What would YOU carry, and why?

Which of these would you carry?

  • Para Ordnance Warthawg (.45ACP)

    Votes: 11 6.7%

  • Glock 30 (.45ACP)

    Votes: 43 26.2%

  • Heckler & Koch P2000SK (.357 Sig)

    Votes: 22 13.4%

  • Springfield 1911 Micro compact (.45ACP)

    Votes: 35 21.3%

  • Sig Sauer P239 (.357 Sig)

    Votes: 53 32.3%
  • Total voters
    164
  • Poll closed .
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Sounds like a fun time at the gun store. :D

If you want to really impress her, find an HK P7M8 for her to hold. My wife tried mine once, and proclaimed she needed one too. That'd be a stack and a quarter minimum.


Out of her preferred guns, get Sig P239 or P239SAS over the PPK. I really had to convince my wife that she needed at least a 9mm instead of the .380.

She now has a Glock 19 and like it, but has her eye on my Glock 30.

Atleast you have found a GF who is pro-gun and wants to be involved with them. You are one step ahead of most guys in that category. My wife will be hunting with me in the next few years, once my son is old enough to stay with relatives.
 
OUCH!!!

You're breaking my heart, Rich! That Springer was definitely #2 on my list, with the Para being #3.

But, I value your opinions, as THE man who made me want a 1911 in the first place

Is it just barrel length, or is there something else I'm not aware of when it comes to the sub-micro-xxxtra compact 1911's? Does size affect reliability?
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My apologies Mike for not getting to your question sooner.


Shorter barrel 1911s are known to have reliability problems. Mainly timing problems with the shorten slide travel & guide rod/spring setups. With that, the short 1911s are more finicky towards ammo.

I looked and researched into the shorty 1911s also since I thought it'd be cool to have a small compact 1911 to fiddle with and shoot. Lets just say with all the negative reports of the short 1911s, the shortest I would go with 4.25" barrels.

It seems to be a little better now, but its too much of a hit/miss to take the chance.

Take a look for yourself and do some research. www.1911forum.com

But if you truly love the mini/micro 1911s, give it a try. There are reports that some do work reliably out of the box. I'm just not brave enough to try.


Just for good measure, I wanted her to check out a Walther PPK/S. She absolutely loved it... Now she can't choose between the PPK and the Sig P239 - I'm not sure which one she'll end up with. On one hand, she's very fiscally minded, so the low price of the PPK might win her over. OTOH, I've never quite seen her as impressed with any gun as she was the Sig P239... Until she held the PPK/S. Then there's caliber. She likes power, but she's been doing her homework, and feels confident that a .380 would be more than enough. Knowing how well she shoots, I'd be hard pressed to think she'd need more than 8 shots of .380 to take a bad guy down. If that's what she wants to carry, then I'll carry one with her.
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If you're considering the .380, how about a SIG P232? A little bigger than the PPKs, but a lot more controllable with more grip. Flat and still fits everyone's hand easily for a small pistol.

For a blowback design, its actually quite fun to shoot. :)


Congrats to your gf. She sounds like a keeper!
 
I'd opt for the SA Micro 1911. Only because you didn't list the Kimber Ultra. As long as the 1911 fits her hand, she'll probably love it. Flat mainspring housings make 1911s a little small for my hand; I prefer arched. I had to get finger groove wood grips for my Ultra CDP to fill my hand. Just a guess, I'd say, most women would prefer the flat housings. I've heard good things about the Micro. Sadly it wasn't available yet when I got my Kimber.

BTW, I have no problems with it. (shorty) But if you must, there's always Commander sized.
 
What would you carry and why?

Of the choices, I'd go with the Sig. I looked at the Para and liked it, but it was just too short for my hands. Had the grip been a bit longer, I would have owned one.
 
Para Ordnance Warthawg (.45ACP)
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Nope. I've only shot one of these, but the particular one I used jammed (badly) at least twice per mag. It also didn't fit my hand too well. On the plus side, it was quite accurate.

Glock 30 (.45ACP)
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Nope. I don't like Glocks because of the grip angle. I've shot them a number of times, but I just can't bring myself to like them.

Heckler & Koch P2000SK (.357 Sig)
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Unlikey. Never handled one, much less shot one. However, other H&K models (except the P7M8) always feel a bit big.

Springfield 1911 Micro compact (.45ACP)
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Nope. I'm not a fan of any 1911-pattern pistol smaller than a Commander frame.

Sig Sauer P239 (.357 Sig)
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Winner! The two pistols I shoot most often are a SIG P228 (9mm) and a SIG P220 (.45 ACP). I'm familiar and comfortable with the manual of arms and the P239s I've handled seem to fit my hand well.
 
The more I look around and the more I think about it, the 1911 isn't really a design I'd like to toy with too much either. I always wanted a commander length Colt anyway. The more we look around at women's holsters and stuff, the more confident she is that she can carry a nice sized gun, w/a small adjustment to her everyday dress style. Fine by me - might cut down on the bra-carry recommendations. :p

I'm sort of glad my girlfriend ended up liking the guns that she did. To be honest though, I'm not exactly thrilled at the idea of packing a PPK/S, but if that's what the girlfriend wants to do, then that's what I get for suggesting it. :D

She's having a hard time deciding which to get first. Last night she decided that she wants both. I'll get her to the range this week, and hopefully they will have both guns available to rent. If not, I know they have the P239. I'll try to keep that gun, or the P229 in her hands as often as possible for the next few weeks.

Is it wrong to try and sway her my way a little? :evil:
 
sig 239. light,compact, accurate, not as picky as some shorty 1911 SLP's
 
Mike...

I voted for the SIG. I had a 239 in 40S&W, and didn’t like it. I switched the barrel to 9mm and loved it. Great trigger, very accurate. First rate gun all round. Have you looked at the 245. If the 45 recoil isn’t too much, you’ll love it. The range master at my range has one for his carry gun, and offered to let me shoot it. I was expecting it to be painful, but it was nope, first shot was almost dead center at 7 yards, the rest of the group was under 2”. Not bad for a gun that I had never shot before.
My second choice would be the HK, because my HK’s have never let me down, and my "nightstand gun is my USP 45. I like my HK’s just as much as my SIG’s, but for carry, I like the SIG because it is a little bit slimmer, and thus easier to conceal.

Just my thoughts
-Knoxx
 
Hey knoxx, thanks for the vote!

My girlfriend seems to have decided on the Sig... But now, she can't decide between the P229, and the P239. :rolleyes: I have to thank the poster who put up pictures of his Sigs and Model 60 - that helped a ton. Before seeing that photo, she wouldn't even consider trying to conceal a P229 (she never takes my word for anything :D ). Once she saw those pics, she reconsidered. When I got her to the gunstore, one of the first things she went for was the P229. She thinks the P239 is cuter though. :p

Capacity vs. Cuteness... never really heard that one before.

It's always something with this girl... :D I love it. Buying her a gun is a great way to keep myself excited... I never know what she'll want in the morning!

I think she has her heart set on a .357 Sig if she can't have a .45. She's shot my Sig Pro a lot, and has a little experience with the .40 and the .357 Sig... She just prefers the .357 - not that I blame her, I'm the same way.

She likes .45's a lot.. She loves my P220... I've been looking for a P245 for a long time, and I can't seem to find one anywhere at a good price. When I do find one, it's at such a high mark-up that I can't make myself fork over the cash. If I do find one, I'll let her get her hands on it, since what she originally wanted was a .45 in the first place. Finding two at a decent price is going to be a real PITA, but thanks for the reminder! I forgot all about the P245 :eek:
 
that' what I'm here for..

the 229 is a sweet gun, if you read this post:
"Purchased a SIG P229 in 9mm "
You have just proved what I was saying. Women love the 229. I practically have to pry it form the wife's hands at the range. I bought her a PPK when we first moved in together because: "I like that one... Its pretty...", Yea then she shot the 229, and I have not seen it since. The PPK, by the way got sold off at half what I paid for it because the "pretty" gun was collecting dust, and I'm not about to shoot that thing. I have fairly large hands, and the PPK "bites".

-Knoxx
 
If you're looking for a concealable 1911-style, you really can't go wrong with a Colt CCO style pistol. (Commander slide with Officer frame.) The reduced grip length doesn't hurt reliability at all, though you do give up a round of capacity.

Throw on a set of thin grips, and it's hard to beat in concealability. Well, for a .45 at least.
 
Given those choices, the H&K P2000SK is the obvious winner for me. Best gun of all those listed and in a good caliber to boot.
 
Mike,

If she wants a .45 and you can find one, the 245 is a great gun. SIG has discontinued them, so you wont see any new ones. The new P220C is pretty nice though. Its a 220 frame with a 245 length slide. The grip on the 245 is just a tad short for me, but I have no troubles shooting mine well. The 239 lets my hand sit just that little extra higher and is more comfortable for me.

Like most other SIG's, they really are not all that different size wise.

ed12414b.jpg

ed124139.jpg

ed124131.jpg
 
All great choices. I would choose the 229 or 239 because of all the "relative" merits:

weight (relatively light)
caliber (grear in 40)
reliability (can't be beat)
action (avail in DAO aka DAK or DA with a decocker)
the decocker is a great safety, decock and reholster...
size (is modest)
you can get a 357 or 9mm barrel for your 40 and for 357 use the same mag.
built tough
used by many LEOs
accurate
 
I would get myself a P2000 and her a P2000sk. Both in .40 with the LEM trigger. Just carry some spare 12 round magazines and you are good to go. I am not to much of a .357 Sig fan due to its cost and me being perpetually poor.

Either way I would carry an HK.
 
If you ended up with a Sig 229 or 239 in 40...

AFAIK you can fit the 357 barrel and use the 40 mags. You can do the reverse except you cannot load 40 in the 357 mags.

If you did 40 and then went to someone like barsto, you could get a 9mm barrel (and get the 9mm nag from Sig) and have a cheap plinker/practice gun.

You cannot use the 9mm from Sig because the slide at the muzzle is larger for the 40 and 357 barrels. The aftermarket 9mm barrels accomodate this difference when ordered for pistols in 40 or 357
 
And the winner is...

...the Sig. :D

Extra thanks, AK103K, for the pics. I'd wanted her to look at the P229 a little more closely, and your pics helped a lot. She's held the P229 and P239 a lot over the past week or so, and she decided on the P229 in 9mm. :)

Reason behind caliber choice is accuracy and familiarity. She’s more familiar with the 9mm, and we’re both more accurate with it. Also, a lot of serious discussion about caliber and damage has basically brought us to the conclusion that 9mm is more than adequate for SD.

This makes me happy... It's also nice to see that the crowd agrees with the decision to purchase a new Sig for carry, although the model has changed. And this time, I have a feeling her mind is made up.

This is cool. I've wanted a P229 for a long time, and now I have an excuse to get one. Since my girlfriend is more fiscally minded than myself, she's decided to trade in one of her pistols towards purchasing this gun. Maybe I can do that as well, and bring home a nice .22 or something with the money I save.

Thanks again everyone for your votes. I’ll make sure to post pics and all that good stuff when we get them.
 
She's held the P229 and P239 a lot over the past week or so, and she decided on the P229 in 9mm.
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Dont worry, it wont be her last. SIG's are VERY addictive! :D
 
Cousin Mike said:
By the way, if any of you ever come to Columbus, you HAVE to eat at this place called Bonefish... amazing.
Click to expand...

Funny you mention that. I was in Columbus for work 3 weeks ago and took several customers to dinner there. Fantastic place. Some kind of Asian shrimp appetizer the waitress recommended.... .wow. We ate so many of those we could barely have dinner. They are in Michigan too I think.

Anyway, get the P239 :D
 
AK103K: :D I'm well aware.. This will be my 3rd Sig - her first... She chose it, in part, because she's always loved shooting mine so much. I'm really looking forward to these P229's. I think we might go rent one today just so she can see how much she's going to love her new gun.

TexasSIGMan: :evil: I believe you're speaking of the Bang Shrimp... and wow is about right! Their calamari is amazing too, and they have this dish with grilled chicken smothered in goat cheese... Lily's Chicken it's called. Great fish, the garlic potatoes were incredible, and the desserts were great too. They don't hold the vodka on the martini's either... hehe.

Aw hell... now I'm hungry and I want a drink... at 10:30 in the morning. :p

Sylvilagus Aquaticus: WTH is SWMBO? :D Never seen that one before!

And who keeps voting for the Glock? :neener:
 
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