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For my birthday I went to "Get Some Guns" in Orem, UT and paid a $25 flat rental fee plus $12 range fee (or something close) to rent as many guns as I wanted. They were friendly and accommodating. My eye caught a Coonan .357 and the Chiappa Rhino, which I'd been curious about, so those were the first two I tried.
Coonan: Quality all around. Great trigger, very easy to shoot well, recoil with full power factory .357s was not in any way painful. My 25 shots went into a single 1.5" hole at 7 yards, standing offhand. Loading the magazine was easy other than the last round, which felt like it would nose-in to the front of the mag, but when inserted and the slide dropped it fed flawlessly. I really enjoyed this pistol. 5 out of 5 stars.
Chiappa Rhino. 4" variety I believe... maybe 6. I'll have to check the video. I'd heard good things. I asked the staff member to explain any quirks of the design, the weird "hammer" etc. Felt okay in the hand. Double action was very snatchy and heavy toward the end. It would feel okay until right before the break and then would stack and felt like crap. I jerked many of my shots right. Single action was okay. I asked the dude if maybe it needed some oil. Felt like parts weren't sliding as easily as they should.
Based on others' reports I expected comfortable recoil, but I found it was still painful. Rubber grips may have helped, but in any case it wasn't dramatically better than other .357 revolvers I've fired, and much worse than the all-steel Coonan. 2 of 5 stars. More evaluation with a "known good" example warranted.
CZ-75 (BD I think... decocker DA/SA variant). I was really excited to try a CZ. I'd handled them but never shot one. Felt good in the hand. Trigger was excellent DA and stellar SA. I shot one mag SA and 10 rounds DA, and all shots went into a 2" hole. I was shooting pretty quickly and not overly concerned about accuracy but it happened naturally. Very impressed. Recoil of the 9mm was almost laughable after shooting the .357s. 5 out of 5 stars. I wanted to try an SP-01 but they didn't have one.
The clerk heard I wanted to try the CZ and said "you want to shoot another really cool CZ?" I said of course, and he ran to the back and brought out a tasty new FDE P-09. Trigger was almost as good as the 75, which had 10K rounds through it. Both DA and SA triggers felt great, ergos were great, handled and shot great. I shot 1 mag SA and 10 rounds DA. All shots went into a 2" hole at POA. Very nice gun. Clerk said the P07 variant is replacing the Glock 19 on his hip. My only issue with the P09 was the backstrap installed was a little slippery. I could have used a bit more grip texture overall. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Walther PPQ original variant. I had tried the trigger on these before but hadn't shot them. I was not disappointed. The striker fired trigger on this model is simply astounding how good it is. The break is light, crisp-ish, and predictable. Reset is short and audible/tactile if that's important to you. Just and overall great trigger. Ergos were awesome apart from the paddle mag release, which I could get used to with training. I shot a mag through a 2" hole at 7 yards, then moved the target to 15 yards and put a few into about a 4" group, then realized I should have brought my prescription lenses. *cough*. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
VP9: I was looking forward to this because of all the hype, and because I really liked a P30 I shot once... the first H&K that made me want an H&K. Trigger on this example was very good for a striker-fired pistol, but not as good as the hype. The PPQ was clearly superior in that regard. All shots went through 2" hole, but the sharp groove in the trigger guard caused me much discomfort. This was quite disappointing and was a deal-breaker for me. I wonder if it could be melted/radiused out. I don't know why they do that. 3 out of 5... would be a 4 if my finger didn't get buggered up.
Beretta Nano: This variety had an extended magazine. The inside right edge of the frame where the trigger joined had a sharp burr that caught my finger and felt like some plastic tag had been left there to jab me every shot. Otherwise I liked the trigger, sights, and ergos. I'd have to remove that burr or maybe it's just the design of the pistol. 3 out of 5.
FN FNX 9mm. I only shot one mag through this because I hated it so much. DA trigger long and stacky and finger rubbed against the trigger guard before the shots broke. SA trigger nothing to write home about. Mag didn't drop free. Shots went into 3" group but probably due to crappy trigger and shooter dislike. 2 of 5 stars.
Had a great time. Wish I could do this and get paid for it.
Coonan: Quality all around. Great trigger, very easy to shoot well, recoil with full power factory .357s was not in any way painful. My 25 shots went into a single 1.5" hole at 7 yards, standing offhand. Loading the magazine was easy other than the last round, which felt like it would nose-in to the front of the mag, but when inserted and the slide dropped it fed flawlessly. I really enjoyed this pistol. 5 out of 5 stars.
Chiappa Rhino. 4" variety I believe... maybe 6. I'll have to check the video. I'd heard good things. I asked the staff member to explain any quirks of the design, the weird "hammer" etc. Felt okay in the hand. Double action was very snatchy and heavy toward the end. It would feel okay until right before the break and then would stack and felt like crap. I jerked many of my shots right. Single action was okay. I asked the dude if maybe it needed some oil. Felt like parts weren't sliding as easily as they should.
Based on others' reports I expected comfortable recoil, but I found it was still painful. Rubber grips may have helped, but in any case it wasn't dramatically better than other .357 revolvers I've fired, and much worse than the all-steel Coonan. 2 of 5 stars. More evaluation with a "known good" example warranted.
CZ-75 (BD I think... decocker DA/SA variant). I was really excited to try a CZ. I'd handled them but never shot one. Felt good in the hand. Trigger was excellent DA and stellar SA. I shot one mag SA and 10 rounds DA, and all shots went into a 2" hole. I was shooting pretty quickly and not overly concerned about accuracy but it happened naturally. Very impressed. Recoil of the 9mm was almost laughable after shooting the .357s. 5 out of 5 stars. I wanted to try an SP-01 but they didn't have one.
The clerk heard I wanted to try the CZ and said "you want to shoot another really cool CZ?" I said of course, and he ran to the back and brought out a tasty new FDE P-09. Trigger was almost as good as the 75, which had 10K rounds through it. Both DA and SA triggers felt great, ergos were great, handled and shot great. I shot 1 mag SA and 10 rounds DA. All shots went into a 2" hole at POA. Very nice gun. Clerk said the P07 variant is replacing the Glock 19 on his hip. My only issue with the P09 was the backstrap installed was a little slippery. I could have used a bit more grip texture overall. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Walther PPQ original variant. I had tried the trigger on these before but hadn't shot them. I was not disappointed. The striker fired trigger on this model is simply astounding how good it is. The break is light, crisp-ish, and predictable. Reset is short and audible/tactile if that's important to you. Just and overall great trigger. Ergos were awesome apart from the paddle mag release, which I could get used to with training. I shot a mag through a 2" hole at 7 yards, then moved the target to 15 yards and put a few into about a 4" group, then realized I should have brought my prescription lenses. *cough*. 4.5 out of 5 stars.
VP9: I was looking forward to this because of all the hype, and because I really liked a P30 I shot once... the first H&K that made me want an H&K. Trigger on this example was very good for a striker-fired pistol, but not as good as the hype. The PPQ was clearly superior in that regard. All shots went through 2" hole, but the sharp groove in the trigger guard caused me much discomfort. This was quite disappointing and was a deal-breaker for me. I wonder if it could be melted/radiused out. I don't know why they do that. 3 out of 5... would be a 4 if my finger didn't get buggered up.
Beretta Nano: This variety had an extended magazine. The inside right edge of the frame where the trigger joined had a sharp burr that caught my finger and felt like some plastic tag had been left there to jab me every shot. Otherwise I liked the trigger, sights, and ergos. I'd have to remove that burr or maybe it's just the design of the pistol. 3 out of 5.
FN FNX 9mm. I only shot one mag through this because I hated it so much. DA trigger long and stacky and finger rubbed against the trigger guard before the shots broke. SA trigger nothing to write home about. Mag didn't drop free. Shots went into 3" group but probably due to crappy trigger and shooter dislike. 2 of 5 stars.
Had a great time. Wish I could do this and get paid for it.
