Tough gun

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bigride

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So you sign up for a week long intensive defensive pistol course where you are expected to put a couple thousand rounds or more downrange under strenuous conditions with somebody like clint smith staring you down. You want to take a midsize/compact (no smaller than say a glock 26) that will take the abuse. What semi-auto 9mm can take it?
 
Well there's a few that come to mind but I'm not a fan of plastic so you may not agree .
So I might suggest a CZ 75 compact ,Smith and wesson 469 ,STI anything
 
having taking clint smith's classes before, I can tell you.... he doesn't really stare at you a lot. you should probably relax and not sweat the pistol :)

i'd suggest picking up any of the plastic wonder pistols, like a glock or M&P, etc. put a few hundred rounds through it to make sure it works before the class, and you'll be fine. I've put 9000 rounds total through 3 different M&P9s in the past few months. none of them have given me any trouble at all. I'm pretty amazed at how reliable they are, given the price. ugly and soulless, but reliable.
 
Now-a-days any of the big name major players produce quailty reliable guns.. Comes down to your personal preferences...
 
Clint Smith actually did an article in American Handgunner a while back, where he discussed a topic very close to this. It was basically about buying quality equipment.

Bring a full size gun (no smaller than a G19) and I believe he had good things to say about Glock, M&P, & the XD's.
 
Let's see.....a Glock 26? Yes. Tons of others out there. My preference. They call it a sub-compact, but it's really not that small.
 
Glock 19.
If I'm going through several thousand rounds in short order, under high stress and little to no cleaning time, the last thing I wanna worry about is the gun digesting the ammo.
 
For me it'd be a M&P 9c maybe a CZ P-07...Of course the ideal would be a pistol you've been shooting for a period of time and have a great track record with.
 
Take a 3rd gen Smith&Wesson in whatever caliber you prefer. I recommend the 5906 - a more reliable 9mm which points right on target is hard to find . AND , very affordable.

Now , if you wish to show up with a little pizazz , the aforementioned Browning High Power is a great 9mm. (understatement apology given...)
 
I did about that many rounds in a law enforcement class with an agency-issued Ruger P-85 back around 1990. The gun ran perfectly (better than I did.)
I'd not hesitate to run my current P95 through it again.
 
When I went thru Gunsite in the early 80's the advice was "Bring what you are going to carry after you leave, not what you think will be easiest to shoot on the course". Of course thoughtful people looked at that and normally chose to carry something they could also shoot well.

My advice today? Bring what you will carry after the course is over.


Some things don't change.


Willie

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Training ....

If I took a straight up & down gun or tactics class like MAG, Larry Vickers, Thunder Ranch, Mid-South, SIG Sauer Academy etc, Id pack a 9x19mm.
The weapons & magazines hold more rounds(less reloads), the recoil is less(better marksmanship), you can train with both hands(if mandated), and the rounds are cheaper/easy to buy in most areas of the USA.
I went by a small security/police supply shop near my metro area 2 days ago. The manager told me he was sold out of all .45acp rounds. Nothing. Zip. 0. :eek:
And this is June, 2014. :confused:

Rusty
 
When I took a class from John Shaw, I shot my Colt 1991A1. I had my CZ75 as a spare in case the obsolete Colt didn't hold up for all the shooting, but never needed it. Surprise, surprise.
 
I'd like to throw fns-9 into the ring here, mostly ambi, good capacity, nice to shoot, like a really nice slightly more complicated glock
 
I'd probably take my SR9 or my STI GP6c but there are plenty of guns that I'm sure would do fine.
 
I agree - take what you plan to carry. Otherwise you don't get the maximum benefit from the course. You will shoot more rounds in different ways under closer supervision from a competent instructor than you will likely ever shoot again in a single outing.
 
Not a fan of plastic, so I would take a SIG P-226. Although I did two five-day, extremely high round count classes with ... a S&W M&P-9 (and the pistol held up quite well). I do, in fact, routinely carry pistols the size of both of these concealed. (easily)
 
I have a couple of Springfield Armory XD platform pistols that have been through over 120 hrs of training with me. I always take two with me to the class....one always comes home clean. Reliable they are, and then some, IMO. ;) FWIW, every one, when purchased, was used for CCW for some period of time....several still are.

xdfamily.jpg
 
If I had to choose from what I own, I'd take the Glock 26 or the SIG P239. The Glock might get the edge because (a) it holds ten rounds to the SIG's eight, and (b) I don't feel so bad dropping the magazines on the ground because they don't cost $40 apiece. The advantages of the SIG are less felt recoil, and I can get all my fingers on the grip.

I don't like the grip extenders for the Glock -- they pinch my fingers -- but I do use GAP floorplates, and highly recommend them:

product1.jpg
 
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