i'm looking for some advice. informed advice please, i'm looking for some sort of testimonials from people that have actually fired one of these handguns.
i want a new pistol. i've owned a glock 19c for 2 1/2 years and i love it, but i'm thinking of expanding my caliber selection beyond 9mm. i hate to sound like the paranoid survivalist, but one of the things i'm taking into account is the readily available ammunition i'd conceivable be able to scavenge in certain *should the shit hit the fan* scenarios. in other words, somewhat common ammunition. to me, .45 & 9mm ammo would seem to be the most common, with .357 and .40 seeming at least mentionable as somewhat popular. although i'm not sure about the .357 magnum making a difference as far as causing fitting problems with the action and clip in your common semiauto .357 handgun.
ive got enough money saved in my gunfund to buy just about anything commonly on the market, and i think i've narrowed my choices down to these-

any Sig, preferrably p220 or p245. i was pretty intrigued by the compensated p2205, but i'm not knowledgable about underbarrel weight for compensation vs vent ports like my 19c has. also the p229 in .357 SIG.(diff here between .357 SIG and .357 magnum? i don't own a .357, so i haven't paid much attention to .357 ammo) i handled all of them at a local shop here and liked them all. although one of them, i can't remember which one, was used, and the previous owner had applied some abrasive grip tape to it in spots, seemed sort of a shoddy thing to do.
another glock, maybe the g21 or g20/20c and the subcompact g29. although i wasn't too into the size of the g29. (not to sure about 10mm though, as again, i'd like to have ammo somewhat scavengable in the offhand chance that something should anything in the *shit hit the fan* category happen, and as far as i know 10mm is not all that common) glocks also seem to have a somwhat bad rep for accidental firing, (see the corrections to that article here) although in 2 1/2 years firing 100-500+/- rounds once/usually twice a month through it, ive never had a problem with the way the system works on mine. although i suppose i might be a little tighter on the trigger should i have it pointed at someone in a tense situation.
S&W- i've handled a Sigma SE40E very briefly, and i liked the feel/balance of it, but im not to sure the S&W has the quality/reliability of my other options.
H&K usp40 and usp45/compact usp45. ive seen em, never handled one.
Kimber compact 45- the shop owner that had this one said Kimber's are of highest quality, but that one might be stretching it a bit budgetwise.

i use my glock for shooting at the range, keeping my handling capibilities up to par, in case i should need to use it in a defensive situation. im looking for something i can use comfortably at the range primarily, as i do go to range usually twice a month, but i do keep in mind thats its always possible i might have to use it in a defensive capacity. i've gotten lots of feedback from the shop owners i've talked to, but id like to hear from people that aren't trying to sell me something, if ya get my drift. any experienced advice greatly appreciated.

[This message has been edited by emerikan (edited 01-13-2002).]

if you like the glock but your lookin to expand your calibre range, go woth either the glock 21,(.45) or the glock22,(.40). glock also makes the c series meaning "compensated" and that would do wonders phor your muzzel flip. as far as ammo goes, most of the other countries in the world use the 9mm luger round(including the US). while im not a fan of the pussy 9mm round, i can say that its both common and fairly accurate. if you chose anything outside of the 9mm, i would go with a .45(preferably a 1911 type)....


im to plastered to write any more...

quote:

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Originally posted by emerikan:
...i've owned a glock 19c for 2 1/2 years...
...i'm not knowledgable about underbarrel weight for compensation vs vent ports like my 19c has...

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:P too plastered to read my post?

i guess so..lol

Lol!

I would avoid compensated/ported pistols for self defence sympily for the reason that it redirects a lot of fire into your line of sight. This is only a problem at night. The FBI did a study a few years back stating that most armed encounters happen in low light situations. If you fire a comped/ported gun in low light it will prevent you from seeing anything untill your pupils dialate back to where they would be in the dark. This problem is helped by using a tactical illuminator.

Otherwise I think comps are great. They realy help with recoil.

I like 1911's. I have owned one since I was quite young. If you go to any combat compatition you will find that most people are using 1911's, glocks, and HiPowers. You will see CZ 75's once and a while.

dont get a 357 sig calibre gun. 357 sig is not the same as 357. they aer different sizes. the 357 sig is shorter so it will fit in a semiauto handgun. they suffer from numerous balistic problems, ammo is expensive, and ammo is scarce.

i recomend looking into revolvers. a six gun is more than capable of stoping an intruder or enemy in most conditions. besides that they are more comfortable to hold than many semi autos. try a 357. they are powerfull and fun. aside from that they can also fire 38 special amunition so your covered when it comes to finding ammo.

try a pistol in .40 s&w. great little round; hard hitting like a .45 with FPS closer to a 9 para. Try a Para-Ordnance P-16 40. Built like the old 1911's takes duble stacked mags and Para is selling off all of its preban mags which hold 16rds. if it will drop a 300lb wild boar in its tracks, it will stop any batton weilding pig or crimnal in their tracks!

Hey Tex,

Wern't you guys suposed to declare yourselves a sovigern nation a couple of years back?

we were a sovgern nation like a 100yrs ago and the idea gained popularity again during the whole electoin crap in Fl. so yeah

so when are you guys gonna start wasting cops and taking over military bases?

not until our casue gains from support from the people, and that wont happen until the gov't takes away all of our rights.

try about 160 years ago.

couple of months ago i would have agreed w/ you on that but the way bush's govt is gobblign up the people's rights it might be sooner then anyone suspects. may good have mercy on all of us when the revolution begins.