they are knocking people's dicks off around here.
 Bottom line on the Smiths for me, get a 9mm. They don't have these problems. The best carry gun is the 3953 compact. Don't let people bullshit you about the 9 not being effective. Shoot someone three times somewhere between the belt and the collar bone and they are hurt believe me.
 I hate to say it but if you are set on a full size 40, get a Glock. I think you will find any full size gun a pain for concealed carry though.
 Typical deal is you shoot three or four times and dude shoots three or four times and by then someone is hit or someone has run away.
 If the situation is more than that you should have brought a long gun.

First of all, welcome!

My rule of thumb on S&W is "revolver; yes - semi-auto; no".

If you want an excellent semi-auto .40, look around for a Browning Hi-Power. I have one and everyone who has tried it loves it. I've taken a couple of pin and plate shoots with it.

I have to chime in with my experience with a similar pistol. I was issued a 4006 (I think that is the model), a full sized, .40 cal semi as a Deputy with the Lee County S O in AL.

I NEVER, EVER fired a complete 50 round course without at least one jam; FTF, FTE, stovepipes, double feeds, etc... This brick was too damned big for only 12 round capacity, was loose, inaccurate and another deputy discovered at the range that his firing pin had broken. He had no idea how long it had been disabled! Scary, eh? I guess that could happen to any pistol but I have never seen it. I also do not like the mag-"safety" feature... I can see when it MAY be helpful but if I need my weapon to go boom, I want it to go freaking boom!!

I personally hate S&W semis... Their revolvers rock and I own an Airweight .38 and owned a 686 .357. Both are superior weapons.

Bottom line, why buy a S&W semi in a world of Glocks, Sigs, H&Ks and Berettas?

I think S&W deserves to die the death they instigated, and the quality (or lack there of) of their products is irrelevant.

I WON'T BUY S&W.

I carry a 4046 daily at work, its our issue weapon.  The DAO trigger takes getting used too, it is long, hard and gritty. The grit can be taken care of,stoning it helps a bit, but its still long and hard.

As far as reliability... I haven't had any problems with mine, it loads and extracts fine, Its just hard to get good groups with that DAO action.

Overall its a fine duty weapon, but there are better choices as far as I'm concerned... HK's, Sigs and Glocks come to mind.

[edited to correct spelling]