ok first, a rifle for home defense? seriously you have to be kidding me. and a handgun of any caliber is second best, at best. shotguns are the best home defense weapon.
having said that, i'd go for the .40 cal any day. the only major downsides are the recoil, the mag capacity, and the (supposed) price differences in ammo and the actual piece. i own a beretta model 96, and its never done me any wrong as far as any of those factors. i dont need 15 rounds to bring someone down if need be, and for the love of God, if you do need 15, think about another way to spend your money. as far as recoil, its a minor issue, IMO. price varies upon state, AND where you buy it. i live in the south so luckily, we have gun shows. i got 200 rounds of .40 S&W 165GR JHP for 20 bucks. anyone takes more than 2 of those and they deserve to break into my house.
but back to this rifle thing real quick, 4 AM, youre asleep. you hear something, you grab your trusty remington and head down the hallway with all 3 feet of it in front of you... turn around quickly, enter a room tactically, or shoot the perp from "the hip". have fun with that.
but anyway, go to Wal-Mart and buy a shotgun for 200 bucks, save yourself some money and you probably wont miss either.
oh BTW. total necropost, but i had to say it lol