Most accurate sub $1,000 carry/combat pistol?

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So whats the most accurate carry/combat pistol you have or have experienced that doesnt exceed $1,000?

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It doesn't matter what is accurate for me. Find what YOU like and practice with it. Any stock Sig, Glock, HK, Beretta, FN etc. will be plenty accurate and can outshoot 99% of the people on this planet. Any real accuracy increase beyond that most likely results in a trade off that makes the gun unsuitable for concealed carry.

Why do the .40's get such a bad rap? My duty Sig 226 in .40 is a lovely gun. Sure, it has a little more muzzle flip than I'd like, but it's a good round. My department did some ballistic testing and the 165 grain Federal will poke a hole in a windshield and still have enough steam to potentially stop a badguy. Definitely the Rodney Dangerfield of rounds!

I shot my Sig P220, then my new Bersa Thunder 45 UC back to back a few weeks ago, just to see how well I could shoot the new Bersa. When each shot was carefully aimed, the performance of the two guns in my hands was virtually identical. When I switched to firing quickly, I shot better with the Sig. Two reasons for this: First, I have many, many rounds through the Sig, including rapid fire drills, whereas this was an early outing for the Bersa. Second, the Sig is a full sized gun with really good sights, so the re-aquisition of the target was faster and closer spacing with the Sig. Having said that, I was very pleased with how I was able to shoot the Bersa. For $350.00, or so, the Bersa Thunder 45 UC Pro is a fine choice for a concealed carry pistol. For a combat pistol, I would think a full size gun is the preferred choice?

CZ 82 is the best I've used personally.

I sincerely believe all things being equal the 45acp is a more accurate round than the 9mm and definitely the 40. I dont know if its the 45's lower cartridge pressure, slower velocity or both but at least for me I can say I've never owned an inaccurate 45. Yet I can say I have owned inaccurate 9mm and 40s. Even in a Glock, which isnt known for top notch accuracy like a Sig, my G30 45 is clearly more accurate than the G26 9mm. As a matter of fact the G30 isnt too far off from my Sig P220. I was pleasantly surprised at the G30 as I assumed all tupperware were good, but not great. I was wrong on that. I suspect the HK tupperware shoots fine too. The only HK I own is the sadly discontinued P7 PSP 9mm. Now thats an accurate 9mm!

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I think what you mean to say is that for you the 45 ACP is more accurate than a 9mm. Your statements have no data to back it up expect for your subjective obervations based on how well you shoot gun X in X caliber. They have no bearing or meaning for anyone else because of their absolute subjectivity.

I can guarantee that if you stick that g36 and g30 into a vise and take you out of the equation you will find that they are about the same in terms of true mechanical accuracy.

In this thread and in others you have made accuracy claims about this gun or this caliber but have not offered up a single data point. From all indications you have never shot a gun from a randsom rest or vise in order to determine the true validity of your claims.

So I again have to ask. Are you making statements about the mechanical accuracy of gun X or are you simply telling us what you shoot better?

I sincerely believe all things being equal the 45acp is a more accurate round than the 9mm and definitely the 40.

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To be blunt (though not meaning to be rude), sincere belief doesn't equal even a shred of actual fact. "All things being equal," three high-precision test barrels, one in 9mm, one in .40S&W, and one in .45ACP, mounted in a unviersal receiver bolted to a bench are going to shoot well-made ammo into groups that will be functionally identical.

Individual guns can be made very precisely (or not) and can display good or bad accuracy. Certain gun designs are inhernatly more accurate than others. However, one caliber or cartridge is not inherantly more accurate than another.

Consider this: The Army Marksmanship Unit modifies their M9 Berettas -- a pistol not known for being extremely accurate -- to shoot 9mm match ammo into a 1-1/2" group for 10 shots ... at FIFTY yards. Tell me again how innacurate 9mm is? If only they were shooting .45s that standard would be 1-1/4" at 50 yds? (Hint: Wilson Combat will give you a 1" guarantee on certain of their guns ... at 25 yds.)

HK P7

Compact, streamlined, reliable, safe, AND accurate!

I sincerely believe all things being equal the 45acp is a more accurate round than the 9mm and definitely the 40.

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The .45ACP is certainly no more accurate than the 9mm or the .40.
And it is actually LESS accurate at longer distances due to the typical .45 bullet weight and the typically lower velocity.
The .45 drops off the point of aim quite a bit out past 50 yards.

Even in a Glock, which isnt known for top notch accuracy like a Sig, my G30 45 is clearly more accurate than the G26 9mm.

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Actually, Glocks are known to be plenty accurate....usually much more accurate than the shooter.
Easily as accurate as a Sig.

Tack driving is not as important as dependability at the supposed typical CCW range of less than 15 ft. I'd rather have the pistol equalivant of the AK that shoot first, second, and third time every time with lint or a bit of foreign stuff in the works. I hate what the AKs stand for but dependability over accuracy short range is best for concealed carry. LE is a different need. I love my Kahr P9 for CC. Light, easily concealed, and carries enough rounds to get out of trouble. Striker fired with no thumb safety to fiddle with using nervous hands when needed. No hammer to catch on stuff.

Both P7 and CZ75 were more accurate then my current S&W 457. The 457 is plenty accurate bullets from its barrel make bigger holes and it fits perfectly into $6.97 Walmart bought Crossman handgun holster. Practice ammo is $16.97 per box of 50 at Walmart.

I'm pretty sure Hi Point semi-autos get you the most accuracy for the dollar.

Well with the fixed barrel I'm not surprised

okay, here's horrible... I have a handfull of very nice, what I would consider high end 1911's (Including a long slide Matchmaster with exensive work, , a colt and a Kimber), a DE in .50 AE, an S&W 46x, Beretta 92 and 92S, a Luger, an XD45 and XD9, and the standard hodgepodge of LCP, PPK-S, Bersa Thunder 380, S&W Bodyguard 380 type stuff... All of which shoot better than I do, but that's a given.

I also own a ransom rest, with many many grip plates. The single most accurate handgun ever fired in that rest, (Including a TC in .45LC, was, and still is, a STAR Firestar in Stainless, in .45 ACP. It was for all practical purposes, a single hole group at 25 yards, (.502") and right at 1" at fifty. (1.09") It's a crappy little gun that weighs a ton, is ugly, and doesn't feel good in anybodys hand that I've ever handed it to. But holy cow is it an accurate little monster from a rest. (I also don't think that the accuracy is based on it being a .45)

That being said, My Matchmaster is the best grouping gun that I own when I am plugged into the circuit. It is a Safari Arms model from back in the 80's before Oly took them over, and I carried it all over S America as my primary sidearm, so it's taken a pretty good beating a few times.

On the .45 accuracy arguement, I remember being told, (and I don't remember by who, but I think it's in my reloading book from Speer), that the .45 was the most inherently accurate bullet design based on external ballistics. The problem with that for me is that ballistics are different for a 185gr plug than they are for a 230gr HP, etc... Ballistics will also differ when fired from a rifled barrel vs. a hex barrel. and on material of the slug (or so I'm led to believe) . Based on these little unmentioned details, I would have to look very doubtfully on any statement claiming that a "caliber" was more accurate, vs. a statement claiming a certain "projectile" was more accurate. and then that all goes to hell when you mix in range and velocity! (the whole arguement just calls for more wood in the stove and another libation...)

Oh, I might believe that a .45acp is closer to spherical and doesn't have to endure crossing the sonic barrier, but at handgun distances? Really?

Until I see data from clamped barrels on the same receiver (Contender, I guess?) fired under varying conditions with varying loads in each caliber, I'm not buying it.
I think the "forty-five is more accurate" is simply an artifact of good triggers on even beat-up 1911 pistols compared to comparatively inferior triggers on the most common 9x19 and fo-tay guns (DA poly models) ... and it likely has nothing to do with the rounds' inherent qualities.

springwalk said:

So whats the most accurate carry/combat pistol you have or have experienced that doesnt exceed $1,000? For me the Sig P220 Combat 45 is the most accurate, but for carry the ultimate 9mm is my Heckler and Koch P7 PSP 9mm. Both with the right ammo will hover around 1" at 25 yards. Whats your special tack driving protection piece?

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I looked over $600 possibility marked 745. It's single action S&W cal. 45ACP pistol with target grade micrometer rear sight and excellent single action trigger. It seemed to be very well put together so it should be quite accurate target/combat 1911 type of gun.

Shot from standing position with an M&P9 @25yds two (15) shot groups. The M&P9 is stock except for the sights front Novak Night sight and 10-8 U Notch plain rear sight.

The strings were in a compressed time period. I have no idea what the mechanical accuracy is of the M&P9 as I’ve never benched the pistol. As for the ammunition reloads from a Dillon SQ-DB not tweaked for accuracy but functionality.

Is the pistol the most accurate for under $1000 I can’t tell you that. From my perspective functionality aces accuracy that’s to say good enough for the requirements of usage.

These are shot groups from 4.5" M&P45 using Promo plinking loads shot off hand at 10 and 15 yards. My W231/HP38 loads produce similar shot groups at 15-20 yards fairly consistently.

Is this another P7 is the ultimate gun thread?

One has to answer why HK discontinued the pistol if it were so clearly superior than anything else? 1911 makers are selling guns that cost much more by the bushel, and even HK is selling high priced polymer guns.

As noted, there is no data, only opinions. And this just another thread started by the same OP with the same basic theme. We get you think the P7 is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

Further, you should note that this is really the most accurate USED sub $1000 carry/combat pistol. I know of no source of NIB sub $1000 P7s.

Even if you look at what the P7 sold for when it was a regular HK item, and adjust for inflation, it still works out to be something more like a $1300 gun when sold retail.

I use my stock Taurus PT1911 in competition and it does fine by me. I am not the best shot, but I consistently take home local area trophies. I also have a Ruger P85 that does fairly well, too. Both of those were well under $1000.00

I also have a Mauser HSc that is pretty decent on accuracy, too. I have carried an HSc as an off-duty gun in the past (Illinois does not allow honest citizens concealed carry yet).

The Doc is out now.