Anyone have anything to say about these handguns?

[recurve shooter]

soo i got off work early today (ammonia 5 went down last night, wont let contractors in till they figure out what its problem is.) so i hopped in the truck and ran around town to look at some glock 10 mm or long slide glock 40 cals. but, after talking a bit with one of the guys at one of the stores, he handed me an H&K 45, and a Springfield xdm. Im sure you have all picked up a gun or a bow that just melted into your hand like it was meant to be there? that was the H&K 45, but i cant find much bad to say about the xdm either. disregarding price, which is a bit steep on both, do you guys have ANY negative comments on either gun? i know that there is nothing wrong with a glock, sig, 1911, ect ect, but i am absolutely in love with that H&K, and the xdm is a fairly close second. but yea, anything bad to say about either? which would you prefer, given the choice? thanks guys!

[mullet]

 Well, I had the Sig, got it from stickbender because it didn't feel good to him. And it didn't feel good to me, so I traded it even up for a Para-Ord from Canada and I like it a lot. Can't really comment about the rest.

[jeffhalfrack]

R.S  your  hand  has  great  taste in hand  guns!!!!  and that  gun shop  guy  speaks  my  lingo!!!!  I  love  .45 cal  anything!!!!  hk  is  really  good  stuff, but do  us  a  favor,,,,,,,really  look over  a  kimber 1911,,,tell  me  what  you  think.   but  my  heart  is  with  a  wheel  gun,,,,don't jam,,or  stove pipe!!!  My  pet  is  a  ruger blackhawk  in  .45lc  good  luck, and  happy shopping  JeffW

[nugget]

Go with a Glock 19. 9mm is a good round. Glock is an awesome gun. Glock 17 and 26 nare also super good 9mm. 9mm has stopped many many men and animals.

[bowtarist]

I have a glock 19 and a 21, love em both, but if I had to choose it would be the 21.  i like a 45 too.   the HK is a great gun, buddy of mine had the one w/ a smaller grip.  smaller than the glock 21.  9mm is ok, easy to get rounds and kills a goat dead, but the 45 is...well a 45.  Never owned a large cal. revolver, but they look cool.

[bubby]

you can't go wrong either way, but i'm partial to springfield's, Bub

[Justin Snyder]

I love the glock myself, it doesn't jam or stovepipe either. Glocks have endured more abuse than ANY gun and still fire. LAPD even ran over one with a halftrack trying to cause it to malfunction, but it didn't work. For me the glock model 22 is an extension of my arm. I point and it is on target.

I know caliber is a touch subject for some, but Im going there anyway. 9mm is not enough gun! I have personally seen guys shot in the head and the round didn't penetrate. I don't plan on shooting anyone, but if it doesn't penetrate, critters are getting away. A 45 will penetrate, but sometimes to much, you really have to be aware of what is behind. It also has a lot of unneeded kick and decreases the amount of cartridges in the mag. The 40 is by far the best option. It has enough penetration (14 inches) to do the job, but not going to kick as much and holds more rounds.

Understand that I am biased after carrying the glock 22 in .40 cal for the police department. But a lot of money was spent trying to make these guns missfire and they wouldn't. A lot of money was also spent studying the correct caliber and the 40 performs where it counts. The 40 is also a ton cheaper to shoot than the 45 which means I can shoot a lot more.

[aaron]

The XD is a great gun- I have the XD 9 service and it's had zero problems in the two years i've owned it (put maybe 2k rounds through it). All the guns you mention are good, go with the one that feels best in your hand- grip angle, trigger , etc.

[recurve shooter]

thanks for the info guys. i also love glocks, my dad has one that he has abused to extreme extents and has NEVER misfired. he has killed i think 17 deer with it. (not legally, i dont support most of my dad's methods or beliefs, dont jump me for what he does.) most of them were head shots from like 20-30 yards so obviously accuracy is there. but, what i dont like about glock: EVERYONE AND THEIR COUSIN HAS ONE! i want something where people arnt like "oh, just another one of those". also, since they started putting those darned finger grooves in them, i cant stand the way they fit my hand. finger grooves are to small.  i love glocks, respect them, and have absolutely nothing bad to say about them, my hand and my taste just dont like them. i just LOVE that hk 45. (dad has a glock 22, 40 cal)

LOVE revolvers. cant go wrong with one. but i want a combat looking pistol. i will admit i may be partialy influenced by the "tacticool" movement. i just think its an insane looking/feeling gun. plus you have to admit automatics are just fun.

on the caliber side of the equation: i have my little sigma 9mm for just playin around with. cheap gun, cheap ammo, something i can beat around, shoot as much as i like, and not realy care much what happens to it. now i want some serious, high end fire power to put a thousand through to get used to it, then fill her with hollow points and use it for whatever needs to die. (deer while squirrel hunting, those pesky cotton mouths, or, god forbid, a threat to myself or my loved ones.) i like the 45. its huge. perhaps unnecessarily so, but i will have no question upon pulling the trigger weather this round will end it or not. however, i do not have a problem with a 40 or even 9mm, i just want something big. H&K also makes the....i think p30 or m30...some thing 30, thats pretty much the exact same gun and grip, just in 9mm or 40 cal. one of those in 40 cal might not be bad, but i just fell in love with that 45. also the hk45 has an integral recoil dampening system that supposedly greatly (up to 30 percent) reduces felt recoil, making the 45 feel like a 40 or so.

i love the hk 45, but there are other opitons. after a week or two of brewing on it im sure i will be a little more open, but i know for sure it will be between the hk45, the whatever 30 in 40 cal, or the XDm in 45 or 40. my girl says im indecisive. i just dont see it. 

[stickbender]

     Like Aaron said, go with what you like and fits your hand.  I would go with the Springfield, but that is my personal preference.  H&K is excellent, period.  the Gun I sold to Mullet, was a superb gun but it was BIG, and it just didn't feel right, and I never shot more than a box of shells through it, and I couldn't hit anything worth a darn.  But that was me.  Maybe after getting used to it, I could do better, I don't know.  Eddie said it was very accurate.  The trigger was amazing, you just pulled and it fired.  No creep, or anything to let you know you were about to the end of the sear notch.  It was the smoothest trigger pull I have ever felt. Glocks are superb.  I just don't like look or feel.   I prefer the .45.  It has proven itself in combat many times over with full metal jacket bullets.  With a good fast expanding bullet, it is devastating to whatever it hits.  The key to the Nine MM is bullet weight, and fast expanding bullets.  I like the Hydra Shocks, and PMC Starfire, which is a copy of the old Winchester Black Talon.  I have some nine MM's and I like them, and used to carry them, especially the Astra AL75.  It is double action, and very accurate, and compact.  But for carry, I prefer my Kimber Ultra carry, in .45 .  Trey, when it comes to self defense with a hand gun, or any gun, too much is not a problem, unless you can't control or handle it.  I absolutely love wheel guns! (revolvers)  I have a few of those also, and when it comes to just plinking, I prefer those.  I have from 32, short, 32 long, 38 S&W which is a short 38, and 38 special. 357 mag., 44 special, 44 mag, and 45 long colt.  I had a Taurus Raging Bull in .454 Casull, but sold it.  In a good strong gun like the Ruger, you can load up the 45 to near or equal 44 mag .  And it is just a big ol chunk of lead.  I love the 44 special, and it is an excellent defense weapon.  I have a 4 inch Taurus in 44 special, that is with hot loaded 240 grain hard cast semi wadcutters, an absolute target pistol!  With standard loads it is just so so.  Get the gun that you and your hand likes, and try different brands, and different bullet weights, and see which ones it likes best.    This all just my own opinion, and you know what they say about opinions........

                                                              Wayne


















 

[jeffhalfrack]

  Amen  stickbender!!!!!! .45  for me,,, I  load  my  ruger bh  to  the  max   I  have  filled  many  a  freezer  too,  I  have loaded  black powder w\ a  round ball  (jim shockey powder)   man  I  love the  smoke!!!!!   but  I  do  have  a  s\w  in  a  .40 cal  that  takes  a  full  moon  clip  (wheel gun)  and  man  can I  knock  over  some  steel!!!!!.  as far as wheel  guns  not being  ultra cool   just  ask  that  pro  shooter   Jerry  Mishilack,  I  know  I  miss  spelled  his  name,  but  he's the  guy  that  fires  a  revolver  that  sounds like  a  chain fire!!!!!!!!!!Jeffw

[Diligence]

For what it's worth, if you are looking for a man-stopper (as in stop the threat in it's tracks) you need something that starts with a .4, just saying.

If you just want to go plinking, 9mm is way cheaper (at least in Canada, but I assume it's similar in the US), unless you are already set up to reload those 40's or 45's.

I just bought myself a Ruger SR9 this spring, and really like it.  I am thinking about picking up the Ruger SR40 as well.....the great thing about the Ruger is the price!...and it's still a great striker fired gun.

my two canadian cents.

J

[osage outlaw]

I wanted to buy my first handgun several years ago and was looking at semi autos.  I ended up getting a taurus 44mag revolver with the 8 3/8" barrel.  That is a man's gun right there.  It gets plenty of looks and comments.  I can stash it under my car seat, and take it deer hunting.  It is the only gun I have carried for the last 3 seasons and I have killed 2 deer with it.  I would still like to get a semi auto, but I don't regret buying the revolver one bit.  Good luck with whatever you buy.

[aznboi3644]

talking about one shot stops with the 9mm luger...would you guys really just take one shot though to try to stop the attacker when you have 15-17 rounds in the mag?

I'm looking at the SR9 for a personal christmas present...but if I would ever have to use it in self defense I'd sure use more than one shot.

Like my welding teacher told me if the situation ever comes up and you are questioned in court.  15 rounds would not been enough...17 rounds would be too many...but 16 was just enough to stop the attack. 

[Mechslasher]

i've been shooting handguns for over 30 years and have shot just about every caliber out there.  for me there are only two serious large calibers, .44 mag and the .45.  the .44 mag is the best all round caliber for hunting medium to large size animals.  i would hunt anything with it in north america and africa except grizzly or the big five.  for personal defense, there is also only one and that is the .45 acp preferably in a 1911 frame handgun.  the 9mm and .40 are fun calibers to shoot at cans with but there size and stopping power are just not enough to STOP someone from getting to you when they are drugged up or running at you.  i read a quote from a SWAT team capt. one time and he said a 9mm is a .45 set on stun.  now a lot of people go back and says this is what the army and marines are carrying, but what most people don't understand is the army and marines are not in the business to kill but to wound thereby causing the enemy to use up resorces.  why else do you think they switched to the .223 from the .308, plus the rounds are lighter and can carry more of them.  i think it was in the spanish american war and wwl where the lack of stopping power of small calibers like the .38 special became very evident.  the .38 has 225# of energy and 9mm has 306#, while the .45 has almost 400#.  of course all of this is my opinion so take it for what it's worth.