Dreadnought
New member
The potato is strong in this thread and forum, I think I remember why I was disenchanted with it those years ago. The arguments never change.
If you're asking, "Is X worth $Y," you're asking the wrong question. Don't go into debt because someone told you the only gun worth carrying is X, or you're not a man if you don't carry a gun worth Z, or your life is worth at least $Y. If you're young and don't have obligations and can afford a 1.5-3k$ gun, even if it's just a range toy, go for it. But don't take food out of your kids' mouths just so you can have whatever gun.
Train to an extremely proficient level with instructors (only perfect practice makes perfect), then decide if the gun you carry is sufficient for the threats you may encounter in whatever environment you may be in on any specific day. If all you have is a G19, then that's what you use. It's a good multipurpose gun, very well tested and lots of options as far as trigger upgrades, slide and barrel customisation, et c. The Gen4s have a better grip angle than the older gens. My wife has one and it's a nice, controllable 9mm with the capability of carrying a 15-rd G19 mag, a 17-rd G17 mag, or 32-rd G18 mags as reloads.
Now, they can fail and I've seen ejectors and extractors trashed, et c.
Myself, I've been collecting guns and training with them and vary what i carry based on where I'm going and what I'm wearing. I'm a larger fellow, a perk of being a powerlifter, so I never had anything smaller than large guns until the Sig938 I bought last year and finally bought a J-frame this week after finding S&W made the 340 without that infernal lock. The Sig has gotten carried far more than any other in the past year.
I've carried Beretta 92s in full size, double-stack compact, and single-space compact. I bought a baby Glock (either a 26 or 27, can't remember) and hated how chunky it was ever for being a "subcompact". The slide width made it hard to conceal. I started carrying 1911s and found I could carry a .45 with more ease than the baby Glock and was shooting more IDPA matches in CDP class, so I bought a few Les Baers after having gone through first a Taurus PT1911 that I had to send back for warranty work, a S&W I had problems with the Swartz-style safety, a RIA GI (the old one with the two subs and a stub sights) that operated just fine but it lacked refinement, and a Kimber SIS that I bought to tide me over until I found a Baer TRS. The Baers really are quite a bargain based on the level of performance you get for the money and the fit compared to a similarly-priced kimber, and much better than the basic SW1911s. For best reliability out of a 1911 platform, you'll want to stick with ,45 ACP. I love the versatility of the cartridge and it's terminal ballistics may not look so good on paper, but the slow, heavy bullet is much better at making its way straight through the vitals zone than lighter, faster 9mm bullets. People can talk all they want about modern bullet technology, but good old Newton can not be beaten- greater mass always wins.
Tripp Research CobraMags are the most reliable in the widest range of ammo with just about any 1911. I swapped out all the internals of my WC, ACT, Novak, and LBC mags. Unfortunately, the WC mag tubes are not true 8-round tubes so you lose a round, but gain reliability.
However, with current environments and threats being what they are, I'd rather have SOMETHING with me rather than the giant gun I left at home because I'm wearing shorts today and didn't want to sweat my 'nads off to wear a 1911 or my G20 (10mm is the GOAT). I mention the G20 because I bought it as my hiking gun, but with all the terrorism going on in this country, I'd rather have that in the places I usually avoid, but don't have much choice but to go as a married man, such as shopping malls. Because of the overall power of 10mm and being able to carry 46 rounds of full-power 10mm as opposed to 25 rounds of .45 ACP, it's hard to beat. However, most of the time, either that Sig or now the Smith 340 will be in a pocket. The little gun you carry with you is infinitely more useful than the one you left at home.
I thought I'd mention, I went to one store intending to buy a SigP220-10 Leetsauce, but the clowns there wouldn't budge on the price, so I went to my favourite small LGS and bought the G20 and G19 along with all sorts of goodies (extra stick mags, ammo, et c.) for less than that one Sig.
If you're asking, "Is X worth $Y," you're asking the wrong question. Don't go into debt because someone told you the only gun worth carrying is X, or you're not a man if you don't carry a gun worth Z, or your life is worth at least $Y. If you're young and don't have obligations and can afford a 1.5-3k$ gun, even if it's just a range toy, go for it. But don't take food out of your kids' mouths just so you can have whatever gun.
Train to an extremely proficient level with instructors (only perfect practice makes perfect), then decide if the gun you carry is sufficient for the threats you may encounter in whatever environment you may be in on any specific day. If all you have is a G19, then that's what you use. It's a good multipurpose gun, very well tested and lots of options as far as trigger upgrades, slide and barrel customisation, et c. The Gen4s have a better grip angle than the older gens. My wife has one and it's a nice, controllable 9mm with the capability of carrying a 15-rd G19 mag, a 17-rd G17 mag, or 32-rd G18 mags as reloads.
Now, they can fail and I've seen ejectors and extractors trashed, et c.
Myself, I've been collecting guns and training with them and vary what i carry based on where I'm going and what I'm wearing. I'm a larger fellow, a perk of being a powerlifter, so I never had anything smaller than large guns until the Sig938 I bought last year and finally bought a J-frame this week after finding S&W made the 340 without that infernal lock. The Sig has gotten carried far more than any other in the past year.
I've carried Beretta 92s in full size, double-stack compact, and single-space compact. I bought a baby Glock (either a 26 or 27, can't remember) and hated how chunky it was ever for being a "subcompact". The slide width made it hard to conceal. I started carrying 1911s and found I could carry a .45 with more ease than the baby Glock and was shooting more IDPA matches in CDP class, so I bought a few Les Baers after having gone through first a Taurus PT1911 that I had to send back for warranty work, a S&W I had problems with the Swartz-style safety, a RIA GI (the old one with the two subs and a stub sights) that operated just fine but it lacked refinement, and a Kimber SIS that I bought to tide me over until I found a Baer TRS. The Baers really are quite a bargain based on the level of performance you get for the money and the fit compared to a similarly-priced kimber, and much better than the basic SW1911s. For best reliability out of a 1911 platform, you'll want to stick with ,45 ACP. I love the versatility of the cartridge and it's terminal ballistics may not look so good on paper, but the slow, heavy bullet is much better at making its way straight through the vitals zone than lighter, faster 9mm bullets. People can talk all they want about modern bullet technology, but good old Newton can not be beaten- greater mass always wins.
Tripp Research CobraMags are the most reliable in the widest range of ammo with just about any 1911. I swapped out all the internals of my WC, ACT, Novak, and LBC mags. Unfortunately, the WC mag tubes are not true 8-round tubes so you lose a round, but gain reliability.
However, with current environments and threats being what they are, I'd rather have SOMETHING with me rather than the giant gun I left at home because I'm wearing shorts today and didn't want to sweat my 'nads off to wear a 1911 or my G20 (10mm is the GOAT). I mention the G20 because I bought it as my hiking gun, but with all the terrorism going on in this country, I'd rather have that in the places I usually avoid, but don't have much choice but to go as a married man, such as shopping malls. Because of the overall power of 10mm and being able to carry 46 rounds of full-power 10mm as opposed to 25 rounds of .45 ACP, it's hard to beat. However, most of the time, either that Sig or now the Smith 340 will be in a pocket. The little gun you carry with you is infinitely more useful than the one you left at home.
I thought I'd mention, I went to one store intending to buy a SigP220-10 Leetsauce, but the clowns there wouldn't budge on the price, so I went to my favourite small LGS and bought the G20 and G19 along with all sorts of goodies (extra stick mags, ammo, et c.) for less than that one Sig.
