Expanding the Handgunning Experience
slojim--
I admire your open-minded attitude, and feel that all handgunners would profit from a similar exercise.
9 x 19 mm--Suggest you go with 115, ball and JHP and 124 gr HP. With all due respect to Chris and 8200 rpm, the 147 is pretty much a specialty item, as for use with suppressed weapons. This was the original reason for development of the 147--to still have good impact with subsonic velocities. Otherwise, especially in handgun length barrels, you end up with essentially a medium-Plus P .38 Special effect. Nothing wrong with this, really, but you give up some of the advantages of the 9 mm. Personal preference: 124 JHP, either Federal HydraShok or Speed Gold Dot.
.40 S&W--I prefer the 180 JHP, but I don't use it a lot. Most people have gone to 155 to 165 loads. I'd try the heavy and medium and skip the lightweight bullets. Personal preference: 180 JHP, either Win Ranger SXT or Speed Gold Dot.
.357 This is interesting: Chris Pinkleton raises a good point. I was assuming you meant the revolver. I agree with all he wrote about the autoloader round. It was developed to give performance equivalent to the .357 Mag 125 JHP load in an auto, and, in my testing, they truly succeeded. Actually, slightly higher velocities in the shorter barrels.
If you DO mean .357 revolver, I'd try the 158 JHP or JSP--Probably in Remington or Winchester, as the old classic loads. And the aforementioned 125 JHP--This has become the law enforcement standard for best compromise of incapacitation and controllability in the revolver. I prefer the 158, but then, I'm an old timer, and the muzzle blast and recoil don't bother me too much. There are heavier bullets to be found, but they are specific-purpose, for hunting and metallic silhouette use. Personal preference: Remington 158 JHP or Federal 125 JHP.
Be sure to get a couple of .38 Special loads, just for comparison, and to demonstrate the versatility of the .357 mag revolver. I'd say some 148 wadcutter target loads, and some 125 and 158 Plus P. Personal preference: Rem or Win 158 lead SWCHP.
slojim, you have a pretty full day of shooting, if you do much testing of each of these. I truly hope you enjoy it!
Best,
Johnny