It is hard to go wrong with the Glock 20. When I got mine, it had a reputation as one of the only 10mm pistols on the market that could take a steady diet of full power ammo and not rattle itself apart. The market has expanded and we now have a lot more choices than I did, but the Glock is still a solid, durable choice in this respect. It is also very soft shooting. The polymer absorbs a lot of the shock, the grip is large enough to distribute recoil over a larger area, and the bore axis is low so recoil mostly goes straight back into the hand. It also has excellent capacity for its size and weight, and is very reliable.
If you are going to be doing a lot of handloading, I would recommend an aftermarket barrel. I have a KKM Precision in my Gen III. This ran me about $150 a decade ago, but has been well worth it in terms of preserving my brass. The factory barrel allowed for enough stretching in the brass to reduce case life. I was never concerned with safety on the factory barrel, just case life. Newer generation Glocks may have better recoil systems, but I also found it beneficial to acquire a stainless guide rod with a 20# ISMI spring. This smoothed out the recoil impulse so it wasn't so snappy, and helped keep brass in the same time zone. With the factory 17# spring, the slide velocity was sufficient to send brass into low earth orbit.
The Glock 20 is the small and light enough that I can and have carried it concealed with a light jacket or hoodie. If concealment isn't an issue for you, maybe consider the Glock 40, as the longer barrel will help you get a little bit more performance from what is a performance oriented cartridge.
Be advised that the Glocks are easy to tinker with, and you may find yourself doing more modifications than you originally intended, more out of curiosity than necessity. I have TruGlo fiber optic sights, a Phantom trigger, and aftermarket beavertail... like the AR-15 and the Ruger 10/22, aftermarket options abound and the pistol is so simple you can do the work yourself in minutes without tools.
I carry mine in bear country when out hiking with the dog or hunting. For bears, a 200 gr FMJ at about 1200 fps is preferred. For street carry and hunting, I have carried the Grizzly Cartridge Co 200 gr XTP, which also chronos about 1200 fps from the KKM. I have taken a couple deer with this load.
Regulars on THR are probably sick and tired of seeing this thing. It has to be the most photographed Glock on the internet
