# Best Pistol, several qualifications.....



## Bauer (Sep 29, 2005)

Hey Guys,
Im starting to look for a pistol, but with the amount of money involved, Id like to do it right the first time. After researching and looking at the models I see a few things that may need adressing....

First of all, I will be getting my concealed carry permit, but mostly just so I can keep it anywhere in the truck, it will not spend much time on my person. I would like one that conceals well, but doesnt give up alot of features.

Second, It will be being carried while bowhunting so I want something that is real accurate, the sights are very simply found, maybe something that I can adapt night sites onto (trijicon sp..) for that long walk out of the stand...

Third, Im most leaning towards a .40 cal, ive done some ballistic research and it seems most fitting for what im using, and the bullets dont get too far out of line as far as price.

Now, the models ive looked at so far are the Glock G22,23 and the S&W GVE40, the prices are right, but is the quality. Ive read the reports, seems like the Glock is the most reliable/durable, best to adapt to for a new shooter, but thats about as far as it goes. I saw a guy on here put it as: The glock is made to work, but I want something that is also a work of art.

Run YOUR reasons by me, and lets see how they fit me.

Thanks for the help.

oh, and Huntin1, I know, I know, sig sauer haha :beer:


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## Bore.224 (Mar 23, 2005)

In my opinion, I would say the best sidearm you can have is the one you got on you, a 22lr snubby in yer belt is better than a tricked out .45 acp combat gun at home in the gun safe, or in your case the truck!! You know how Murphys law works right! So something you take with you everyware is what I would look for. I also think the biggest mistake you can make is to pick a cartridge then the gun, I am guilty of this myself, in my opinion the differance between cartiges in most cases is just not worth the time thinking about it. Second big mistake is to say autoloader or revolver do not limit yourself!!

So you want a work of art and a shooter RIGHT, and a gun easy to carry ya want it all!!

S&W Model 620 7 shot adjustable sights .357 mag 4 inc barrel.

I think this or maybe the 686 model will work best for you. For auto pistols a compact sig is the way to go. Hanguns are very specalized tools and its hard to find one that does it all well, I think that gun the 620 S&W is the closest you will come to all around perfection! I myself went with the Glock 20 10mm and its great , but its not easy on concealment and does not shoot as good as a top notch revolver!


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## Ruthless (Nov 6, 2008)

I'm going to agree with a lot of what Bore.224 has to say. I'll give you a run down on my pistols and it might help you.

Glock 23 in .40 - This gun is a work horse and very easy to use and is a great self defense pistol. I usually carry this pistol when i'm 4 wheeling in case of "what ever comes up" and I keep it by my bed at night with a Laser/flashlight combo. It has night sites, extended mag release, and serveral other upgrades. It is a good pistol but not my favorite or the most accurate.

Sig 229 in 9mm - This is a great pistol and probable my favorite. It is well built, accurate for an automatic, has trijicon adjustable sights, and about the exact same size as the glock 23. I like to carry this pistol concealed; mainly because i'm pretty damn accurate with it out to 25 yards+ and I like the way it feels.

S&W 686 in .357 - This is by far the most accurate pistol I own and most reliable. A revolver is hard to beat for reliability - never had one jam yet - and if you happen to "not fire" on a bad shell you can go right past it and fire the next round. The revolver is just not as easy to conceal with a 4" barrel and any shorter you loose accuracy. Back when I had more time in my life and bow hunted this is the gun I allways carried. Anymore about all it gets is some range time.

If I had to own just one gun; I'd pick the Sig. I'd also probable pick 9mm instead of .40 just because if you do much shooting it is cheaper and there are some great self defense rounds out there now. Plus 13 rounds of good 9mm will stop damn near anything except maybe a grizzly. And I feel more comfortable and am more accurate firing 13 rounds fast with my 9mm over my .40. But this is just a personal thing and might not be true for everyone.

Most important of all don't let brand or caliber make your decision - there are a lot of good guns out there and you need to find one that fits your hand first, your wallet second, and anything else comes third.


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## Bauer (Sep 29, 2005)

Thanks for the great info guys....

First of all... To give you both a little more info.

Bore:
I would like to carry the gun with me all day every day, BUT unfortunately the strict "no weapons" rule with my work (combination technician for Reservation Telephone) restricts me from carrying anything other than a pocket knife and a pen, permit or not. Not to mention the fact that since im in the eyes of the public from 8am to 5pm, I cant go pulling over and popping off a few rounds on those dern gophers (or whatever) I see all day. So that is why I say it would probably spend more time under the seat of the truck, rather than on my person, but hopefully, NOT more seat time than field time. I hope that this wont become a bedside dust collector.

I gave the whole autoloader vs wheel gun a thought after my first walks through the local gun shops. I told myself I was going to walk into these stores completely blind, look at all of the guns and figure out what would suit me best. I liked the look of the revolvers, all of that nice stainless material shining back at me like diamonds in a jewlery store. BUT they just werent me. The autoloaders have always intriqued me, I definately like the polymer/S.S. combos. Once I figured out what I was most interested in, I came home and started researching, either ND needs more sporting goods stores, or im totally missing out on the world, there are ALOT of manufacturers out there. 
I like what you say in your last sentence. Im going to go try a Glock 22 out tomorrow night, that I think, will be the first step in the right direction. A friend owns one that I think just might give me the info Im looking for.

Ruthless
Thanks for the rundown, you definately pointed out the work vs fun of the styles of pistols out there. It opens my eyes up a bit more to the 9mm that is for sure, ill see what I think of that .40 tomorrow night.

Thanks again for the great info guys, if your ever in Garrison, PM me and Ill buy you a beer or 2.


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## mrofna (Jan 26, 2009)

i have the taurus 24/7 pro in a .40 cal nice gun for 380.00 new 15 round mag with a spare.if you want to spend lots of money the springfield xdm with 3 mags and holster and mag holderfor like 630.00 but that is my opinion
good luck :sniper:


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## striped1 (Aug 17, 2005)

work of art is in the eye of the beholder. That my glock goes bang everytime, is so beautifully simple, easy to armor makes it a work of art and austrian perfection. Given your choices go with the G23. It conceals better than the 22. Put some 10-8 or Big Dot sights on it and it will be good to go.

Sigs are too heavy
xds point well but you can't armor it - it has to go back to springfield for parts /work and the trigger sucks


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## Bauer (Sep 29, 2005)

Thanks for the info guys.

I found a gun, picked it up last wed. night. I was in one of the local "low on the totem pole" shops and really came across some great deals. The owner was almost out of his supply of pistols, had mostly sigs left that were in the 700-900 range. He was out of the Glocks, but wanted a bit too much (or more than I wanted to pay anyways). He had a few of the S&W SVE's on hand, priced right, but informed me of their 12lb trigger and that was enough for me. 
But he had this lone Taurus 24/7 Pro sitting there, I took hold of it, loved how it fit my hand, covered my pinky finger a bit better than the glock. I had the owner break it down for me, talk about slick, just pull the pin and go, much simpler I thought than the combination puzzle of the glocks. He made an offer much lower (reason un-beknownst to me) than the sticker price and it was a done deal. 5 mins and a bunch of paperwork later it was mine.
So far unfortunately ive only had a chance to pump about 15 rds through it, and it is living up to my expectations so far. I believe this will be the perfect gun for what I need.
Now, to finish the CWP.

Thanks again :beer:


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## mrofna (Jan 26, 2009)

hey i have the 24/7 pro in .40 i love the gun i have fired 150 rounds and not a miss or jam nothing it comes apart in 2 sec. and cleans easy .

what cal did you get the .40 or the 9mm ?
check out the taurus web site they have a video of the 2005gun shoot and the 24/7 pro 9mm stock broke the world record 4 targets at 30ft, 1.11 sec. after that on the last day same gun and shooter he broke the record again. .97 sec 4 targets at 30 ft. just check out all the videos realy cool..you will be happy with the 24/7 pro...

:sniper:


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## Bauer (Sep 29, 2005)

got it chambered in the .40, ive only pumped about 30rds through it so far, but its alot of fun. Ill have to check out the site.

What is the best place you've found to buy your mags. Id like to pick up 2 more, but they seem a bit expensive, there has to be a better deal out there.

Thanks


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## mrofna (Jan 26, 2009)

all the mags i ve found have been about 39.99-50.00 i can get them at my local gun shop for about 45.00 .how do you like the grip? i think it fits my hand good and i have a big hand..

:sniper:


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## Bauer (Sep 29, 2005)

ive seem em online a few places for the $35 range, but factor in shipping you are up to 45 anways.

I shot a friends glock 23 and didnt like how short the grip seemed to be, my pinky finger seemed to want to roll off the butt of the grip. I too have big hands, but when I picked up the pro, it was an instant fit. I wish the finger ridges were a little deeper to accomodate my fingers a bit better, but overall it was the best fit out of all the guns I tried.

I really like how simply this breaks down, I just had it apart and oiled/greased it and had it apart in just a few seconds, have you ever tried to break down the G23? You need 3 hands just to do it, at least it seemed that way to me.

Now to try and find a decent place online to buy bulk ammo, all the sporting goods stores (the few there are) have such a high markup because of no competition that ill go broke trying to shoot it. Im lookin to buy 1000rds FMJ in 170grain. Any ideas?


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## Ruthless (Nov 6, 2008)

You are so right about field stripping a Glock....I pulled mine apart the other night for its yearly once over(since it handn't been shoot but 26 rounds this year...just no time)....I just finished doing my Sig, very easy....Then went to work on the glock..man that was a total pain in the you know what.....and to make matters worse i have heavy duty spring, making it that much harder....

Glad you are liking that Taurus...haven't shot one...but have heard good things...but what matters most is that it fits you and comfortable to shoot


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## mrofna (Jan 26, 2009)

cabellas had good deals on bulk ammoother than cabellas i dont know where..

i have big hands to and the pro fit the best it shoots so good..
did you ever look at the web site and see the videos..??

:sniper:


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## huntin1 (Nov 14, 2003)

Bauer said:


> Hey Guys,
> Im starting to look for a pistol, but with the amount of money involved, Id like to do it right the first time. After researching and looking at the models I see a few things that may need adressing....
> 
> First of all, I will be getting my concealed carry permit, but mostly just so I can keep it anywhere in the truck, it will not spend much time on my person. I would like one that conceals well, but doesnt give up alot of features.
> ...


See there, you already know the answer. 

Seriously, I would recommend shooting as many as you can before sinking the money into one.

Then go buy a Sig P229 in 40 S&W, available with night sites, compact enough for comfortable carry, dependable and tough, better accuracy than any Glock, and they are a work of art. 8) 

:beer:

huntin1


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## huntin1 (Nov 14, 2003)

Ooops, didn't read the whole thread. 

See you got the Taurus, they are a good pistol, not a Sig but it'll work. :wink:  :lol:

I'd also recommend Cabela's for bulk ammo.

:beer: :beer:

huntin1


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## Bauer (Sep 29, 2005)

Thanks :bowdown:

haha, I was reading a bunch of threads in the handgun forum and saw all your sig posts so I figured Id beat you to the punch.

Ill have to do some checking, just found a 1000rds on the net for $254, took a while though, I cant believe how many places are sold out/backordered on their bulk ammo.


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## huntin1 (Nov 14, 2003)

Bauer said:


> Thanks :bowdown:
> 
> haha, I was reading a bunch of threads in the handgun forum and saw all your sig posts so I figured Id beat you to the punch.
> 
> Ill have to do some checking, just found a 1000rds on the net for $254, took a while though, I cant believe how many places are sold out/backordered on their bulk ammo.


I've got somewhere between 800 - 1000 180gr 40 S&W that I might be able to let go of. The dept. switched to 165's so I switched my personal ammo to 165 as well. I don't like switching back and forth. That and I mainly shoot my 45 now.

Let me know if you'd be interested and I'll see what I have, and we can decide on a price.

huntin1


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## mrofna (Jan 26, 2009)

how much for 500 rounds of that 40s&w?????


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## huntin1 (Nov 14, 2003)

mrofna said:


> how much for 500 rounds of that 40s&w?????


PM sent

huntin1


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