Handgun to beat

[arcenite]

I'm in the process of picking out my first handgun to compliment my first shotgun.

This will be for home defense and range use.

I've picked my caliber: 9mm

I've decided that the handgun to beat is the Springfield XDm 3.8.

I picked this over the Glock 19 due to the grip safety; because it gives me a warm fuzzy.

Bud's has it for $~560.

Can you do better for the price?

 

[rudeguy]

You might want to check out the XD's problems. The coating on the receiver wears off very quickly. Besides looking like hell, it can start to rust.

My .02 would be a Glock 19 if you want something in that size.

The grip safety is pointless.

 

[arcenite]

You might want to check out the XD's problems. The coating on the receiver wears off very quickly. Besides looking like hell, it can start to rust.

My .02 would be a Glock 19 if you want something in that size.

The grip safety is pointless.

I've grown to respect your opinion and you are not the first person to tell me to get a Glock 19.

So can you give me a little more detail? I do not plan on keeping a round chambered when storing it so I can probably talk myself out of a grip safety with some help.

 

[clamum]

I love my XD-9 but also wouldn't mind a Glock 19 either. I doubt you'd be real disappointed if you went with one of the majors (Glock, XD/XDm, M&P, FNP/FNX, etc).

 

[rudeguy]

I've grown to respect your opinion and you are not the first person to tell me to get a Glock 19.

So can you give me a little more detail? I do not plan on keeping a round chambered when storing it so I can probably talk myself out of a grip safety with some help.

A gun only goes boom when you pull the trigger. A Glock has 3 safeties that make it impossible for it to fire unless you pull the trigger. External safeties will only slow you down when you need to be moving fast.

Check out how a Glock works, especially the safety part of the animation:
http://www.genitron.com/Basics/Glock23/P2Glock.html

I'm partial to Glock, that's no secret. But I had an XD that I couldn't wait to sell. The coating was wearing off after only a couple weeks.

The 19 is Glock's compact 9. Its often forgot about because the 17 is the most popular and its full sized. Most people go right from that to the 26 (which I love). But the 19 is right in the middle. I really want a 19 because it has an accessory rail for a flashlight/laser/zombie whistle.

 

[gorcorps]

I have an XDm 9 which I've had for a little over the year and I like it quite a bit. That said, I used to dislike Glocks because they just didn't feel right and I could hit shit all with it. However, my buddy recently got a Glock 19 gen4 with a U style rear sight... and I was surprised how nice it felt. I was surprised how much I liked it and accurate I was compared to how I used to shoot them. Maybe I got better now that I've been shooting all the time or something, but it felt nice.

THAT said, I also agree that for carrying purposes I would like the backstrap safety as well. I've heard far too many stories about Glock users shooting themselves. You can argue that it should never happen if you know what you're doing, but IMO there's nothing wrong with a little extra safety when it comes to guns.

 

[highland145]

Bought a Glock 17 9mm in 1991. Still have it, love it.

+1 rudeguy's opinion

 

[BladeVenom]

A Glock has 3 safeties that make it impossible for it to fire unless you pull the trigger.

And how do most accidents happen? By someone pulling the trigger.

External safeties will only slow you down when you need to be moving fast.

A grips safety isn't going to slow you down. 1911's are the fastest guns around, and they have 2 external safeties.

 

[amish]

personally, i like glocks. the safety mechanism is pretty good. i like how it felt and it shot very well with me. i am supposed to look at a SIG before i make my final decision. you might want to look at it too.

 

[jpeyton]

I'd get a Gen4 Glock.

 

[rudeguy]

And how do most accidents happen? By someone pulling the trigger.



A grips safely isn't going to slow you down. 1911's are the fastest guns around, and they have 2 external safeties.

So the simple answer is to not touch the trigger unless you want the gun to go boom. That's solid advice even if you have 13 external safeties.

I'm assuming the OP would be keeping this as a house gun, so if he did have to use it the chances are that it would be middle of the night, pitch black, half awake, possibly naked kind of conditions. If you aren't very familiar with your gun, undoing all the safeties will slow you down. A Glock is point and shoot.


But your points are very valid. The grip safety will not slow you down unless there is a situation which prevents it from being depressed. I wasn't aware that 1911's were the fastest gun out there, but I'll take your word since I don't know wha the fastest gun is. However the OP did not mention a 1911 so that debate isn't for this thread.

An XD is a fine gun and it sounds like he'll be kieeping it inside, so I'm sure it would serve him well. I was just giving him my experience and opinions.

 

[rudeguy]

personally, i like glocks. the safety mechanism is pretty good. i like how it felt and it shot very well with me. i am supposed to look at a SIG before i make my final decision. you might want to look at it too.

which Sig?

Some jerk pointed out one of their SAO's to me and now I'm in love. But it will take me a bit to get that much saved up

 

[boomhower]

Get a Glock 17 and keep your finger off the trigger until you want it to go bang.

Why a compact gun for HD? Take the extra ammo of full size.

 

[arcenite]

Being as I was having trouble deciding it's not hard to sway me to the Glock 19. And I'm pretty sure that's already happened. So thanks.

Regarding the 1911: I hate that they're single action only. Why would I want to have to cock the gun after every shot?

 

[schneiderguy]

M&Ps and Glocks are better than XDs.

 

[schneiderguy]

Regarding the 1911: I hate that they're single action only. Why would I want to have to cock the gun after every shot?

You only have to cock it before the first shot.

You're thinking of a single action revolver, those need to be cocked before every shot.

 

[pontifex]

you don't rely on a mechanical safety anyway.

 

[rudeguy]

Being as I was having trouble deciding it's not hard to sway me to the Glock 19. And I'm pretty sure that's already happened. So thanks.

Regarding the 1911: I hate that they're single action only. Why would I want to have to cock the gun after every shot?

Only the first one

 

[arcenite]

You only have to cock it before the first shot.

You're thinking of a single action revolver, those need to be cocked before every shot.

Hmm... that makes a little difference then....AH DAMNIT YOU JUST MADE THIS HARDER BECAUSE I LOVE THE LOOKS OF A 1911.

GET OUT OF MY THREAD.

BE AT MY HOUSE FOR DINNER, THOUGH.

 

[pontifex]

Being as I was having trouble deciding it's not hard to sway me to the Glock 19. And I'm pretty sure that's already happened. So thanks.

Regarding the 1911: I hate that they're single action only. Why would I want to have to cock the gun after every shot?

you don't

once you chamber a round, the gun is ready to fire and will reset the hammer after every shot.

it's not like a single action revolver.

 

[boomhower]

Being as I was having trouble deciding it's not hard to sway me to the Glock 19. And I'm pretty sure that's already happened. So thanks.

Regarding the 1911: I hate that they're single action only. Why would I want to have to cock the gun after every shot?

For the love of everything that is holy take a safety class before buying anything.

 

[arcenite]

I just time warped 3 people...wow.

Um...so rudeguy...

Glock 19 vs. 1911 GO

 

[arcenite]

For the love of everything that is holy take a safety class before buying anything.

To be fair I've used several handguns but they've all been DA/DAO.

 

[rudeguy]

Hmm... that makes a little difference then....AH DAMNIT YOU JUST MADE THIS HARDER BECAUSE I LOVE THE LOOKS OF A 1911.

GET OUT OF MY THREAD.

BE AT MY HOUSE FOR DINNER, THOUGH.

If you are going after pretty, check out my thread on SAO's.

I can't go in there because I don't want to drool on my keyboard any more tonight.

 

[amish]

which Sig?

Some jerk pointed out one of their SAO's to me and now I'm in love. But it will take me a bit to get that much saved up

full size, 226. i'm to compare it to a G17. but it is going to be a post busy-season purchase so i have a little while.

the decocker on the SIG seems worthwhile. i'll have to really study up on both, see which one shoots better for me, and make a decision.