Thread: Help me pick my 9mm

After a couple of years of research I have decided on a 9mm. A 9mm HydroShock will stop an individual as well as a 40 or 45 but without the kick and gaping wound cavity. I guess I should say that my objective is to incapacitate rather than kill. Its just easier on the karma. If I need to kill I have the option but incapacitate first.

Anyway here are the choices.

Glock 19

Springfield XD9

If you have pros and cons let me know.

Btw I just voted 'other'. I have no experience with guns, and anything I would buy would be an uninformed decision.

Instead, I would visit GWH (assuming we did not live on opposite sides of the world) and ask him to help me pick a gun that is right for me.

CZ-75 Shadow. Very accurate and a great deal for the money. They say that if Czechoslovakia was not part of the Soviet block this would be a side arm of US Army.

I don't have an opinion on brand or caliber, but here are a few tips that I've picked up that seem to be golden rules when it comes to guns:

Don't pull it unless you're going to kill someone. It's better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6; dead men tell no tales.

Along the same lines as the above, don't pull it if you can't put a bullet right where you want it in a paper target. Thankfully that can be remedied with some range time.

Shoot your prospective guns before you buy them. If you don't know how to shoot, take some classes so that you can properly evaluate what you like and dislike in a gun. You may find that you're better with something that you didn't really expect. For instance, I found out that I far prefer a 44 magnum (the "Dirty Harry gun") than a 45 auto. It falls into my hand perfectly and I can put the 44 round right where I want it every time, no matter how long it's been since shooting it.

Don't buy into the hyped up self-defense/home defense crap. What it will come down to is how comfortable and well trained you are with your weapon, not whether you have glowing sights, lasers, compensators, etc.

Let's us know what model you decide on. Pics or it didn't happen

No doubt, Sig 226

Jester: Whatever.

Getting pretty deep into terminal ballistics theory here guys...

Although this is a fun subject, it really is a moot point in a gun fight...

Want to have some fun though, and realize that terminal ballistics is just a theory???

Take one sub MOA rifle, take 24 match grade rounds, take a bench rest, and a steady target platform.....

Buy a case of cheap pop in cans.. Set a orange TargDot on each one in the exact same spot...
Now sit back and smack some cans...

The results should be interesting as each can will explode differently...plus it is kinda fun shooting...

Any minute change in the can or the shot completely changes the results of each can's disruption...

Back in the early '70s I once shot a large sealed can of some kind of juice with a 220 Swift 40 grain @ 4,000 fps. Results were spectacular.

Originally Posted by JimmyHAD

Back in the early '70s I once shot a large sealed can of some kind of juice with a 220 Swift 40 grain @ 4,000 fps. Results were spectacular.

Hehe,

I loaded some 7mm Mag with a 90 grain V-max at about the same FPS.


I can't remember what it was I shot there was so little of it left!

The chaos theory, more or less.

It would seem to make sense to use what you are comfortable with, what you feel you could use the most effectively.

I guess I have experience of this, to some degree. I was at our local range pinking with an old BSA Lightning air rifle. A springer, with a cheap scope that I'd had for years. For an air rifle, they have quite a nice kick, a really great gun.

Anyway, I was messing about with these guys who both had £800 in their guns, easily. Set up a target with a bell in at 60yrds, and I could hit it 8/10 and them maybe half that.

You don't need the 'best' gun, if you know it, if you're confident with it, then you have a much better chance of actually hitting your target. Which is always a good place to start.