Competition-ready long-slide pistol

O

OhioGuy

New member
I'd like to get something I can use for a recreational/semi-competitive shooting league (presently just using my XD Mod.2 subcompact carry gun) and hopefully progress into some IDPA style shooting later on. I'd like the added accuracy of the longer barrel. I'm focusing on striker-fired guns for now, and will likely replace the stock sights on pretty much anything.

There are plenty of long-slide versions of stock guns. I think of the Glock 34 and Mod.2 Tactical--both 5" versions of their more ordinary brethren and both with decent aftermarket support (especially Glock). These can be had for under $500 in some places.

Then there are the "competition ready" things like Springfield XD-M. As far as I can tell, that has an upgraded "match-grade" barrel and a crisper trigger. Otherwise I can't see that it's terribly different from the 5" Mod.2, although it has much more aftermarket support. The 5.25" version of the XD-M is pretty pricey but also comes with extra magazines and a holster I think...

Then there's something like the M&P Performance Center guns, where you can get an M&P with ported barrel/slide, milled for optics, with a trigger kit upgrade. I can find these for around $700.

So I guess my question is whether I'd be better off getting something like the Performance Center model with all upgrades baked in, or something more mundane like the 5" Mod.2 and then adding upgrades aftermarket.

*** Separate question...does porting the barrel *really* make much difference to recoil and muzzle flip on a 9mm?

*** And, if you port the barrel, do you also have to port the slide?

Thanks!
 
Just an FYI, Springfield is running a promotion right now where you get 4 free magazines, holster, and mag pouch with any 9mm,40,45 Springfield pistol purchase.

I see the 4.5 xdm floating around $460ish online and its an excellent firearm.

Porting on a 9mm won't do much, besides blind you in darker areas. You do have to port the slide as well, unless you get an extended barrel with the ports past the slide.
 
Nifty! I'll look more closely at the XDM's pricing. Didn't know about the promotion.

Would I likely be better served by getting a less expensive XD Mod.2 and improving the trigger? Seems to break about even, but I do like the ergonomics of the Mod.2 a little bit better. I've also read posts from many XDM owners who've ended up changing out their triggers because the "competition" trigger on the XDM still wasn't really that special.

Seems like in general, I'd be well served by getting a gun without special additions and then upgrading as I go, rather than getting an all-in-one special model that's already thrown in all the mods for me?
 
With the XDM you get the match barrel, a slightly better trigger than a stock one (I compared a mod 2 subcompact next to an xdm 3.8 and the mod 2 had some creep/mush to it), and the xdm has replaceable grip inserts for better hand fitment.

I would just go ahead and get the XDM, shoot a couple hundred rounds through it, and if your still aren't happy with the trigger, spring kits are cheap enough. You can get 3.8, 4.5, 5.25 barreled versions of the xdm for whatever you wanna do with them.
 
Couple of pointers here.
"Match grade barrel" is advertising with no accepted definition. If it were really a better barrel, they might say "Match WINNING grade barrel."

IDPA does not allow superfluous holes in the barrel ("porting") and USPSA allows it only in the Open division. But yes, a port in the barrel requires a port in the slide. The makers know this and match the parts up correctly. Usually.
 
If IDPA is in your future, best check with their rule book on the model pistol you choose.
With the large targets used in IDPA and similar games, the accuracy advantage of a long barrel probably won't be as useful as imagined.
There's lots more important considerations to score well.
 
I'm right there with you on this....I know I want a SP-01 but don't know what's legal, or where it's legal.

I'm most interested in steel challenge, but there's nothing near me. Heck the nearest IDPA is 63 miles out....that's by the crow not road.

They have 3 gun matches all over but I don't have interest in the Shotgun or rifle segments. LOL

I guess I should just buy a Shadow and have fun at the range.
 
Maybe check out the Canik TP9SFX. 5.25" barrel, slide cuts to lighten the slide, red dot mount plates if that's your thing, fiber optic front with blacked out rear, and the sweetest striker fired trigger I've felt (vp9, ppq, glock 19, xd-m 5", M&p .40 after some unspecified trigger work). Can be found under 500, but with scarcity right now, mostly seeing about 525-550.


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63 miles crow files, what, 80 on the road?

I travel for matches.
Let's see, now.
First Saturday either 80 or 94 miles, more often the latter.
Second Saturday 135 miles
Third Sunday 23 miles (home club)
Fourth Saturday, either 94 or 117 miles, more often the latter.
Second Monday evening 68 miles.
Third Wednesday 58 miles. (seasonal)

I don't make five or six matches every month, but I make all of them that health and weather allow.

"Having fun at the range" is akin to another solitary vice.
 
I guess I hadn't thought about the PPQ. I have the 22 cal version of that and like it a lot. I've shot the regular duty PPQ M2 in 9mm. I'll have to go looking for the 5". It did have a pretty nice trigger!
 
Maybe check out the Canik TP9SFX. 5.25" barrel, slide cuts to lighten the slide, red dot mount plates if that's your thing, fiber optic front with blacked out rear, and the sweetest striker fired trigger I've felt (vp9, ppq, glock 19, xd-m 5", M&p .40 after some unspecified trigger work). Can be found under 500, but with scarcity right now, mostly seeing about 525-550.
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I've never even heard of this brand. It looks like you get a heck of a lot of gun for the money here! I will have to read up on these. Any known reliability or durability issues? A comparable "competition ready" gun from S&W or Springfield would be several hundred dollars more.

What am I giving up for that lower price? Just the name recognition?
 
Any XD or XDm you get for competition I'd put a Powder River trigger in. My 5.25 competition's trigger was only so-so for an XD series (read crappy) the Powder River kit makes it very good and easy to shoot well fast.
 
OhioGuy said:
I've never even heard of this brand. It looks like you get a heck of a lot of gun for the money here! I will have to read up on these. Any known reliability or durability issues? A comparable "competition ready" gun from S&W or Springfield would be several hundred dollars more.



What am I giving up for that lower price? Just the name recognition?
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If you do some googling, you'll see pretty much universally positive reviews on the brand. The one exception was the smaller version of this gun, the TP9SF elite. The first production run had ejection problems, so they changed the recoil spring assembly. No problems reported on the new ones.

I've shot 200 rounds through mine thus far. I intentionally shot a variety of ammo--wwb, some no name euro, blazer brass, and browning. No malfunctions yet. Did not clean out of box, but I did clean it last night.

Apparently, they rate the barrel for maintaining accuracy to 50,000 rounds? Whether you buy that or not, they've gone through NATO spec rating.

The same company makes CZ75 clones marketed under the Tristar or Canik55 label that have been around longer than their striker fired models. You can check reviews of those for brand-relevant durability info.


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So what I'm gathering from responses so far (and a lot of reading on other forums too):

1. Porting the barrel really doesn't offer a heck of a lot of advantage in 9mm, except maybe in speed shooting, and even then may be disallowed in certain competitions.

2. "Match grade barrel" is an undefined and marketing-heavy word that doesn't likely mean much of anything.

3. I may well get the same performance out of a 5" Mod.2 with a competition trigger upgrade, that I'd get out of a fancier looking gun with some holes in the slide that's sold as a "competition ready" gun with a price markup.

I will look a little more closely at some other options, like Walther (nice trigger!) and Canik (which gets some real nice reviews). They both appear to have a better-reviewed trigger than the XD out of the box. However I already have XD mags and accessories that make me lean in that direction.

Thanks for the replies!
 
http://www.waltherarms.com/handguns/q5-match/

I haven't shot this model, but I got my sister the regular PPQ and she likes it a lot. I think it is the best trigger on a striker fired gun. I know it isn't a long slide, but the longer slide and barrel doesn't really affect accuracy all that much. The longer slide does give a longer sight radius which can make aiming more precise and a longer barrel can give slightly higher velocity. I believe you should train with what you carry since muscle memory will kick in. That includes safeties (or lack there of), grip angle, and trigger. Obviously just my $.02 cents worth of opinion. ;)
 
Maybe compare these two. Both quite heavy hammer fired semi's. The Beretta has a 5" barrel and the Shadow-2 has a 4.68" barrel.

DSCN9817.jpg
 
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I'd like the added accuracy of the longer barrel.
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The longer barrel does not necessarily equate to better accuracy. It's the longer distance between the sights that helps. A pistol such as my Benelli MP95 only has a 4 inch barrel, but the distance between the sights is ~9 inches.
 
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