I would go with either the SIG 226 or 229R or the BERETTA/STOEGER 8040. I was issued an H&K P-2000 .40 caliber and it broke after about 11 or 12 years of shooting. It was swapped for another one till my agency went over to GLOCK 19's. I never warmed up to the H&K the way I did to the BERETTA 96 Brigadier's that we used to carry.
I also had a GLOCK 22 that I sold. The recoil was more than I liked.
I worry that most plastic framed guns will be too light for the recoil of the .40 S&W.
My complaint with the BERETTA 96 is that they are BIG and were not up to the high velocity .40 caliber ammo we used. They wore out in 10 years of shooting the 155 grain jhp at 1200 fps, that we used and that was with the Brigadier model which had a reinforced slide.
The regular 96 would probably fail sooner if you used anything but the lower recoiling ammo
On the other hand, the SIG 229 seems to hold up ok in .40 S&W. I had one, but sold it when I shot it side by side with my BERETTA 96 and found the BERETTA had the smoother trigger.
I have a SIG 229R now, but it is a 9m.m. and I really like it.
If concealability is not an issue or it is just for a range or house gun, then the 226 may be a better choice. The extra weight will help moderate the recoil.
I also have two STOEGER 8040 pistols. They are Turkish made clones of the BERETTA 8040, made on the same machines as the BERETTA pistols as BERETTA owns STOEGER. They seems to do just fine with the .40 S&W round. I have shot them with 135, 155, 165 and 180 grain ammo and they are completely reliable and the recoil is not harsh, though you really know that you touch one of the 155 grain rounds off when you shoot. The flash, noise and recoil are considerable in the 8040, which has a 3.6 inch barrel.
The 135 grain jhp has a brighter flash than the 165 and 180 grain rounds and is louder, but is not as harsh as the 155 grain ammo.
Now I use the 180 grain FEDERAL HST jhp in my .40 S&W pistols and with the 8040's, I even carry them concealed at times, instead of my GLOCK 19.
The negative of either the BERETTA or STOEGER 8040 pistols is that they are no longer in production and have been going up in price. I paid under $300.00 for each gun, with one being in near new condition and the other having lived a much harder life, but proved to be just as reliable and accurate. This also makes it harder to find factory or MEC GAR mags, the only ones I would use for carry. I have PRO MAGS and 10 rounders for the range.
Jim