Time to face facts: Strikers win

[Ramey]

I really like DA/SA autos. But every time I shoot a striker fired pistol I shoot it much more accurately. At first I thought it just a fluke but the evidence has stacked up. So now I'm grudgingly looking to trade in my Beretta Storm for a striker carry gun. It's gotta be in 9mm, holds 10-15 rounds, compact or subcompact frame and the deal breaker for me; needs to have a thumb safety. The first gun that I can think of is the Smith M&P compact. Is there anything else out there?

 

[ritepath]

Good looking GSD you have there....we've got a 10mo (our second gsd)

There's always the Ruger options out there, I really like the safety placement on the SR compacts, and at 17+1 it fits also. I love my Shield and it's safety, but don't care for the M&P compacts safety. That being said I had a 9c and loved it...great gun if you like the style of safety you can't go wrong with the pistol.

There is also the FNS 9c with a manual safety.

If you can let go of capacity the Shield is an awesome carry pistol, and it shoots like a much larger gun.

I currently carry a Taurus G2 12+1, I could carry anything I wanted from my collection...but for my purposes the G2 is perfect, thin makes it easier to conceal. Accurate, reliable, and budget friendly since I'm required to leave it in the hospital parking lot all day. I bought it a gun that could get stolen and I wouldn't be overly upset because there's no reason to value it like my other sidearms. But due to it's capability I've gotten over the gun snob aspect and carry it even when I don't have to.

 

[.455_Hunter]

I am 180 deg opposite from you- I dislike striker triggers, and the ones that are "good" are unsafe for carry.

 

[Varminterror]

Thumb safety on a properly designed striker pistol is like wearing a helmet while driving in your car.

 

[Milt1]

I have a Ruger SR9C and like "rite path" I simple love it. Do yourself a favor and read the reviews on this pistol and also watch the youTube videos about it. Everything that I've seen about it indicates that owners love this weapon.

 

[Harleytoo]

Meh, don't care for strikers. The Storm fits every need and is a great platform for me. Love all of my hammer SIG's as well.

DA/SA for the win for me.

But to each their own.

 

[badkarmamib]

Thumb safety on a properly designed striker pistol is like wearing a helmet while driving in your car.

I went to college with a guy who did exactly that...

But, on topic, I like both, and own both. I am more accurate with a SA trigger, but prefer the "draw-and-shoot" simplicity of a striker for CCW.

 

[danez71]

I have the MP9C with thumb safety and I really like it.

The lever is on the large size imo. I got a 2nd lever and shaved it down a little smaller and like it even better.

The thumb saftey model doesn't have a mag disconnect if that make any difference to you.

Thumb safety on a properly designed striker pistol is like wearing a helmet while driving in your car.

Nothing remotely like that at all.

If anything, it would be more like having to press the clutch in before starting manual transmission vehicles.

 

[RX-79G]

These type of arguments are a little silly when "striker fired" doesn't actually mean anything at all about trigger pull:

The CZ-110 and P99 are striker operated DA/SA

The HK LEM and FN licensed Daewoo "Fast Action" hammer down but with light trigger pulls.

The HK VP70 has a striker with a long, heavy trigger pull.


So what is really being said is "I like guns that can be carried with a light trigger pull". And depending on how much you trust your self and the gun design, that could be any gun that can be "cocked" with any sort of pre-tensioned firing system - hammer or striker.

Let's stop pretending having the firing components in the slide is the reason the trigger is light, or having a hammer means it can't be the exact same way.

Time to face facts: Light triggers win. (For you)

 

[Ramey]

Good looking GSD you have there....we've got a 10mo (our second gsd)

There's always the Ruger options out there, I really like the safety placement on the SR compacts, and at 17+1 it fits also. I love my Shield and it's safety, but don't care for the M&P compacts safety. That being said I had a 9c and loved it...great gun if you like the style of safety you can't go wrong with the pistol.

There is also the FNS 9c with a manual safety.

If you can let go of capacity the Shield is an awesome carry pistol, and it shoots like a much larger gun.

I currently carry a Taurus G2 12+1, I could carry anything I wanted from my collection...but for my purposes the G2 is perfect, thin makes it easier to conceal. Accurate, reliable, and budget friendly since I'm required to leave it in the hospital parking lot all day. I bought it a gun that could get stolen and I wouldn't be overly upset because there's no reason to value it like my other sidearms. But due to it's capability I've gotten over the gun snob aspect and carry it even when I don't have to.

Thanks. Yea he's a handful for sure!
I'll look at the Ruger and FHN. I have a shield in .40. Great gun and I do carry it sometimes but for EDC I like having more rounds than that. What was it about the safety on the M&P 9c that you didn't like?

 

[ritepath]

Thanks. Yea he's a handful for sure!
I'll look at the Ruger and FHN. I have a shield in .40. Great gun and I do carry it sometimes but for EDC I like having more rounds than that. What was it about the safety on the M&P 9c that you didn't like?

The early models it was too easy on/off, I must admit haven't tried one in several years....I also didn't care for how wide it is, for CC I like the thinner or low profile safety like the Shield, or my CZs decockers. The 9c is already wide enough without adding the safety. But like I said the M&Ps are hard to beat, my 9c never failed in dozens of different types of ammo. It also served as my HD pistol with a 17 round mags and Xgrips.

 

[bannockburn]

ramey

Ruger SR9c comes to mind: 10 round magazine with spare 17 round magazine, compact size, very ergonomic, great trigger, easy to acquire sights, and a frame mounted thumb safety.

 

[BlackJack]

To answer the question you asked, the Ruger American Compact fits the description of the gun you're looking for. Comes with a manual safety lever if you want and to date, mine is stone cold reliable--a significant improvement over the Ruger SR9c. There are lots of other good options, but don't overlook this one.

 

[jjones45]

Ruger American/sr, m&p, Fns are the only striker safety guns I can think of.

 

[Old Dog]

Striker-fired pistols. Hmm. If one can shoot a striker-fired pistol well, it's most possible that one can shoot an SA pistol, or even a DA/SA pistol, ever better -- presuming one is using a pistol with a decent trigger. "Strikers win" No, not hardly.

OP asked: "The first gun that I can think of is the Smith M&P compact. Is there anything else out there?"
Pretty much every quality semi-auto pistol out there. Beretta. SIG-Sauer. CZ. H&K. Colt. S&W. FNH. Even Taurus.

<edit>
Oh, and yeah -- I think I was the first to sport a pic of one of my GSDs as my avatar.

 

[hemiram]

For me, hammer guns win. I have 3 striker pistols right now and when I shoot them, I wish they had hammers. I'm probably going to trade my FN FNS-40 for an FNX-9 a friend has. I like 9mm better than 40 and a DA/SA hammer gun is always preferred over a striker.

 

[harleyjeepster]

I own hammer and striker auto's, as well as revolvers, and shot all equally well. Given your listed spec's for what you want I have to give my nod to the Ruger SR9C. I have one and it is in my carry rotation. Very reliable to date, 2000 + rounds, and meets all your requirements. Safety's are a personnel things and you carry what you are comfortable with. That said, I carry my SR with the safety off and for summer I carry a Ruger LC9S Pro in my rotation due to it's lack of safety. If you really want a thumb safety you can't go wrong with the SR9C.

 

[Tirod]

Striker fired guns generally require extended slides which hang over the grip to the rear. They will weigh more and have a larger profile because of it. There's no guarantee that the trigger will be better or worse than hammer fired, tho. Most are precocked so the trigger only takes up the last of the tensioning before release.

Strikers usually have no second strike capability, you have to rack and start over. On the other hand, dropping a striker on the rear of the slide is more safe than on a hammer fired gun. However, it does relate to why someone let the gun fall out of their grip, too. For the most part it's based on negligent behavior.

While a safety on a striker fired gun might seem like a belts and suspenders approach, there are times when redundant safeties do exactly what they are intended to do - like, the magazine disconnect. It's saved more than a few police officers lives.

We can discuss the relative merits of any particular mechanical device and whether they have value to us as the owner, the depth of what is offered shows that in the big picture there are a lot of choices which others make differently. Stating it as "one is best" is more posturing over social rank than empirical proof. It it works for you now, fine. What I have learned is that in other circumstances, such as when the shooters hands are affected with carpal tunnel, age, and your eyesight diminishes, how accurate or precise the gun might be has little impact on its defensive capability at 21 feet. Actual gunfighting isn't about scoring 9's over 8's, and there are a lot of other much more important issues involved.

Choose what works best for you - don't expect others who find an opposite concept to be superior for them to agree.

 

[Tallball]

I do have a striker-fired pistol, a Mauser Model 1914, but in general I don't prefer them. Over time I have traded in the two or three other striker-fired pistols I used to own for other handguns I was more interested in. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[ritepath]

I've never understood why the "my brain is my safety" folks balk at disabling and or removing all the self defense crippling safeties on their striker guns.



I will admit my two main carry guns are striker fired, and I only own one other striker gun which I'd love to get rid of and pick up another CZ. As for me and my family hammers rule the day.

 

[Ramey]

I was saying that for me personally I shoot striker fired guns better. I also shoot revolvers better in double action than in single. I really like the DA/SA platform and hopefully I can get better at it someday. But it makes no sense trying to force something that just isn't working. So it's time for me to move on to striker fired guns. Thanks for all the good suggestions guys.

 

[danez71]

I was saying that for me personally I shoot striker fired guns better. I also shoot revolvers better in double action than in single. I really like the DA/SA platform and hopefully I can get better at it someday. But it makes no sense trying to force something that just isn't working. So it's time for me to move on to striker fired guns. Thanks for all the good suggestions guys.

How do you do with SA hammer guns vs strikers?

For me, the consistent trigger pull is something I need/want. I never could warm up to DA/SA... due to the inconsistent trigger pull and that the trigger reach in DA is too far for my short fingers which requires me to reposition my trigger finger on the trigger face after the 1st shot because in SA mode, the trigger is further back towards the grip and is a shorter reach.


I bought my M&P9c with the thumb safety as a compact alternative to my BHP while trying to all the controls as consistent as possible. I also recently got a Shield for the same reason. Ive only fired a few rounds out of it. That safety lever is small & almost flush... kinda too much so, imo. I think it should be less flush. The M&P9c on the other hand, I think the safety lever is a bit large but not too too large. I carried it for years with the original safety lever before I got another and shaved it down some. I little made a pretty big difference. If you get one of those and want to do it too, let me know and I'll send some pics. I actually bought a 3 and shaved that one down even more but liked the middle size the best.

 

[Thompsoncustom]

I really like DA/SA autos. But every time I shoot a striker fired pistol I shoot it much more accurately. At first I thought it just a fluke but the evidence has stacked up. So now I'm grudgingly looking to trade in my Beretta Storm for a striker carry gun. It's gotta be in 9mm, holds 10-15 rounds, compact or subcompact frame and the deal breaker for me; needs to have a thumb safety. The first gun that I can think of is the Smith M&P compact. Is there anything else out there?

Buying a striker fired gun would be one way to go about things but a better option might be to improve your overall shooting ability. With a good grip, stance, and trigger control you should be able to shoot a SAO, DA/SA, Striker, DAO all about the same under 45ft. It's pretty common for people to shoot SAO or striker better right out of the gate because there is less training required the trigger pull is always the same but with a enough practice you can shoot the DA/SA just as well. Some fun things you could do to improve skill would to be join a uspsa or idpa club in your area, another effective thing that is commonly overlooked is grip strength the harder you can grip the gun without it shaking the less it moves within reason.

 

[Girodin]

I'm with you on favoring strikers over DA/SA. I prefer them for a number of reasons. I suggest you face some more facts, namely that if you have proper gun handling the striker fired gun is safe. You don't need a thumb safety. If you don't have proper gun handling a thumb safety isn't going to make it safe. I think it is telling that Glock, Steyr, HK, Walther, Kahr, S&W, etc, etc, make striker fired guns without thumb safeties. If one ingrains disengaging the thumb safety it may not be an issue to have it. Just like carrying any other gun with a manual safety. However, you don't need it and it opens up your options if you drop that requirement. I can understand a bit if one is carrying AIWB and it makes them feel better about reholstering. I can actually see using a DA/SA gun for that same reason, if one ingrains thumb over the back of the hammer to reholster (althoug I have seen more than a few people in classes and other scenarios forget to even decock let alone put their thumb over the back!)

Striker fired guns generally require extended slides which hang over the grip to the rear. They will weigh more and have a larger profile because of it. There's no guarantee that the trigger will be better or worse than hammer fired, tho. Most are precocked so the trigger only takes up the last of the tensioning before release.

Strikers usually have no second strike capability, you have to rack and start over..

I don't see second strike capability mattering much at all. The immediate action drill to a click is not to keep pulling the trigger. There is really only one scenario that will then get you a bang. In my experience shooting, particularly with premium ammo that you have tested in your gun, like one typically would use for self defense, it is pretty rare. There are a number of other scenarios in which one has gotten a click that trying to pull the trigger again will not fix the problem no matter how many times you do it and you are spending time doing something besides tap, rack, bang, or the other appropriate immediate action drill.

 

[9mmepiphany]

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