Now, see, the old coot behind the counter today stated one crucial flaw with Glocks. He stated that after 2000 to 2500 rounds, the mags start to have issues staying locked/retained. True?
Honestly, I was all excited to gander at the Glocks, despite their abundance of polymer. You know, it's Mitch Rapp's weapon of choice.
Then he dropped that bomb.
Thanks for that input. Ever look at a 9mm as an option?
You're just lucky she didn't use it on you earlier this year.
perhaps very early glocks had an issue with the magazines, but they have been improved over the years. in fact one gun magazine writer, massad ayobe i think, ran a test on his glock 19 where he would clean the gun once every 10,000 rounds. he stopped the first test at just under 33,000 rounds because the magazines wouldnt hold the slide lock open at that point. he got two new magazines, then continued the test. and i mean he torture tested that glock. he would do things like rapid fire the gun running several magazines through the gun, then dump the gun in ice cold water while he reloaded, then did the same thing, over and over again with nary a hiccup. he would bury the gun in mud, then give it a cursory wipe and shoot the weapon. again no issues. he then frozen the gun in a block of ice, thawed it out and again rapid fired the weapon. again no issues. he even had a truck run over the gun, he dropped the gun from a chopper, loaded hot rounds, etc. and through it all the glock performed flawlessly, despite only being cleaned once every 10,000 rounds.
even glock tested their guns when reports came in that the guns would blow up when hot loaded. in fact glock tested hot loads of several propellants up to, but not including, C4 and no problems what so ever.
I have been a Law Enforcement Firearms Instructor, So I have a little experience with handguns. I can tell you that A LOT of what you will get on here is subjective and personal preference especially as it relates to caliber. 9 mm is readily available and relatively scheap to shoot. All that being said, I wouldn't have a 9mm for a combat handgun. (personal preference) If you are not going to spend a lot of time training, a revolver in .38/.357 magnum is a great choice. They are simple and almost 100% reliable. If you are choosing a carry gun there is a trade off between size/caliber/capacity/holster preference that no one can really answer for you. (subjective) If you have a range where you can rent handguns, go there and spend a lot of time trying different guns. I carry a concealed weapon often. My weapon of choice is a S&W M&P 40C (compact .40) which holds 10 rounds. It is a polymer frame, is pretty light and comfortable with the right holster. I have a stainless Para Ord 12-45 (10 or 12 rds .45 ACP) which I carry sometimes but is heavy. I have a 5 inch 1911 Taurus which I keep in the house and take to the range. I personally would not recommend a 1911 for a carry gun unless you practise with the gun A LOT. I dont own any revolvers only because I like the greater capacity of the semi-autos and dont have an unlimited firearms budget. I will get one eventually but it will probable be a Taurus Public Defender in the .45 LC/.410 shotgun.
BOTTOM LINE: Any caliber 9mm and up in a semi-auto or .38 up in a revolver will make an acceptable defense weapon. Buy what feels good to you and take the time to learn how to use it. Caveat- a .380 can be had in a very concealable size for summer carry and I do plan to get one soon. In a gun fight the best gun is the one you have with you at the time. Oh, and if you are new to shooting buy a .22 pistol and shoot the living crap out of it.
excellent post! i will however say that using a 1911 style gun even for a novice is not a bad idea. the key being to practice with the gun until you are comfortable shooting it.
my advice is to go to several gun shops, with preference to those that have a shooting range and rent guns, take the wife along as well, and rent a number of guns and shoot them. dont worry about the caliber either, if you see a .45 you think you might like, rent it and shoot it. and make the wife shoot it as well. at some point you are going to find a gun that you and the wife both like, and that will be the gun you want to buy. and dont take the word of the guy behind the counter as to what is a good gun and what is a bad gun. for instance i have a lorcin .380 that everyone says is a horrible gun, but mine does pretty well shooting. it is accurate, and fairly easy to handle. the only issues i have ever had was a few failures to eject, and a couple failures to feed. in its defense though i dont have a lot of rounds through the gun yet, perhaps 50 rounds so far, but it gets better each time i shoot it.
as for my personal preferences, i like a DA/SA gun like my EAA witness. that way i can keep a round in the chamber, and have the hammer down and the safety on. and when it need to shoot it, i just take the safety off and pull the trigger.
) every caliber is going to do its job if shot accurately. This must be exciting for you, let us know what you choose.
