Changed about your handgun interests?

Weisse,

My story tracks yours almost verbatim!

BOARHUNTER

 

I'm not not here to push people's buttons. I consider myself either moderately conservative or maybe just plain libertarian... or a combination of both...just using what these modern terminologies seem to mean today. And I was actually raised in a stoutly Democrat household, and remained that way for some time thereafter. The way I see it today, the Democratic party was hijacked by the people you mentioned by taking advantage of its excessive liberalism . Thats why special interest groups, welfare recipients and people with alternative lifestyles have been instrumental in that process. I have my views on those things and on those people and their lifestyles.... but I realize they're human and I don't want to just provoke or hurt people...although I wish people wouldn't gravitate to those things.

For about a decade I voted as independent with no affiliation. I am now a registered Republican as a direct response to not being able to vote in the primaries as an independent. and I certainly do not want to be affiliated in any way with the Democrats who have allowed its excessive liberalism to put it under the thumb of quasi-socialists and quasi-communists. I say quasi because I really don't see these people as being particularly socialist or communist at all. Most of them are rich and have connections to major corporations and industries through private avenues. All they are doing with the Democratic party is finding a way to gain control using mass psychology, manipulation and economic weapons. The Republican party also has it's backdoor avenues to corruption, via religious groups and messages from Jesus on people's teeth. I avoid that and stick to messages of common sense...which oddly sometimes come from those same otherwise ignorant zealots. However, I will not entertain bigotry and oppression, nor accept perversity and corruption...regardless of which side it comes from.

 

I have different guns for different purposes. Concealed carry, open carry (woods), home defense, and some just for fun... OK, most are just for fun! As I age I find that I try to purchase fewer guns and enjoy the ones I own more!

 

Indeed, I don't like having a whole lot of expensive liabilities laying around that I hardly ever use. I'd be okay with pruning off my collection to half of what it is and then maybe buying two or three more nicer ones. I have a number that I'd gladly trade off, and one or two that Id trade for the right catch. I am most on the fence about a Dan Wesson 15 - 2 357 with a 4in barrel that I have.

 

When I first got into pistols, I was mainly interested in service-type, "tactical"-ish pistols. Fast forward 10 years and I have basically zero interest in that category of pistols. I like pistols that are high-performance competition pistols first and foremost. And then I like carry guns that squeeze as much of that performance into a package I can stand to carry IWB as possible. And I like DA revolvers just for fun shooting. It seems likely I'll never buy another polymer or alloy-framed service-type gun again.

 

You don't like your Dan Wesson? What don't you like about it? My DW 744 is one of my favorites!

I have a few of mine marked for trade in also. My CZ-75 compact is a great gun... but it doesn't fit my hand in the least! It will move on one of these days.

 

I like the CZ52. Too bad about ammo availability...

 

I said I was on the fence. I chose it and keep it for the fact that it's as tough as any Ruger for heavy loads, and it's got nice balance and you can interchange barrels and all that. The unique cylinder release is not an issue with me. l almost like it more than more conventional mechanisms. However I find the 15 clunky! It's not the veritable early "pork chop" frame, but it's close. I\m not accurate with it unless I really relax. It's imperative that you work with the sights on it....which are GOOD. But I am more interested in being able to draw and obliterate without such snags. It's a combo trail/target gun. If I keep it I will probably buy one of the longest barrels available, like at least 8"...at LEAST, and go for distance. For EDC it probably serves no major purpose for me and I'll need to consolidate or sell. I'm just considering it's value for trade, which I realize has merit. Otherwise it's a test platform or hand artillery with no practical value.

 

Makes sense, my 744 is just for fun at the range. Like you said it is too chunky to actually carry. I love the interchangeable barrels and the unique cylinder release. I also love how accurate it is, the great trigger and that it will handle any Ruger only load. I picked up an EWK muzzle brake for my DW and it is great for target shooting at the range. I like my 744 so much I have really been tempted to pick up a mod 15 or 715. The bulk like you mentioned is the only thing that has help me back so far.

 

I've had several handguns over time. Now in my mid 60s, I only care about my custom 1911 Commander-size in .45acp. Sometimes I'll throw on the Sig P365, but my heart belongs to the .45. The smaller guns stay in the safe.

 

I guess I have changed in some ways. Not in the 'interest' department, but in the carry department. When I was young I thought nothing about 2+ lbs of 1911 off duty and when I was on SWAT and on duty S&W M19 and 5906 , but now, NO WAY. Off duty the least I carry is a 642 S&W, the most is my 9mm Shield. On duty a S&W 2.0 Compact.

 

I have your UC's little brother for cc, my Thunder 380. Shoots great, eats whatever ammo I have run through it.

Nope, or we'd all have that gun.

I have a handy Security Six that is never far from me in my house.

 

I have a Dan Wesson 15-2. To be honest I am not really a revolver guy & when I bought it I knew next to nothing about what I was doing. I just wanted a .357. I like it a lot. I seldom shoot it as it is not what I usually carry but I'll probably keep it forever because it is very accurate & I like it. Most of my range time is spent on my carry guns.

As for my firearms. My original interest was hunting. When I was young I had acquired a couple of rifles that went away during my misspent youth. I sold one & lost the other in pawn trying to get out of binds I had put myself in. Later after I straightened up I figured if I had a .30-06, a 12 gauge & a .22 I could hunt pretty much anything I wanted to. So that was what I acquired. Back around 2007 I started carrying. At the time I had a Ruger P-series & the Dan Wesson 15-2. That was where my carry journey began. I have spent a lot of time looking for a better mousetrap. Getting excited thinking something will be better because it was a new model. Now I am at a point where there are a couple of things I might like to have but I am fine with what I've got. I am sure I will add something or change up at some point but I don't feel a need to get something else or try to gain experience with every gun there is out there.

 

My concealed carry are pistols.

My 15-2 V 6" is for open carry (Which I usually only do as a field pistol) and a range toy. It is still the handgun I'm most accurate with. It was also the first handgun I bought myself almost 40 years ago (It was second hand but I'm not sure it had ever been fired).

The number of Zero 148 WC that I went through at $4.00 a box after brass trade is scary. I likely went months at a time buying a 1,000 rounds a weekend. I haven't a clue how many 10's of thousands of rounds I went through. It's living proof of how easy lead projectiles and low pressure are on gun and barrel.

 

I dabbled in all the new fads and options for years but finally accepted that I know what I like. I really don't need to find that better mousetrap.

Now I'm working on reducing quantity and increasing quality.

Figure by the end I'll have a few good 1911s and one or two Glocks and be done.

 

I've found this thread very thought provoking. Over the years I've gone through many gyrations. I've had an extensive Sig collection - I'm now down to one. I toyed with striker fired and wore the new off of that fairly quickly. Then came the SASS years - I now have one old three screw Blackhawk and my Marlin. I've loved and owned 1911s - now just one DW. The one thing that has remained constant is the pre-lock Smith revolvers. At my age I'm now tempted to downsize the remaining collection down to the few that I love shooting - K-frame 38s. This would also allow me to standardize my reloading and prevent my wife from getting ripped off after I'm gone.

Yep, we go through phases. That's part of the joy of life.

 

I don't carry a pistol, they are pretty much just for plinking or home/woods defense. So since my use case for revolvers has remained the same, my taste and interest in them has pretty much remained the same too. I like service-size pistols with low recoil and short triggers. 1911s, CZ75s, BHPs, and GP100s and 686s if we're talking revolvers. I really wanted to like the Beretta 92, but couldn't manage the long DA trigger.

Glocks are ehhh. I like the grip size of the G17, I can even shoot it OK, but they just never felt right to me - like grabbing a 2x4 and squishing a sponge for the trigger. I found the Smith SD9VE that felt GREAT in my hand, and I was thinking "it's got a great grip, it's got the uber-reliable striker action, maybe this is the gun that turns me to the Glock side", but its trigger ended up being even worse than the G17. So the polystriker that wins me over is still yet to be found. I want to rent a G48 and Walther PPQ soon and see how they shoot.

I'm also not a magnum-itis kind of guy - my enjoyment starts going downhill above 357 Magnums. Putting a cylinder through a 44 Magnum once in a while is a fun experience, but it's a novelty. SAA style single-actions never did it for me either, for pretty much the same reason: high-caliber cartridges and grips that don't make it the easiest to handle them.

And 22s don't always get talked about, but they're a lot of fun too. Buckmarks and Ruger Mks are a great ego booster as they can make just about any shooter look good, and my HRR always makes me feel like a cowboy. I never enjoyed shooting a full size magnum SA revolver - but a mini-sized 22 version? Stick 'em up...

 

I always liked guns for their history, so milsurps turned my crank. Still do, but I don’t buy a lot of them because they tend to be expensive, and when you buy the relic you also need the obscure ammo and it quickly becomes a major project. “Man, that Dutch Beaumont-Vitali is gorgeous, but she’s very high maintenance. Do I really want to go down that rabbithole?”

And I liked the idea of tactical/military/home defense/SHTF guns, so I spent years reading about the latest polymer thing, and pooh-poohing smaller, older cartridges like .25, .32, .380, etc -but always found the plastic fantastics too ugly to actually spend $500 on one. “Will it actually shoot that much better than my 1911 at the end of the day?” Still don’t own a single polymer framed gun, have at least two .25s.

These days I’m pretty much open to anything. Almost every gun that exists has some theoretical ideal usage, for which it’s better than any other firearm. So, if it pleases my eye and my wallet, I’m open to being sold on it. Funny, at last count I had 38 guns, and can still say “I don’t think I actually own that many guns. I really need just a few more, to cover all the bases.”

 

I have been through many handgun phases over the years. It had not dawned on me until I considered the OP's question, but I have kept the one best (for me) gun from each phase. So I now have a diverse accumulation of handguns that address all of my needs. While I still buy guns, those purchases are purely to scratch periodic itches of curiosity.