Advice on purchasing a 9mm

[rlance]

I'm having trouble deciding what handgun to buy. I have shot a few handguns in the past, but I have never owned one. I plan on using the gun as a range gun, conceal carry, and home defense (in order of importance). I have decided that I want a 9mm and not a .45.

I have ruled my decision down to either a Glock Model 19, Ruger P89, or a Springfield XD. I have talked to several people about these guns, and I am getting mixed answers. It seams that most people are slightly biased to what they own. I have held each of these guns, and they feel comfortable in my hand. I'm unable to shoot them prior to purchasing which is making this difficult.

I'm favoring the Glock at the moment, but its lack of an external hammer is bothering me. This is a newb question, but say you do not have a bullet in the chamber. Once you pull the slide back, how do you decock the gun? Also, which of the three guns will be more reliable and durable? I was told that Springfield has had quality control issues, but do not know if this is true.

Can anybody give me some advice (trying to be as unbiased as you can)? I'm trying to make an educated decision prior to purchasing so I will be happy with my choice. Thanks in advance.

[kar298]

i have a ruger p90 which is pretty much the same as the p89 and love this gun. i have put several hundard rounds of various ammo though it without any problems

[wolfgang2000]

Hi Rlance, first let me tell you that I'm a Glock fan. The Glock 19 particularly. I have 3 of them, and a 26. Well I have 2 19's my wife has 1 . AS far as I concered the XD is nothing but a Glock copy. The Glock does not have a hammer. It uses a striker. So there is no "decocking". The striker stays under load, (about 78%) all the time. As with all firearms, the Glock is designed to go bang when you pull the trigger. So if you finger is not on the trigger it can't go off. (I'm not being sarcastic, it is the way the gun is designed.) The Glock has 3 safeties. 1 external, and 2 internal. The external safty is in the trigger. You deactiveate it by putting your finger on the trigger. I've carried my 19's (and my 26) A LOT. They have been shot A LOT. I have never had a problem with any of them. The only modifications on any of my Glocks are night sights, and a Houge grip all.

The Ruger P89 is a nice pistol. I'm sure it will serve you well. But if I have to choose it is the Glock hands down.

[sarzak]

for self defense, go glock. pull it out, pull the trigger. no fiddling around.
it won't go off if you drop it( unless you drop it from a two story building)
and the reason they are so popular is they NEVER malfunction.

[Pistolenschutze]

I too would go with the Glock, rlance. If you like the 9mms, you've got basically three choices, the 17, 19, or 26. The 17 is a full-size pistol and is great for range shooting, open carry, or home defense, but in my opinion it is a bit on the large side for CCW. The 19 is a smaller, more compact version of the 17 that will do just about anything asked of it, though for concealed carry it is a little harder to conceal easily under light clothing. My favorite is the smallest of the lot, the G26, or mini-Glock. It's light, very easy to conceal, and a joy to shoot.

[drunkdude69]

Originally Posted by wolfgang2000

Hi Rlance, first let me tell you that I'm a Glock fan....

The Ruger P89 is a nice pistol. I'm sure it will serve you well. But if I have to choose it is the Glock hands down.

I also own a Glock, and I am a big fan too. But what matters most is how a gun feels in your hand, and the most important part of that is the trigger pull, IMHO. I play bass guitar, and I think choosing a gun is a lot like choosing a guitar. You have to hold it and pull the trigger a couple times (dry fire). If it doesn't grab you right away, if it doesn't feel right in your hand, forget what you heard about that gun on the internet, it isn't for you. You can't internet shop for a gun or a guitar. The catalog sizes just never seem to fit like they do in the picture. I like the Glock trigger pull, but I know some people who don't.

I own three Ruger weapons (10/22 carbine, MKIII512 .22 Target pistol, GP100 .357 6" barrel stainless revolver, yeah baby, I like that one most of all) and one Glock (G22, 40S&W). I own three Rugers because each one has impressed me more than the last one. I own only one Glock because I just bought a 9mm conversion barrel for it for $99 at topglock so now I can shoot 9mm out of my 40S&W. Two for the price of one. \RAWK/. I own all of them because I picked them up and they felt right. Ok, I admit it, I rented them all first (except the 10/22), but that's only because the place I have a membership at has like 75 guns for rent (including almost the entire Glock line).

If you're lucky, you can find a GOOD gunshop near you that rents a lot of weapons, like more than 30.

[Marlin]

I have both a 1911 .45 and a Browning Hi Power Practical in 9mm.

Both are super weapons and I carry them alternately daily.

[rlance]

Thanks for the advice guys. Unfortunately, I do not have access to any place that will rent them out. I really wish I did. I have a few co-workers who might know somebody who owns the Ruger. If not, I'll probably just get the Glock since everybody (and I mean everybody) I talked to say it is extremely reliable gun.

Another newb question though. Is it "okay" to dry fire a gun? I have heard yes and no, but wanted more opinions on this. I do NOT plan on ever doing this but would like an answer. Thanks.

[pickenup]

Glock, lightweight, dependable, but since it has a slightly different cant to the grip, does it have a “natural point of aim” for you? Have to use certain ammo.

Ruger, dependable but kind of blocky, not as accurate as some, weighs more, shoots any ammo.

Springfield, keep hearing stories about them, not good stories.

SIG, VERY dependable, accurate, shoots any ammo. My choice. (bias)

CZ, good gun for the money.

Browning hi-power, slim, easy to conceal, dependable, only holds 13 rounds, being a single stack the grips are small for some. Shoots any ammo.

Like the drunk said. Put them in your hand, if it doesn’t feel good, you will not shoot it well. Try the natural point of aim with all of them.

Most modern firearms are OK to dry-fire. ANY gun used in competition today HAS to be dry-fired when finished with the course of fire. (excluding 22’s) Best to use a snap cap in all guns, if available. Someone will correct me if I am wrong (I’m sure) but don’t you HAVE to dry fire some Glocks to be able to disassemble them? Or is that all Glocks?

[wolfgang2000]

Pickenup,
You are right Glocks have to be dry fired to be disassembled. The only ammo you should not shoot out of a Glock are lead bullets.

[Marlin]

I have 15-round military magazines in my Browning Hi Power that feed with no problems. That is why I sometimes carry it instead of the SA 1911.

[LDBennett]

The gun world is made up of two distinct camps: plastic guns camp and metal guns camp. I'm in the latter as I want to leave my guns for my decendants. Steel and aluminum are forever. Plastic eventually (maybe not in my lifetime but eventually none the less) gets hard and cracks and breaks. I'll take metal guns anytime.

Most of the CZ's are metal guns. I like CZ's a whole lot. They have the right mass to resist wavering around for target shooting. The are durable (see above). They are accurate. They will be given to my kid's kid's kids many tens of years into the future. If I had a plastic gun I doubt that could happen.

Just my opinion based on years as an engineer and the owner of enough guns to supply a small army (or so it seems).

LDBennett

[JohnK3]

I own a CZ75. (Actually, it's the wife's!)

Great little gun. Believe it or not, when I picked up my first CZ and compared it to a Glock in the store, the CZ felt lighter than the Glock. This may have more to do with how the CZ balanced in my hand than actual weight, but my wife agreed, which is why we bought it as our first handgun.

After purchase, I did some research online about CZ. Found out that the CZ75 was designed in response to the Czech police putting out a request for a new sidearm. It had to be extremely reliable, so they designed a battery of tests, which included dunking it in water, mud, etc. The only gun to pass the tests was the CZ75 design. It fired over 60,000 rounds without failure, according to one source.

It's been copied almost as much as the 1911. Look at EAA's Witness, the Desert Eagle and many other designs. It was the first to put the slide rails on the outside of the slide and the frame rails inside. This was a radical departure from standard designs, which had the slide rails on the inside and the frame rails on the outside, as in the 1911.

Is the CZ the be-all and end-all of handguns? Nope. Someone's bound to come out with something that does something different, maybe better in some ways. But it's a solid design that's stood up to the test of time. It feels "right" in my hand and in my wife's hand, which is the main criteria. If a GLOCK had felt right, I'd be a GLOCK owner today.

Of course, I also own a Kimber Compact Stainless II, which you can see in my avatar. It, too, felt "right" in my hand. One day, I may pick up a GLOCK that feels "right" and I'll buy it. Then again, maybe not. You never know.

[stetson]

Glock hard to beat!Comes in many different models.

[drunkdude69]

Originally Posted by wolfgang2000

Pickenup,
You are right Glocks have to be dry fired to be disassembled. The only ammo you should not shoot out of a Glock are lead bullets.

Along with using only copper-jacketed bullets, I heard you should not fire factory reloaded ammo through a Glock either, unless you want a kB (ka-BOOM!) and a cracked frame.

Also, don't try shooting a Glock under water. Very bad idea.

[wolfgang2000]

If you will read the manual of any new handgun, it will limit it's warranty against handloads. Glocks can use reloads. I have shot thousands of reloads through my 19's and 26. As long as your reloads stay withen safe limits it should be OK. The same loads that will blow up a Glock will blow up a 1911.

[Wideboy04]

Before you spend the hard earned cash on trial and error, research the Kahr PM9.

[MnHunter]

Personally I am a lover of Taurus, outstanding warranty never had one fail me or jam up. They are affordable and they offer a nice wide selection. I had 6 of them and then seen hard times and am now rebuilding my collection, I now own a Raging Bull .454 and I bought the newer Taurus family member the 24/7 in 9mm, wow am I ever impressed with there new ribber grips..

[whip]

Glock hands down. It will shoot every time. I have even shot lead reloads through mine with no trouble. Ruger is a good gun and so are the CZ and the Kahr. But for my money the Glock is just a realiable firearm that can with stand lots of shooting. Invest in a hogue grip sock, night sights, and a 3 1/2 pound trigger connector. It really smooths out the trigger pull.

[tom vito]

Originally Posted by MnHunter

Personally I am a lover of Taurus, outstanding warranty never had one fail me or jam up. They are affordable and they offer a nice wide selection. I had 6 of them and then seen hard times and am now rebuilding my collection, I now own a Raging Bull .454 and I bought the newer Taurus family member the 24/7 in 9mm, wow am I ever impressed with there new ribber grips..

I couldn't agree more. i got the 24/7 9mm for Christmas from the wife. Since we have bought a compact 9mm millenium, a 8shot .357 and just last week we bought a model 605 ss 5 shot .357 for the wife to carry.


If I would have went by what I read on the net, I would have bought glocks and smiths, instead I save a lot of money have still have reliable side arms, and 4 instead of 2.....

[indynotch50]

A friend of mine just got a 9mm S&W with 2 high cap mags for $300. It is a midsize gun. I don't think he's shot it yet though. But I was impressed with the quality and deal. If you're interested I can get the model for you.