My New Handgun

[frenchbuck]

Today I just traded in my old Hi Point 40 Cal for a brand new Smith and Wesson 9mm. The reasons were many but the overiding reason was the weight and size of the Hi Point. I want my Wife to be able to handle a handgun in case I am not there and that was just not possible with the Hi Point. Tonight she held that 9mm in her hand and it was a perfect fit. The price was very good and included a $50.00 mail in rebate. Most of the reviews I read were good. I can't wait to try it out at the range. I know that many will say there are better guns out there and they are right, but this one just seems to fit in many ways.

[LampLighter]

Which Model ??? 59___ ? I had a Smith 5906 my first 3 years as a State warden. Then I got a 4043, but they issued us Sigs. So I carried the 40 as a backup. I did not like my 40. Just not my cup of tea. If I had to get a 9 again, it would be the Beretta 92F.

[Wismon]

Frenchbuck, it sounds like you chose a good one.

Lamp Lighter, what do you like about the Beretta 92F? (That's not a challenge; I'm just asking to learn.)

[LampLighter]

what do you like about the Beretta 92F?


5 inch barrel

Garand style action - open on top

Grip angle - overall fit , comfortable and natural

[frenchbuck]

Hi Lamplighter, Sorry, I left that out. Just too excited about my new pistol I guess! It is the Sigma pistol series. From what I read on reviews, The early models of this type had some issues but that has been resolved with the newer models. I looked at the Beretta 9mm and if it was a personal handgun for myself, I might have purchased it but I felt that it would have been to big for my Wife to use. That's why I traded in my Hi Point for a smaller pistol.

[Scout]

french,

Congrats on your purchase. You won't regret moving from the Hi-point to the Smith. As you said, the early Sigma's had some issues, but my understanding is that Smith got that worked out pretty quick. I've shot a couple of them (.40 and 9mm) and they seem to be well built and shoot well.

As the Beretta....I had a brand new 92F that became a jam-o-matic. Mine was a fluke...cause I know that Beretta makes some of the most high quality handguns on the market. Pretty sure mine was just a weak recoil spring...but I traded it off before I bothered fixing it. It was a little big for my hands anyway.

As far as size goes...if you're looking for your wife or just looking for a concealable handgun.....look at the Kahr line of handguns. They're a little pricey....but well worth the money (actually...the CW series are very afordable when compared to the price point of lots of handguns.). At lease IMHO.:D

[Wismon]

5 inch barrel

Garand style action - open on top

Grip angle - overall fit , comfortable and natural

Good points, although I'm not entirely sure the Garand style "open on top" action is an advantage...but I'm not sure it isn't, either.

I carried one for a while. I found that I liked it more than I expected to.

Another advantage is that it's very easy to field strip.

[Badger]

frenchbuck,

Congradulations on your new handgun. Liking whatever gun you own/carry is a big step forward. My problem is I like them all; actually I like most all of them with a few exceptions.

Badger

[Hi Ball]

Congrats on the new piece! You can't hardly go wrong with a Smith & Wesson period.:)

[Bill Gunn]

You can't hardly go wrong with a Smith & Wesson period.:)

I really like S & W's but I wouldn't say that.
In about 1971 I bought a brand new Mod. 39 9mm. Biggest stove pipin' POS I ever shot.
NOTHING but hard ball would work through that gun. I even gave it to a friend that was a 9mm fanatic, and he couldn't get it to work either, even after polishing the ramp.
It was the FIRST gun I ever sold :p

Stay away from the older 39's

[LampLighter]

Both my 5906, and my 4043 never jammed. Always totally reliable. I just have no use for a 9 or a 40. I had to use one then, but I sold the 40 quickly after leaving the dept. Both are good for one thing- Law Enf. period, especially the .40. My last 5 or so years was with a Sig Sauer P220 .45acp . That was cool, but again, it like the Smiths were just too mechanized.

I have never owned a 1911, but knowing myself, and having the Ruger 22/45, I think I would be very comfortable with a 1911, cocked & locked. It is not for everyone, but those keenly aware of what can go wrong, and those understandably knowledgable about this weapon should be able to carry it cocked safely. However the average Joe Blow police recruit- No Way! The old school guys could. Remember the Colt Combat Commander ?

[Hi Ball]

Bill Gun, sorry but when I posted that statement about Smith & Wesson, I was actually referring to the Smith & Wesson Revolvers ok. ;) :)

I still believe that the GLOCK is hard to surpass, as a carry weapon. You draw and pull that trigger and it goes BANG everytime out the gate. I just viewed a torture test on the U-TUBE of a new Glock pistol. I was drug behind a pickup truck on a sandy & rocky road for an hour.

Many people have put statements out that the GLOCK will fire if dropped on the floor etc and they are not safe to carry. I say HOG WASH!!! This video is just another effort by someone who knows what a GLOCK is and proved to all once again the Glock is a safe as the person using it period. TOTAL RELIABILITY is but two words to discribe a GLOCK pistol.

My Kimbers will NOT cycle all types of jacketed ammo, my Glocks well in spades. You can NOT expose my Kimbers to mud and have them fire on line, my Glocks will do so and fire underwater as well. My Glocks can be buried in sand, dug up and fire reliablly, my Colts, Kimbers, Sigs and Sprindfield will NOT, unless you give them a very through cleaning.

[MOGC]

HiBall,
You are drunk on the Kool Aid...

[LampLighter]

You are drunk on the Kool Aid...


He also keeps repeating the same civilian points about the Glock. I hear that same stuff from the urban tactical gu rus in the shops around here.

[billt]

Here is my question I would like explained. Why is it when someone repeats what everyone else has found to be fact, it's "drinking the Kool-Aid"?? Do you see any other pistol performing side by side with a Glock in these torture tests? Any at all? I don't, and I've looked. In every Glock torture test I've seen or read about, they dragged along some other unfortunate make of handgun and showed proof positive where it was left in the dust by the Glock. All the time, every time.

All of the makes. Sig, H&K, S&W, Springfield, Kimber, Colt, name it and it's been put side by side with a Glock in some type of torture test where it has failed, and the Glock did not! It's almost like liberals defending their position. It's crap, they know it and cannot prove otherwise because they don't have the facts on their side, but argue anyway. And much like the liberals, it's good to see. We simply don't have enough humor in our lives! Bill T.

[stinky]

Whoa there pardner...The Department of Homeland Security tested guns, it is the largest civilian contract ever. The people that submitted guns is a closely guarded secret and I only know of two guns that were actually involved in the test...the SIG 229 and the H&K P2000 as they passed the 8500 round test. The reason I know that is because when those two guns passed the test, both companies put out information on their websites and also the DHS put out the information on their website. But, the rest of the stuff about the test is a guarded secret. So, I do not know that Glock was in on the test....but did I say largest civilian contract ever? If they weren't there, then talk to me later, I have a new toll booth going up, on I-70 and I'll let you in on it.

BTW, as you get to the bottom...the plugged bbl portion of the test,I bet that it scattered some gun parts and was rough on the equipment.

http://www.hk-usa.com/civilian_products/civ_newsroom_08242004.asp

Oddly, I could not find anything on the Sig website...but Special Agent Gibbs carries a Sig http://www.sigsauer.com/AboutUs/NewsDetails.aspx?NewsId=4
This exercpt: At ICE firing ranges, Trotto is putting the pistols through one of the most rigorous testing regimens ever devised, gun manufacturers say. With the help of dozens of officers from CBP, the Coast Guard and the Secret Service, Trotto's team will fire ten thousand rounds with each model. The guns get beat up; they are put in a 200-degree oven for eight hours and dropped on concrete. They are dunked in salt water and sprayed with sand. "We put the [guns] through the wringer to find out what their real performance capabilities are," says Trotto. is from http://www.govexec.com/features/0604-15/0604-15s1.htm


This....Plugged Barrel Test: "An appropriate caliber bullet for the chambered caliber will be pressed into barrel from the breech to a depth of 1.16 inches as measured from the breech. The barrel will be re-installed and the pistol fired using one round of service ammunition. Any barrel deformation or damage will be noted. The test will be repeated, with a second pistol, with a bullet lodged 0.5 inch from the end of the muzzle. Any barrel deformation or damage will be noted."

Sand and Dust Test: "Five (5) fully loaded holstered pistols will be placed in a 43 inch x 21 inch x 25 inch wooden dust test chamber, with the barrel vertical and muzzle down. A 1/10 horsepower motor driving a 500 cubic feet per minute squire cage blower attached to one end of the test chamber will be used to disperse two pounds of Quickrete Play Sand.

The sand will be sifted through an 18 x 14 threads screen to remove the larger particulate. The sand will be gravity fed into the blower intake at a rate not to exceed two (2) pounds per minute, and will be allowed to run for three (3) minutes totaling six (6) pounds of sand. After three (3) minutes, the chamber will be opened and the pistols removed from the holsters. Any loose dust will be shaken from the pistols. The pistol will then be fired. Any malfunctions will be noted." Salt Water Immersion Test: "Five (5) fully loaded pistols with one (1) extra, fully loaded magazine per pistol will be submerged in a salt-water solution of 5% sodium chloride and 95% distilled water by weight for sixty (60) seconds. The pistols will be removed and held muzzle down to drain the bore and then placed in a climatic chamber at 70F and 70% RH for 24 hours. The fully loaded pistols shall then be fired, re-loaded with the extra magazine and fired again. Results will be noted." Temperature Tests: "Five (5) fully loaded pistols with one (1) extra loaded magazine per pistol will be placed in a climatic chamber, at 200F for eight (8) hours. Each pistol and extra magazine will be removed from the climatic chamber and all fired within one (1) minute. Results will be noted. Five (5) fully loaded pistols with one (1) extra, fully loaded magazine per pistol will be placed in a climatic chamber and conditioned to minus 30F for eight (8) hours. Each pistol and extra magazine will be removed from the climatic chamber and fired within one (1) minute. Results will be noted."


was taken from

http://www.shootingtimes.com/handgun_reviews/sig070606/index2.htm

So, my point is that there have been some gun tests that Glock hasn't won...assuming that Glock was even there.

[MOGC]

Bill,
There are plenty of reliable reports of Glock failures; you just have to open your eyes and keep an open mind. I have personally seen Glock's choke, and, break small parts such as extractors, ejectors, front sights, ect. With my experience with them I can't follow the herd when some of these claims are blasted about as absolute fact. I won't dispute that Glock is as good as most and better than some, but foolproof they are not. Like any machine, they work perfectly except when they don't!

[billt]

I only know of two guns that were actually involved in the test...the SIG 229 and the H&K P2000 as they passed the 8500 round test. So, I do not know that Glock was in on the test.

I'm not understanding your point in the least?? You are discussing durability tests that Glock did not participate in to prove what? A Glock is barely broken in after 8,500 rounds. There are Glock range rental guns all over the country that have easily gone 100,000 ROUNDS. So Homeland Insecurity was a big contract. That in itself proves nothing. These large government arms contracts are filled with lobbyists and political wrangling. Look at the Beretta M-9 contract. It in itself proves nothing durability wise.


So, my point is that there have been some gun tests that Glock hasn't won...assuming that Glock was even there.

That statement is like saying the Colts played the Chargers on Monday night, and San Francisco didn't win!

Look, for such a long post I have zero idea where you are going with any of this, other than to say Glock didn't win tests they never were in. No other pistol in the last 25 years has been tested, torture or otherwise, more that Glocks. This one has been floating around the Internet for quite some time now. It is just an example of what people have done with these things, and they've simply kept on running. If there is a more durable semi auto pistol out there, let me know which one it is. Bill T.

http://www.theprepared.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=90

[billt]

Bill,
There are plenty of reliable reports of Glock failures.

Where have I ever said they have never failed? What I said is At present there is no other semi auto pistol out there that has yet to come close to matching the overall durability and ruggedness of a Glock. Period. Bill T.

[MOGC]

That is not my personal experience. You have your opinion and I have mine, life goes happily on.

[billt]

What I should add is that if there is a better one I would like to know about it. As I'm sure the rest of the world would as well. Bill T.

[Hi Ball]

MOGC........I SIR DO NOT DRINK KOOL-AIDE SAVVY!!!:rolleyes:
You must be attending to many of those day care center parties with your youngsters. I hear they give the LEO's FREE Drinks. LOL :D :D :D

However, I do shoot my Glocks a bunch, along with my Kimbers, Sigs, Colts and Smith & Wessons. I do not drink Alcohol either just so you know the facts!

Now my CCW pistol is a GLOCK, not as accurate as my Colt or Kimber but very dependable and it lets me shoot without having to deal with a De-Cocker or sweap a safety off before pulling the trigger. My Glocks are just faster on the draw everytime out the gate and they always go BANG.

[MOGC]

HiBall, you are always good for a laugh, thanks for that. Day care center parties... LOL! :)