Slob, is buying a spring field, Kimberly or colt out of the box that much better than the r.I.a or tarus? I'm not doing comp just an weekend shooter

 

Sig P220 Elite Dark - for accuracy, carry my Glock 27 everyday, don't like to carry my more expensive weapons everyday.

 

Thus is true, plus the armor piercing is not available for sale any longer. However, most people bought large quantities when it was being pulled. He could have a bunch stockpiled.

I owned a FN Five-seveN and hated it. Over priced, over hyped, extremely expensive ammo, and it was the least accurate handgun I owned. Cool conversation piece though....that's just my opinion. I do not want to offend anyone.

 

I have a para ordinance now called Para USA. Its a 1911. if you are just a weeked shooter then a rock island armory would be a great 1911 to learn on get New and start with a full size 5 inch to start. For me I am looking at getting a 5inch kimber for carrying in the wilderness and a 4 or 3 inch Rock island armory for conceled carry.
for a weekend shooter a Rock island armory 5 inch would be awesome.
if a 40 is what your looking for glock, smith and wesson, and springfield xd are all good. just make sure you like the feel in your hands and try to find away to try out before you buy.
another good round but is the 357.sig it is a 40 necked down to about a 9mm it has the same power as... a 357

just out of curisosity what kind of 357 are you shooting.

 

The FMJ's were piercing armor as well, which is why all that you can buy as a civilian now is a ballistic tip or hollow points.

Of those two I would rather have the RIA. We had a Taurus in the shop that I was showing to a customer and when I slammed a mag in that was sticking I couldn't get it back out. Had to knock it out of the gun with a hammer and punch. Damn pistol had a paper thin frame under the grips and I bent the frame. Not saying all are this way, it was definitely just a mistake from the manufacturer but a fairly large mistake that took a lot of paperwork on both our ends to get resolved. Had to wait around for a few weeks extra to get a replacement as well. The 1911's were the most modified firearm in the world, ranking up there with the AR-15 and 10/22 (based on number of aftermarket parts sold). You will not find another pistol of any caliber that has the amount of aftermarket/custom parts available for it as the 1911.

The .357 is one of the original man stoppers, I wouldn't worry one second about having to step up in caliber. Now I could definitely understand you wanting to step into an automatic over a wheel gun though. Pulled these numbers from Winchester's ballistic calculator.

.357 Magnum 158gr
5yds: 1220 fps, 521 ft-lbs
10yds: 1205 fps, 509 ft-lbs
15yds: 1191 fps, 497 ft-lbs

40 S&W 180gr
5yds: 1004 fps, 402 ft-lbs
10yds: 998 fps, 398 ft-lbs
15yds: 992 fps, 393 ft-lbs

45 ACP 230gr
5yds: 831 fps, 353 ft-lbs
10yds: 828 fps, 350 ft-lbs
15yds: 824 fps, 347 ft-lbs

9mm 147gr
5yds: 985 fps, 316 ft-lbs
10yds: 980 fps, 313 ft-lbs
15yds:976 fps, 310 ft-lbs

Edit: Now all that being said, the one problem that the 357 does have is over penetration of a human target. It was designed to be a hard hitter that moved fast making it great as a cowboy gun that could do double duty as a game animal round and a defensive round out of either the pistol or the rifle. Penetration is great, and necessary, but if it over penetrates then it doesn't matter how much energy the bullet has because it is not delivering all of that energy to the target. Instead it is only delivering some of the energy and continuing out of the body, possibly to harm others. Of course, too shallow of penetration, although delivering all of its energy, will not allow the bullet to hit primary organs and create the shock wave that we need inside of the body itself.

Sorry if this is already common knowledge to you, but working/running/owning gun shops has made it hard for me to not start from the beginning with people. Hope some of the info was helpful!

 

Imharil, thanks for the data, looking to move into the auto. Will a smaller cal. Hold a larger capacity for the same gun... Ex. A 45. Vs. A 9mm?

 

Imahril, looking for a weekend range gun for double duty as self defense/dispatch gun for bow hunting. Plus do you have a suggestion for a range gun for the wife? She liked the .380's but all seem so small (frame)

 

Yes, the standard 1911 in 45 ACP will only handle 7-8 rounds, where the same pistol in 9mm will hold 10 rounds. The difference is great enough in the 1911 to really make a difference in my opinion, but when looking at some of the others out there it can be easy to spot. The Glock 17 will handle 17/19 rounds and the Glock 21 will only accommodate 13 rounds.

Don't discount the Glock's completely, if I were on a budget and I could only purchase one handgun for the rest of my life it would be the Glock 17. There are a lot of aftermarket parts on the market for it and you can truly make it your own. Everything from custom frames/grips, custom slides, engraved match barrels, and even cocking handles.

 

I would agree with all of that except to say don't put too much stock in the ft-lb figures for handgun cartridges. They are fine for comparing within a caliber, but are completely misleading if comparing across calibers. If you don't believe me, work up the kinetic energy of a baseball thrown at just 20 mph (a weak overhand throw):

Mass of baseball: 5.00 to 5.25 oz (I used 5.125 to split the difference) = 0.3203 lbs
Velocity of ball: 20 mph = 29.333 fps

ke = [(m)(v^2)]/2

I come up with 1374.872 ft-lbs, which is about 200 more ft-lbs than a .44 magnum at the muzzle. It's been a while since physics, so check my math, but I believe that's correct.


Again, a useful piece of data if comparing loads within a caliber, but it can be big fat red herring for new shooters that are comparing these numbers across different calibers in order to choose a carry weapon.

At least that's my humble opinion.

Y'all's mileage may vary.


Jason

 

Imhrail, I am a relative novice, a frend suggested the 1911 Vs. Glock... Ect as it "harder to shoot your self with". Safety is a consideration as this gun will see action. Climbing tree stands and stalking deer