Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Downsizing 'Baddest Tactical Pistols' to carry size

I got on a full-size "Tactical" pistol binge in late 2007 and bought the following handguns in reverse order:

  • Baddest Tactical Pistol No. 6: Glock 20 10mm

  • Baddest Tactical Pistol No. 5: S&W M&P 357

  • Baddest Tactical Pistol No. 4: Steyr M9-A1

  • Baddest Tactical Pistol (Revolver) No. 3: S&W 21-4 .44 Special

  • Baddest Tactical Pistol No 2: CZ75 SP01 Custom 9mm

  • Baddest Tactical Pistol No. 1, Llama IX-C .45 ACP

  • The S&W Model 21 .44 Special was traded straight up for the Sig P226 when I acquired a S&W Model 29 .44 Magnum/.44 Special and the Model 21 became surplus.

    And since I started work as a gun shop salesman in January, I've gone in the other direction, buying a S&W M&P Compact .357 Sig and a Charter Arms .327 Fed. Magnum snubnose revolver.

    And now I've decided to take it a step further and divest myself of some of my full-size pistols and downsize for carry weapons.

    The Sig Sauer P226 .357 Sig and the CZ 75 SP01 Custom 9mm are the first two up on the block and are now listed on Gunbroker. Though I love both pistols, neither is very concealable and both are fairly heavy so are not good carry candidates.


    I'm thinking about replacing the Sig Sauer P226 with 4.4" barrel with a Sig P229 with a 3.9" barrel. Sig Sauer has a Sig Anti-Snag (SAS) carry model of the 229, which I want in .357 Sig with night sights and the Short-Reset Trigger. A set of those nice wood grips shown would be good, too.



    And I'm thinking about a new 2009 model of Para Ordnance as the replacement for the CZ SP01 Custom. Para has a .45 ACP model called the Carry 12 which is a subcompact with 3.5" barrel and Para's Light Double Action trigger. The LDA trigger is IMHO the biggest improvement made to date to John Moses Browning's famed 1911 single-action .45 ACP pistol design.

    But then there's also that S&W NightGuard model in 10mm. Six rounds of 10mm in a lightweight carry revolver sounds mighty attractive. And Smith has also brought back the incomparable classic Model 24 with a 3" barrel in .44 Special. So many choices and so little money to buy with.

    But gotta sell what I got before I can buy something smaller, so I must learn to be patient.

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