Another help me pick my next pistol thread....

[itgoesboom]

So i had a little problem with my current carry pistol this evening, after it broke while i was doing some dry firing, and yes, i was using snap caps. I won't go into who made the pistol or what happened untill after i have had a chance to contact the company and see what their response is, but no matter what, after this breakage, i won't trust this pistol with my life again.

So i need a new carry pistol. Fortunatly, i have been looking for the last year or so.

The initial pistols that i looked at were the Glock 19, 36, SA mil-spec, Walther P99 and the XD-9.

Due to the fact that i am broke, and will probably need to spend under $500 the final candidates are the Glock 19, the XD-9 and the SA Mil-Spec.

Of these choices any idea which would be best for concealed carry? Obviously reliability would be my biggest concern.

Thanks again in advance.

I.G.B.

 

[Handy]

I have heard of all of those pistols breaking.

 

[Ian11]

It sounds like you're looking for an excuse to get a new gun. I understand your need to "trust" your carry gun. But like the above poster alluded to all guns can break. Whether its a new gun out of the box or a gun that reliably shot thousands of rounds with routine maintenance.

Go ahead get another gun. Because no one ever really needs an excuse to buy another gun. Just the funds to do it.

Keep the other one, get it fixed, and put hundreds of rounds through it again until you feel its proved itself again. Or you'll constantly be looking for that "perfect" gun. Which does not exist.

*By the way the guns that I consider fool-proof reliable out of the box are the Glock 17, Sig Sauer P226, and Beretta 92FS (9mm). There are more compact versions (for better CCW) of these models but the original configurations/design is best whenever possible.

 

[denfoote]

You can get a Glock 19 within that price range. Standard capacity mags are going to be rather expensive though. I'm looking to find a SA mil-spec, but with it, you might have problems with hollow points. If you want a pistol that is reliable, go with the Glock!!!

 

[caz223]

If you see yourself tricking the gun out in a few years (Spending $200-$500 on smithing, and improvements.) and shooting it a lot at the range, I'd get the springfield.
If you're just going to shoot occasionally, get yourself a glock, and a good holster.
For reliability, and almost total lack of maintainance, a glock/sig is the way to go.
If you're really going to carry it, I suggest a little smaller gun, like a sigpro or sig 239, or something just a little less blocky than a glock.
A smaller glock, with mag extentions isn't a bad idea, either.

 

[10-Ring]

Of your options, I'd go w/ the XD 9.

 

[cslinger]

I know you don't want a flame war but....

It is always helpful to hear about what broke, the brand and how they handled it. All machines break and have weaknesses. I am interested to hear what happened with your gun. If you don't want to post but don't mind emailing me I would appreciate it.

BTW I have a Walther P99 in 9mm that has been flawless.

Chris

 

[Akurat]

Well, 9mm polymer and 1911s are two completely different animals. Decide on which best suits your intended purposes, and if it is the 9mm polymers, narrow it down from there. Of the 9mms I would suggest a P99

 

[itgoesboom]

Cslinger,

I wanted to give the company a chance to fix the problem before i informed everyone of what happened to my pistol, and what my pistol is.

But now, i have talked to the company, and have sent the pistol away for repairs, so i am willing to say what it is.

The pistol is a Bersa Thunder in .380acp. I purchased it because i wanted to have a carry pistol, but i was hoping to save up for a HK P7m8, but it will be a while before i can afford one. So i purchased it since i had heard all sorts of great things about the Bersa, even considering that it is so very inexpensive.

And like most users of the Bersa, i found that it worked great, very accurate, reliable, and very easy to conceal. Although i am not the biggest fan of .380, and i really prefer a SA trigger of DA/SA, it was a good choice for me for my first carry pistol

The problem occured last night as i was dry firing, like i said before, with snap caps. I was practicing the DA trigger pull, and i was just about to load up the magazine and put the pistol away, when i decided to dry fire one last time. I did, and heard a loud snap, and the trigger locked back, and wouldn't reset. I pulled off the grips, and saw one spring had slipped off its notch, so i reset it, hoping that thats all that it was. That did allow the trigger to move forward, but unfortunatly, the trigger return spring seems to be broken as well, so it doesn't return on its own.

I understand that any pistol can break, and that is not what bothers me. And considering that Bersa has a lifetime warranty, i am sure that it will be fixed, and fixed quickly.

My problem comes in that i was just about to load up my magazine, and put the pistol back in its holster on my hip. If i had not dry fired that last time, i would been carrying a pistol that would have broken after my first shot. Thats a scary thought to me. So that is why i am considering a new pistol.

I.G.B.

 

[gbelleh]

Like others have said, ANY gun can break, even Glock, Sig, HK, etc.

I recently had the recoil spring assembly on a brand new Glock 36 break apart on the 88th round fired. Glock promptly sent me a replacement part free of charge, but I won't trust a Glock with a factory recoil spring assembly again.

If my state ever decides to allow its subjects to carry concealed, my plan is to carry a quality semi-auto as a primary and a S&W 342 PD (10.8 oz. .38 +p) as a back-up, just incase Mr. Murphy decides to show up and enforce his law at the worst time.

The P7M8 is a fine pistol. Well worth saving for. If you're lucky, good deals can still be found on used P7s.

I know how it is to lose faith in a gun, but you never know with any gun if the next pull of the trigger will result in a bang or a click. It might not be a bad idea to start looking around for a good light weight, effective BUG for peace of mind.

 

[cslinger]

Thanks for the detailed reply. Again it always helps to gather as much knowledge about things as possible so if it happens to myself or someone else I can look back into the recesses of my brain and say "Self, you remember that guy who a problem similar to this on the High Road right?"

That is a pretty sobering thing to happen. Kinda gives credance to having a BUG or New York Reload.

Take care, shoot safe.
Thanks again.

Chris