When I bought the Shield, I actually wanted the 9MM version, but it was when they first came out, so they were hard to find. I put my name on wait lists for both calibers and the 40 came in first. If I had it to do all over again, I would have waited for the 9MM. That being said, I don't hate the 40 enough to get rid of it and the recoil is manageable with the rubberized grip tape I got for it.
I see. I guess it really comes down to how wide of a gun you want to lug around. the 26 is basically the same size as the shield just wider to accommodate the double stack. Its not bad to carry, I just prefer the slimer gun myself. Both shoot nicely