When I was young, a neighbor gave me a 1954 Shooter's Bible and the first Gun Digest ever, the 1944 edition. The number of center fire auto pistols shown in those books, excluding pocket autos, could be counted on one hand. The were all made entirely out of metal. So were all of the surplus handguns, one saw, by the way.
In 1955, S&W introduced their light alloy Model 39 DA/SA 9MM, which had endured Army trials. When I bought one in 1966, the design was considered tried and true. I remember thinking that my choice had been validated when I first saw Illinois State Parol officers carrying them.
By the way, we all fired one handed. No one I knew had ever heard of Jack Weaver.
A few years later, the Browning HP had been adopted by numerous armies, and there was Beretta or two. And then in 1982, the Glock came along.
When one walks into a gun store today, one sees all kinds of center fire pistols-- too many for me to begin to keep track of. Many have polymer frames. And many are striker fired.
And what I thought I knew came into question. The first Colt Government Model (we didn't say "1911") that I ever fired belonged to a US Army Lieutenant Colonel who had once demonstrated shooting and reloading his .45 while riding a galloping horse to some dignitaries that included Herbert Hoover. And I "knew" that the old .45 was without question the most reliable and durable automatic pistol in the world. I won't mention what I "knew" about the .45 ACP cartridge.
I knew that more than a century ago, a Colt .45 automatic had successfully fired 6000 rounds in Army testing. Wow! The alternatives at the time were the 9MM Luger, the Mannlicher, the Mauser, the Savage, and perhaps a few others; the Colt was the best in the world.
But that was then.
In 1982, a Glock fired 10,000 rounds without a hiccup in Austrian Army tests; subsequently, 15,000 rounds of high pressure proof loads were fired though the same gun.
Somehow I missed that, and it did not color my thinking when I acquired a high end Colt-type pistol several years ago.
I recently read a very good piece by Rob Pincus. Rob has the advantage of having observed how a wide variety of firearms perform in the hands of numerous students during intensive training classes. As of this writing, Rob reports that he recommends three handguns most highly for self defense. They are the Glock, the Smith and Wesson M&P without a frame mounted safety, and the Springfield Armory XD series. And he tends to favor the 9MM. I do not discount his opinions.
A few years ago, I would never have considered carrying a springfield XD. But: I now know first hand the the XD-S 9 4.0 leaves little to be desired for concealed carry.
At one time many years ago, I thought I knew a little about handguns. But as the old refrain goes, "Ah, but I was so much older then...I'm younger than that now."
And even now, I could not describe all of the different pistols one sees in the stores.
In 1955, S&W introduced their light alloy Model 39 DA/SA 9MM, which had endured Army trials. When I bought one in 1966, the design was considered tried and true. I remember thinking that my choice had been validated when I first saw Illinois State Parol officers carrying them.
By the way, we all fired one handed. No one I knew had ever heard of Jack Weaver.
A few years later, the Browning HP had been adopted by numerous armies, and there was Beretta or two. And then in 1982, the Glock came along.
When one walks into a gun store today, one sees all kinds of center fire pistols-- too many for me to begin to keep track of. Many have polymer frames. And many are striker fired.
And what I thought I knew came into question. The first Colt Government Model (we didn't say "1911") that I ever fired belonged to a US Army Lieutenant Colonel who had once demonstrated shooting and reloading his .45 while riding a galloping horse to some dignitaries that included Herbert Hoover. And I "knew" that the old .45 was without question the most reliable and durable automatic pistol in the world. I won't mention what I "knew" about the .45 ACP cartridge.
I knew that more than a century ago, a Colt .45 automatic had successfully fired 6000 rounds in Army testing. Wow! The alternatives at the time were the 9MM Luger, the Mannlicher, the Mauser, the Savage, and perhaps a few others; the Colt was the best in the world.
But that was then.
In 1982, a Glock fired 10,000 rounds without a hiccup in Austrian Army tests; subsequently, 15,000 rounds of high pressure proof loads were fired though the same gun.
Somehow I missed that, and it did not color my thinking when I acquired a high end Colt-type pistol several years ago.
I recently read a very good piece by Rob Pincus. Rob has the advantage of having observed how a wide variety of firearms perform in the hands of numerous students during intensive training classes. As of this writing, Rob reports that he recommends three handguns most highly for self defense. They are the Glock, the Smith and Wesson M&P without a frame mounted safety, and the Springfield Armory XD series. And he tends to favor the 9MM. I do not discount his opinions.
A few years ago, I would never have considered carrying a springfield XD. But: I now know first hand the the XD-S 9 4.0 leaves little to be desired for concealed carry.
At one time many years ago, I thought I knew a little about handguns. But as the old refrain goes, "Ah, but I was so much older then...I'm younger than that now."
And even now, I could not describe all of the different pistols one sees in the stores.
