I own a CZ 75 SP-01 and a 6" S&W 686+. I love my CZ, and I will definately get more of those once my internship is over and I start earning real money. I cannot speak for anyone but danes, but we have some really heavy restrictions that we have to take into account when we go shopping for guns, which of course make our gun habits a tad diffrent from yours.
First, the tax on guns are heavy over here, and that makes guns a more significant investment to us than to most of you. A SIG P226 will cost you the equivalent of $1600 at my local gun shop, while a CZ 75 SP-01 will cost $1000, and a Sphinx Competition 3000 lands at a whooping $4700. $300-$600, which is my impression that most everyday carry guns in the US costs, would only get you a .22 pistol over here. That means that we danes are less likely to get an oddball gun just for the heck of it, and most of us go for things that you absolutely cannot go wrong with. Thats why I love CZ. A link to my
local gun shop, divide all prices by 5.5 to get the price in USD.
Second, we have to abide by a long list of restrictions as to how large or small our weapons can be, so that they are too impractical for unlawful carry, while still small enough for competition. In Denmark, all guns have to be below 210 mm in length for them not to be deemed 'dangerously concealable', which means that many standard sidearms, which are usually around 200 mm in length, become illegal. The most common way around this problem is to have the gunsmith install a longer match grade barrel in the gun, which again adds to the already high price. Examples of this:
CZ 75b,
S&W M639,
H&K P7. This restiction is somewhat new, and many Danish gunshops have unsellable guns in their inventories that they cannot get rid off.. if you ever drop by on vacation, you might be able to find a good deal on one of those guns.
And last, for now at least, the calibers we have avaliable to us are very limited. As a rule, you cannot buy a gun of any caliber that are not considered a hunting caliber or used in competition shooting in a gun club of which you are a member. Again, this means that many gun stores have weapons in their inventory that are virtually impossible to get permission to own. I have yet to meet one person who had a permit to own a
.44 mangum for instance.
And on the notion of 1911s, sorry, but they are viewed as outdated, overly expensive and unreliable over here, and are generally thought of as something that only you americans like because of its significance to your history. I too fail to see why this gun is so great, perhaps I will never know, but I would take a GLOCK or a CZ any day. That said, american revolvers are pretty much considered to reign supreme over any others.