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I do not have the 740, but as you can see from my armory, I am a Taurus affecianado. The 709 is now fine after sending it back twice to Taurus with issues. The problem with these smaller guns is tighter clearances, less forgiving....so more tendencies towards problems (ie, picky on ammo).

As to wearing out faster... Taurus has an unconditional lifetime warranty. No problem.
As to more muzzle flip.... nice thing about striker fired is a lower axis/bore ratio to deal with that.

My suggestion is the 709. They have worked the bugs out (as opposed to the 740 which then would have to have bugs worked out, so you don't want first run...paying to be a beta tester). At close range, the 9mm is fine. And that's all these are intended to be for is a closer range. BUT, 90% of personal defense is 12 feet and under, mostly under 9 feet. 9mm ammo is a whole lot cheaper and easier to find. I don't want to start the 9mm vs 45 debate, but the instructor of our urban combat class said that the 9, 40 and 45 will now do the same things due to better bullet construction and govt regs on how far a bullet can go before stopping in the body.