....I opted for this (Steyr M40) over the USP.

This just fit my needs a little better at the time, the USP is probably a better combat pistol.

topped 'cause I want everyone to see my cool pistol,

Suh-wheat. I had one of these. I ended up trading it for a .357 Scandium. Let me tell you . . . you don't want to fire a .357 Scandium. It was like pounding a 2x2 into the ground with your palm. .38 P+ were fine . . . i ended up trading that to my BIL for a .40 Glock 27 and now I am a happy camper.

Did you know that they make a small Steyr .40 I think called the S40? It looks very similar in size to the Glock 27. I looked high and low for one, but had no luck.

I considered the S40 when I bought this one. They had one at a gun show. It seemed a little "too small", this one ain't all that big anyway.

Someone hand me a tissue! 🙂

Very nice. I believe that my local shop is a supplier. I'll have to check. Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to hit that big shop in Paris, KY.

I was looking for a very small .40 for carry. Steyr are extremely high quality for those who don't know. If I am not mistaken, the designer of these pistols came from Glock, and IMHO improved on them. The only thing i didn't like about the M40 was that the grip hit the bone on my thumb and I could never get a comfortable grip. But I must have a wierd hand because that happens to me on my bow and on drill drivers too.

That M40 kinda reminded me of a luger because of the lower barrel and the swept back grip. Makes it much more controlable for repeated shots.

Legend has it that the designer proposed a series of improvements for the glock pistols. This would have required serious re-tooling, etc and Glock was simply TOO successful with their current production, so the fellow went over to Steyr and implemented this design.

^