Contemplating a 9mm

About the Hi-Power

You can remove the magazine safety in about 15 minutes (instructions are posted on http://www.fnhipower.com/) and you will have both a better trigger and drop-free magazines. It will also fire without a magazine in it.

If you wish to leave the magazine disconnect intact, the 10rd. mags with mousetrap springs will drop free (they'll actually shoot out projectile style) and you can also get weighted magazine baseplates for the Hi-Power that will use gravity to drag the older preban magazines out.

Also, hammer bite is an issue that doesn't affect everybody and the new stock spur hammer rarely bites anyone. Check out the FAQ at the fnhipower.com site and there is a good discussion of hammer bite.

The main reason I briefly considered and rejected recommending the Hi-Power based on your criteria was that you would have to decock it 1911 style (i.e. carefully) if you didn't carry cocked and locked. It's also SA only.

I'd say that you've pretty much described a CZ series gun with your criteria. Its the only one I can think of that meets all the criteria well. I've shot the Magnum Research and the CZs both and I don't think you would be disappointed with either one.

The Beretta is also a good gun; but I'm biased against them for several reasons. To me, the purpose of a handgun is to be portable and I think the Beretta is too big for a 9mm handgun. Also, I am set in my ways and think a handgun safety should be on safe when flipped up and fire when flipped down. On the plus side, the extra weight and size will sure tame the 9mm. The extra sight radius doesn't hurt either.
 
I'm pretty set on the CZ-85B

I like everything I hear about it, and it retails for a couple hundred dollars less than the Beretta. Best of all, factory 15 round magazines can be had from CZ-USA for $45.00.

I'll have to order one, and then go through the usual runaround to get one here in MI, (going to have to have a friend buy it for me as a gift, as I'm only 20. It's legal, but a pain in the butt). My birthday isn't until June, but in May or June I'm doing my Cross Country Road Trip, and I sure as hell aren't going to drive 3,200 miles alone UNARMED. To hell with that. I could get stranded on the road, miles from any police, and then what? No way.
 
Nightcrawler,

I think you are right on with the Browning Hi Power.

I have two now, a 68 MK II and an 89 MK III.

One has a ring hammer, the other the spur hammer. Unless you have a very large hand (plump) or a light grip the hammer bite is not an issue. I have put about five hundred rounds through these two and have never raised a welt. The gun does not kick hard enough to let the hammer bite you like the older .45's.

The drop free mag feature of the CZ can be hard on your mags. I have one of the CZ 85 Combats. It is very similar to the hi power with a fatter grip. Since most weapon encounters are three feet, three seconds and three shots, you might think about the actual value of a second 17 round magazine:)

The biggest plus in the Browning for a carry pistol is the firing pin block and the mag safety.

Driving around with a cocked and locked pistol it is nice to know there is a firing pin block in the off chance you got into a wreck with the car. Stuff happens.

Anyway, let us know what you wind up with.
 
Carrying on my trip...

I couldn't carry the gun loaded in my car in most States my trip will take me through. The thing I'd be worried about is getting stranded on the side of the road, or in the off-chance I decide to sleep at a truck stop (not likely...the seats in my Oldsmobile don't recline and I'd never be able to get comfortable).

The States involved? Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Iowa, and possibly Wyoming and Kansas.

Not that I particularly care if having or carrying a gun is illegal or not, BUT, in the event I get pulled over, I don't want to end up with 10 years in prison instead of a speeding ticket.

However, if I get stuck on the side of the road, and have one of my friends (quite possibly a girl) with me, the equation is totally different. If I have another life to protect, what legal consequences that happen to me as a result are irrelevant.

In other words, if we get stuck on the road, and some yahoo stops and threatens me or my (female) passenger with imminent harm, he's getting a round put in him.
 
All the 9mm's mentioned will do the mission you require if you do your job. What you will have to resign yourself to is possibly buying and selling several until that one perfect fit is found. To this end, I recommend after any purchase you find yourself some idpa competition somewhere. Only in this kind of format will you get to see what works for you on the street. As a matter of ego, many other competitors will show you there "chosen one", and many people do not mind if you try theirs, as along as you are buying the ammo. As for traveling around different jurisdictions, I recomend the Cannon Safe. About the size of a shoebox, it can quickly be opened or "yes officier, my firearm is locked up." Good luck shopping, the journey is half the fun, but when the fit is right for you, then get married.:)
 
CZ-75 PCR

I'm surprised nobody mentioned the CZ-75 PCR which is the compact, alloy framed version of the CZ-75. It also has better sights and is made for concealed carry as opposed to the full sized CZ-75. I have both CZ's and love them along with my BHP. Can't go wrong with any of these choices.
 
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