BrokenPaw
Member
So I was at the Bealeton, VA, gun show yesterday, looking to turn my Desert Eagle[0] Mark XIX .44 into something, you know, practical. I currently carry a Beretta 96 Brigadier as my main CCW (I'm a big enough guy that it's actually quite proportional and comfortable). But I'm not really all that happy with .40S&W, after having shot quite a bit of it. So I was hoping to pick up a nice .45 for carry.
The possible candidates were: Beretta 8045 Cougar, H&K USP (perhaps C, perhaps not), and Sig P220.[1]
The Beretta was on the list because, well, I already carry a Beretta, and I like the feel of the 92/96 series, so I was hoping the 8000 series would follow suit, and because the manual of arms would be the same, so I wouldn't need to re-train myself with respect to habitual operation of the safety lever and so forth. But the Cougar just felt...wrong in my hands. Granted, I only played with the 9mm version, because I didn't even see any in .45s on the tables. But still. So the 8045 got scratched from the list.
The H&K was on the list because my sister carries a USPC in .40, and she loves it to death, and it shot very nicely when I played with it. Also a friend of mine has a USP in .45, and it proved to be an exceptionally well-built gun, even in the face of his (accidental) way-hot handloads.[2] But I played with one yesterday, and I discovered that I can't stand the little mag-release widget thingummy under the trigger guard. It's fine at the range and stuff, in a no-stress situation, when shifting your grip to reload is acceptable, but it'd suck in a self-defense situation. Scratch the H&K.
The P220 was on the list because of what I'd heard about Sig from various and asundry people here. I played with one at some length yesterday, and it felt lovely in my hand. And when I drew a sight picture with it, it felt totally natural and wonderful and everything. And the mag-release button was at least a quarter inch forward from where my thumb could reach without shifting my grip. Dang. Scratch the Sig.
It's not like I have exceptionally small hands, or anything. Actually, I have it on reasonable authority that they're fairly large[3]. And the .45ACP round is pretty short; why the heck are these guns made with grips so long that you need big spider-looking hands to operate something as useful as a mag release? My Beretta 96 has a mag catch in Just The Right Place. Guess I'll be sticking with it for a while...
-BP
[0] Yes, yes, I know. But I was young and silly when I bought it.
[1] All of y'all 1911-type-people can stop right now; I don't like the feel of the things, and further proselytizing will force me to stick my fingers in my ears and shout "la la la la la" ad nauseum.
[2] All of that stuff about a .45 lifting you off your feet? Maybe not. But it did make him lose his balance and step back from the firing line.
[3] Curb your prurience.
The possible candidates were: Beretta 8045 Cougar, H&K USP (perhaps C, perhaps not), and Sig P220.[1]
The Beretta was on the list because, well, I already carry a Beretta, and I like the feel of the 92/96 series, so I was hoping the 8000 series would follow suit, and because the manual of arms would be the same, so I wouldn't need to re-train myself with respect to habitual operation of the safety lever and so forth. But the Cougar just felt...wrong in my hands. Granted, I only played with the 9mm version, because I didn't even see any in .45s on the tables. But still. So the 8045 got scratched from the list.
The H&K was on the list because my sister carries a USPC in .40, and she loves it to death, and it shot very nicely when I played with it. Also a friend of mine has a USP in .45, and it proved to be an exceptionally well-built gun, even in the face of his (accidental) way-hot handloads.[2] But I played with one yesterday, and I discovered that I can't stand the little mag-release widget thingummy under the trigger guard. It's fine at the range and stuff, in a no-stress situation, when shifting your grip to reload is acceptable, but it'd suck in a self-defense situation. Scratch the H&K.
The P220 was on the list because of what I'd heard about Sig from various and asundry people here. I played with one at some length yesterday, and it felt lovely in my hand. And when I drew a sight picture with it, it felt totally natural and wonderful and everything. And the mag-release button was at least a quarter inch forward from where my thumb could reach without shifting my grip. Dang. Scratch the Sig.
It's not like I have exceptionally small hands, or anything. Actually, I have it on reasonable authority that they're fairly large[3]. And the .45ACP round is pretty short; why the heck are these guns made with grips so long that you need big spider-looking hands to operate something as useful as a mag release? My Beretta 96 has a mag catch in Just The Right Place. Guess I'll be sticking with it for a while...
-BP
[0] Yes, yes, I know. But I was young and silly when I bought it.
[1] All of y'all 1911-type-people can stop right now; I don't like the feel of the things, and further proselytizing will force me to stick my fingers in my ears and shout "la la la la la" ad nauseum.
[2] All of that stuff about a .45 lifting you off your feet? Maybe not. But it did make him lose his balance and step back from the firing line.
[3] Curb your prurience.