So, went to the range today to fire all of my .45's in my collection, including the 2 I bought this pass Sunday. Interesting test.


I brought my Colt Government Model I bought last year for my 50th... a close replica of the one I carried in the Army in 1985. I also brought my Springfield TRP, a high end .45 I bought as a retirement present to myself months later. And the 2 I bought Sunday, a Springfield 1911 and the Sig Sauer P320, the .45 version of the new US Army 9mm handgun.

First off they all handled pretty well and shot well minus the Sig, more on that later. I shot 7 rounds each, center mass of the assigned target to test the best shot pattern and location. All pulled one way or the other, showing sights need to be slightly adjusted. I may not be a expert shot, but pretty damn good, all of the groups were tight, just off center mass. at 12 yards, (the max Alamo gun range goes.)

NOW, the Sig Sauer... all I will say is that I hope the Army has better luck with their version(s) then mine. The worst I shot of the 4. after the first mag, every single shot jammed. about 20 more tries, finally quit and put it away. Will test it again, with different ammo I have...later. My first impression, a terrible handgun and I really worry about our troops carrying it in battle... especially a 9 mm, IMO should be at least a .40.

Now... to clean them all.

Most likely partly due to the fact the SIG was designed for .40 and 9mm. This seems to be a common theme for modern pistols designed to adapt to all the major cartridges - one version or another just doesn't really work well with a particular cartridge.

I still think they should have gone with the M9A3 rather than a shiny new toy that will take a redo of the logistics chain. And let's not fool ourselves: the Army - and the DoD in general - absolutely suck when it comes to pistols. I remember a few years ago when my father had to borrow 9mm ammunition from me to make sure their pistols would work prior to going overseas! Fortunately, they didn't have many problems over there, neither with the M9 nor with the 9mm cartridge; the few times they had to use them, they didn't have any issues with putting the bad guys down.

Nice blasters, btw. Did the Colt come with those sights?

yes, all 4 weapons are stock, 2 are brand new while the other 2 are within a year... I've gotten into a .45 kick lately... have 9mm's that I don't even shoot anymore or buy ammo for, and a number of 40's which I carry.

If you ask me the sig was much more effective, that guy with mutiple organs wounded is definitelly not getting up.

Love that TRP.... beautiful piece of hardware.

It is hard to shoot 3 1911 triggers and then shoot something else.
Nothing is a smooth as a 1911 trigger, certainly not in a striker fired pistol.

ya, that TRP was/is my favorite... but it was also 1800 compared to 600 for the other 2, lol.

I really like the shape, size and feel of the Sig... wanted it as my carry weapon... but won't carry it if I don't trust it... will do more test, better ammo, lesser rounds etc etc... and if all else fails work with the maker/manufacture.

.40 was not designed to be a military cartridge, and isn't as robust as the 9mm and .45 for things like resisting bullet setback and having a sufficient margin of mechanical safety if it does happen.

It's also a lot harder on its guns mechanically, and its seems like the durability issue is the main reason they want to get away from the Beretta.

As an aside, I'd be curious when a pistol was last used in actual combat by a US soldier? Even in full on Desert Storm war mode, I never heard of a pistol fired in anger.

Glock, who was one of the contenders, filed a formal protest shortly after the announcement was made. It probably won't change anything, but it might delay implementation a bit.

Here's two pertinent articles about it:

https://bearingarms.com/bob-o/2017/...s-decision-select-sig-armys-next-pistol/

https://www.armytimes.com/articles/glock-protests-armys-choice-of-sig-sauer-for-new-handgun

Cheers

Good news is... it jammed again on the 2nd round today, but then after that 48 rounds more not a jam... and shot nice, center mass, nice and tight... I really like the weapon, smaller of all my .45's easy to carry and conceal because of smooth lines... BUT... with even 1 jam today and all those jams Tuesday, don't feel comfortable yet on carrying it for my protection. Maybe it just needed a proper breaking in thou.

Interesting... I tried a Sig P320 about a month ago. It was a rental gun at a local range. I put 100 rds through it, and it did not fail or hickup in any way at all. Then again, it didn't inspire me either. It was... competent. But... the grip was at an angle that I just could not get used to, and did not like. For me, it didn't "point naturally".

I also tried the Strike1 by Italian maker Arsenal (new-ish handgun maker I think), it seemed to be pretty good, very light recoil (lighter than normal 9mm IMO), less muzzle flip (bore is lower in the hand), and the trigger was very light very smooth (approaching 1911 maybe?). It was quite nice in several ways, but... new manufacturer, new design, uncertain future and uncertain if it'll last. Plus the rear sights sucked. Apparently version 2 will be out soon and offer sights that will be compatible with Glock aftermarket sights, a really good thing IMO. But it's a large bulky design.

So I've gone with a S&W M&P. It's slim, feels good in the hand, is basically a Glock copy but with better ergonomics (though surely many will argue that). The only weak point is that the trigger is not really very good. This can be remedied, the common way is with Apex parts. Might do that myself soon. The lower initial price, with more accessories from the factory, offsets the cost of upgrading the trigger. Mine is the "range kit", which came with 4 magazines, a Maglula magazine loading tool, a simple Bladetech (I think) polymer holster, a magazine holder for 2 mags, spare grips of different sizes. Basically it's a good deal, money wise, for a decent auto.

Later if/when money becomes abundant, an M-1911 will follow. Or several!

I still really like the Grand Power pistols, although they're like the handgun equivalent of a microbrewery and don't have a lot of market presence or development resources.

I have many options to carry... just liked the Sig for the design, size, and ease of handling... wanted IT to be my carry handgun, but like I said...got to fully trust it first.

Here's my handgun collection... time to work on my long guns now.

I want a Browning High-Power, Walther P38 and a Colt 1911.

You should get one, or more than one.

@Magnum, I don't consider any duty style firearm even kinda sorta trustworthy and broken in until I dump at least a case of bulk ammo through it, preferably in one "go" so its a more of a stress test.

got to give it to sig thou, human with gun knowledge answered the phone, 5 questions later emailed me a label for FedEx, said they will look at it get it back to me within 2 weeks.

OFF TOPIC... kinda... my next purchase, a PDW type of gun, you know for house clearing and stuff... my 2 AR-15's are too long, not a fan of shotguns for home defense.

ideas?

Short NFA upper on an AR.

Pistol caliber carbine in .45.

AR pistol with "arm brace"

5.56 Bullpup.

AR-15 pistol with the Tailhook Pistol Brace. Consider doing it in .300 Blackout, especially if you are considering putting a sound suppressor on it. If not a sound suppressor, then go with a removable blast forwarding device combined with a 1 inch or smaller muzzle device of your choice.

Tailhook brace:
Tailhook Pistol Brace: Adjustable LOP, Folding Hook

ICD's BFD:
The "Universal" Fit ICD BFD

If you're not going to go the sound suppressor route, then you may just want to stick with 5.56 instead of .300 Blackout for economy and logistics simplification.

If you are willing to spend the extra money to go the SBR route, then there are several PDW type stock solutions out there to choose from.

Why the hate for shotguns? An AA-12 with 32-round mag may be the solution to your problems! Saw off half the barrel and alternate shot and slugs, you got a dream team

And an awesome bird-scarer.

oh I love shotguns, own 3... but for a skilled shooter not needed for home protection... don't want to hit dogs, cats, or people hanging on or fighting with the bad guy.

Do you even shotgun bro?

FliteControl buck should be one holing it until at least 10 yards, maybe as many as 15, as long as you're running an open choke.

Unless you have a really big house (where you could probably get away with just using your ARs) you should be good.

You could look at the X95. It's a new bullpup 5.56mm. Available to civies in Canada and USA now.

What is it? It's the Israeli military's latest issue rifle, and will be issued widely, to most IDF soldiers.

Basically, when they started testing of the IWI Tavor TAR-21, it seems like their specops guys wanted some changes for the ultra-compact version... and it evolved from "Micro Tavor" into the X95. I think it feels a bit lighter, it's generally got better ergonomics. Has mounting rails built in, and rail covers come with it standard.

The Israeli IDF issue version would have a very short 13" barrel as STANDARD ISSUE... blurring the lines between infantry weapon and PDW defensive weapon. Seems to be because of so much vehicle operations and urban room clearing... short is sweet for them.

The civilian version looks a little different, and has civie legal barrel lengths, for Canada that would be 18.5 inches or shorter for Restricted category, and probably something like 16.5 inch for Americans, I think.

Pricey... but this is no "range toy". It's a practical and totally modern design that has been field tested with evolving improvements since about 2001, in one of the harshest operational regions of the world. And being from the Tavor family, that had development prior to that, I think they started engineering it in around 1995. So this is a "mature" product.

Yes, for Israeli conditions they favor short weapons. The UZI was their standard for a long time and it is very short.

Mag, just to be clear when you say it jammed, do you mean fail to fire/feed, light primer strike, stovepipe, etc.?

fail to feed...already on the way to Sig.

Standard issue was to be 16.5", but it seems like a 15" will become the norm. It has other new features, probably the new trigger found in the civi versions. I read a review of people who were issued the X95 and that had horrible things to say about it. Sand got in it quickly making it jam more frequently than their old A1 era M16s, the plastic sling mounts and flip up sights tore off easily, sling locations were poor and reloading from prone was cumbersome. The most detailed "review" was on M4 Carbine.net or so, and he mentioned that different versions were actively being issued so maybe these were remedied.

When they came out here, they had some accuracy issues that the original Tavor didn't. Sounds like it was limited to a single batch or so. Still probably one of my highest "must haves".

Some of the different variants: