Sidearms & Scatterguns Tactical handgun

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Bm22

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Minuteman
Feb 21, 2013
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#1
What is a good tactical size and style handgun to look at. Right now I am looking at a sig p226 in .40 and buying a barrel to fit 9mm. I currently own several nice 1911's. and want a full size to medium size pistols with high capacity mags. I do not own any double stack pistols. This will be used for cold weather carry, ranch carry. Maybe some tactical handgun classes. Maybe backup home defense.

Right now a sig p226 and HK Are my top choices but they are pricey. Would like to get a .40 or a 9mm
 
#2
Sig quality is not what it used to be. Therefore, I would not recommend one.

HK quality is still top notch. Either a USP or P30 would serve you well for your intended use. You should try to handle each and see which you prefer. The P30 has a more ergonomic grip, but I have both and don't find the USP objectionable, though I do have fairly large hands.

Another option would be a Walther PPQ. Less money than the HK's, and reviews have been very positive.
 
#3
HK is nice but I would go with Sig Sauer. The 226 is a great pistol and in the recent Sig purchases I have had, quality is just as comparable as HK. The 226 was in service for years and still is.

I like the HK and own a P30. It feels great in my hand but its expensive, mags are "harder" to find an more expensive and IMO you pay a lot for a name. Also note, HK USP does not have a standard rail and most HKs are proprietary designs.

Honestly, I love my FNP .45 tactical. I have not had one issue with it. An I don't care what anyone's says, it's hard to beat 15+1 in a .45.

People are going to give you a lot of opinion, like I just did. Haha! Do what feels right to you and try them all before you buy. Don't let anyone sway you too much with opinion.
 
#5
I'm a huge fan of Glock. I used to hate them and have had several 1911s, couple of Berettas, and a couple Sigs. When I met my wife, the Glock is all she had and would shoot so I got a Glock for the house. money got tight, the more expensive guns got sold and after a few years of IDPA and carrying Glocks, nothing else feels right anymore. LoneWolfDist.com has conversion barrels as well if you want to go with the 40/357/9mm set. The newer Generation 4 guns have adjustable backstraps and do better with the .40 as they finally got a better recoil system designed for 40 instead of using a 9mm spring in 40...

Ive got over 12k through my current Glock 17 in 9mm. not much is stock anymore but its an awesome piece.

Look into a TSD Glock. would be a crazy good "tactical handgun" for about the price of the rest of them...

DSC_0374.1.jpg
 
#8
you say Ranch Carry, which for me means a gun that is going to get beat up and dirty. I would go for a Glock 23. It'll shoot when it's dirty, and you won't mind when it gets dinged up.
Just my $.02
 
#9
By ranch carry i mean carried on the hip, plain view. Used to shoot pigs, varmints whatever I need it for. Its why i wanted a full size pistol as i believe it is more accurate at say 30 yards if i got a shot at a bobcat or coyote. I love my .45's i have 3 1911's and a ruger. I have a S&W 29 with a 8 in barrel if i really want to pistol hunt but i do not own a high capacity pistol. I am open to many options. I may even buy a glock as I like to tinker and a glock is like the barbie of pistols you can dress them up however you want.

The legendary reputation of the sig 226 is what is drawing me to a sig. That and i can buy a .40 spend $100 for a barrel and have a 2 caliber pistol. I own 1 9mm but its a single stack 1911 type and no .40's
 
#11
you really can't go wrong with any big maker these days. go to a gun store and pick up and point as many as you can. HK, Sig, M&P, Glock, FN, you'd be hard pressed to get a "bad" pistol. get one that feels good in the hand and points well for ya. I own sig, glock, HK, S&W, colt, you'll be happy with any of em
 
#13
Have you thought of an 1911 double stack? I have a STI eagle 6.0 (Benny Hill Fat Free) in 9mm that I love, and you can get well over 20rds in it with the high cap mags and I think 17rds if .45acp is what your looking for. I like the idea of glocks but they just don't point right for me as I haven't been forced to shoot them much.

I've heard good things about High Point also. A hood rat in Chicago once told me an interesting statistic. He said as far as he knew, the High Point has crippled more people than all other handguns combined.
 
#15
hk p30 or p30L in 40sw or 9. or glock 22 or 23 in 40 - get conversion to 9mm barrel. kkm or barsto. IMO stay away from lone wolf and storm lake
 
#18
As others have said you really can't go wrong. Pick a handful that fit you needs, and go shoot them. I would suggest you look closely at the HK P30 with light LEM, Walther PPQ, and Glock 19. For the best of both worlds the Walther would get my vote. For shear value, and practicality the Glock 19 would get my vote.

Chip
 
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#21
Personal experience with older Sigs from the 80's-90's, was very positive. The older guns were great. Since the change in management in the mid 2000's, the quality seems to be hit or miss. I believe an objective search will show that the new guns are not held in the same high regard as the older ones. Of course that can be said about any number of other makers as well.
 
#22
I tried to buy a sig once, walked out with a h&k. The sig just didn't feel right to my hand. Now have only Glocks and a walther pps.
The walther is like a h&k and Glock love child!
Hit a gun show and youll be able to finger fuck all of them, buy the one that speaks to you, they're all good.
 
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#23
Jennings spray painted black with a maglight taped to it. well more like the Jennings taped to the maglight so when it fails to fire you can beat some one with your flash light.

seriously I currently have EAA, sig, glock, colt, S&w I have owned many others but these brands are what I currently own and for every day reliable and I don't mind tossing it around I would go with glock. there affordable and reliable and accurate.
 
#24
BigJoe29 said:
you really can't go wrong with any big maker these days. go to a gun store and pick up and point as many as you can. HK, Sig, M&P, Glock, FN, you'd be hard pressed to get a "bad" pistol. get one that feels good in the hand and points well for ya. I own sig, glock, HK, S&W, colt, you'll be happy with any of em
Click to expand...

This is good advice from someone who should know.
 
#25
I've used two "tactical" handguns in my early years. I say tactical cause I guess you can say that's what it was.

One was a M1911a1 I carried in Vietnam. The second was a Model 28 I carried most of my 20 years in LE.

I found you want to keep it simple, the stuff you see in action type pistol matches isn't something you want on a "tactical" gun. You want simplicity. The more crap you put on a gun the more crap that can break.

What ever you choose, you want it stock, you want it reliable. The M1911s and Smith Revolvers meet that criteria.

I have lots of pistols & revolvers, but I wouldn't stake my life on all of them.
 
#28
Go to your local arms dealer and test out each name brand for yourself.
- You will notice different handguns have different grip angles that may not offer you the most natural point of aim to your shooting style.
- Different sized hands equate to different brand preferences (e.g. peoples with larger hands may prefer Glock).
Don't be THAT GUY and use the term 'tactical' for everything else you will sound like a prepubescent teen. Tighten your shot group and focus on specific traits you will need to properly manipulate your weapon (e.g., oversized slide release).
 
#31
I choose Glock for concealed carry, open carry (outside of town), home defense, etc. I don't think Glocks are any better or worse firearms than a few other options, but they are often a better *choice*. There are a lot of reliable, accurate choices on the market. Here are the reasons why I switched to Glock:

- market support. During the peak of the Sandy Hook hysteria, I was able to buy mags and holsters right off the wall. Spare parts are abundant. Armorers are everywhere. My firearms are easy to maintain.

- Versatility. This is less of a concern for exclusively OC use, but the 19/23/32 frame is easy for me to conceal (even in the summer), while still being a service pistol. There is also the option of throwing in a truly "high capacity" mag.


That's really all. I'm nowhere near the fanboy category. My favorite pistol on the market is actually the Walther PPQ in 9mm.
 
#32
I agree, all the top manufacturers are making good guns, I've had most all (Sig, HK, FN, Glock) and I still have thew HK's and Glocks, plus a few CZ's, on top of all my 1911's
 
#33
I've gotten into the XDm's the last couple years and have been very impressed with them. For being only slightly more then Blocks, they are good quality and very accurate. Springfield has always been good at delivering good quality at an affordable price.
 
#34
Soct said:
I've gotten into the XDm's the last couple years and have been very impressed with them. For being only slightly more then Blocks, they are good quality and very accurate. Springfield has always been good at delivering good quality at an affordable price.
Click to expand...

I have always been enamored with this pistol. I see a lot of them for sale, used, which often means they did not live up to the marketing. I am glad to hear you enjoy yours. Maybe one is still in my future. I like the true 15+1 and the grip size is not what one would expect for such a high capacity.
 
#35
BigJoe29 said:
you really can't go wrong with any big maker these days. go to a gun store and pick up and point as many as you can. HK, Sig, M&P, Glock, FN, you'd be hard pressed to get a "bad" pistol. get one that feels good in the hand and points well for ya. I own sig, glock, HK, S&W, colt, you'll be happy with any of em
Click to expand...
Best comment in this entire thread. The only thing I will add is if you have a range in your area that rents out pistols, go there and try them out to figure it out. When one is right, you will know it.
 
#36
Take it a step further and once you are able to handle the pistols in question, spend some time and money to shoot them. That will tell you which one to get. And, like others said, with the pistols you are thinking about, they are all good, it is just personal preference- so after handling and hopefully shooting them, let your personal preference rule the day.
 
#37
fasteddie565 said:
I have always been enamored with this pistol. I see a lot of them for sale, used, which often means they did not live up to the marketing. I am glad to hear you enjoy yours. Maybe one is still in my future. I like the true 15+1 and the grip size is not what one would expect for such a high capacity.
Click to expand...
The grip is nice for a polymer double stack. I like the fact that they have interchangeable backstraps for a little customizing. As far as the used thing most of that is people getting one model and then deciding they like another better. My other half did that. She got the full size to start and then decided she liked the 3.8 better. When the gun store offered us 325 for the trade in we choose to sell it private sale after we were done laughing at them. I know quite a few people did that too. If you are going to spend less then 900 dollars on a pistol you can't go wrong with an XDm.
 
#39
Another Option to consider is the Glock 35/34. The longer sight radius makes it a little more shootable and will allow you to reach out a little further on varmints. Add some good metal sights and you'll be good to go.
I've used the 9mil to good effect on hogs in GA and wouldn't hesitate to use it again.
Also check out the cz line, especially if you're partial to metal frame guns. They make some nice affordable pistols.
I would suggest shooting as many of the guns as you can, as how they feel and how they shoot for you can be quite different.
Happy hunting!
 
#40
As to Sig, a few years ago they converted their manufacturing from forged to MIM'd parts. Malfunctions spiked and quality suffered. I think you can still get forged parts for tune-ups.
 
#44
I like my hk45. If you wanted a smaller caliber I would look at the p30. I like the ambi controls and it fits well in my hands. I had bad luck with my 226 combat so I am out on those

Another option is just a trp 1911. I like them but don't care for the mag limit
 
#45
Like Broylz I have settled on Glock as my main handgun platform, although I don't have an uber-cool TSD RMR equipped one yet. I do have a bunch of 9mm Glocks, mags, parts, holsters and other stuff. A while ago I realized that I shoot Glocks as well or better than any other pistol, and I like the AR-like standardized design with mostly interchangeable parts.

I carry them, compete with them, and have a lot of confidence in the design. I have 30,000+ rounds through my Glocks, and have yet to have a serious problem.

Its kind of sad but my other much "nicer" handguns get neglected.
 
#46
My new tactical handgun. After shooting a bunch of handgun classes this year I decided that I wanted to add a RDS to help while shooting in awkward positions.

The mount is an Unity Tactical ATOM system that is the brain chid of a company that is located in our area. Unity Tactical has come up with some really innovative products this year.

I put together a G17 (Gen3) with an ATOM slide, Trijicon RM01, Vickers mag release, and a Vickers silde release. Might add an INFORCE APL next.

 
#47
Between Sig and HK, I would go HK. I have experienced the quality control issues as well with Sig and it's enough to keep me away from the new stuff. I do really like the pistols though but for a lot of carrying the lighter weight of the polymer guns can't be beat. HK's are a little pricey but they are tits, as mentioned you can get deals on used ones, especially 40's.

My favorite all around carry pistol is the G23, it's just as accurate as the 22 and 35, they just offer longer sight radius. My main concern is CC though so when I'm on my property and critters are a concern I carry a 20, 22, or 35 since concealment isn't an issue. If you only want one and don't want to pay HK money I'd get the 22, put some trijicons on it and buy a bunch of mags. 40 will certainly do the trick on a hog but if its a common occurrence you may want to opt for a G20 for the extra umph, for not much more than a new HK you could actually get a G20 and a G22 and have two pistols.

If you go for a Glock though, be warned, they multiply. Before going to all Glock's I only had a few pistols at any given time, I would buy and sell figuring out what I like and trying different things but I rarely had more than three at a time. Ever since I started really shooting Glock's a couple years ago I've gone a bit crazy buying them. Just this week I picked up three new Gen 4 OD's in 22, 23, and 35. To make matters worse I'm planning another mass order because now I NEED more gen 4's. I may actually liquidate a few of my gen 3's to fund more 4's so if you do go glock and want a gen 3 PM me what you're thinking about and maybe I can save you some money.
 
#48
I have had 5 sig P226's in the last year and NONE of them have ANY QC issues. People claim this shit all the time on the internet without every experiencing it.


I've also had about 5 HK's and really like them. The compact USP and the P30 are my two favorites. I do like Sigs better though. The trigger is WAY better than HK and I really just shoot a lot better with the sigs.
 
#49
Srcochran49 said:
Sig quality is not what it used to be. Therefore, I would not recommend one.
Click to expand...
Huh? What are you basing this on?

I'm a Sig guy, and have nearly zero malfunctions in any of them. Combined round count in my Sigs is well over 15,000 - we're not talking about Safe Queens here. P229s, P226s, X5s, and Bruce Gray custom Sigs have all been marvelous guns for me.

That said, don't buy a Sig, or anything else, on recommendation. Buy what is comfortable for you. Glock, HK, CZ, Sig, Beretta, S&W M&P, Springfield XD or even STi 2011s all have guns in their respective families that will accomplish the task. Buy what you are comfortable with, what you shoot well, and what you like. Each has their own quirks that are well discussed in their respective communities, but none of them are anything you can't resolve. Grip Angle, weight, capacity, caliber, ergonomics, carry issues, intended use, and similar issues should drive your decisions, and you need to shoot enough of those guns to develop your own opinion on each of those questions.

My local range for instance will rent you anything and everything in a given caliber for $20 all day. Pay a $15 range fee, $20 rental fee (let's say 9mm), and then try out everything they have in 9mm for as long as you want. They have 40-50 guns in that caliber, and you can shoot every one of them. Narrow your choices down to 5 or 6 guns, then do a bunch of internet research, then go back and shoot them again. And again... The winner will be clear to you, and only you.
 
#50
Srcochran49 said:
Sig quality is not what it used to be. Therefore, I would not recommend one.

HK quality is still top notch. Either a USP or P30 would serve you well for your intended use. You should try to handle each and see which you prefer. The P30 has a more ergonomic grip, but I have both and don't find the USP objectionable, though I do have fairly large hands.

Another option would be a Walther PPQ. Less money than the HK's, and reviews have been very positive.
Click to expand...

My experience with HK guns has been a little different to say the least. My fanhood for HK pistols evaporated a long time ago, but my experience with them may be a fluke, no ones perfect, not even HK.

These were all from different guns. Just a small town in the middle of nowhere law enforcement armorer. Maybe im just biased because everything that breaks eventually bottlenecks down to me. Just to preempt the accusations that are sure to come, I promise im not a Glock, Sig, S&W or Beretta employed photoshop expert just out to badmouth the competition. I'm sure some HK pistols hold up fine, just not a big fan of the P2000.
 

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