What pistol should I buy?

Question

My top contenders are the Glock G23 .40, HK USP .40, Springfield XD Compact .45, and SigSauer P229. It will be a concealed weapon and I am open to other options, but I mostly want to carry 10 or more rounds with tight accuracy within 20 yards. Any ideas or reviews would be wonderful.

Answer 1

Go with the Glock 23. It is the cheapest of the short list you have and very, very low maintenance. This will be a "business only" gun, so dispense with the idea that the gun must be "fun" to shoot. In my area they are as low as $499. HK and Sigarms are too epensive and a .45acp compact never made semse to me (full-size is the only way).

Answer 2

I haven't use the the HK or the Springfield, but I have used both the Sig and the Glock 23. I actually own several Glocks and the 23 is one of them. All of my Glocks have been very accurate right out of the box. The Glocks are easy to maintain. I have not had a weapon that is as simple to field strip and clean as the Glock. I saw that one of the other respondents say that the Glock 23 "Kicked like a mule;" to this statement, I would have to disagree. I found the recoil of the 23 to be minimal and getting multiple accurate shots no problem at all. My Glock 23 is my home defense weapon. The grip is large enough to be comfortable in my hands, but small enough to be comfortable for my wife and daughter to use.

As far as the Sig, my real only complaint is that it is just too heavy.

If you hadn't had a minimum shot capacity of 10 rounds, I would have suggested that you also take a look at the Glock 36. It is a 45 ACP, but is only a 6 + 1.

Answer 3

I just bought a Glock mod 21 last week I love it.My father used to have a HK USP 45 he didnt like it at all.Sigs are really good but I never fired their 45 I used to have one in 357 sig and it was really accurate and reliable.A friend of mine has a Springfield XD fullsize 45 he claims it is the best pistol he ever owned.I shot it.It is very accurate.Like I said I bought my Glock 21 last week and I had trouble chooseing as well.But if you want somthing compact get the Glock 30 or 36 with nite sites.Thats what is on my wish list for now.

Answer 4

Check out the Glock 27 .40 subcompact. It's my best friend and goes wherever I go. :)

It's highly accurate, very reliable(never had a jam) and extremely concealable. About the same size as a Walther PPK.

I also own a HK USP .40 and the ironic thing is that I'm much more accurate with the G27 than the USP.

Oh, and on the subject of recoil... I also find the G27 to have a much more manageable recoil than the USP. Go figure huh?

Answer 5

You picked a nice brace of weapons to choose from. I've owned several of these types of weapons. I'll give you my opinion on them, ok?

Glock G-23- I owned a Glock 17 ( 9mm ) and as you know, except for barrel length, they are basically the same guns. The Glocks are great guns, very light and accurate. The downside of the .40 caliber in the Glock is excessive recoil. In a heavier frame, the .40 is fine. But in the Glock, it kicks like a mule, and it's harder to get followup shots.

H&K USP .40 - I have personal experience with this weapon because I carried it when I worked as an ERT with the Sheriffs Department. I never had one bit of problem from this weapon. It was accurate, handled recoil very well, and it had great knockdown power. It is quite bulky and not a really good weapon for concealment, but if that's not a problem, it would be a great choice. I had mine stolen out of my truck, and I mourn it's loss to this day.

Springfield XD Compact .45- I love the .45 ACP. Absolutely my favorite choice for a sidearm caliber. It has tremendous knockdown power. The Springfield XD is very close in design to the Glock, but they added the additional safety feature of the M1911 type grip safety, which is an added plus. It's a compact piece, but still retains enough weight to soak of some of that .45 ACP recoil. A very good choice for a weapon, I like them alot. I currently own the XD-9 and love it.

SigSauer P-229- I have heard alot of guys who like Sigs and claim to have good luck with them. I'm not a big fan of Sigs, for personal reasons. Two of my friends, who were police officers, were killed in a gun battle using Sigs. They both stove piped during the fight, which resulted in them getting shot by their assailant. I'm not condemning all Sigs because of this, but I am leary of them, for obvious reasons. As I said, I know guys who love them, and think they are great weapons. You need to decide on this one for yourself.

My personal two choices are : The Springfield XD or the H&K USP .40 caliber.

Best wishes to you.

Answer 6

If you really must have a flat-gun, I'd say go with a Colt Combat Commander or Officers' ACP in .45 ACP.

However for concealment, you'd have a hard time topping a Smith and Wesson J-frame snubby in .38 Spl or .357 Magnum.

If five shots and a reload won't get you out of trouble, you should have had a rifle in the first place.

Doc

Answer 7

All are excellent handguns.

I personally carry Glock, I would've got Sig Sauer or Heckler and Koch if it wasn't for the price.

Here's how I would rank it from top to bottom.

USP
P229
G23
XD .45

The reason why I have Glock is because that's what I started defensive handgun training with at Front Sight. I have loved it ever since.

Answer 8

If you really want concealed, then I suggest you take a look at a KAHR. They are available in all steel or with a polymer frame, you can get it in 9MM, 40 cal, or 45 acp, as far as 10 or more rounds go, you can carry 2 spare mags. I own one of these and it is my absolute favorite carry piece, there are quite a few LEO'S that own them

Answer 9

Check out the new baby glock for a concealed weapon. shoots sweet.

Answer 10

i hear great things about the springfield xd pistols.
i am actually thinking of getting a stoeger cougar in .40
basically it is a berretta 8000 made in turkey but made on berretta machines,just very affordable.
pretty compact and i like that action of the gun,very fast recovery for follow up shots.