Next pistol? SigPro?

My House ^ | Today | Me

[68 grunt]

Yeah, nobody would notice a big bulge there ...

[Towed_Jumper]

"I favor the Sig 226 in 9mm and looking for a Sig 220 in .45ACP. I've shot the Glocks and like them; just like the Sigs a bit more."

...Own both Glocks & Sigs and I too prefer the Sig by a hair...BTW, I have a P220 in .45ACP and a P225 9mm and can highly recomend it to you. The "classic" Sigs are excellent.

[mr_hammer]

WOW!

Like to see put a 1911 there!

[Tijeras_Slim]

I had some unburnt Unique get under the extractor on a Model 686 and lock it up. Also had a elongated firing pin hole due to a questionable trigger job on a Model 19 that would cause hard rotation. Insufficient barrel cylinder gap on a Model 25 that would bind when crud built up. And excessive headshake on a Highway Patrolman that was a problem. Easy fixes on all of them.

[quidnunc]

I read it in a police journal shortly before I retired, which was in 1991.

I was interested because at the time our department was looking at adopting a new handgun as its standard.

As I remember it the study involved the probability of incapacitating a man with a hit in the thorax at the average distance of a police/criminal gunfight involving handguns, which is closer than you might think.

The .40 supersonic round is ferocious, but it is not suitable for normal policing because of its recoil, muzzle blast and flash (important indoors under low-light conditions) and penetration).

I doubt the info is available on-line due to the limited nature of its distribution.

[Simo Hayha]

I like shooting mine at 100 yards. One area where I shoot is like a large 100 yard sand crater, deep, sand pulled out for roads and such. Shooting at a paint can is great fun getting the can to dance. Even when I miss, and I miss a lot at 100 yards, there is a gratifying explosion of sand, which I figure scares the hell out of the paint can, if nothing else. I've tried it with Sigs, 226, 228, in 9mm and the effect isn't the same.

[Myrddin]

That's news to me! I've collected all my brass wanting to reload it someday. What to do?

Inspect it carefully. Especially if you pick up "range" brass where Glocks are in use. This is typically going to be 9mm and 40 S&W. Most resize dies can't fix the case head ballooning. The die is adjusted to just contact the shell holder on the downstroke. A set of cartridge gauges is a very good investment in quality control and safety. I have them for every caliber that I load and for which one is available. I still need to purchase one for 45-70. A perfect fit in the cylinder of my Magnum Research BFR is my current final quality control step. I can check 5 at a time with the cylinder sitting on the bench.

Auto gauges and revolver gauges

[Myrddin]

Revolvers never jam.

Until a squib shoves the bullet into the forcing cone. You can't open the cylinder or rotate it until the bullet is tapped back into the cylinder. Preferably with a small wood dowel and not while you are trying to defend yourself in a fire fight.

Revolver jam #2 happens when you load with taper crimped cartridges. The first round fired unseats all the rest. That happened to me when I purchased a box of 44 magnum reloads (at a gun show) that were taper crimped and intended for a Magnum Research Desert Eagle. I had 5 rounds of unseated cartridges. I stopped shooting that ammo and "disassembled" the 5 cartridges when I got home. Each was refilled with Win296 powder and reseated. I then took every cartridge from that batch and used a Lee Factory Precision Roll Crimp die to put a good, hard crimp on each round. They all fired flawlessly after that.

The lesson learned is that your self defense revolver needs to be kept squeaky clean and only use known good self defense ammo when that is the purpose for carrying it. My favorite is Federal HydraShok .357mag in 125 gr.

I had a friend at American Shooting Center in San Diego. He was the bodyguard for the Secretary of Defense for a while. He carried the S&W BodyGuard model. It was his favorite because of the ability to cock it and fire single action. The fully shrouded (enclosed hammer) model 640 doesn't have the pocket lint problem, but must always be fired DA.

[Myrddin]

Like to see put a 1911 there!

The CCW instructor at the range in San Diego reported an incident with a 1911 in the waistband. After a misfire, the guy can no longer patronize the urinal. He'll be sitting for life.

[Simo Hayha]

Sounds like you know reloading. Have you ever had spent cartridges expand to the point of being hard to extract in a revolver? I have a .454, Ruger, and with the cost of factory, I reload. The last batch I fired went okay--I think I must have decreased the powder, or changed type. I'd have to look at my notes to see what I had that caused the problem. I also tried a couple different scopes on it. I began with a red-dot and switched to a Burris, crosshairs, and after maybe 40-60 rounds something shook loose inside. I don't understand why the spent brass was difficult to extract...so maybe it was a combination of powder and powder weight?

I also had some .45, one of the heavier rounds, 230 or bigger, I'd have to look at the notes, that didn't want to chamber fully. They measured correctly, diameter-wise. Anyway, I burned off that batch of bullets and haven't had the problem since.

[SauronOfMordor]

Instead, use the money you saved for training. Then save up more money for more training. Then have your wife get a 2nd job, so you can afford more training. Win the lottery, so you can train every day!

I agree with MyDogAllah (love that handle!) about the value of training. A hit with a .22 generally beats a miss with a .44 mag (unless you scare the guy into a heart attack!)

[ExSoldier]

Sig P239 SAS edition.

[de Buillion]

"I am a conceal permitted woman in Texas, my choice of firearm is the P239 SIG 40."

I hope that you are aware that you can purchase a .357SIG barrel, to "convert" your gun to another caliber (.357SIG). You can use the same magazines, I believe.

[Myrddin]

I reload for my Ruger .454 Casull. My first batch of brass was from factory Hornady 300 gr rounds. Ruger's cylinder finish isn't anything to crow about. Add unusually soft brass from Hornady and a fire forming expansion requires a dowel to tap it out. The fix is to purchase Starline brass. The Starline stuff is hard enough that it always drops free. No fire formed sticking.

I find a 300 gr round just a little vicious with the Ruger .454. When I'm not concerned about knocking something down, I load a 200 gr RNFP jacketed bullet over 37 gr of Win 296. It nominally launches around 2000 fps...close to the S&W 460. Very pleasant and controllable.

Many people have reported good results with the Bushnell Holosight. It holds up nicely on the Ruger .454 Casull and S&W 500 Magnum. Read the buyer feedback on the MidwayUSA website. The Eotech models are essentially a more rugged version of the Bushnell Holosight. Both are in short supply as they are shipped in quantity to our troops.

Make sure the brass is fully resized when you reload. I use Lee Factory Roll Crimp dies and check against a cartridge gauge. You can get the COL right and still have a bum crimp at the case mouth that will prevent the brass from properly seating in the cylinder. Especially when the brass is the top brass size for that cylinder. A 44SPL with a sloppy crimp wouldn't exhibit the problem in a 44mag cylinder, but the 44mag would fit the full charge hole. Also, make sure the cylinder is clean. Shooting 45LC in a .454 Casull will leave deposits at the end of the charge hole. If you try to fire a .454 Casull on top of that debris, you might cause an over pressure by blocking the opening of the case mouth. That could be very hazardous to your health. Keep the charge holes clean when shooting the cartridge that completely fills the cylinder.

If you reload for 45-70, it is often helpful to place a small patch of cotton batting over the top of the powder. That keeps the powder near the flash hole. Small loads of powder can settle too far from the flash hole to ignite reliably. Tipping the muzzle up before shooting can "fix" cartridges that don't have any batting to keep the powder by the flash hole.

.45ACP determines headspace on the case mouth. If the COL is Ok, but it isn't seating properly in the chamber, check the brass length. It may have stretched after multiple reloads. Measure the brass itself to ensure it is within spec before reloading it.

[Lurker]

Wow, did you get some incorrect info on the .40 cal.

I'll be back to you later with some figures, but of all the adjectives I can think of to describe the .40 round 'ferocious' isn't one of them, not even if it's moving faster than 1100 fps.

Recoil and 'muzzle blast' are functions of the weight of the firearm and the length of the barrel, so I don't know where the authors of the article you read came up with their data. A .40 cal fired from a small gun can have the felt recoil of a .357 mag fired from a gun which is heavier. That part's simple physics.

I have no doubt you got your info from a trade publication written for the LE industry back in the early 1990s which described the .40 being capable of incapacitating someone with a single torso shot. It is possible, it's just not bloody likely in the real world.

L

[joseph20]

I'd recommend the SIG classic line instead of the SIG pro. The pro line has a plastic frame, whereas the classic has an anodized aluminum frame.

On the issue of 9mm: It's an excellent self-defense round. With the proper cartridge selection, it performs just as well as the .357SIG, .40S&W, or the .45ACP.

And remember: Any miniscule difference in terminal effectiveness between the 9mm, .357SIG, .40S&W, and .45ACP is FAR OUTWEIGHED by the consideration of shot placement and accuracy.

Compared to the other three rounds, the 9mm inherently allows the shooter to more quickly re-acquire sight picture after firing. The lightness of shooting a 9mm allows for faster and more accurate shooting.

Unless you are an expert that trains once a week or more, these are important issues to consider. As a beginning shooter, you'll be much less likely to develop bad shooting habits that develop from firing the other 3 rounds. One of these bad habits is "compensation", wherein the shooter flinches thier hand downward as they pull the trigger, in an attempt to compensate for the harsh kick upwards. These sorts of problems are much less an issue with the 9mm.

There really is no justification for obtaining a .01% increase in terminal effectiveness, only in exchange for lots more muzzle kick, flash, and bang.

Additionally, the 9mm double-stack magazines can hold upwards of 17+1 rounds. The other 3 rounds mentioned cannot achieve this level of magazine capacity.

[Simo Hayha]

Thank you for the info. You'll probably be hearing from me in the future if that's okay. It was Hornady brass that I was using, as well as Magtech/CCI, I think it was, but I can't say for sure that the CCI expanded to the point of being difficult to extract.

It was my desire to use the gun for deer hunting this past season, but with all the difficulties with the scope, I used my Sako. Burris fixed the scope, of course, no charge, but I got it back on the last day of November, the last day of deer-rifle.

As far as the .45 ACP, the problem seemed to be more of diameter size of the bullet itself. Everything seemed to measure correctly. FC cartridges also seem to be hard priming and I've resorted to keeping them separated and unused. With the .454, we're using the same die--I haven't used cartridge gauges--sounds like a good idea, and I've heard reports about hazards of .454 re-loading, but nothing specific, but your post gave me a better idea of that. Thanks again.

I've considered re-loading .50 BMG, but with the availability of ammo, it doesn't seem like it would be cost effective. I use the old Berdan-primed brass for target practise--it stands up slightly better than aluminum cans.

[antivenom]

YUP...keyword...woman, LOL, I actually read the instructions! LOL!!! (wink)

[Vinnie]

One day you're going to go off half-cocked.