I am thinking of getting a new 9mm. I have it narrowed down to 3 choices. A Glock 17, a Ruger P95 and a Smith and Wesson 5943 Tactical. Can anyone give me any info on these guns? Which is better, Pros and cons, and which would be ideal for ccw? Thanks.

Which fits your hand and what is your level of experience? My preference between those three would be the Smith. I've carried 6904s and 6906s before. Not partical to either the Glock and Ruger for I like frame or slide mounted safeties on pistols and carry with pistol on safe. I practice swapping the safety off as I clear the holster. An often overlooked item is holster availiblity of the particuliar pistol you prefer to carry. I prefer to carry strong side hip when either duty or for concealed. Go with the one you like and feels the best in your hand.

CD

I never liked the S&W 39-59 series pistols. I think they are a poor design that S&W won't let die. I perfer the Glock or the S&W M&P.

Kudu40

Went down to the local gun shop today to try a few guns out. They had a few glocks and one used p95. I wasn't too fond of the glocks, but they did have a real nice
S & W S9VE. Any takes on this gun? At less than $400 it looks like a great bargain, but not sure on this one.

I have experience with the Glock and the Ruger. The Ruger is a nice gun though you may have a harder time finding holsters and the factory magaines are going to be more expensive. I carry the Glock every day. You will be able to find any kind of holster you could want for it and you can get the magazines for $20 and sometimes less if you shop around.

The best thing to do would be to try to shoot each of the guns you are interested in buying. Each will have slightly different grip angles, etc. You will probably find that one fits you better than the others. For me the Glock works great. I also like the feel of my Springfield TRP. So if you can go with someone you know or go to a range that will rent them, try to try them out.

The Smith and wesson sigma as it is also called is a decent gun for the price if you can get use to the trigger pull on it. As far as quality is concerned they are made of a lesser quality than if you go to the m&p in there line or my personal favorite the XD you should handle on of them and you will forget about the glock and it is a little bit saffer than both with the added palm saftey. Overall i guess if you just want a handgun to have the sigma is alright but i would look at other ones first, Also right now The sigma has a summer rebate your choice of $30 mail in rebate or your choice of 2 mags.

easy answer - glock 17 specially if you also want to carry- but glock 17L
for target shooting - the 17L is super accurate and has 6" barrel

Glocks don't like cast bullets, if you are thinking of shooting them.

CDD

They are all pretty good... Pick the one that feels the best to you.


www.budsgunshop.com (http://www.budsgunshop.com) has Sig Sauer 9mms for $325, they are police issue returns and most have been barely shot and only have minor holster wear.

I have the Ruger P95. I love it, very very reliable. It eats and shoots anything. I have put 2000 rounds through it never choked yet. The tec-rails are nice too, I have a 75 lumens light on it. --- But its not a carry gun. Its thick and bulky. I like the 15+1 capcity by my bed. With the weight of the gun it manages the already light recoil of a 9m very well. Rapid fire multy shots are easy to keep in small groups. I dont expect or hope I'll ever need more than that at home. I found a shoulder holster that fits pretty well since its hard to wear on the hip. I have big hands and it fits well, but my buddy who is more "average" size has a problem getting a good hold on it. --- Sorry no experience with the Glock or SW.

please do a search of 9MM....it'll come up with a whole lot of info for you.

I have to use glocks, but I don't much care for them. I am not partical to the rugers. I have carried and used the S&W pistols for years and like them. I know the new S&W M&P was not on your list, but if I were you I would put it on the list. My old dept. is in the process to changing from the 5906 to the M&P and I have heard nothing but good. My son went to the range and shot several different guns. Those on your list plus the M&P and went head over heals for the M&P. I talked to several range people, both civilian and police, and they are sold on the new M&P's.:)

All three have well-earned reputaions as good pistols, and any would serve you well. Assuming you are aware of the differences in operation among the three, your decision really boils down to which you will feel most comfortable and confident with. Unless you are able to shoot and carry them a bit before you buy, I'm afraid your decision will not be easy. Many folks, including me, have bought what we felt was going to be the "ideal" pistol, only to decide after a while that for one reason or another it's just not exactly "right". For instance, lately I bought a S&W 6906, and felt I'd died and gone to heaven. Then, I got a deal on a Sig P6, and found that for me it carried just a bit easier than the 6906. Just yesterday, I brought home a new Kahr CW45 and, oh my, is it sweet...! You see what I mean...

:cool:Aw, varity is the spice of life!!!:cool:
Buy them all and let us know which you like the best!!!;)

I carry a Glock 26 in a CTAC IWB holster when I'm wearing pants with a loose fitting button up shirt, tucked or untucked. When I'm wearing shorts and a t-shirt I carry a Kel-tec P3AT in a Uncle Mikes pocket holster in my front pocket. I have owned a Ruger P95DC and the Glock 26 both are 9mm. I would not trade my Glock 26 for anything; I really like the fact that the trigger pull is the same everytime very smooth, and this gun is very light and concealable. If feeds everything with not one problem and very accurate for a pistol with a short barrel. I feel very confident carrying this set up and have no worries about reliablity. The P95 had a double action trigger pull on the first round and a single action pull on each following shot until empty or de-cocked. I could never get adjusted to the difference and the gun was a little on the bulcky heavy side. I really like the Kel-tec .380 and have never had one failure to feed or fire from mine, but wish it was a 9mm in the same size.

Doc

Although not one of your choices listed, you should consider and shoot the Springfield XD series.
As far as simplicity, it's right there, and feeds and fires all I feed it. I'm somewhere 'round 8000 shots, and have not had ANY issues at all....not a FTE, FTF, nuthin'.

Good guns.

Went down to the local gun shop today to try a few guns out. They had a few glocks and one used p95. I wasn't too fond of the glocks, but they did have a real nice
S & W S9VE. Any takes on this gun? At less than $400 it looks like a great bargain, but not sure on this one.

Out of the list you gave, that's what I'd pick. But I decided I didn't want anything but double action only, so I got Kahrs as my first choice and Sigs as the second. The Glock has what I call a "lower center of gravity" so the recoil goes back into your hand rather than flipping the muzzle up. Some folks like that and some hate it. You've really got to shoot 'em to know for sure. But my recommendation would be a Kahr. I got a Sig 226 for home defense mainly because of capacity and availability of parts but also because of the DAK trigger system.

The cost of the gun itself is not a big deal - you're not going to be buying another one every week as you would gasoline. The cost in shooting is all the accessories, supplies, and ammunition. That's where you need to be frugal. Get the very best gun you can afford that meets your needs, fits your hand, and feels good when you shoot.

SIG P226

http://i272.photobucket.com/albums/jj171/carlo1776/IMG_1502.jpg

Glocks don't like cast bullets, if you are thinking of shooting them.

CDD

This is simply not true. I have shot thousands of rounds of cast bullets in my Glock 34 with a factory barrel with no problems. In fact this particular gun has not had a single factory round shot through it. Any barrel will lead if your bullet size is too small, or you are pushing the bullet too fast for the hardness of the lead.

Glock will tell you not to fire all lead bullets in Glock factory barrels in general.
It has been known to cause problems with excessive lead in the barrel.

Call ANY manufacturer(of simi-auto's) and I'll bet that they(their lawyer) will tell you not to shoot lead bullets OR handloads thru their pistols.

I completely agree with jIM in his post(#19). My Glocks have had non jacketed bullets(hardcast only) thru them as well with no difficulties whatsoever.

A little dose of "shooters common sense" will definately help with this process. But frankly I say that if the though of blowing up your Glock still frightens the heck out of you,by all means don't buy one.

So, for the people that rule out Glocks because of it's "inability to shoot lead",you should not buy a Glock, OR..... invest in one of them aftermarket bbls that have the "normal" rifleing.

But..... for a small,one time only consulting fee of $10,I will gladly tell you how to go about shooting all the hardcast you want outta a Glock without it kaboomin'.

Good shootin' to all -----pruhdlr

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Can I reload for my Glock?
Yes. As with all reloading: be sure to follow published SAAMI guidelines very carefully.

The Glock manual does contain a warning against using reloaded ammunition. However, this is generally viewed as an industry-wide practice done to prevent lawsuits:
"The use of reloaded ammunition will void the Glock warranty, due to the unpredictability of the standards (SAMI/NATO) adhered to, since reloads of poor quality ammunition may not meet (SAMI/NATO) specifications, may exceed limits, and therefore may be unsafe."
Can I shoot lead bullets in my Glock?
This has been debated on rec.guns and GlockTalk about 10,000 times. There are basically 2 schools of thought:

School #1: Don't Do It
Glock barrels use special polygonal rifling not found in most handguns. This rifling is one of the main reasons Glocks are extremely accurate guns. However, the same rifling can cause a high degree of leading when not using jacketed bullets. In other words some lead from the bullet sticks to the inside of the barrel when it is fired. Too much leading can quickly lead to high pressures which can cause the barrel and/or gun to break or even explode. Most people who weigh in on this subject fall into this category including Glock Inc.

School #2: Don't Worry About It
If you clean your barrel well and do it every time you shoot there will be no significant leading. Many, many people use lead bullets almost exclusively in their Glocks and do not have any problems whatsoever.

Additional notes from Hoss:
Not all lead is created equally. You can shoot lead in your Glock (probably) but you should use a hard lead from a reputable manufacturer. The homemade lead bullets made from wheel weights and other recycled lead should be avoided! Just becuase one type of lead bullet and load shoot fine in one glock does not mean it will be safe in others. Each barrel is different and must be carefully checked when first using lead.

Additional notes from JT:
You *can* shoot lead in a polygonal barrel, as many Glocksters do. But you need to be aware of some potential dangers in using lead bullets, not to mention voiding your Glock warranty if you use non-factory ammo.

First, if you decide to use lead bullets, use hardcast bullets at medium velocities for best results. This will reduce potential leading of the bore. Theoretically, polygonal rifling allows the bullet to seal the gases better than traditional land and groove rifling, thereby increasing velocities but also increasing potential problems with bore-leading-induced pressure spikes. Lead particles from the bullets have no where to hide in polygonal rifling as in the lands and grooves of conventional rifling and with better bullet-to-bore sealing, serious pressure spikes can develop when the bore is fouled.

However, note that some dismiss the purported velocity increases with polygonal rifling. Mike Orrick (GlockTalk's "BrokenArrows") has pointed out that his chronographed results of identical loads in conventionally-rifled barrels versus same-length polygonal barrels yielded higher velocities in some of the conventionally-rifled barrels.

Secondly, absolutely get all the lead out after at least every 200 rounds to avoid lead buildup, pressure spikes and potential corresponding kBs! With the tighter seal of the bullet, pressures can increase significantly in polygonal barrels. There have even been reports of Ranier-type bullets shedding bits of copper jacket in polygonal barrels, causing the same pressure spikes that are caused by excessive leading. Just be sure to use hard-cast lead bullets or good-quality jacketed bullets and keep the velocities down to earth.

Thirdly, polygonal rifling doesn't get the same grip on the bullet as conventional rifling. This may affect accuracy with some loads, especially hot ones. Even with using copper-jacketed bullets, some LEAs have reportedly banned the use of polygonal barrels in duty guns because of the potential difficulty in forensically identifying the rifling patterns on a bullet shot from a polygonal barrel. IOW, it's sometimes impossible to identify which polygonal barrel a particular bullet was shot from. Who shot whom?

Another recommendation is to moly-coat your lead bullets and/or treat your barrel with one of the spaceage lubricants, such as TW25B spray from Kleen-Bore. This will definitely help the cleaning process and may even increase velocities slightly and help with accuracy.

Last, but not least, most experts recommend getting a conventionally-rifled barrel from replacement barrelmakers such as Jarvis or Bar-Sto if you shoot a lot of lead. These barrels generally offer more case support than stock Glock barrels as a bonus. Use your replacement barrel for practice and the stock barrel for carry