Northwest Fishing Reports

I'm in the market for a new pistol. I'm currently considering Glock or Springfield Armory XD. I'll be going with 9mm.

Anyone have some input on a reliable, well made, low cost gun I should look at? I'm not looking for fancy things and won't be putting a laser or anything else on it.

Oh and I'm also looking for COMPACT models. 3-4" barrels.

kimber

The MSRPs on Kimber look really high, are they generally cheaper than the $900 to $1700 I see listed? I also don't see any 9mm in the compact models. They look to be exclusively .45.

I wish I could pick up a compact Beretta 92FS Stainless but until they make one I'll continue carrying the full size.
I have found it to be so reliable that I haven't been shopping for anything else. Running about $600.00 with two fifteen round mags.

Big D wrote:I wish I could pick up a compact Beretta 92FS Stainless but until they make one I'll continue carrying the full size.
I have found it to be so reliable that I haven't been shopping for anything else. Running about $600.00 with two fifteen round mags.

That's what I have right now. It's just too big for easy concealment. If I'm not wearing a jacket I pretty much can't carry it. This exact model actually


I want something that can be clipped to my belt under a T-shirt or in my pocket in some baggy shorts in the summer.

Here's mine.


I don't have much of an issue with concealed carry. I wear a jean style leather belt and sport a high rise holster. Only about four inches of the holster hangs below my belt and that's hidden by my T shirt or jacket.

Are you stuck on a semi-auto? If not Taurus makes great reliable hammer-less revolvers in 38 or 357 way more knock down then a 9mm... Most models are around 16-24 ounces in weight and very concealable. That is what my dad always had and for a short barreled gun the are pretty accurate and have great triggers for a revolver.

Yep, semi-auto. I learned to shoot that way and for various reasons, want to keep shooting that way. Thanks for the suggestion though!

Hey Bionic,
You may want to peruse the Smith & Wesson M&P models. They have quite an extensive line of cal. and frame sizes at fairly good prices. I can vouch for their comfort, simplicity and most important...reliability. They are a very good weapon of choice w/ versitility (laser or light rail system) designed in!

$$$$ Kimber $$$$. Thats funny SSD. Great gun but expensive!

I think a Glock would qualify as a reliable low cost handgun. I would recommend it in 40 or 45 cal. I have the Glock 23 which is the compact 40 cal and it's a great gun. The Glock 27 is even smaller but from what I understand is harder to hang on to when firing. I also believe that the Springfield is a well built firearm but I am not sure what they sell for. Good luck and let us know what you purchase.

EDIT: Sorry about me recommending a caliber. I didn't realize you were in the military and know all about stopping power. BTW your Beretta is very nice. I carried a Beretta 40 cal earlier in my career and it was a sweet gun, great shooter but you are right, it was big and ultimately I sold it.

Oh no problem. I'm not in the Army anymore. I just learned on a 9mm and like the caliber and will be keeping my Baretta so I don't want to be purchasing more than one type of ammo (simplicity is so nice).

I do realize that different calibers have more stopping power, but I was taught to put several rounds in the same place very rapidly and I want to stick with that. In addition to that, I've fired countless 9mm rounds - and even though a different gun will fire those rounds a bit different, I'm pretty sure 9mm is easy to get back on target no matter what gun you're using (no silly comments about .22!).

If I'm incorrect in this, feel free to chime in.

I love my Taurus 357 revolver but its pretty bulky to pack and carry. It does make a great statement though.

Have a look at the Sig's, I'm sure they will have a model that suits your needs. I don't have a SIG in 9mm, however the model I do have is solid and I'd go to it without hesitation.

The XD is a great gun. I like the way they feel and shoot. A couple buddies have the .40 compact, I have the .45. Sounds like they are in your price range. The 9 mm are easier to find too.

SIG all the way, they are great guns and they make a couple of modles that the barrael and mags can be swapped out to shoot 9mm or 40 S&W

Glock! Best shooter out of the box, best bang for buck. You can't treat it bad enough to make it happy. I don't have the book in front of me but they recommend cleaning after 10,000 rounds. I'd do it a bit sooner but that's up to you. It's a battle ready pistol.
For evryones sake get away from that little girly 9mm round. Shoot something that has some knock down power. Don't give the armed forces baloney either. They pick a round that will wound not kill. You wound an enemy and it takes three or four players out of the game. You kill one and it only removes one. That is not what you want in a self defence round.

racfish wrote:I love my Taurus 357 revolver but its pretty bulky to pack and carry. It does make a great statement though.

That's a reat hammer Rac!!!!!!! Shoot it all week and drive nails with it on the weekend! Tough to to beat that one!
I sport my King Cobra when in the woods and for city creatures, it's Glock 23.

PS: Bulky guns are ok on us! we can hide a lot.

I bought a SA XDm 9mm last week. Its a full size gun that holds 19 in the mag + 1 in the hole. I ordered, on line, a Cross Breed Super Tuck Deluxe inside waist band holster for it. I have a Super Tuck for a Ed Brown full sized 1911 45 and it hides it really well. Even in the summer when I'm wearing a tee shirt. As long as I wear shorts that have a belt the gun hides really well. Elastic waistband shorts don't get it done. I've got a Kel Tec and a Kahr for times that call for a mini pistol. As I've gotten older my eyes prefer the longer sight plane that a full sized pistol has. I've got several handguns in different calibers but have found that shot placement is far more important than caliber. Wheel guns are fun to punch paper or hand gun hunt with but when **** hits the fan with the 2 legged varmints give me a high capacity pistol loaded with hollow points.

I own a Glock 22 in .40 S&W cal and absolutely love it! I've had the 9mm's, the .357 mags, the .45's and even played with the .380 pea shooters.(my wife's weapon)
My Glock is without a doubt the finest weapon I have had the pleasure of pulling the trigger on.
It comes stock with a 15 round mag, but I own a couple of +2 mags so that gives me 17 rounds of real stopping power.
I have put well over 5000 rounds through this weapon and have yet to have a single failure of any kind.
It suits my needs for personal defense as well as target and sport shooting. It may suit yours as well.

A little background on the Glock 22....

Introduced in 1990 at the S.H.O.T. Show, the Glock® 22 closes the gap between the .45 calibers and the 9mm calibers.
Glock® was the first to make this fire power available to Law Enforcement in a perfect pistol form.
Countless Law Enforcement Agencies today carry the Glock® 22 for their safety.

•Action: Double Action Only
•Caliber: 40 S&W
•Barrel Length: 4.49 Inch Barrel
•Capacity: 15 Round
•Safety: Trigger/Firing Pin
•Grips: Polymer
•Sights: Fixed
•Weight: 22.92 Ounces
•Finish: Black

•"Safe Action" Trigger System: A partly-tensioned firing pin lock that moves further back by the trigger bar when the trigger is pulled.
•Firing Pin Safety: A solid hardened steel pin which, in the secured state, blocks the firing pin channel, rendering the igniting of a chambered cartridge by the firing pin impossible.
•Drop Safety: Prevents unintentional firing of a shot through hard impact, or when the Glock® pistol is dropped.
•Psychology: Glock® offers one simple psychological safety feature, finger away from trigger safety on, finger on trigger, safety off.
•Tenifer: Glock® parts are coated in a Tenifer process that achieves a degree of hardness that comes close to that of a diamond.
•Polymer: Glock® pistol grips come coated with a Glock® hi-tech polymer coating that.
•Barrel Profile: Solid, cold-hammered barrels with Tenifer coating and rounded interior profiles.
•Loaded Chamber Indicator: Trigger forward (safety activated); Trigger pulled (safety deactivated); the extractor also serves as a loaded chamber indicator.
•Mounting Rails: Glock® offers the user the possibility of modular-mounting a wide range of weapon accessories on the pistol.
•Quality: Glock® pistols have been designed to operate without compromise in extreme conditions.

For affordability, you might look at the Bersa Thunder 9 Ultra Carry. Very dependable with any ammo you care to feed it. The one weak point about Bersas is the finish, which is pretty delicate for a firearm. Otherwise, a very good value.