Who builds the best striker fired pistol and why?

[918v]

Nobody is forcing anybody to buy Gen-4 Glock's. They can continue to buy Gen-3 Glocks.

 

[wristtwister]

Well, I own several M&P Smiths, have owned a couple of XD's and XDM's, and every one of the SR series. I like them all, and for different reasons. The Smith's feel the best while shooting, but the Rugers are a close second. The XD that I've kept is a "tactical" with the long slide and short grip. All of them are "tack drivers", so the performance of the guns really isn't a question.

Noticeably missing in my list are Glocks, which simply don't fit my hand. I've tried to warm up to them, and handle them in the shop every day, but I just don't find anything "Glocky" that floats my boat for me.

I'd like to have an SR series in .45 (other than my 1911) to see how that would shoot, but I'm not a "caliber snob" by any stretch. I've got a .45 XD tactical, .40 /.357 Sig S&W (full size and compact) and everything made in the SR series... 9MM/.40/.22LR ... and they all shoot great. The only thing missing is that .45 striker-fired pistol, but at the rate guns are not hitting the market right now, I'm not holding my breath waiting on a "new issue" gun from anybody.

I've handled the Steyer and Walther products as well, and they feel comfortable, but I haven't had an opportunity to shoot them, but they feel very much like the M&P's.

WT

 

[miles1]

Nobody is forcing anybody to buy Gen-4 Glock's. They can continue to buy Gen-3 Glocks.

Agreed.

 

[TarDevil]

You really think most people have chosen the their gun only after trying, and for long enough to really test them out all the striker fired guns by, HK, Smith, glock, FN, Caracal, Steyr, Walther, Ruger, Springfield, etc? I doubt many people even saw one model of all those makes or even knew of them before they bought and settled on what they have.

Well, of course. Though I have shot quite a few, the heart of my selection process began once I made a few preliminary decisions about what type of gun fit my criteria; striker or hammer, compact or sub compact, external safety or no, single or double stack, etc. Then a tour of the gun shops to see which felt well in my hands, quick to aim, fit well in whatever holsters were on hand, concealability, ease of draw, comfortable, so on, so forth. I have guns I bought for less stringent reasons, but when shopping for my EDC, this process was thorough and took almost 18 months. Along the way, those few that fell into the narrowed catagory of fit and features got as much trigger time as possible untill I laid down my cash. To say I'm satisfied with my decision would be greatly understated (no, I will not repeat my choice...it was right for me, not the rest of you).

I know plenty of folks who bought on hearsay, name recognition, or the suggestion of a LGS salesman. I'd like to think the majority, though, used their own equally exhaustive process of elimination.

 

[The_Armed_Therapist]

I don't really think any of those are better than the others. Never heard any problems with any of them (besides an occasional internet rant by an angry customer... but that's with them all). For me, it's preferential factors that make the difference. First, I don't like safeties on these types of firearms... That excludes the SR. The FNs, when I've tried them out, feel odd in the hand... almost like a toy. I don't think that about the others, although I also feel the same way about the Sig P250s. The XDms, M&Ps, and Glocks are left... However, the M&Ps feel large for my hands. So my preference would be the XDms or the Glocks. But that says nothing about them being better.

 

[balance 740]

I believe the Ruger SR series is the best when it comes to striker fired pistols.

Here's why:

1. The trigger pull.
When it comes to striker fired pistols, the SR9c has the best trigger.
It's better than the Glock trigger and the Walther trigger.
And it's much much better than the XD or M&P trigger.

BUT, I admit that I gave not shot the FN FNS yet.
All of the others in the poll I have owned before and fired many many times.

2. Unless someone can show me otherwise, the Ruger is the only one in which the manufacturer declares is safe with 9mm+P+ ammo....

From Ruger's website under FAQs:
Quote:
What type of ammunition should I use in my Ruger 9mm pistol?

The Ruger 9mm pistols are chambered for the 9x19mm NATO Parabellum (9mm Luger) cartridge, compatible with the U.S. and foreign military or commercial 9x19mm loads manufactured in accordance with NATO, U.S., SAAMI, or CIP standards, including high-velocity, subsonic, tracer, hollow point, ammunition loaded in aluminum, steel, or brass cartridge cases, +P and +P+ ammunition. Note: The LC9™ is not rated for +P+ ammunition.

This is from S&W's website:
Quote:
“Plus-P” (+P) ammunition generates pressures in excess of the
pressures associated with standard ammunition. Such pressures
may affect the wear characteristics or exceed the margin of safety. Use of “Plus-P” ammunition may result in the need for more
frequent service.

“Plus-P-Plus” (+P+) ammunition must not be used in Smith &
Wesson firearms. This marking on the ammunition designates that
it exceeds established industry standards, but the designation
does not represent defined pressure limits and therefore such
ammunition may vary significantly as to the pressures generated
and could be DANGEROUS.

Interesting post.

As for the trigger, I'm going to have to handle a newer SR9, as the one I handled when they first came out didn't impress me all that much. I've heard that the newer ones have better triggers, but to say it is better than the Walther PPQ's trigger is interesting to me.

As for the manufacturer's ammunition recommendations, I don't think it is wise for any manufacturer to state that ammunition without a maximum pressure limit is safe to use in their pistols. Every overloaded 9mm round that ever caused a pistol to explode, could have been considered +P+.

That being said, I know Glock states that their 9mm pistols can use +P+ safely, High Point states that their 9mm models can use +P+ safely, and H&K states that their 9mm USP models can use +P+ safely.

Nobody is forcing anybody to buy Gen-4 Glock's. They can continue to buy Gen-3 Glocks.

There are guys on the Glock forum that state that the newer Gen 3 pistols were having issues as well. They are not using the same extractors and ejectors that they used to, even in the newer Gen 3 models.

As for the OP, the best striker fired pistol for me isn't on the list.

Going down the list, reports of reliability from recently produced Glocks don't sound so good to me, I prefer 9mm pistols and the M&P pistols seem to be having inconsistent accuracy issues in their full size 9mm models, I don't like the grip safety of the XD pistols, previous experience with FN's polymer pistols leaves me unimpressed with FN's polymer offerings, and an experience simply handling an early SR series pistol left me unimpressed.

But if I had to pick one from the list, I'd probably go with a Ruger SR series pistol, or an older Glock.

 

[TarDevil]

I'm going to have to handle a newer SR9, as the one I handled when they first came out didn't impress me all that much. I've heard that the newer ones have better triggers, but to say it is better than the Walther PPQ's trigger is interesting to me.

I've never shot a Walther, but do yourself a favor and get your hands on a recent SR series pistol. Though you may not like other features of the gun, Ruger now has a great trigger in that pistol. If that's your only drawback to the SR, you may find it now a non-issue.

 

[tarosean]

I always find it funny that these claims of Glock being the best selling pistol ever are never backed up with any type of proof.

The "irrefutable fact" is Glock has NEVER released its sales figures. So people in the industry or fans etc., are left to guesstimate or just blatantly make stuff up!!

With that said we can kind of guesstimate by the ATF stats. The below numbers are taken from ATF stats on imports by county.

2010: Handguns Only

Brazil - 526,011
Austria - 431,118
Italy - 129,509
Germany - 230,477
Croatia - 239,021
Turkey - 24,443
Canada - 6
Russia - 1,050
Argentina - 74,245
Romania - 16,945
Philippines - 44,626
Serbia - 12,455
Czech Republic - 21,140
Belgium - 18,874
United Kingdom - 387
Spain - 989
Bulgaria - 3,325
Poland - 3,922
Israel - 2,645
Switzerland - 738
Other - 659

http://www.atf.gov/publications/firearms/121611-firearms-commerce-2011.pdf

2011: Handguns Only

Brazil - 359,846
Austria - 515,396
Germany - 265,092
Italy - 104,911
Russia - 16,900
Croatia - 211,001
Canada - 2
Turkey - 22,899
Argentina - 71,838
Philippines - 54,247
Romania - 13,775
Czech Republic - 20,003
Belgium - 9,769
Poland - 20,895
Costa Rica - 19,500
United Kingdom - 4,376
Spain - 322
Israel - 9,995
Serbia - 720
Switzerland - 991
Bulgaria - 1,450
Other - 1,348

http://www.atf.gov/publications/fir...-in-the-us-annual-statistical-update-2012.pdf


So lets take the top dogs Brazil and Austria

With the numbers you'd have to guess a split between IMBEL & Taurus from Brazil and from Glock & Steyr from Austria. Its probably a safe bet that Glock has a larger market share than Steyr. Im also willing to bet Taurus imports a lot more than IMBEL - aka. Spingfield Armory's 1911's.

 

[HOOfan_1]

The "irrefutable fact" is Glock has NEVER released its sales figures. So people in the industry or fans etc., are left to guesstimate or just blatantly make stuff up!!

I read some article gathered with ATF info (can't find it now....Error 404) It said that Ruger handguns were the most PRODUCED (not necessarily sold) handguns in the US. I am guessing that list didn't include imported firearms. Of course that would include revolvers and DA/SA autos as well...and the various .22s.

I think it is safe to say that Glock are the most sold STRIKER FIRED pistols in the world...not necessarily the most sold handguns.

 

[SilentScream]

From a design stand point, I have to vote the HK P7 series. To my way of thinking it is an amazing piece of firearms engineering. If you look inside one they can be a little intimidating, & look a little over engineered but the things rarely seem to wear out, recoil spring and sear springs tend to go flat but that's all that really wears.

 

[Sapper771]

Its really hard to say which is the best of the striker fired pistols. The one I think is best probably wont be the one you think is best.

In my humble opinion, I feel that the Glock 9mm pistols are the best (for me). We all are biased though and the reason I carry a Glock may be different than the reason you carry whatever you carry.

Why do I say that the Glock is best? We will first have to look at what sets the Glock apart. Glocks are easy to fully disassemble. This is important to me because I dont like having to rely on a gunsmith. I dont like roll pins either. I like to be able to detail strip my pistol for a thorough cleaning every couple of months or to upgrade/inspect a part. The aftermarket for Glocks is great. Every part is available, and they dont have to be fitted to the gun. The parts and mags are also inexpensive. Outside of these, there are the normal pluses of the Glock (reliability, simplicity, ease of use, durability, etc).

Just because I say they are the best doesnt mean they are with out faults. I have been battling the "brass to the face" problem for a while now. Got pretty frustrated with Glock Inc over it. Finally fixed the issue myself and all is well. The grip (sucks) and grip angle is rather odd to most shooters. I found that after investing in ammo and trigger time, I like the grip and have adapted to the grip angle.

I am not strictly a Glock guy. I recently purchased a Walther PPQ and can say that it is very impressive. Best striker fired trigger I have tried. I dont have many rounds through it yet, but I highly recommend you get your hands on one to try out.