I looked at three really nice .45s today and would like your thoughts on each for a general purpose home defense and range gun.
RUGER
The first gun I looked at was the Ruger SR45. I have looked at these in the past and keep coming back to it for what seems to be good build quality, excellent ergonomics, nice trigger, and really low price at about $450 locally. The gun just seems like a tremendous value. I did however handle a well used range model and the slide would not consistently remain open on an empty chamber. I'm not sure if this is a frequent issue for them or just the mag on the one I handled.
CZ
The second gun I came across was a new CZ 97b. Wow. I have never handled a CZ 97b and found the build quality and looks of the gun to be fantastic. The new ones come with a fiber optic front sight, polished trigger, and really sweet grips. The primary thing about the gun that I'm not sure about is the lack of a decocker. I'm not sure I would ever feel good about manually lowering the hammer inside my house...so I guess that leaves the best option as carrying it cocked and locked which is FINE but for the safety lever being so small. The gun retails locally for $610 which seems like a good deal to me. If the quality and long-term reliability is significantly better than the Ruger than the extra money is worth it to me. Are these good combat pistols or more of a fun range/game gun?
DAN WESSON
The third gun was a Dan Wesson Specialist. The gun seemed to be built as well as any Wilson or Ed Brown I have ever handled. Maybe it was just this particular specimen, I don't know, but it was on another level from everything else in the case including a Springfield TRP. The price tag was just under $1,500. If I could make it work financially is it worth it in the long-run over either of the other guns? The only downside on this gun is a slightly lower mag capacity and the price tag.
COLT
I know I said 3 guns but there was a 4th. The Colt Special Combat Government. The gun was about $1100. It looked really nice in the case. When I handled it the build quality didn't seem to compare to the Dan Wesson but it also wasn't as expensive. And of course it's a COLT.
I know this is sort of an apples and oranges list but they are three guns, after handling quite a few, that I really gravitated to. I'm leaning towards the CZ but worry it may not be the best option for my purposes. What do you think?
RUGER
The first gun I looked at was the Ruger SR45. I have looked at these in the past and keep coming back to it for what seems to be good build quality, excellent ergonomics, nice trigger, and really low price at about $450 locally. The gun just seems like a tremendous value. I did however handle a well used range model and the slide would not consistently remain open on an empty chamber. I'm not sure if this is a frequent issue for them or just the mag on the one I handled.
CZ
The second gun I came across was a new CZ 97b. Wow. I have never handled a CZ 97b and found the build quality and looks of the gun to be fantastic. The new ones come with a fiber optic front sight, polished trigger, and really sweet grips. The primary thing about the gun that I'm not sure about is the lack of a decocker. I'm not sure I would ever feel good about manually lowering the hammer inside my house...so I guess that leaves the best option as carrying it cocked and locked which is FINE but for the safety lever being so small. The gun retails locally for $610 which seems like a good deal to me. If the quality and long-term reliability is significantly better than the Ruger than the extra money is worth it to me. Are these good combat pistols or more of a fun range/game gun?
DAN WESSON
The third gun was a Dan Wesson Specialist. The gun seemed to be built as well as any Wilson or Ed Brown I have ever handled. Maybe it was just this particular specimen, I don't know, but it was on another level from everything else in the case including a Springfield TRP. The price tag was just under $1,500. If I could make it work financially is it worth it in the long-run over either of the other guns? The only downside on this gun is a slightly lower mag capacity and the price tag.
COLT
I know I said 3 guns but there was a 4th. The Colt Special Combat Government. The gun was about $1100. It looked really nice in the case. When I handled it the build quality didn't seem to compare to the Dan Wesson but it also wasn't as expensive. And of course it's a COLT.
I know this is sort of an apples and oranges list but they are three guns, after handling quite a few, that I really gravitated to. I'm leaning towards the CZ but worry it may not be the best option for my purposes. What do you think?