Thinking of thinning out my handgun collection

[seang]

Thinking of thinning out the collection.

I have striker fired, DA/SA, and DAO, in Glock,M&P, Sig, and Beretta. In .40, .45 and 9mm. This would be an easy choice if I didn't consider department requirements.

We are issued an M&P .40, but can carry what we want as long as it's .40 or .45. I was told no on the 9mm. I am waiting for an M&P .40 to return from David Bowie. I hate the stock trigger pull on the M&P.

I like .45 the best and 9mm next. .40 is my least favorite caliber. Since my department issues .40 would you stick solely to .40.? I would have a lot more ammo if I focused on only one caliber, but I also don't enjoy shooting it as much.

I have thought about carrying the .Bowie .40 and getting a 9mm for personal use and range use, but don't know if that would make much sense. I personally don't care for the M&P .40 even with a trigger job. Just something about the way they handle. I know I'm in the minority here.

I could also do this with a Sig. Keep the .40 and get 9mm. Carry the .40 on duty and let the department supply the ammo. I could keep a limited amount on hand of my own .40 and then "stock up" on say 9mm for my personal guns.

Right now I have to many guns with different trigger systems and I change too damn much. It would be easy if I could just ignore the rest and collect them, but I can't. I always seem to take them out and shoot them and it effects my shooting. I score in the uppers 90's on qualifications, but I lose speed when I switch systems. I don't change what I carry on duty, but I still bring out those personal guns too much. I'm just admitting I'm not disciplined enough to have different trigger systems around.

I would like to have three similar guns. My duty gun, and then two similar operating personal guns. I also have a S&W 37 for back-up.
For e.g. a M&P .40 for duty use and 2 M&P 9mm for personal use. I would then "stock up" on the 9mm. I could also just have two M&P .40's. I would just be stuck with using a gun I'm not really into. I don't have my Bowie one back, but have shot another Deputies and again, not a fan of the M&P .40 or the caliber.

I could do this scenario with many guns, but I think you get the idea. I also have a S&W 4566TSW. Haven't got to shoot it yet. 45 is an option since we still have .45 ammo around for department use and I don't mind buying my own .45 if that's the only caliber I have to buy.

So would you get rid of most of them to focus on one trigger system when you know you won't keep your hands off the others? Should I go down to one caliber even if it's not the department caliber, since at least they will always supply the 40? Do you think it's worse to go back and forth between say a M&P .40 and M&P 9mm? Just want to see what others thoughts are? Thanks

[ToddG]

Do you get as much .40 practice ammo as you want? If so, I'd learn to love the .40 ... seriously, I'm not a big fan of it either but if I was getting the ammo for free I'd practice with it and carry it 24/7.

As for which gun, that's obviously up to you. Which do you shoot best? Figure that out and stick with it. If the free M&P40 doesn't work for you and is bad enough that you're willing to spend money on something different, it sounds like there are lots of options and you've got experience with all of them.

Is there something about the M&P40 that can be fixed to make it more to your liking?

Now if you don't get mountains of practice ammo in .40 and you're going to get stuck paying for your practice ammo regardless, you can also add the .45 the equation. Once again, it's just a matter of picking the gun that you have the most confidence in under stress. Really, what else matters?

Finally, I'd recommend you have two instances of your duty gun (or a duty and identical caliber/brand/system compact for off-duty, if necessary) and then one other-system gun for occasional practice. In other words, if you decide a G22 is the best gun for you on duty, get two G22s (or a G22 and G23/G27) and then one non-SFA gun.

[tpd223]

I did something similar. I thinned my serious carry guns down to Glock 9mms of various sizes (we carry Glock 17s on duty here) and S&W J frames.
All the above are DAO, so I no longer have to deal with the DA/SA transition thing.

Were it me, I'd stick with the M&P, and if I had to buy my own ammo I'd get one in 9mm as well.

[mark5pt56]

Do you get as much .40 practice ammo as you want? If so, I'd learn to love the .40 ... seriously, I'm not a big fan of it either but if I was getting the ammo for free I'd practice with it and carry it 24/7.

As for which gun, that's obviously up to you. Which do you shoot best? Figure that out and stick with it. If the free M&P40 doesn't work for you and is bad enough that you're willing to spend money on something different, it sounds like there are lots of options and you've got experience with all of them.

Is there something about the M&P40 that can be fixed to make it more to your liking?

Now if you don't get mountains of practice ammo in .40 and you're going to get stuck paying for your practice ammo regardless, you can also add the .45 the equation. Once again, it's just a matter of picking the gun that you have the most confidence in under stress. Really, what else matters?

Finally, I'd recommend you have two instances of your duty gun (or a duty and identical caliber/brand/system compact for off-duty, if necessary) and then one other-system gun for occasional practice. In other words, if you decide a G22 is the best gun for you on duty, get two G22s (or a G22 and G23/G27) and then one non-SFA gun.

Highly encourage this approach as well. I have an identical G17 as my issued one and also have a G19 and G26 for off time. I wouldn't monkey with the trigger on my off weapon, leave it the same so you don't have any training differences.

[seang]

I would get .40 ammo provided for our quarterly practice, which is 25 rounds. We also have a 50 round qualification once a year. I would also get 40 provided for firearms instructor school or any other shooting schools I would go to. I don't get unlimited practice ammo for my own personal use anytime.

If I carry a different caliber, I would have to provide my own. To me this isn't too big of a deal since I only have one 5 day handgun instructor school coming up in the end of April. I will now be one of three instructors.

We have a range in the basement/parking garage of our department and can visit it as much as I want. I shoot several thousand rounds a year of my own ammo.

As far as what I shoot best? Once I stick with a particular trigger system, I shoot all really similar with some practice. Although we know there is more than just qualification scores to take into consideration, I will use those as an example. The glock 22 99%, Sig 229R .40 98%, M&P .40 93% normally. I did shoot a 98% once. These previous were my highest scores. The glock and sig scores are usually in the upper 90's. I also don't have the confidence with my issued M&P as I did with the other firearms. If I had to pick one gun I felt the most confident with, that would be the Glock 22.

I would stick with the glock 22, but I have problems hanging onto the grip in the summer time. In our range it gets very hot and you will sweat. My support hand thumb using thumbs forward grip always slips off the frame when shooting and the grip gets so "greasy" for me. I don't have this problem with the M&P, Sig, or other firearms.

As far as what I don't like about the M&P? I just don't like the way the M&P .40 shoots. I know I seem to feel the opposite of most, but I just don't think the M&P .40 is fun to shoot. It feels a bit harsh recoil wise. I don't consider myself recoil sensitive. There is only one other gun I didn't care to shoot and that was a Sig 239 in .40. Heck I thought the Kahr P45 shot like a pussycat, so I can't explain my dislike with shooting the M&P .40.

I don't dislike the .40 in all things. I liked the Sig in .40 and again I like it in Glock. I haven't shot the M&P in .40 or .45. I also like the Beretta 9mm. The glock .45 grip is a little to large for me, even in the SF. I'm a bit hesitant in carrying a Sig 220 with the extractor issues in the past. I do really like the carry model. I'm not sure on Sig small parts quality anymore.

I will have two of whichever I carry on duty. We are allowed modifications to our duty weapons if in reason. So if I stuck with the Bowie M&P .40, I would get another one in .40 like advised.

The hard part is just picking one. I've had a "shootoff" before and they are all pretty darn close.

[ToddG]

Have you tried different size grip straps with the M&P40? That's the only thing I can think of that might be causing the issue.

For the G22, you can have any number of guys texture the grip to make it less slimy in the summer months. I'm not a huge fan of the G22 but if it's what you shoot best and you'd have a spare around in the event of trouble, it seems like it could be the best choice.

I'm with you 100% on the SIG QC but the fact is that if you get one and it's running well out of the box, you're as likely to have a lifelong gun as with any other brand. The problem is that the percentage of guns which aren't making it to 2,000 rounds is going up. Again, if you've got two of them and one has a problem, you still have the other while the problem gun goes back to the mothership for repair.

For 150 rounds per year (plus an instructor school), I agree that the "free" ammo is not worth worrying about. From a cost standpoint, the only other factor is that if you can get the M&P40 to work better for you that's one less gun you have to buy and the obvious benefit of shooting, wearing out, breaking, and/or otherwise distressing the department's property instead of your own.

[Failure2Stop]

My opinon, though it is influenced by Todd G-

How good you are with gun X in the safe is irrelevant when you will be carrying gun Z when you are most likely to really need it.

I think that training with your duty gun or clone thereof would be the most beneficial to your required skill.

But I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer either, so simplicity makes my life easier.

[steve-oh]

I don't experience sellers remorse with pistols like I do with rifles. So yeah, thin the herd.

[seang]

Yep, I've tried different grips on the M&P. Right now I have one of everything and two of nothing. I will for sure get an identical back-up to whatever my choice for duty gun is because I agree, I want the same system for on duty and off. I may try to talk to the admin. tomorrow and see if I can't change some minds on the 9mm. Our head firearms instructor didn't even want to carry .40, but the Sheriff did. I can't complain though, we have a pretty open policy to what we carry and allow back-up guns.

Thanks for the advice. I agree don't know if there is much benefit to what few free rounds I get by choosing .40.

Do many of you notice much of a difference when switching from.40 to 9mm? Would you recommend not switching between say a M&P .40 for duty and having 9mm for off and personal use?

I also wouldn't carry a department gun, since I think it's a must to have the M&P trigger worked on.

[ToddG]

Unless there is a size issue, personally I would not recommend carrying a different gun, even a different caliber, off-duty. There are two practical reasons for this:

You are by necessity splitting your practice between two different guns, and at the "moment of truth" you won't get to pick which gun is on your hip.
If you carry something else off-duty you are programming yourself to think poorly of your duty weapon.

We all know the .40 (and your other option, the .45) will get the job done just fine. Yes, you will have fewer bullets. Yes, you will have more recoil. You'll also have a bigger bullet. Life could be much worse. You're serious enough about training that the recoil issue won't affect you much beyond playing with a shot timer on the range.

I'm the captain of the 9mm cheerleading squad, but if it's not an option your Sheriff is going to allow, pick the .40 or pick the .45 and stick with it.

[I'mGatMan!]

I agree with Todd G. If you get free .40...learn to love it. If not, go with what you like best.

For me, that is a G19 and/or an S&W 442. Got rid of all my other caliber handguns.

[Matt Edwards]

We all know the .40 (and your other option, the .45) will get the job done just fine. Yes, you will have fewer bullets. Yes, you will have more recoil. You'll also have a bigger bullet. LIFE COULD BE MUCH WORSE. You're serious enough about training that the recoil issue won't affect you much beyond playing with a shot timer on the range.


Words to live by right there. I shoot more 9 then anything else. The timer tells me I shoot it the "best" (in a certain capasity). However, not too long ago, I had a case of .40 for my G22. For the pros, 1000 is not alot, but I was surprised how quickly I could get my times down to "9mm standards" with just that amount of ammo and some training with a good instructor and freind.

I'd roll with a G22 with no reservations.

[seang]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll make a decision very soon.

[ST911]

So would you get rid of most of them to focus on one trigger system when you know you won't keep your hands off the others? Should I go down to one caliber even if it's not the department caliber, since at least they will always supply the 40? Do you think it's worse to go back and forth between say a M&P .40 and M&P 9mm? Just want to see what others thoughts are? Thanks

BTDT. I keep my life support equipment limited to as few systems of like operation as possible. For me, Glocks and J-frames. The former are 40SW, only because the ammo is free. When it isn't any longer, they will be 9mm. I won't buy any more .40s.

I own and shoot other types and calibers for proficiency, but not with much dedication. Almost all are 9mm.

I know a bunch of cops who have a hodge podge of duty, backup, off-duty, and travel guns. It'd be charitable to characterize them as "average" in ability.

Splitting calibers isn't as problematic as splitting systems. If issued a striker-fired w/o manual safety, I'd run the same type, or be no more different than a DAO like a Sig or Beretta. Going from a 40 on the job to a 9 off isn't problematic as doing it the other way around.

Whatever you do, do with great dedication.

My EDC for work and play is a combination of G23s, G27s, and J-frames.