It looks like this will be the big weekend for me to finally acquire a new pistol. I’m only going to be able to get a single handgun, so this one will have to count. I’ll be using it for home defense initially, but I plan to get my CCW and may eventually start carrying. (I live in Texas, so either of my choices will have some issues in the summer months.) Of course, it will also be my only range gun, and I intend to practice for proficiency and fun. I know this isn’t ideal, and that I’ll sacrifice in some aspects because I’m trying to cram it all into a single choice.
To make it a little more complicated, I want my wife (and she agrees) to be able to handle and use the weapon. (e.g for defense, if necessary, or even if she is just cleaning the nightstand) This means she has to be comfortable enough with it that she won’t mind joining me at the range every once in a while. (She’s not really “into” pistols, but she sees merit in being competent with it.) Here’s a little bit about what I discovered on my own (and verified when I read archives of the board) and some questions that some of you might be able to help with.
After quite a bit of time in the stores and some decent trial and error at the range, I’ve decided on a 9mm. But now I’ve got to make the hard decision – do I go with the HK USPc or the Sig P239?? When we rented the Glock 19, my wife just couldn’t hit anything with it. I also didn’t shoot it as well as others. The 26 might have been a better comparison, but we didn’t care enough for the trigger to continue down the Glock path. (Don’t get me wrong – they’re fine weapons. Just not for us at this time.)
So that left both the Sig and the HK. I can shoot both of them decently and find the ergonomics on both to be very good. My wife prefers the Sig, but can handle the HK alright. (She has very small hands.) However, she says it’s my gun, so I shouldn’t base the decision on her. I’ll be shooting it significantly more than she will We both felt the Sig had a slightly “tamer” recoil. I thought they were pretty similar with the Sig having a very slight advantage. She saw slightly more advantage to the Sig than I did.
I go back and forth on the manual safety issue. If I went with HK, I’d use it and train for it, but I don’t see myself carrying cocked and locked. On the other hand, I had an incident the other night that got the adrenaline pumping (entirely unrelated to my decision to purchase a handgun), but afterwards, I realized how heavy my arms felt during the event and that I’d made a couple of tactical mistakes and wondered if I’d really remember to think of a safety at a time like that. (From tryng to fire one too many times with my dad’s .22 with the safety “on”, I won’t pretend that it could never happen to me.) I’d just have to train to prevent it.; however, my wife won’t necessarily be training with this gun as much as I will. Both of us are pretty much comfortable without the manual safety on the Sig because of the long trigger pull.
And that’s another topic. The Sig has the smoothest trigger I’ve ever used, but that first pull it sooo long. If you aren’t trying to go slow, it’s not bad because it’s so smooth. But on slow pulls, I found it a bit too long. I’m pretty sure that, in a bad situation, I wouldn’t be trying to pull very slowly, though. The slide release on the HK definitely wins, as it takes more effort to release the slide with the Sig controls (obviously it doesn’t matter for either if you slingshot the slide to release it.) However, the Sig seems to have a much flatter / smoother profile. The specs say they are the same width, but the HK seems bulkier and that the controls are more likely to snag.
So far, most of these are subjective things that I just need to decide on which I prefer (although I’m very open to opinions). However, there are also a few things that I need some better opinions about. I’m always hearing that the HKs don’t care at all about dirt, but the Sigs don’t handle it as well. What exactly does “as well” mean? After 100 rounds it might jam, or after 10000 rounds it might jam? If I’m camping and drop it in the dirt, would I need to run back to camp to clean it before I could be reasonably confident in my firearm? Sig obviously espouses that it is a fine, durable weapon, and I’ve heard of a number of federal and military agencies that use ( or used) Sigs, so I have a hard time imagining that they are as sensitive as some say.
Also, I’ve heard that the finish on the Sigs isn’t as scratch-resistant. What does this mean? Every time I holster it, it’s going to look worse coming back out? Or that if I drop it on concrete, it will show the marks? How much of an issue is this? (Don’t worry – cosmetic reasons won’t make or break my final decision. I’m just curious.)
Finally, how well does the HK work for concealed carry? The Sig gives the impression of being smaller (and it is very slightly shorter in the grip), but the stats show the two weapons are nearly identical in overall size. How do the controls affect the draw and presentation? Are the two extra rounds worth the difference?
The HK can’t be manually cocked once the hammer is decocked, can it? I like the fact that the Sig can be put in SA mode by cocking manually. Can this be done reliably on an HK by racking the slide without ejecting the round? Or are you always stuck with DA once you decock?
So I guess that's where I stand with my thinking. Even though I know that both are excellent firearms, I still haven't decided. Help me out guys (and gals) - I've only got one chance to make the right choice.
To make it a little more complicated, I want my wife (and she agrees) to be able to handle and use the weapon. (e.g for defense, if necessary, or even if she is just cleaning the nightstand) This means she has to be comfortable enough with it that she won’t mind joining me at the range every once in a while. (She’s not really “into” pistols, but she sees merit in being competent with it.) Here’s a little bit about what I discovered on my own (and verified when I read archives of the board) and some questions that some of you might be able to help with.
After quite a bit of time in the stores and some decent trial and error at the range, I’ve decided on a 9mm. But now I’ve got to make the hard decision – do I go with the HK USPc or the Sig P239?? When we rented the Glock 19, my wife just couldn’t hit anything with it. I also didn’t shoot it as well as others. The 26 might have been a better comparison, but we didn’t care enough for the trigger to continue down the Glock path. (Don’t get me wrong – they’re fine weapons. Just not for us at this time.)
So that left both the Sig and the HK. I can shoot both of them decently and find the ergonomics on both to be very good. My wife prefers the Sig, but can handle the HK alright. (She has very small hands.) However, she says it’s my gun, so I shouldn’t base the decision on her. I’ll be shooting it significantly more than she will We both felt the Sig had a slightly “tamer” recoil. I thought they were pretty similar with the Sig having a very slight advantage. She saw slightly more advantage to the Sig than I did.
I go back and forth on the manual safety issue. If I went with HK, I’d use it and train for it, but I don’t see myself carrying cocked and locked. On the other hand, I had an incident the other night that got the adrenaline pumping (entirely unrelated to my decision to purchase a handgun), but afterwards, I realized how heavy my arms felt during the event and that I’d made a couple of tactical mistakes and wondered if I’d really remember to think of a safety at a time like that. (From tryng to fire one too many times with my dad’s .22 with the safety “on”, I won’t pretend that it could never happen to me.) I’d just have to train to prevent it.; however, my wife won’t necessarily be training with this gun as much as I will. Both of us are pretty much comfortable without the manual safety on the Sig because of the long trigger pull.
And that’s another topic. The Sig has the smoothest trigger I’ve ever used, but that first pull it sooo long. If you aren’t trying to go slow, it’s not bad because it’s so smooth. But on slow pulls, I found it a bit too long. I’m pretty sure that, in a bad situation, I wouldn’t be trying to pull very slowly, though. The slide release on the HK definitely wins, as it takes more effort to release the slide with the Sig controls (obviously it doesn’t matter for either if you slingshot the slide to release it.) However, the Sig seems to have a much flatter / smoother profile. The specs say they are the same width, but the HK seems bulkier and that the controls are more likely to snag.
So far, most of these are subjective things that I just need to decide on which I prefer (although I’m very open to opinions). However, there are also a few things that I need some better opinions about. I’m always hearing that the HKs don’t care at all about dirt, but the Sigs don’t handle it as well. What exactly does “as well” mean? After 100 rounds it might jam, or after 10000 rounds it might jam? If I’m camping and drop it in the dirt, would I need to run back to camp to clean it before I could be reasonably confident in my firearm? Sig obviously espouses that it is a fine, durable weapon, and I’ve heard of a number of federal and military agencies that use ( or used) Sigs, so I have a hard time imagining that they are as sensitive as some say.
Also, I’ve heard that the finish on the Sigs isn’t as scratch-resistant. What does this mean? Every time I holster it, it’s going to look worse coming back out? Or that if I drop it on concrete, it will show the marks? How much of an issue is this? (Don’t worry – cosmetic reasons won’t make or break my final decision. I’m just curious.)
Finally, how well does the HK work for concealed carry? The Sig gives the impression of being smaller (and it is very slightly shorter in the grip), but the stats show the two weapons are nearly identical in overall size. How do the controls affect the draw and presentation? Are the two extra rounds worth the difference?
The HK can’t be manually cocked once the hammer is decocked, can it? I like the fact that the Sig can be put in SA mode by cocking manually. Can this be done reliably on an HK by racking the slide without ejecting the round? Or are you always stuck with DA once you decock?
So I guess that's where I stand with my thinking. Even though I know that both are excellent firearms, I still haven't decided. Help me out guys (and gals) - I've only got one chance to make the right choice.
