Using one handgun for a year... This is not "A you can only have one handgun thread"

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Brian Williams

Brian Williams

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I have a few handguns and I am interested in becoming much more proficient in handgun shooting and I am going to spend the year with one gun. It will probably be a Glock 19 but maybe a S&W 13 with a 3" barrel.


Given this opportunity what one gun would you use from your collection and why?

This is not you can only have one handgun thread

I reload both 9mm and 357/38
both are readily concealed.
I am accurate with either one.
 
The Model 13.

If I were to spend a whole year with a gun, I sure as hell wouldn't want it to be a Glock.

Besides, if you can shoot a DA revolver well, you can shoot anything well. Holding the gun steady while squeezing a DA trigger is a highly-transferable skill -- including if you want to be able to shoot a crappy gun with a crappy trigger.

That said, I'm confused about why you would do this, or what there would be to gain from it.
 
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Ruger GP100 SS 4"........because I just got in to reloading and I trust it to be able to handle any mistakes I may make. Easy to keep the brass too.
 
It's easy to understand the reasons for doing this: to get as good as you can with THAT gun and/or gun type.

The gun I'd choose from my meager collection would depend on what I wanted to do that year. THIS year, it is shooting a 1911 Single Stack. I will shoot the Single Stack Nationals, as well as the IDPA Nationals (if they're held in Tulsa)

There may be some other guns I use for this or that match for reasons I won't go into, but they'll all be 1911 style.
 
My Steyr M9 9mm or any of my XD's... XDm 9mm realistically for price, but i would rather shoot my XD-45 all the time.

JOe
 
Learn the Model 13. Use it DAO. At the end of the year you'll be able to shoot it and the Glock much better than you did before because that "old fashioned" revolver will force you to concentrate on the fundamentals of shooting.

William
 
I would pick on of my early 1930's Heavy Duty's with service grips. I would want to really hone my skill with a nice revolver vs a gun I feel I have mastered. I have yet to really master the service grips from the early 30's.
 
Walther P5. It's already my favorite range gun by a hundred miles or so, and I also use it from time to time for daily carry. Easy choice.
 
I only have two and I favor my BDA more but with the ammo situation shooting it exclusively would be tough, but that would be my choice because it’s my carry gun.
 
I would say the Glock 19. You say neither have a concealment issue. You're accurate with both (I assume that means at full-speed). You reload in both calibers.

The only issue I can see left is capacity and reload speed. The G19 has it in spades over the revolver.

I choose the M&P 9 in my collection over the 1911 .45 and the SIG 229 .357 to carry mainly because of the speed at which I can shoot it, and the concealment advantage (weight and size).
 
Given this opportunity what one gun would you use from your collection and why?
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I wouldn't do that because it would get extremely boring but if for some reason I was limited to shooting only one handgun it would be one of my Kimbers.
 
The Model 13...hands down. Great little gun, and my all-time favorite carry revolver.
Be warned, though. It's not an exceptionally strong revolver, so keep the bulk of your shooting restricted to .38 Special or reduced .357 handloads...preferably with lead bullets. 158/LSWC and 6 grains of Unique is a favorite of mine. It lends a magnum flavor without beatin' up the gun, and it's an accurate load.
 
I think using one Handgun for a year is a good idea. When you constantly change, you don't really get good with each one. I shoot all my guns, but I practice with my CCW (Ruger KP90DC) every chance I get. A lot of practice with one gun makes you get to where you can shoot that gun better than the rest.
 
Brian, I did that exact thing. After several years shooting a 1911 exclusively in competition, I switched -- cold turkey -- and shot nothing but revolver (my 4" 629) for a full year. It was frustrating, as I'd never really shot revolvers before, but the learning curve sped up after a couple of months.

When that year was up and I went back to shooting automatics mostly, I was amazed at how much faster and more accurate I'd become. The long double-action pull does amazing things for your trigger control and finger strength. And you WILL follow that front sight!

-Sam
 
I guess for me it would have to be my HK P7. It is small enough to conceal and very easy to shoot. I would need a better holster for it than I have now though. Something to carry it IWB.

If I had a 3" K Frame I would also go that route. All I have is a 4" model 15. I would be OK with 38 Special only.
 
When you constantly change, you don't really get good with each one.
Click to expand...

I think you know exactly how good you are with a given gun, if you care to consider it. And focusing on practicing with that gun for the purposes of match shooting, defensive carry, hunting, or whatever will make you "really good" with it.

However, beyond that, it's one of those silly "truths" that having one gun makes you best at using it. The fact is, every serious athlete cross-trains. Shooting different guns increases your awareness of trigger pull, weight, balance, grip, etc. If one shoots only a single gun, all these things start to be lost to our perceptions after a time.

The trick with any skill or sport is to practice it enough to be very good, but mix things up enough to maintain that awareness. Before a match, shooting your match gun exclusively for a time makes sense. You will surely be much better with it that way. However, after more and more time, this improvement turns to stagnation, and cross-training can lead to a new burst of improvement.
 
a year with one gun is 10 months wasted

----------
seriously--once a week, 200 rounds for 8 weeks.
2 or 3 hours of dry fire practice between live shoots;
using a random timer and a couple of good carry rigs.

if you cannot achieve a real world level of competency in that time;
10 more months ain't gonna help.

if you are starting cold than paying for a couple of private lessons may be appropriate.
what you save in wasted ammo will cover the coaches cost.
 
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