Thirty years ago my best friend bought a first gen G17. There was no end to the joy I had teasing him about his Tupperware Pistol and extolling the many virtues of my High-Power and 1911s. I assured him the gun was a passing fad and everyone would stick by the tried and true John Moses Browning designs (ignoring for the time the contribution the master had made to the Glock operating system). He took the ribbing and gave it right back in kind – continuing to shoot away with his monstrously ugly gun.
As the years went by I eventually acquired a G21 SF, put a Glockworx trigger and XS sights on it. I’d even take it out to the range occasionally but I did not love the gun. It was damned reliable though if a little on the bulky, blocky side. I continued to carry a Colt Commander worked over by Novak. Then I picked up a used G32 because I could get the ammo for free from my employer. Snappy and a bright muzzle signature in low light, but an okay shooter. Some more years went by and I actually got excited about the G30S. Took the plunge and bought one. I enjoyed it even more than the big 21 and I used for semi-annual qualifications for a few cycles.
Lately I’ve found myself enamored of the Sig P22X series. Picked up a 227 and it is still my bedside gun with a light mounted – but I don’t carry it. I liked the Elite grips so much I had to get a 226 – sort of a little bro to the 227. I actually carried it for about a month and am still inclined to in the winter months. Those 18 rounds sure trump my 8+1.
My son, recently went to work for uncle as a spook, and started extolling the virtue of the Gen 4 G19. As he put it, “It’s a work gun dad.” Well, last Friday I caved and went and bought one. I immediately added the medium beavertail grip to it because I like to really snuggle up to a pistol.
This morning was the first chance to get it to the range. All I can say is that I am truly impressed. I put 30 rounds of Remington Golden Sabre +P through it to start. Cool. Then I ate through 300 rounds of WWB. I barely gave the gun a break. The barrel got hot enough to give me a second degree burn on my forearm when I accidentally brushed it. Now, I broke all the rules. This gun was run straight out of the box. No initial break down, no initial cleaning (I did check the barrel to be sure it was free of obstructions). Just took it out and shot it.
I was shooting steel ¼ scale silhouettes and I ran double taps, I ran failure drills, I ran 1 to 5 drills, I ran one, one, and one followed by double taps. I ran the snot out of that little gun. Not once did it choke and puke. Not one single failure to function, none, not one. I’d bought two extra magazines and I just kept stepping back to the bench and stoking them all to the brim and kept shooting until I’d exhausted my ammo supply (and myself). I am truly impressed with the utility and reliability of this pistol.
And it conceals well. I was using an old-style Bladetech (the heavy Kydex kind – it was actually for my G32). I also picked up a cheap IWB DeSantis when I bought the gun. Summer or winter, I can make this gun disappear on my person.
Now, I’d not be willing to say I’m a fanboy, but I find myself owning 4 of the darn things and I really, really like this G19. And my son was right, it is a work gun. Won’t win any beauty prizes but if I have to pull it, I know it’ll do its part.
As the years went by I eventually acquired a G21 SF, put a Glockworx trigger and XS sights on it. I’d even take it out to the range occasionally but I did not love the gun. It was damned reliable though if a little on the bulky, blocky side. I continued to carry a Colt Commander worked over by Novak. Then I picked up a used G32 because I could get the ammo for free from my employer. Snappy and a bright muzzle signature in low light, but an okay shooter. Some more years went by and I actually got excited about the G30S. Took the plunge and bought one. I enjoyed it even more than the big 21 and I used for semi-annual qualifications for a few cycles.
Lately I’ve found myself enamored of the Sig P22X series. Picked up a 227 and it is still my bedside gun with a light mounted – but I don’t carry it. I liked the Elite grips so much I had to get a 226 – sort of a little bro to the 227. I actually carried it for about a month and am still inclined to in the winter months. Those 18 rounds sure trump my 8+1.
My son, recently went to work for uncle as a spook, and started extolling the virtue of the Gen 4 G19. As he put it, “It’s a work gun dad.” Well, last Friday I caved and went and bought one. I immediately added the medium beavertail grip to it because I like to really snuggle up to a pistol.
This morning was the first chance to get it to the range. All I can say is that I am truly impressed. I put 30 rounds of Remington Golden Sabre +P through it to start. Cool. Then I ate through 300 rounds of WWB. I barely gave the gun a break. The barrel got hot enough to give me a second degree burn on my forearm when I accidentally brushed it. Now, I broke all the rules. This gun was run straight out of the box. No initial break down, no initial cleaning (I did check the barrel to be sure it was free of obstructions). Just took it out and shot it.
I was shooting steel ¼ scale silhouettes and I ran double taps, I ran failure drills, I ran 1 to 5 drills, I ran one, one, and one followed by double taps. I ran the snot out of that little gun. Not once did it choke and puke. Not one single failure to function, none, not one. I’d bought two extra magazines and I just kept stepping back to the bench and stoking them all to the brim and kept shooting until I’d exhausted my ammo supply (and myself). I am truly impressed with the utility and reliability of this pistol.
And it conceals well. I was using an old-style Bladetech (the heavy Kydex kind – it was actually for my G32). I also picked up a cheap IWB DeSantis when I bought the gun. Summer or winter, I can make this gun disappear on my person.
Now, I’d not be willing to say I’m a fanboy, but I find myself owning 4 of the darn things and I really, really like this G19. And my son was right, it is a work gun. Won’t win any beauty prizes but if I have to pull it, I know it’ll do its part.
