Are Mid-Sized Guns Too Much of a Compromise?

[D-Man]

Give me 5" or 3". Most mid-sized 4" guns are too big for me to conceal and too small for me to enjoy at the range. I'd buy a 5" XD and a 3" XD before I bought a 4".

That's pretty much what I was trying to get across in my original post - glad somebody else felt the way I do....was starting to think maybe I was nuts!

 

[Valkman]

Well yesterday I whipped out my 4" XD45 after not shooting for over a year and first shot hit a beer bottle over 40 yards away. I carry a 4" Kimber CDP - I think 4" guns are perfect and I have large hands. I just ordered a XD45 Service Compact that'll be here in time for a CCW class next Saturday - can't beat 'em.

 

[Deacon Blues]

I like mid-sized autos as well. The CZ PCR/P-01 are the perfect size for me; the 3" SP101 is similar. For a dedicated range gun, I'd still go full-size for the obvious benefit of more weight/less felt recoil. But for a general use gun, mid-size just fits.

 

[LKB3rd]

My xd45 compact 4" is midsized with the 10 round mag and full-ish size with the 13 rounder, and works great both ways.

 

[BattleChimp Potemkin]

+1 on the service size XD. My XD9 fits well and can be hidden easily in the winter/fall. Summer/Spring, well, usually I like to stay close to the car

 

[seeker_two]

My xd45 compact 4" is midsized with the 10 round mag and full-ish size with the 13 rounder, and works great both ways.

I wish Springfield (or any other manufacturer) would do that with their 9mm and .40S&W pistols. The butt is the hardest thing to conceal and adapt. The XD45 Compact concept is great. A Glock 19-sized slide & barrel on a G26 frame would be welcome, too...

Heck, I've even seen it work with a 1911.....Commander slide on an Officer's frame......

 

[Kind of Blued]

Here's my deal:

G26, G19, G17L (That's LONGSLIDE!)

Why compromise when you can just fill the gaps?

 

[possum]

i am a small to medium handgun size kida guy. i like 4" barrel guns myself like the xd service model, the glock 19 sie etc. but i do have 2 sub compact guns and they are acurate enough, and my sc xd has o be the best and most accurate sc gun that i have owned/used

 

[MCgunner]

I must be a masochist, I guess, because my P11 isn't bad and I quite enjoy shooting falling plates with it. I also quite enjoy shooting magnums out of my SP101. I guess it's that Tim Taylor thing I've got going on, but I LIKE it.

 

[Double Naught Spy]

So there will always be a compromise, regardless of what we choose.

Right, nobody has invented the highest capacity, largest caliber, lowest recoil, quietest, lightest, easiest to conceal, most accurate, easiest to shoot, best trigger, of the highest quality and requiring the least maintenance for the smallest price.

Similarly, nobody has developed the correct ammo for it that would be the largest caliber, greatest velocity, best stopper, least over penetrative, flattest trajectory, least flash, quietest, least recoil, and yet penetrates barriers as needed.

 

[the naked prophet]

I'd rather just have two G19s than a 17 and a 26. The 19 is, to me, a full-sized handgun. In fact, lay a Glock 19 on top of a Browning Hi-Power, and they're exactly the same size - height, length, grip length, etc. I daily CCW a Glock 19, whenever I'm not on campus. It's not hard at all to conceal, as long as I'm not wearing a skin-tight t-shirt.

The Glock 17 is an extra-large handgun. Unless you have big beefy fingers, which I don't.

 

[DawgFvr]

I'd rather have a M1 Garand to any of the above. Actually, a side arm is just a compromise in itself...a very big compromise.

 

[glockman19]

There's something in a 4" gun I like. I have a Glock 19 & 26. I bought a Beretta 92FS INOX as my full size 9mm. I happen to like the Glocks better. The Beretta is a beautiful gun and I shoot it well but...I like the simplicity of the Glock.

My first was the 19 then the 26. I will eventually get a 17 to round out the collection. The 19 can be CCW'd.