Striker Fired: What am I Missing?

[Redcoat3340]

I've got a bunch of pretty good hammer-fired pistols (and revolvers) as I sort of "accumulate/collect." But there are far fewer striker-fired ones in the safe.

In 9 there's a worked-on Sig P230 compact and a 9mm S&W/Walther/Magnum Research 99; Shield 2.0 45 PC; a P320 SC in .40; and a SW99 full and compact in .40.

They kinda fill all my needs for carry (and play).

But I'm wondering if I'm missing something by not owning a Glock or Taurus or some other (plastic) striker fired guns. I haven't yet seen any features on any of the striker guns lately that I can't live without. I've got "small/pocket-carry" covered with J-frames and Smith 380 EZ and no shortage of IWB and range toys in most popular calibers.

So what features or particular pistols should I be looking for, if any? I'm thinking of just upgrading one or two of the ones I have -- like sending a .45 PX4 off to Langdon or a Remington 1911 RIS off to ???? who for an upgrade.

(Clearly I have too much time on my hands and/or have been doing this too long.)

 

[Ks5shooter]

What is this Glock you speak of missing?

 

[Redcoat3340]

A gaggle of Glocks? All that plastic and not one wooden stock? Green and yellow; purple and brown...so which one is the jewel in the crown?

Wow! Looks like my spread of S&Ws. Nice bunch-a-guns.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I just recently succumbed to the polystriker virus.

I hate to admit it, but the performance advantages are undeniable. Faster lock time, lower bore axis, and lighter weight combine to offer pistols that are easier to carry and put more rounds on target in less time.

I love my metal hammer guns, and they are still great for playtime at the range, but if one is serious about self-defense, you gotta carry what you shoot best.

Even if it's a pink Glock.....

 

[nettlle]

Don't drink the polymer Koolaid.

 

[sevt_chevelle]

You're not missing out.
The last striker fired gun that interested me was the Smith and Wesson 5in metal competitor, that was a major disappointment. Sold it and bought a CZ TS2 orange.

My current carry pistol is a CZ shadow 2 compact, it's glock 19 sized. With a proper holster, JM Custom, you don't even know it's there.

 

[gc70]

But I'm wondering if I'm missing something by not owning a Glock or Taurus or some other (plastic) striker fired guns.
...
So what features or particular pistols should I be looking for, if any?

What you are missing is what many striker-fired guns are missing, which are features beyond the minimum necessary for a functional firearm. Glocks and others have a simple manual of arms that make them ideal for introducing new shooters to guns, but you are well beyond that stage.

The majority of your striker-fired guns have the Walther P99's uniquely flexible trigger system or the Sig P320's interestingly different trigger system. And the legendary HK P7's squeeze-cocking mechanism has several unique features. For me, a Glock clone provides common magazines with a PC carbine, so mag type might be a feature.

A better question would be what feature(s) does a typical striker-fired gun have that your guns are missing?

 

[Lo-Profile]

I prefer hammer fired guns, but have a 4-5 striker fired ones.

 

[trackskippy]

Theres only one way to know what you don't know.

Buy what interests you, dedicate some time, effort, and a bunch of ammo to it, and then make an educated decision. At least you'll know whats "really" what.

 

[Ks5shooter]

I just recently succumbed to the polystriker virus.

I hate to admit it, but the performance advantages are undeniable. Faster lock time, lower bore axis, and lighter weight combine to offer pistols that are easier to carry and put more rounds on target in less time.

I love my metal hammer guns, and they are still great for playtime at the range, but if one is serious about self-defense, you gotta carry what you shoot best.

Even if it's a pink Glock.....

Pink is wifes summer carry lol

 

[Ks5shooter]

The blue/gray is my Civil war tribute Glock.

 

[Ks5shooter]

A gaggle of Glocks? All that plastic and not one wooden stock? Green and yellow; purple and brown...so which one is the jewel in the crown?

Wow! Looks like my spread of S&Ws. Nice bunch-a-guns.

For carry my blue/hardchrome 43x to the right.For target I like the 3 with the Deltapoint pro.G34,G35 and G41.G20 MOS is next with DP pro.That will make the triplets ...quadruplets.

 

[5-SHOTS]

I have these three striker fired polymer pistols. The Walther P99 AS has a DA/SA action with a decocker only button. The Grand Power Q100 is a pure striker fired with no manual safety and no second strike capability. The Taurus G3 has a manual safety and second strike capability (sort of SA trigger that become DA when SA goes click). The Walther and the Grand Power are fully ambi pistols. So I think I'm pretty much covered with the different striker fired trigger actions. I lack a pure DAO.




For the moment I have no desire to have more.
Maybe in the future I will purchase a Glock 34 Gen3 just because I have always been happy with the Glocks I have tried and have always shot well with them. Furthermore, magazines and spare parts are easily available and particularly inexpensive. For the rest I am always interested and intrigued by polymer pistols, I like them, I read the reviews, I watch the videos but I don't like any of them to the point of saying: I will definitely buy this one or that one.

 

[JTQ]

The one thing that keeps edging me towards striker guns, is the ease of slide disassembly. I don't have much reason to strip a frame, but cleaning a firing pin channel and extractor may need more than a simple field strip. I like hammer fired guns, but other than a 1911, that is super easy to strip a slide, most hammer fired guns are not as easy to detail strip a slide as are a Glock or a Beretta APX.

A good example would be @ECVMatt at post #28 in this thread. https://www.thehighroad.org/index.p...kers-for-berettas.928925/page-2#post-12867682

Admittedly, I don't strip a slide very often, but getting in to clean a striker/firing pin channel or clean an extractor on a Glock is probably a lot easier than doing it on an S&W 4506.

 

[Cornhusker77]

I'm not fussy, I have plenty of each.
The 3 guns I bought this year were 2 striker and one hammer.

 

[jar]

I have quite a few striker fired pistols but only a few of them have polymer frames, most are steel framed. The oldest is 111 years old right now.

 

[lee n. field]

I've got a bunch of pretty good hammer-fired pistols (and revolvers) as I sort of "accumulate/collect." But there are far fewer striker-fired ones in the safe.

In 9 there's a worked-on Sig P230 compact and a 9mm S&W/Walther/Magnum Research 99; Shield 2.0 45 PC; a P320 SC in .40; and a SW99 full and compact in .40.

They kinda fill all my needs for carry (and play).

But I'm wondering if I'm missing something by not owning a Glock or Taurus or some other (plastic) striker fired guns.

Your current perceived needs are met. Don't worry about it.

I haven't yet seen any features on any of the striker guns lately that I can't live without.

On the internet one sees a lot of chatter about "stryker vs. hammer!". A lot of what's alleged is not unique to one over the other.

've got "small/pocket-carry" covered with J-frames and Smith 380 EZ and no shortage of IWB and range toys in most popular calibers.

So what features or particular pistols should I be looking for, if any? I'm thinking of just upgrading one or two of the ones I have -- like sending a .45 PX4 off to Langdon or a Remington 1911 RIS off to ???? who for an upgrade.

(Clearly I have too much time on my hands and/or have been doing this too long.)

Gun enthusiasts, such as folks that post on forums, tend to try to optimize. They'll spend disproportionate amounts of money for the final few percentage points of optimization. Are they really good enough to make use of it?

 

[jdc1244]

But I'm wondering if I'm missing something by not owning a Glock or Taurus or some other (plastic) striker fired guns.

I'm not.

 

[Jim Watson]

Plastic striker fired guns.

Notice how some brands are bringing out metal versions? I don't see the point, I like the Walther Q5 Match better than the Q5 S Match and the regular Plastic M&P Pro better than the Competitor.

 

[Rule3]

You are not missing anything. But if you want to find out, there are a gazillion of used guns out there you can try,

Heck Glocks have terrible(but safe) triggers so many people replace about everything on them anyway.

 

[trackskippy]

Glocks triggers are no worse than any of the other "factory" triggers. People need to stop trying to perpetuate that myth.

And one of the biggest problems you run into with used Glocks (and a lot of other things) is, people trying to "improve" them by swapping out factory parts for aftermarket parts, many of which are questionable at best.

And if you haven't experienced something you haven't yet experienced, you are missing out. You only know what you know, until you know better, and there's only one way I know to figure that out.

I would suggest there too, if you're going to try something you haven't yet, you try a "factory" version of whatever it is, so you have a solid baseline that hasn't been adulterated. And that applies to anything/everything, not just Glocks.

We all like to customize our stuff and make it ours, and I understand that, but the reality is, function-wise, most guns are best alone when it comes to parts that are function-related.

 

[JTQ]

A Glock specific advantage is if you have a G17 or a G19, just about everybody that makes a holster makes a holster for a G17 and a G19.

If you have a Beretta 92, when you're holster shopping it makes a difference if you have a 92FS, or a 92A1, or an M9A1, or a 92X, or a 92X Performance. If you have a G17, as far as the holster makers are concerned (outside of a Gen 1 gun) a G17 is a G17.

 

[Jimster]

Best trigger + fastest shooting = 1911.

 

[vanfunk]

Trackskippy, I have to respectfully disagree with you about the Glock trigger. I find the long takeup, mushy wall, and significant overtravel to be the definition of a bad trigger. The rubber band gun I bought my son when he was 4 had a better trigger. This is no bash; I love Glocks and have been working tirelessly lately to shoot them up to their inherent accuracy (and I agree with everything else you said!) There are many striker fired guns with a vastly better out-of-the-box trigger: CZ P-10, Walther PDP and HK VP9 are tops in my experience, and even the lowly Canik is far superior to the stock Glock trigger. I would encourage you to try these pistols and see what you think. Good 1911 triggers (and CZ shadows, Tactical Sports) are something else entirely.

 

[ECVMatt]

First off, let me start by saying that I really am enjoying the Beretta 92 and am now thinking about a CZ 75 full sized pistol. I also have a Nighthawk GRP and a Springfield "Loaded" that was my father's gun. I get the appeal of all steel guns and even went to great lengths to replace all of the hybrid plastic parts on the Beretta 92.

However, @JTQ hit the nail on the head by mentioning my 92 thread. I can strip my Glock 19 down to the most basic components with a small punch that is on the back of my Endura 4 in the same amount of time to gather all of the tools it will take to simply begin working on the Beretta. I was sitting up on the deck watching the rain come in from the ocean and took my 19 apart while barely looking at the gun.



You don't always need to be able to do this, but when I am out in the desert or way up in the mountains, it is comforting to be able to detail strip your pistol or replace a part without things flying everywhere. This is just one of the pluses of a plastic pistol.