I’m a full size gun guy, I never buy the compact version of a gun, like a 1911 commander instead of a Gvt model, or G19 instead of a G17. It’s probably linked to my own size, 6’3 and 250 lbs, made in Germany.
However I did buy just a few pocket size pistols over the years
It started with the Walther PPK in 7.65 Browning, or .32 ACP. As I was hanging around the LGS back in 1992, I saw it in a cabinet. Mmh, the James Bond pistol I thought. The owner further triggered my curiosity by explaining it is a Zella-Mehlis model, so built before the end of WWII, in what then became East Germany under soviet domination (Walther transferred its activities in Ulm). It was built in 1939.
The second one in a Bulgarian made Makarov, built in 1987. The reason I bought it at a gun show was the price : I was amazed that one could buy a 9 mm semi auto steel pistol for $ 160 (9 mm Makarov). And it was the official sidearm of the Eastern bloc.
The Beretta 1934 (made in 1937) was found in an acquaintance’s grandpa attic. It’s a very well made gun, solid, heavy and reliable. It also has the open top slide like the 92 series. It’s in .380 ACP, which we call 9 mm short in Europe.
However I did buy just a few pocket size pistols over the years
It started with the Walther PPK in 7.65 Browning, or .32 ACP. As I was hanging around the LGS back in 1992, I saw it in a cabinet. Mmh, the James Bond pistol I thought. The owner further triggered my curiosity by explaining it is a Zella-Mehlis model, so built before the end of WWII, in what then became East Germany under soviet domination (Walther transferred its activities in Ulm). It was built in 1939.
The second one in a Bulgarian made Makarov, built in 1987. The reason I bought it at a gun show was the price : I was amazed that one could buy a 9 mm semi auto steel pistol for $ 160 (9 mm Makarov). And it was the official sidearm of the Eastern bloc.
The Beretta 1934 (made in 1937) was found in an acquaintance’s grandpa attic. It’s a very well made gun, solid, heavy and reliable. It also has the open top slide like the 92 series. It’s in .380 ACP, which we call 9 mm short in Europe.