I bought a Steyr M40 this past Saturday at a gun show near Atlanta. It was a toss up between a Glock 30 and the M40. I went back and forth between the two tables for an hour. In the end, the superior ergonomics of the M40 won the day. It fit my big mitt perfectly, unlike the finger-grooved glock.
I also bought several boxes of ammo, some Remington UMC 180g for target shooting, and some Hydrashoks and Corbons (135g & 165g). Off to the range I went.
First impression: what a great trigger! Smooth, two stage, with only 1/8 inch letoff. Far superior to the mushy glock triggers. Recoil was sharp and controlable.
Unfortunately I had the same problem mentioned above: it throws the brass every which way. I shot 80 rounds total, 50 of the UMC, and 10 each of the self defense loads. The gun ate them all flawlessly and only beaned me twice with the brass. I was mildly disappointed by this, but not surprised. My gun has serial number 27xx, much later than the serial numbers mentioned above, so I was hoping I had missed this problem. Oh, well.
The other problem was a bit more subtle, and I noticed it almost right away once I started shooting, but not when I was handling it at the show. The frame has a seam running its entire length, as if the plastic was in two parts joined together. The seam was off by just a hair, a fraction of a milimeter, tops. When the pistol recoiled, it felt like it was cutting into the web of my hand. It did not break the skin, nor mark it, but I felt it. Later that night I had the gun home and a few minutes with a needle file smoothed it out without marring the surface noticibly. Problem solved.
Overall, I really like this gun. Once the brass-flinging problem is solved, I'll be a happy camper.
I can't wait till the M9 and .45 ACP version (M45?) come out.