New to guns and I don’t like striker fired handguns...should I?

B

Bachá

New member
Well I am outside the us and have had only one gun, currently I don’t have any.

I have been looking around at all the models available to me with all the restrictions some of you know I have. There is my other thread explaining those restrictions:

https://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=589401

I want to like polymer striker fired guns because:

- they are light weight
- same capacity in smaller lighter packages
- Easier to shoot (Iam told)

I don’t like them because:

- they are grossly overpriced in my country, typically 3 to 4x msrp
- I feel insecure with the lighter trigger.... I know it could a “training issue”. I carried with an empty chamber the first 2 months.
- they are ass ugly to my eyes :D
- I can’t get pass the fact that I M paying so much more money for a “plastic gun” than a metal one.

So as you see maybe only the trigger issue is a real issue... and i know it.

So when you make this kind of decisions, specially for edc items... do you “force yourself” to what is more practical or do you still find your subjectivity perception of the firearm getting in the way?
 
Plastic or metal guns from a reputable manufacturer will meet your needs.
For me, I'm less price sensitive when I consider what's really important, reliability, easy to shoot and accurate.
 
I first consider function, but then some amount of subjectivity comes into play as well. Given that it sounds like where you live 3 or 4x MSRP is common, you'll want to be very sure about what you get. Striker fired handguns are the rage now, but are not for everyone. Heck, even Springfield Armory just came out with a DA/SA pistol for concealed carry; it's apparent they are looking to reinvigorate interest in that design.

Pick what you want, choose function of looks, but get something that will fulfill your needs and make you happy when you look at it. If you're saying 3 - 4x MSFP, $1500 or so for a garden variety pistol is a lot and you're sure going to want to be in love with it for that kind of cash.
 
TXAZ said:
Plastic or metal guns from a reputable manufacturer will meet your needs.
For me, I'm less price sensitive when I consider what's really important, reliability, easy to shoot and accurate.
Click to expand...
Yes... I guess that is the way it should be. Thank you for your answer...
 
Martowski said:
If you're saying 3 - 4x MSFP, $1500 or so for a garden variety pistol is a lot and you're sure going to want to be in love with it for that kind of cash.
Click to expand...

Now consider that minimum wage in my country is about $300... so $1500 is a ton of money, and while I can sell the gun if I don’t like it, it’s a pain in the ass (paperwork) and you end up loosing a ton of money.
 
Yeah, you defintely want to buy once and know it's the right purchase. Have you thought about something in a polymer framed DA/SA action, like a Sig SP2022? I have owned two and they are great pistols. A friend of mine just purchased one; he liked the one I had enough to pick one up as his first 9mm.
 
As for the question in bold, no you should not feel like you should like striker fired pistols if you do not. That is your preference, there is nothing wrong with it. Just know that it will in some ways limit you as there are a ton of great guns that you are ruling out if you won't look at striker fired pistols. However, you can easily meet pretty much every handgun need you may have with lightweight alloy, and heavier steel (and even some polymer guns) hammer fired guns from makers like SIG, CZ, HK, and plenty of others.
 
Don't feel like you are all alone. I go out of my way to avoid striker fired pistols.
When you are paying that much for a gun, you should be buying exactly what you want.
 
You shouldn't second guess what you like or what you do not. Opinions are like bellybuttons I guess.

I'm not sure what style trips your trigger, but have you happened to look over a CZ P07 or a P09? They're both poly framed hammer models.
 
When i started getting into hand guns I was a hammer fired pistol only type of person.

I enjoyed the FNH FNX pistols with a decocker and I purchased other hammer fired pistols with a decocker. I also like double action only.

I purchased a FNS striker fired pistol and truly enjoyed it and it opened the door for me to purchase a Glock 27 and most recently a Shield 40.

I now daily carry the Shield or the Glock and am quite comfortable with them. For concealed carry (pocket for me) the striker fired pistols as opposed to hammer fired.

I also used to require a manual safety and being left handed was stuck with having to find weapons with ambidextrous safeties...the Shield and the Glock have no manual safety.

Basically it was a matter of me changing a mind set and then learning the weapon or learning the weapon and changing the mind set :D.
 
I have a couple striker fired pistols but have a very strong preference for guns with a hammer. There’s just something to having a hammer....
 
I like handguns with exposed hammer and all steel. I have carried a 6 inch revolver since I was 21, 46 years now, So I don't need a safety and a DA/SA semi-auto fit the bill. I bought a CZ75B and there are a number of good clones out on the market. The CZ wasn't as cheap as the striker fired pistols but it fit my hand like a revolver does. The gun will only be used in 3 gun "competition" and falling plates. I may include it in my standard drills later but since I don't plan on using it for self defense I don't have a desire to train that way with it. I was soured on semi-autos by a couple of guns I owned years ago and to be honest I still don't trust them like I do my revolvers.
 
My preference is a hammer fired gun, and I have a CZ75B SA, CZ P07, and a FEG Hi Power clone all in 9mm and they are my favorite semi's by far. But, my daily carry is a Ruger LC9s. This gun has been 100% reliable, is dead accurate at SD distances, small and easily concealed, and has a great trigger. I've tried a few other CC guns and I just keep coming back to the Ruger because I have 100% confidence in it to work if and when I ever need it.
 
I wouldn't try to make yourself like something. You may regret the purchase if you are hoping you'll learn to like it. I would advise you to get what appeals to you.
 
I like hammers. I like seeing that external hammer when it is cocked, I like being able to thumb cock. I am of the opinion that hammers are going away because gun manufacturer's are making more profit by eliminating them. The gun media are sock puppets for the industry, they hosanna anything the industry does. I don't consider it a good change over, I would like to see firing pin versus striker energy comparisons. The striker fired pistols I have held and dry fired, the triggers were poor and non adjustable.

Somehow the gun industry is reducing cost by eliminating the hammer system, and charging you about the same for striker fired weapons. That's my theory.
 
If you haven't fired a m&p with a apex trigger you haven't experienced the level that a striker fired handgun can achieve.

There is always sigs and 1911's out there.
 
Actually, no one but you can answer the question you have posed.

That said, however, you might find my experience illuminating.

I am an admitted old fart, who for years has loudly proclaimed that I would never own a Glock or any of its plastic counterparts.

At the time, I had dedicated a gorgeous 1980s vintage 3" bull barrel S&W M65 to a specific purpose, where unfortunately it was exposed to a marine environment and some risk of being lost overboard. So I began thinking about replacing it with something less collectable. A friend, who is an avid kayaker, had handled similar concerns by purchasing a S&W M&P .45C, which in our neck of the woods, go for a comparatively measly $400 or so.

So I said What the Hell? and bought one. I might hate it, but if it were to fall overboard, at least I wouldn't spend months grieving. But I am responsible enough to realize that if I were to keep the .45C, I should at least fire enough rounds though it to become comfortable handling it.

In fact, I had a ball. For reasons I cannot explain -- and, given my longstanding prejudices, I hate to admit this -- I love the .45C. It feels good in my hands; its felt recoil pulse is less intrusive that my good M1911-style 45s; after installing an Apex DCAEK, the trigger is excellent; the sights are good; the pistol is utterly reliable; and, best of all, I shoot it well.

So, damn it all, I had to go out and by a second identical pistol.

Now, contrary to what some folks (including from time to time, S&W itself) say, the M&P is a single action pistol. The striker is fully cocked by cycling, and (unlike the Glock) the sear is a rotating item. From an at rest position, the trigger motion is long, but not excessive in pull weight and quite crisp in let off. The reset is fairly short and tactile.

From 7-10 yards, I can put up one of those little stick-um dots on a piece of cardboard and, shooting deliberately, fire 7 rounds all inside of or touching the stick um. (The M&P 45C magazine is supposedly 8 shots, but for the life of me I cannot get the 8th round in it.) Or I can put up an IDPA target and draw and fire 7 rounds in less than 4-5 seconds putting all in the A-Zone. This is better than I can do with my M1911s, and I can do it all day long.

Now, I can't do anything to help with the restrictions or economics of your domicile. But it may be helpful to hear from living proof that sometimes longstanding prejudices are not in one's best interests.
 
I want to like polymer striker fired guns because:

- they are light weight
- same capacity in smaller lighter packages
- Easier to shoot (Iam told)
Click to expand...

Polymer is a category. Striker is a category. However, there are plenty of hammer-fired polymer guns that can be had in DA/SA, or DAO, or carried cocked-and-locked in SA. Which of those action styles will be easier to shoot has more to do with you.

This is generalization based on my limited experience but most of the striker-fired guns I've tried have had consistent, relatively easy triggers. Some of them have employed trigger-safeties like a dingus but had no manual safety. Not surprisingly, the double-action guns have had heavier triggers while the single-action guns have tended to have the lightest or easiest triggers. As such, the SA guns have used manual safeties. The DA/SA guns, which come with various safety options, seem to offer the practical best of both worlds but do require training to get used to two different kinds of trigger pull.

Personally, I like DA/SA with decocker-only (no manual safety). If you really want to get fancy, there are a few striker-fired DA/SA guns like the Walther P99 that are interesting. Whichever route you go, just put in the time to learn it.

As per cost, are all polymer guns ludicrously overpriced in your region or is it just the striker guns?
 
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