I went to the gun show certain in the knowledge that I :
1. Didn't like XDs; and
2. Wanted a new SiG
I took along my most hated gun to trade, a Beretta 9000 Type F in .40S&W. I paid $360 for it 3 years ago and the best I have ever been offered in trade is $150 - it has a few rounds through after all (as I tried repeatedly to master it). I arrived before the show opened and was about the fifth persn through the door. I practically ran around the handgun tables to make sure I didn't miss my dream gun before someone else snatched it up.
I try out SiG after SiG, including a lot of CPOs (no thanks), and I discovered to my horror that the grip on every model save the P239 was just too big for my hands, why have I never noticed this before - it could ruin my career with the SEALs.
Anyhoo, I finally found a dealer with a good selection of top end guns and produced my model 9000 Beretta Nightmare.
"How much you looking for"
"About $200"
"Sounds reasonable"
"Well how about $220 then"
"Ok, but only against a new gun"
"Deal !"
I had already ruled out the SiGs, even though I promised the wife that it was the only gun I would look at (she thinks SiGs are the handgun equivalent of a BMW), the Beretta Vertec fit my hand perfectly, but the safety is slide mounted and I didn't want to trade one Beretta against another anyway.
I picked up the XD, I was curious about this incredibly hot new gun. The dealer had several of the 9mm and .40 models, but only one .45ACP, the 4 inch version.
"Do you have any more of these", I inquired
"Just that one, they never stay in the store for more than a day or so when we get a shipment"
With that I felt the first tingle of "every has one" fever. So I put the gun down, trying hard to forget that I don't like XDs (too top heavy, bad grip angle, squishy trigger etc etc) and the fact that the grip felt perfect for my smaller sized hands in spite of being a double stack .45 (go figure) and even seemed a lot slimmer than the double stack 9mm SiG P226 I was comparing it to.
As I walked around the table looking at the other options, a guy picked up the XD and started to ask questions about it - that was the deciding moment, I realized that he was holding my gun. I walked back around the table and decided that if he put it back down on the table it was mine. As I arrived I heard him say,
"Oh I only want the olive drab frame, guess I'll hold on".
And that was that, it cost me just $350 including tax, NICS and whatever else they charge you these days, sticker was $539 which seems about average in these parts.
One hundred rounds and a single ragged hole at 50 feet later, I was feeling fairly pleased with myself. No buyer's remorse, no dislikes of the gun, no recoil issues, no failure issues - nothing, just contentment.
Oh well, maybe my hands will grow half an inch before the next show, and I'll get that SiG after all
1. Didn't like XDs; and
2. Wanted a new SiG
I took along my most hated gun to trade, a Beretta 9000 Type F in .40S&W. I paid $360 for it 3 years ago and the best I have ever been offered in trade is $150 - it has a few rounds through after all (as I tried repeatedly to master it). I arrived before the show opened and was about the fifth persn through the door. I practically ran around the handgun tables to make sure I didn't miss my dream gun before someone else snatched it up.
I try out SiG after SiG, including a lot of CPOs (no thanks), and I discovered to my horror that the grip on every model save the P239 was just too big for my hands, why have I never noticed this before - it could ruin my career with the SEALs.
Anyhoo, I finally found a dealer with a good selection of top end guns and produced my model 9000 Beretta Nightmare.
"How much you looking for"
"About $200"
"Sounds reasonable"
"Well how about $220 then"
"Ok, but only against a new gun"
"Deal !"
I had already ruled out the SiGs, even though I promised the wife that it was the only gun I would look at (she thinks SiGs are the handgun equivalent of a BMW), the Beretta Vertec fit my hand perfectly, but the safety is slide mounted and I didn't want to trade one Beretta against another anyway.
I picked up the XD, I was curious about this incredibly hot new gun. The dealer had several of the 9mm and .40 models, but only one .45ACP, the 4 inch version.
"Do you have any more of these", I inquired
"Just that one, they never stay in the store for more than a day or so when we get a shipment"
With that I felt the first tingle of "every has one" fever. So I put the gun down, trying hard to forget that I don't like XDs (too top heavy, bad grip angle, squishy trigger etc etc) and the fact that the grip felt perfect for my smaller sized hands in spite of being a double stack .45 (go figure) and even seemed a lot slimmer than the double stack 9mm SiG P226 I was comparing it to.
As I walked around the table looking at the other options, a guy picked up the XD and started to ask questions about it - that was the deciding moment, I realized that he was holding my gun. I walked back around the table and decided that if he put it back down on the table it was mine. As I arrived I heard him say,
"Oh I only want the olive drab frame, guess I'll hold on".
And that was that, it cost me just $350 including tax, NICS and whatever else they charge you these days, sticker was $539 which seems about average in these parts.
One hundred rounds and a single ragged hole at 50 feet later, I was feeling fairly pleased with myself. No buyer's remorse, no dislikes of the gun, no recoil issues, no failure issues - nothing, just contentment.
Oh well, maybe my hands will grow half an inch before the next show, and I'll get that SiG after all
