Hand gun comparisons!

The largest handgun I have felt comfortable with at all was a H&K .40

I have very limited experience, but I did feel very comfortable with this gun. Of course the easiest by far to shoot is a S&W .22 :D for my small hands but for personal protection I'm going for a bit more stopping power.

My hubby likes the sig 9mm. For me he thinks a S&W .357 would be the best weapon for damage and reliability. But since I'm not yet licenced and am about the full price tag away from buying...:shrug:

Or maybe just a :tank:
 
Off duty:

Glock 30
.45 ACP w/200 +P Gold Dot HP's.

Glock 19
9mm w/124+P Gold Dot HP's.

On duty:

Beretta 92 DAO
9mm w/124+P Gold Dot Hp's.
 
My choice for a duty weapon is the Glock 23. At my previous department we had a lot of problems with the Sig 229, and I emphsize, A LOT!

I looked at and tested a lot of different handguns and the Glock seemed to be the best fit for me. After I got it I ran it through the torture test in the desert around the Hanford Nuclear site for SWAT basic. There were times that I had to literally hammer the slide forward and it still functioned. After that I was sold on Glocks.

The 23 is the compact frame so I carry it both on and off duty. Last year I purchased an M3 light for it. Duty holsters for handguns with lights are getting better and better. If your LE, once you have a weapon mounted light you'll never go back! I also like the .40 cal, more weight than the 9mm and more carry capacity than most of the .45, although that is changing now.

Just a side note, we had an incident in our department where a Glock was discharged inside one of the Safariland holsters that are designed to accomidate the light. Due to the "previous" design of the holster it was easy to reach into the holster and squeeze trigger.

Nothing against Safariland, the AD should never have happened in the first place. We contacted them and I believe they've taken steps to correct the problem. Just FYI.

That's my 2 cents

Aaron
 
Aaron,

If your LE, once you have a weapon mounted light you'll never go back!

Thats how I feel about night sights :)

I share your appreciation for the Glock. Fine weapon. Is your dept. .40 only or do officers have a choice? We have the option of using the issued Beretta 9mm or self-purchasing a Glock .45.

How has the .40 performed for your agency in shootings? Both the 9mm and .45 have performed very well with the Gold Dots.

Stay safe.

:asian:
 
The largest I've shot is an M16-A2 in recruit training few months ago
 
Mya Ryu Jitsu,

I'm pretty fortunate, our department issues the Sig 226, in 9mm, however we can carry just about anything we want. Our chief is a great guy, former SWAT, K-9, Narcs, an "in the trenches" chief and gives us what we need.

I chose to stick with my Glock of course, I guess I kind of lost confidence in the Sigs, probably unjustly! We have guys carrying everything from the very pricey H&K's to various 1911 models cocked and locked.

I can't recall any officer involved shootings with the .40 at my current agency. Unfortunately we just had an officer involved shooting last Tuesday. The officer had a Sig 226, I'm pretty sure he was using Gold Dot 9mm. Killed the suspect but not before he got run over by a Chevy Tahoe. Fortunately the officer is ok, but limping for awhile. I don't have all the details and probably won't until the inquest is done but I'll pass on what I can.

As far as the .40 goes, last year at my previous agency a couple of friends of mine had to shoot a suspect that was stabbing his girlfriend. Again I don't have all the details but from what I do know the .40 did it's job well. The surgeons that worked on the victim said that she could not have survived one more stab (as I understand she had been stabbed 3 or 4 times) and they got him mid swing. Again they were using the Gold Dot.

I'll do some digging on both shootings. Come to think of it I have another friend that was involved in a shooting and I believe he had a .40 as well. This is making me nervous!

Take care!

Aaron
 
Great info.. keep it coming, I carry my glock 19 (mid size 9mm) with two 15 round mags off duty! and issued beretta 9mm on duty.

:goop: :machgunr:




:2pistols:
 
i own an old Colt Python .357 with a 4" barrel that was my fathers. and a EAA Witness in .40 sw. ive never been able to hit a thing with a 45 (1911 style) and never really felt that a 9 had the stopping power i wanted. but living in a condo ruled out the .357 for home defence so i went with the .40 with Extreme Shock frangible rounds........if you want a giggle sometime, put your hands on some 'Extreme Shock' ammo and shoot a watermelon from 30 feet.......
 
Among my other handguns, I bought my wife a S&W Ladysmith .38 and loaded it with Magsafe rounds which, although they won't penetrate a wall, will make a very large wet spot out of a human...

One of my .357's is loaded with Magsafes and the other with the Golden Saber rounds ("flying ashtrays") which I think are no longer available.
 
I have a Ruger 9mm.

For accuracy I dont like it. For a long time I thought I couldnt shoot worth S@#%, and then I used my Friend's Sigma 9mm. My shot grouping was MUCH MUCH better...

Dunno what it is about that Ruger...
 
Aaron,

Appreciate the info. Since switching to the 9mm 124+P Golddots we have had tremendous success. The .45 200+P Goldot has done equally well, though it has not been involved in nearly as many shootings as the 9mm.

Glad your friend is alright! :)
 
1911, cocked and locked.

The main reason why the 1911 was put out of military service and why many PD's won't let people carry 1911's is because they think the cocked-and-locked look of a gun is intimidating and is a liability.

For the most part unchanged in the last century, serving in almost major war in the US history of the 20th and 21st century including both world wars, the 1911 is one of the best guns you can get. The best trigger, the #1 choice among match shooters, solid construction which most modern polymer guns can't match.

Sig in .357 SIG - A carry gun for when I go lighter than the 1911. Superior penetration for FMJ and somewhat great expansion for JHP.

S&W Revolvers - Have a lot of them... In .45 ACP, .44 magnum, and a pocket 9mm one. Nothing stops them from working.

I'm thinking of getting a H&K Compact in .45 ACP.

In single stacks, the sacrifice you pay for getting a .45 over a 9mm is minimal. The 9mm only has a 2 rounds more at most in single stacks. In double stacks, it usually carries 4-6 more rounds compared with a double-stack .45. But the .45 is the best man-stopped in the world short of getting a .440 corbon and aiming at the guy's head and the other magnum calibers... But in terms of stopping power, not lethality. One person, one shot, shot placement isn't as important with the .45 as with a .380 or .22.
 
Love the SIGS

Carry a P239 .40 cal. Low on rounds but smooth and very accurate. People think I'm looney but I also carry the Desert Eagle .44 mag in a shoulder rig. It is also a smooth shooter as long as you change the slide springs every 500 hundred rounds. After 500 its gets pretty rough on the wrists.

:rofl:
 
My first purchase and still favorite is my Glock 19. Mid sized is just big enough for a good grip and you can't beat the capacity. I recently adopted a Beretta .40 into the family to join my Springfield 1911 .45 and my S&W .38 revolver. Next stop, sigs or H&Ks, also have to round out the shotguns and rifles.

On a side note, just got to handle a .50 S&W. Talk about a hand cannon. The shells look like they came from a shotgun not a pistol.
 
is the Kimber Ten II .45. Unfortunately it is one of your more expensive hand guns but it happened to be the gun that I was most accurate with. I have not yet shot an H&K or a SIG yet so my research is not yet complete. The .45 caliber weapons seem to be smoother to me than the 9mm and the .40's I don't know exactly why but they do. Maybe it is the weighting of the gun or something. When choosing a hand gun my suggestion is to shoot everything that you can get your hands on and pick the one you are the most accurate with and the stopping power that you want. After all if you can't hit the target you it doesn't matter what fire arm you are shooting.

Mike Miller
 
Only ever fired 9mm and .38cal handguns.

I owned a Beretta 92fs (SA/DA). Very nice gun. If I ran out of ammunition, it could be a very effective bludgeon.

Would have preferred a 9mm Browning Hi-Power. Liked the feel of it as soon as I held it. SA only.

Cthulhu
 
Originally posted by kenpo2dabone
is the Kimber Ten II .45. Unfortunately it is one of your more expensive hand guns but it happened to be the gun that I was most accurate with. I have not yet shot an H&K or a SIG yet so my research is not yet complete. The .45 caliber weapons seem to be smoother to me than the 9mm and the .40's I don't know exactly why but they do. Maybe it is the weighting of the gun or something. When choosing a hand gun my suggestion is to shoot everything that you can get your hands on and pick the one you are the most accurate with and the stopping power that you want. After all if you can't hit the target you it doesn't matter what fire arm you are shooting.

Mike Miller

Kimber makes the best .45s. They have perfected the old design. I read an article recently about the LAPD SWAT team switching to the Kimber Custom II .45 w/ some addons for service. That soes say something about the weapon.
 
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