[roosterjuicer]

My birthday is coming up and i am getting myself another pistol. im looking for something to conceal carry (not very much, definitely not its primary purpose), target shoot, and protect my home and myself with.

9mm is the only bullet i am interested in.

I have been planning on either a beretta 92fs or a springfield xd-9 tactical. I like a pistol with a light trigger pull and of course feels good in my hand. I have always kind of hated glocks, i dont like their lack of a push button safety and i dont like how every punk kid thinks glocks are so cool cause they see them on TV so i guess you could say im a bit jaded against them.

I went to the store the other day to try and pick between the baretta and the xd-9 tactical and dry fired them both. I was very unhappy with the way the xd felt. the trigger was ok, not as crisp as i would like, but the gun felt just a little rougher and not as well made as i was expecting. it was also a little on the clunky side and a bit top heavy. so it went to the bottom of my list from the top.

i like the beretta a lot, and i have for a long time, but im kinda wanting a polymer gun right.

so i started strolling around and picked up a glock 34 that caught my eye and I must say I was impressed. the trigger was great, the gun seemed very well made (their reputation preceeds them), it was not top heavy and it was a very slick gun. so my least favorite gun became my most favorite gun.

so i guess help me sort this thing out. those glock 34's are tough to find so i kinda gotta move fast.

will i be happy with this glock over the beretta (xd is kind of out of the picture i guess) for what I am looking for? I consider myself to be an average marksman with a pistol, which gun will be easier to handle at the range between all three? help me sort this all out please!

 

[SGT-MILLER]

Have you looked at the Beretta model 90-two?

It seems that you don't want the XD, so it would probably be best to exclude that from your list, which leaves the Glock and the Beretta.

Both are well made sidearms. The advantage that the Glock will have is the streamlined design and the low bore location in relation to your grip (lower recoil/muzzle flip). The Beretta is a great sidearm, but it is rather bulky for a 9mm. The Glock also has the advantage of higher magazine capacity. This is something to pay attention to when using a 9mm in my opinion. The Glock is more user friendly than the Beretta because of the total ease of use (i.e. no safety or decocker to worry about).

My honest opinion after taking an honest look at both sidearms would be the Glock over the Beretta. I believe that the XD is a better product than both, but since you seem to not really like the XD, it is a moot point.

Good luck in finding the right sidearm. You won't go wrong no matter what the choice.

 

[Dillinger]

Rooster - You have three good choices in front of you, but I have to ask, is it price that is limiting your choice, or is it those are the ones that you like?

Just curious, because there are other 9mm options than those three that might be of interest if you are not limiting based solely on price.

Of the three, here are my thoughts....

The Beretta is over priced. I bought one of the first 92F's right after Lethal Weapon 1 came out. Yeah, I'm old, what of it? I shot the hell out of the gun. All the time at the range. I never carried it, because I lived in a small town and never really felt the need too. After about the first 5000 rounds, there was excessive wear on the frame, which was aluminum, from the slide, which was steel. You could see where the frame tolerance was actually changing from all the "activity" and I wasn't shooting hot loads or even +P, I was shooting basic old range ammo. I am not the only one to ever experience this problem either, I have seen it on a lot of other Beretta's over the years. Having said that, for $50, you can get a drop in "P" shaped trigger spring that will tune that trigger up real nice and make a decent shooter out of it. The installation will take you 30 minutes and it's so easy a monkey can do it.

The Glock: I hate Glocks. Absolutely Hate them, and their fanboys. But, facts being facts? They are a good self defense gun. It's not a marksmens gun, it's a good, mostly solid, mostly stable shooter. The polymer frame has been shown to flex under fire, something flies in the face of conventional firearms wisdom for accuracy. However the damn thing will flat shoot when you need it too. I don't like that it doesn't have a positive safety. I don't consider a carry gun without a positive safety to be a plus. I also don't like weapons with a slide mounted safety as opposed to a frame mounted safety ( see Beretta above ). The Glock, as mentioned by the good Sgt above, has a lower barrel profile, so it will be a more "natural" shooter for you. It's a good, reliable self defense gun and a decent plinker. It will give you out of the box, minute of bad guy performance all damn day long and you will never need to worry about that. However, I still hates me some Glock.

The XD: I feel it's a better design than the Glock and I feel their new model, with the 1911 style frame mounted safety is a step in the right direction. Their triggers can be adjusted, so you can change that to fit your needs, and their grips are more ergonomic than Glock. Springfield's are a bit more expensive, but not by much. I prefer the Springfield only because of the safety and the grip angle. It's still a striker fired weapon and will be reliable all day long.

So, there you have one person's opinion.

Best of luck and keep us informed with your choice and range report...

JD

 

[Slawth]

If carrying concealed is not your priority (not that you couldn't) and you can spend just a little bit more, I would recommend you put your hands around an XDm 9mm before you make your final decision.(If you are set on sticking to those 3 pistols in particular...)

 

[roosterjuicer]

price isn't much of an issue although id like to keep it under 700$.

i handled the xd and didn't really like how it felt. i went and checked them out again today and i just keep coming back to the glock 34.

 

[roosterjuicer]

as to the glock hating thing...i have always kinda hated glocks too. it seems like every wanna be gangster in the world is obsessed with them for one reason or another. thats why i was never really planning on getting one.

that being said, i try not to let my prejudices get in the way of a good product.

 

[stalkingbear]

If you like the Beretta, I would suggest you look at Taurus as well. Are you DEAD SET against an 1911? Most people never realize what they're missing with 1911s until they actually shoot 1. Just pick the 1 that fits you best. If the "UGH" Glock fits you best, buy it.

 

[roosterjuicer]

I love 1911's. i guess im just not in the market for one right now im kinda looking for a 9mm. and something with higher capacity than a 1911. maybe my next gun will be a 1911

i actually used to have a 1911 but it was a llama and it was unreliable as all get out. however, when it was working, it worked very nicely.

 

[TwoHandRevy]

If you are looking for a great 9x19mm, I suggest looking into this weapon to see if it fits your needs.

CZ 75 B

Not only is this pistol a tack driver (and a deadly one at that), but it also has great ergonomics and is built like a brick **** house. If you are lucky, you can probably still purchase a NIB one for about $450-$500. If polymer framed pistols are more your bag, then I suggest looking into the Walther P99 AS. They are extremely lightweight, but are built pretty close in reliability and accuracy to HK's USP series. You can usually find a new one for about $550-$650. Just a couple of helpful suggestions for you.

 

[bajastx]

When I bought my 9mm I went through the same thing that you are going through now. I went to the dealer convinced that I was getting the XD until I picked it up. Don’t get me wrong I like the gun a lot but it did not feel natural in my hand, so then tried a couple of others, Sig, Ruger, H&K,Taurs, etc. I wanted to keep my option open so I even looked at the Glocks, which I not a huge fan of. They are good guns and will get the job done but I just don’t care for the balance of them. Anyways I finally ended up at the Beretta section and the guy handed me the 90Two, and as soon and I started handling it, I was sold. It’s not the cheapest of the 9mm but you get what you pay for, in my opinion anyway. I have a Kimber 1911 which I will never get rid of, but the 1911’s are not in the same category. I would recommend the 90Two for a high capacity 9mm carry. A little FYI, holsters for the 92/96 or M9 will not fit the 90Two due to the rail, but DeSantis make a very nice holster for it. In the end it all comes down to what you like best this is just my take on it.

 

[supergus]

My $.02: The Glock does not point naturally for me. BTW Glock is 250,000 pistols behind.
The XD(m) is very comfortable, holds 19+1 and the interchangeable backstraps allow you to custom fit the grip.
The PX4 is very comfy(haven't shot it though) but the external thumb safety is a "flip up" to fire. I'm used to "flip down" a la 1911.
BTW IMO the XD(m) is a great value. You get the holster, mag pouch, thumb loader, and bore brush.
If I was in the market for a well priced polymer, it would be the XD(m). Good luck.

 

[Benning Boy]

+1 on the XD-M. But in the end, the one that's a comfortable fit is the one to go with. If you've held all three, and the Glock appealed to you, that's the one.

 

[roosterjuicer]

im looking more for something with either a 5 inch barrel or very close (like the beretta)

i like how the xd(m) carries so much ammunition, i might consider one as a concealed carry weapon down the road.

 

[roosterjuicer]

thanks for your help everyone. I decided to go with the Glock 34. I will be shooting it tommorrow. I took it apart and gave it a good cleaning, seems like a quality piece of hardware, very simple and easy to field strip (especially compared to my ruger 22/45)

 

[Yunus]

I have a glock 22 and I do not have a concealed carry weapon because of where I live but I must say my glock has been a reliable, fun and accurate plinking target weaponn. It is not perfect with the non-adjustable sights I have to aim slightly low but its pretty damn close and it has never jammed on me and I fire whatever ammo I find cheapest at Wal-mart so that is a big + in my book.

 

[cpttango30]

Ok lets get one thing stright here.

This is for cooking:

This is for protection:

I think glocks are very over rated myself. Never seen anything a glcok can do better than my 1911.

 

[robocop10mm]

IMHO Beretta is an archaeic design (no offense to the 1911 lovers) with the locking block arrangement of the P-38. This puts the barrel very high in relation to your hand/arm. This allows the Beretta to jump around more than a lower setup like the Glock/XD or even 1911. The Beretta is a very large weapon in relation to caliber. A .45 1911 is more compact.

I agree the pistol that "fits" and feels good. If that is the Glock, OK. If that is the XD, OK. Still hard to beat a 1911. The thin grip is more "pointable" than most double stack grips.

 

[741512th]

I really like my 92FS, but I just don't see it as a concealed carry weapon. It is kind of big.

 

[roosterjuicer]

thanks for everyones help. i decided to go with the glock. it just felt better and more natural for me than the xd-9. it also seems like it was built to higher tolerances and overall just a slightly better engineered gun.

here are some pics

 

[Dillinger]

^ While missing a 1911, you have a GREAT looking collection going there...

JD