Selecting a handgun

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Since I posted about a month ago, I've been busy with finals and the like. Finally they are over and I have some breathing room to consider handguns again.

Up until Christmas, I was thinking about purchasing a 9mm. However, I am now considering .45s as well. I am also interested in purchasing one that I can convert back and forth into a .22 for target practice.

My college is starting up a competition pistol team! I am planning on joining, though since I'm at the commuter campus, it will be quite a drive for practices. They will be using 9mm and .45s during comps and .22s during practice. Thus the idea about the conversion kit. Until they can get sponsorships, the members that have handguns will share with the ones that don't. I'm hoping that will give me an opportunity to try out a bunch of different models.

We spent Christmas with close friends as we've done for 11 years. They have a bunch of boys that are really good with guns. I tried out their Ruger .357 with both .38 special and .357 ammo, their Taurus 9mm, and their Springfield 1911. I could have tried out the .44 mag, but I didn't. They are coming up for New Year's, so I could try then.

One of the boys suggested that I look into a Ruger SR9. The local gunshop didn't have one in stock, but does carry it usually so I'll go back next week to look at it. I did see the Ruger P345 which fit me well. However, it's my understanding that no one makes conversion kits for them. It may not be a deal-breaker though; theP345 seems like a very nicegun.

All the Glocks and Sig Sauers I've handled have had too large grips. The Beretta 92FS was okay, but not like the Ruger P345 and Kahr CW9, which seem to be the best fit so far (though I haven't shot either). Anyone know of a 9mm or a .45 that is a comparable size to either of them, but has a conversion kit available? Any big downsides to having a gun that gets converted back and forth?

Oh, I'm now OCing out to the garage and back. With all the animals we raise, we tend to get a population of rats every winter. They are suspected in the death of a young rabbit yesterday. My .22 revolver with rat/snake shot works wonders onrats - if they show their faces! It's quite an improvement over the C02 pellet pistol. That took a lot of skill and/or extremely lucky shots to actually kill them. Rat skin is verytough!

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There are several .22 LR conversions for 1911 style .45 ACP's.

I know for a fact that Kimber, EAA, and Coltmake22 conversions for their own 1911s. (Kimber makes one that features a threaded barrel for suppressed 22LR fire!)

Marvel makes a very fine 1911 22LR conversion, but it's quite expensive.

I'm sure there are other kits out there too. The nice thing about buying one made by the company that made your original 1911 is the warranty aspect of it. There's nothing wrong with getting a Marvel kit for whatever 1911 you have though.

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You stated that all the Glocks you tried had too large of a grip, did you try the G36? It is a single stack .45 and much slimmer than any other Glock firearm. You'll have nearly the same ammo capacity as a 1911.

I have average sized hands for a 5'10" guy and the G30 (double stack .45) fits me like a glove.

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I'd wait on the Ruger SR9. The first ones had a recall on them and maybe it's been fixed by now, but I'm always hesitant picking up newer guns. My buddy has a P345 and I don't care for it. The trigger feel is horrible IMO. There is too much movement in it. I prefer my Springfield XD over it and my XD holds more rounds even in the compact mag (10) and the Service mag holds 13. Unfortunately no .22 conversions for the Ruger or XD.

If you want to stick with .45ACP, then definitely go with a 1911. They have 7 or 8 round mags and numerous companies make .22 conversion kits. You can practice the trigger pull of your gun, with the low cost .22s. If you like the feel of 1911s, try out a Ruger 22/45. They have the same grip characteristics as a 1911 and all the controls are in the same place. Trigger pull is different though.

Glocks have conversion kits for a lot of their models, but I personally do not like the feel of Glocks. One exception though and it was the G36. It's Glock's only single stack model and fits great in my hand. It only holds 6 rounds, so IMO you might as well go 1911.

Try the SIG 239 if you find normal SIGs too large. There is also the surplus Sig P6 that can be had for around $300. I've got one and it's a great gun. DA is a little too stiff, but the SA is great. A cheap spring change will correct the hard DA pull. No .22 conversion though.

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not to long ago i remember someone posting a picture of if i remember some sort of shot gun that fits in a holster similar to the one oh Mississippi used to wear lol, does anyone remember the name of that gun? I was looking into the legalities of that thing and comparing them to Texas law.

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Try looking at the EAA Witness. EAA offers conversion kits for all of the full size guns and they are relatively inexpensive. I have one, and it has never given any trouble. Looking on Gunbroker.com will give you good idea of what is available and at what price.

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nking please see this thread regarding your question:
http://opencarry.mywowbb.com/view_topic.php?id=20252&forum_id=5


Regarding the OP, in addition to the suggestions above I believe Sig also offers a .22 conversion for some models. Their .45 and 9MM match guns are pretty decent. Almost as good as my 1911.

Edited to remove an inadvertent thread-jack. My apologies .

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eyesopened wrote:

I'd wait on the Ruger SR9. The first ones had a recall on them and maybe it's been fixed by now, but I'm always hesitant picking up newer guns. My buddy has a P345 and I don't care for it. The trigger feel is horrible IMO. There is too much movement in it. I prefer my Springfield XD over it and my XD holds more rounds even in the compact mag (10) and the Service mag holds 13. Unfortunately no .22 conversions for the Ruger or XD.

If you want to stick with .45ACP, then definitely go with a 1911. They have 7 or 8 round mags and numerous companies make .22 conversion kits. You can practice the trigger pull of your gun, with the low cost .22s. If you like the feel of 1911s, try out a Ruger 22/45. They have the same grip characteristics as a 1911 and all the controls are in the same place. Trigger pull is different though.

Click to expand...

I don't think I've handled a Springfield XD...will have to go back to the gunshop...

I did try the Glock 36 and it is the onlyGlock that fits me. But, I still don't like it and there is no conversion kit for that model. Ihandled a Kimber TLE/RL II - oh my! Very nice fit and feel, huge price tag though...

I'm leaning towards a .45 over a 9mm. That's what the father/son pair I talked to at the gunshop today recommended for competition shooting, self defense/carrying, and the fact that there is a wider selection of .45s with slim grips (that carry moreroundsthan a slim grip 9mm).

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If you like the feel of the 1911s, the XD is not much different. The XD has the same grip angle as a 1911 and even utilizes a similar grip safety. My 1911 with thin grips is just slightly smaller than my XD. The XDM models are actually even thinner in my opinion. My friend has an XDM 9m, and my other friend has a normal XD9. With the medium grip, the XDM feels thinner than the normal XD9.