You Own Several Different Gun Brands, So Which Brand Gets Range Use Most Often & Why?
I missed the part about "why?" in my first response, so I thought I'd give my reasoning here. When I was younger I seemed to be able to switch from one pattern to another without much thought. For instance, when I was in my early twenties I either carried a model 19 or a 1911 most of the time and had no difficulty with handling or shooting either no matter how used to one or the other I became.
Then a few years ago things began to change for a variety of reasons, but the bottom line was that I found it took me some time to get comfortable with a revolver after spending several weeks carrying a semi or vice versa. Or carrying one of my DA/SA pistols after carrying one of my 1911s for awhile.
I decided that it was just easier to become very familiar with one platform/pattern. Originally I wanted to get a brace of SIGs to cover all my bases, but in the end I found that I wasn't completely comfortable with the DA/SA configuration, and that in the full-size versions the SIG grip was just a bit too large for my hands. And for my defensive purposes I decided that was unacceptable. I had the same kinds of issues with the Glocks I sampled.
That led me down a long path of trying to find another pattern gun that fit my needs, which ended up with the S&W M&P series eventually winning out over Ruger. Like the Sig or Glock, the M&P series is very modular, so going from one caliber or size to another is a matter of adjusting to only felt recoil impulses and nothing more. All controls, grip feel/size, etc., are identical so I don't have to remember anything extra going from gun to gun to gun.
I also like the fact that my M&Ps are so reliable when it comes to ammo selection. They'll eat anything, whether it be manufactured rounds (target or SD) or my reloads, without issue. My Glock 19 g4 is decidedly more picky, especially about my reloads, and I'm not excited about buying rounds for a single gun.
Anyway, since at least half of my time at the pistol range is taken up by shooting SD drills, most of the time at least a couple of my M&Ps get tossed in the bag. Consequently, since switching to this "one pattern" philosophy, I've found that my overall skill level has risen significantly, as well as my confidence level with any of my SD pistols.
But like I said, I make it point to just have some fun at the range, so at least one 1911 always makes the trip, and every other trip my .357 or .44 mag, because it's just fun to run a good 1911, like driving a Porshe roadster, or touching off some hot mag loads, because who doesn't like blowing things up and big fireballs now and again.