I really liked my old-school SIG P220 “European” pistol, with the heel-clip mag release. If I recall correctly, it was my first DA/SA pistol. This one was my duty pistol, from 1991 to 1993. I sold it, to finance the “American” version, with the push-button mag release, only to discover that the “American” P220 pointed low, in my hands. So, I did not buy a newer-configuration P220. The P226 did, however, point well, for me, and acquiring a P226 has been on my to-do list since, well, about 1993 or 1994. I move slowly, sometimes! I finally did return to SIG, in 2004, though it was the P229, and, I opted for DAK. I did, however, buy a stainless steel-framed special edition of the P229, which was DA/SA, and really liked it.
Eventually, however, I aged-out of shooting .40 S&W, in high-bore-axis SIGs. I sold off all of my .40 P229 SIGs, except for my P229 DAK, which was my duty pistol, until 2015, when I retired it, and transitioned to an “orthopedic” Glock G17.
During the early Nineties, I acquired an S&W Model 3913. That was a time when I was buying, trying, and trading many pistols. I cannot recall exactly why or when I traded or sold my 3913, but believe it was gone by 1997, when I was trying a Kahr K9. The Kahr felt really good in my hand, but the trigger was in an awkward position, for the size/length of my index finger, so, it, too, was moved along. After I retired from policing, in 2018, I started working on the idea of possibly switching my “primary” carry to my left side, and remembered how I had liked the 3913 for lefty shooting. I bought a well-preserved 3913 TSW, which ignited nostalgia-buying of a 3913 NL, a 3914 LS, and a Model 908. I acquired some spare parts, too. Revolvers and Glocks remain my usual carry guns, but now that 9mm ammo prices and availability* have returned to reasonable levels, I may yet elevate one or more of these 3rd-Generation S&W autos to carry gun status.
Notably, the safety levers on X26 and X2 Tasers work in the same directions as the safety levers on a 3rd-Generation S&W auto, so, I remained very familiar with this safety lever system, while doing mandated spark test drills at the start of every patrol shift.
*I may well want to fire a few thousand rounds, to really get back into that DA-to-SA groove, and reckoned that a time of potentially indefinite shortage was not a best time to bring a new system on-line.
