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New carry gun, down to two choices
Big Sky Redneck
Member Posts: 19,752 ✭✭✭
Ok, I got some decent comments on the Sprinfield Armory 1911-A1 and I am still pondering it. I also have a possible deal on a new Glock but not sure if I am ready for a plastic gun. Here is what I am dealing with now and maybe y'all can steer me in the right direction.
I like the 1911 style guns, my current gun is a small framed 1911 clone (Llama Mini Max .40S&W). The SA is a full sized .45ACP with a 10+1 cap. Although I like the gun, it may just be too big as I am only 5'11" 185#s.
To change over to a .45 will cause me to have a big ammo/brass and die sale for .40 S&W, over 5000 rounds of loaded and empty brass. I will have to "retool" so to speak for a .45.
Not sure of the model number on the Glock yet as I will have a choice most likely but it will be in .40S&W. Now I have heard the complaints about the Kabooms and I know they are as ugly as sin but I have also heard very good reviews on them.
This may very well be the last carry gun I purchase since I am not a handgun fanatic. The gun needs to last, no trips to the 'smith for repairs and tweaks. Need to be able to pull it out of the box, load it and fire with no problems after which it will be subject to abuse of riding in vehicles, damp enviroments and pee poor maintenence. To me a handgun is nothing more than a tool, I do not drool over them, I do not compete with them and personaly don't really like to shoot them.
I just need a good out of the box gun that if and when it is needed it will be ready to go. These two choices are deals that I can complete this week if I choose to so looking for a different brand of gun is out of the question, these are the two that I will have to choose from. Any suggestions from you handgun guys?
I like the 1911 style guns, my current gun is a small framed 1911 clone (Llama Mini Max .40S&W). The SA is a full sized .45ACP with a 10+1 cap. Although I like the gun, it may just be too big as I am only 5'11" 185#s.
To change over to a .45 will cause me to have a big ammo/brass and die sale for .40 S&W, over 5000 rounds of loaded and empty brass. I will have to "retool" so to speak for a .45.
Not sure of the model number on the Glock yet as I will have a choice most likely but it will be in .40S&W. Now I have heard the complaints about the Kabooms and I know they are as ugly as sin but I have also heard very good reviews on them.
This may very well be the last carry gun I purchase since I am not a handgun fanatic. The gun needs to last, no trips to the 'smith for repairs and tweaks. Need to be able to pull it out of the box, load it and fire with no problems after which it will be subject to abuse of riding in vehicles, damp enviroments and pee poor maintenence. To me a handgun is nothing more than a tool, I do not drool over them, I do not compete with them and personaly don't really like to shoot them.
I just need a good out of the box gun that if and when it is needed it will be ready to go. These two choices are deals that I can complete this week if I choose to so looking for a different brand of gun is out of the question, these are the two that I will have to choose from. Any suggestions from you handgun guys?
Comments
Go Glock
Charlie
"It's the stuff dreams are made of Angel"NRA Certified Firearms InstructorMember: GOA, RKBA, NJSPBA, NJ area rep for the 2ndAMPD. njretcop@copmail.com
Hope this helped.[:)]
Self defence is an ablsolute and natural right. Keep your powder dry! J. Rau, Alaska
aguncollector@prodigy.net
just my .02
I'll second the other guys - Glock. However, if you are set on one of these, I'd keep the smaller .40 S&W because you're already set up for it (reloading supplies), being smaller it'll be easier to conceal, and thus you'll carry it more often.
I have a full-sized Glock 20 (10mm) and also a full-size Kimber 1911. I would have to be wearing a jacket or a fanny pack for me to be able to carry either of these concealed.
If I were in your position, I'd get a Glock 29 which shoots 10mm. You can buy barrels for them to allow .357 SIG or .40 S&W to be fired from it. The 10mm and the .40 S&W use the same projectiles, I believe the same powder, and the cases are a lot a like, the 10mm is longer and if I recall correctly the .40 S&W uses small primers.
My shooting buddy has the Springfield Armory 1911-A1 and a Glock in 40SW. I have shot both a lot and personally favor the Glock out of the two for handling and accuracy although not as pleasing to the eye as the 1911.
Pack slow, fall stable, pull high, hit dead center.
Don't fly the river!
Go for the Glock. It will be lighter and yet more pleasant to shoot with less muzzle rise. Everyone I have taken to the range with a 1911 style, and a Glock, has enjoyed the Glock more. And it's not plastic, it's more of a nearly indestructible space-age polymer compound.
T. Jefferson: "[When doing Constitutional interpretation], let us [go] back to the time when [it] was adopted. [Rather than] invent a meaning [let us] conform to the probable one in which it was passed."
"Neca eos omnes. Deus suos agnoscet."
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can in prison?
ATF,Eagle Guns
In a word...Browning.
the difference between the almost right word and the right word is like the difference between a lightning bug and a lightning bolt
"HONOR IS BETTER THAN HONORS"
"KEEP THE SKEER ON"
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Mudge the frugal
I can't come to work today. The voices said, STAY HOME AND CLEAN THE GUNS!
Thanks for the info folks, there just may be a Glock in my future, hammerless DA every shot gun, may just be what I need!
Boomer
"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as it is by the obstacles which one has overcome while trying to succeed"
NRA Life Member
A dead intruder cannot testify against you in a court of law!
If they're still moving, put another round in them!
It gives you the best of both worlds, looks like a Glock.
But it's shoots like a 1911, i got to shoot one.
Starting price about 450.00 all the Glock nuts like it.
Find some who has one , Try it you like it.
CHOICE 1 Para Companion Carry Option 3.5" barrel 7.1" length 7+1
http://www.paraord.com/pages/carry.html#carryoption
CHOICE 2 Para CCW 4.25" barrel 7.7" length 7+1
Kimber Ultra? A little thick for me.
Colt Defender, remove the Pachmyer's and put on slim checkered wood? Maybe.
Kimber Ultra RCP II 2003 Special Edition? Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! $1288 MSRP uhhh..
Lightweight Black Armory KoteT Micro?PX9804L -not posted to keep file size down..
http://www.springfield-armory.com/images/pistols/PX9804LLarge.jpg
Local shop has them for $580...List? $993
Other stuff:
.32 ACP Beretta 3032 INOX
http://www.berettausa.com/product/product_pistols_main.htm
9mm S&W 908S
http://firearms.smith-wesson.com/store/index.php3?cat=293573&sw_activeTab=1
40S&W Sig P-239
http://www.sigarms.com/products/classicpersonalsize-models.asp?product_id=43
Want a no fuss gun get the Glock.About your Llama though.Are you saying the thump safety itself is broken? Or the mechinism locks up during firing? If it is just the thumb safety itself has worn out of tolerance [yourgunparts.com] has the part,matte blue is part# D127,your cost $12.You can check with Llama but the grip safeties for most of their models 9mm,40cal,45ACP,except the 32,380acp Micro Maxs are the same in function but part # may very buy the finish.Heck if you lived near LA,I'd put it in for you.
Hope that helps,CWatson
1.KILL EM' ALL AND LET ALLAH SORT EM' OUT!
2.NEVER WASTE MONEY ON SPRINGFIELD ARMORY!!
1. Browning Hi-power .40 S&W, 4 3/4 in bbl, stainless steel frame, 10+1 capacity.
2. S.A. V-10 ultra compact 1911, 45 ACP, 6+1 capacity, aluminum frame, ported
3. Taurus tracker, titanium frame, 7 shot .357 Mag Ported
4. S&W 386PD Scandium frame, crimson trace laser grips, 7 shot .357 mag.
It's hard to pick a favorite, depends on the clothing I can wear, where I'm going, ect. Most of the time, It's the Taurus, then the Smith, then the 1911, then If I have something to cover it up well enough the hi-power. Seven shots of .357Magnum should be enough to resolve any problem I may run into. The most important thing, no matter what you go with is that you shoot it all the time. You can't afford not to be a really good shot with your concealed carry gun. Just my opionion.
R/
Dave
edited, of course, for spelling.
How different the world would be if we could consult the veteran instead of the politician. - Henry Miller
I have a Glock compact 40S&W with the "night sights" and it performs flawlessly and will take a heck of a beating. Durability is not a serious consideration. I still get nervous with the "trigger safety", but have never heard of any one accidently shooting themselves on account of it. Maybe someone else has. I like the 40cal.
That being said my son bought his first handgun as Springfield Armory 1911. He bought it at a gun show and it had the "necessary" work done on the trigger and etc. First time I picked it up I shot better than I ever have with my Glock.
My Glock and I need more time to be acquainted. Since I shoot animals more than people (never have and hope never to have to) I am a better pistolera with my Ruger Security 6 double action .357 (consistantly out shoot the cops at the testing range with this one) and my Ruger Bisley single action .44
Okay, but a carry gun. The Glock. My son is already looking for a carry concealed gun. The 1911 is just a little too big to do it right.
Good luck pal.
R/
Dave
How different the world would be if we could consult the veteran instead of the politician. - Henry Miller
"single by deceit,parent by choice"
R/
Dave
How different the world would be if we could consult the veteran instead of the politician. - Henry Miller
My dog right now is my best pal. She never minds if I am late. She is always egar to go and do all she can to make my day. When I am down she knows it and gives me full body push hugs. When she does good, she knows it and is all smiles.
A good dog will give you unconditional love and friendship. They don't expect much and give all they have.
Don't give up on her too soon. My partner's dog slipped off on a nose mission down in the breaks and he did not find her for 5 days. When we got back down she was sitting at the cabin waiting for us.
I wanted a smaller Glock for off-duty carry, and our range officer recommended the Glock Mod. 27, the subcompact. I bought it, and the magazine pinky extensions at 8 bucks a pop so it would fit my hand.
A friend has a Glock Mod. 23, the compact. Comparing the 23 and 27, with the pinky extensions, made me wish I'd bought the 23. The grips on the two are the same length which makes them have the exact same problems with carrying concealed.
If I had it to do over again, I'd get the 23, as the barrel is 1/2 inch longer, as is the sight radius. Plus, the 23 has the rails so you can add a light if you want.
A few more things about Glocks:
1. Borrow a Glock 23 from someone, take it and your 1911 to the range. Lock the slide back, cant it about 45 degrees, and slam in a full magazine. The slide will go forward chambering the first round without you touching the slide release. This is important in a gunfight as you don't have to 'find' the slide release, and you won't accidentally hit the slide release before the magazine is seated in the pistol. (This doesn't work with the subcompact Model 27, another reason I wish I'd bought a 23.)
2. Shoot the Glock some till you get used tot he trigger and recoil, etc.
3. Since the majority of gunfights are really really close, try this drill with your 1911 and the Glock.
A. Stand about 6 feet from your target.
B. Draw and fire 5 shots as fast as you can pull the trigger.
You'll find that with the Glock, those 5 shots will be in the target before the first piece of brass hits the ground. This is because the Glock trigger's release and reset distance is shorter than a 1911's. To see how the short distance is, pull the trigger on a empty Glock. Hold the trigger back and cycle the slide. Then, SLOWLY release the trigger till it resets.
I used to think Glocks were just another pistol, and 'fugly' pistols at that. I was a fan of S&W and 1911 semi-auto pistols. I had never even held a Glock in my hand until I was forced to. Now, except for the Ithaca GI issue 1911 my dad gave me, the only semi-auto pistols I own are Glocks.
I'm rambling, but I just thought of one more thing. Glock factory support. Last summer, we held a Sheriff's sale, and one dealer bought all the firearms, including one Glock Mod. 17 in 9mm. Glocks have serial numbers in 3 places, on the slide, on the barrel, and a plate attached on the bottom of the front of the frame. The serial plate on the frame was missing. That frame serial number is the ONLY number the FEDS recognize as the real serial number. I called the Glock home office in the US, in Smyrna, GA., to remedy the problem. They had the dealer ship the pistol to them. They replaced the frame, along with all the parts in it. The cost? $45.00. That's right, 45 measly bucks! Name any other gun maker that has that kind of customer support.
"If they won't give us good terms, come back and we'll fight it out."
-- Gen. James Longstreet
I would go with the springfield...I don't like a weapon that does not have a safety...I wouldn't call that little lever a safety
the 1911a1 has three safetys as you probly realize haveing a lama the manual safety, the grip safety (will not fire without a proper grip) and the muzzle safety (will not fire with the muzzle depressed to the rear)and the later models like the 1991a1 and the 80 series also have a fireing pin safety so they can not fire without the trigger being pulled. The 1911a1 is one of the few weapons I feel is safe to carry in the cocked and locked configuration.
but so did the military for many years and many now in the military now regret the change to a different weapon
I own a springfield 1911a1 that takes a P14 mag and it is very comfortable to fire. the wider grips to accomadate the double stack mags are harder on smaller hands but if you have med to large hands you should find the grips more comfortable.
the springfield is a good out of the box shooter and has great fit and finish on all I have seen in person.I don't know of a better point shooting weapon than a 1911a1( that I have shot)
as for concealment I carry one daily.
I carry strong side in a holster I made to fit it.
with a butt forward tilt (also called a FBI cant)of about 30 degrees
you will find it easy to conceal just back of the mid-line of the body over the hip
with a high carry you can cover it with the tail of a long shirt.
and you will find out with pratice you can draw it faster than most people can realize you are not takeing out your wallet.
I recomind a high carry(with the triger just at the belt level) so it does not dig into your side when you sit down.
With a good belt you will hardly notice the weight of a gun at your side weither you carry a 1911a1 or a glock
I have explained my reasons and my mode of carry so you can think about the differences in the guns and how you wish to carry so you may make an informed choice
I also recomind you shoot both to see which you are more comfortable with before you buy
just my two cents worth
Lt. snarlgard RRG
SMILE...MAKE EM WONDER WHAT YOUR UP TO[}:)]