i agree with M1combat. I've shot a handful of pistols, I carry a beretta M9 as my duty pistol... if i were to get a .40, it would be a HK. In fact, if my deal with FN falls through on the .357, i'll be going with HK.
I advise you to do this - hold the (cleared/unloaded) pistol you're thinking about buying down by your hip like it's holstered. Pick a target on the wall (NO people in the way). Close your eyes, draw, aim. open your eyes. too low? too high? Try it with several different pistols.
There are several different barrel/grip angles and you need to find one that naturally suits you. it makes shooting a lot easier and more reflexive... easier than re-training the way your brain functions.
TorqueHD, any advice for somebody new to an M9 in particular? It seems pretty well sorted out of the box, but there's probably some things people that live with them day in and day out have figured out...
Like with any external hammer pistol, check it occasionally as you wear it - it gets knocked around on your waist and can accidentally get bumped back into single action. just rotate the decock lever down then back up - assuming you carry it on fire and not decocked. i recommend not carrying decocked - it's not serviceable and ready. and when you need to draw, chances are, you need it ready to go.
keep it clean. m9's are prone to the inside of the slide getting dirty, and when that happens the slide doesn't like to function through its full range of motion. it's easy enough to take the slide off and wipe down the friction points, so do it regularly.
also watch your mags! at least the milspec mags are prone to collecting dust, which inhibits the springs ability to do its job - to push the next round fully to the top of the mag. which means, if this happens, your next round won't chamber. the crappy part is that you HAVE to take the mag apart to clean all the dust off the interior walls and the follower.
while not my choice for daily carry, the M9 is pretty reliable (as long as it's fairly clean) and it fits my hand nicely.
Torquehd, thanks for your service. Thanks also for your feed back to Reep above re: the M9. If you don't mind me asking, what is your choice for daily carry, and why?
That M9 decocker / safety assembly is something that one should get familiar with.
I'm trying to remember, but as I recall if it is on safe, the trigger still pulls, the slide still racks, everything seems reasonably in order... but it won't ever go bang. It threw me off when I was first handling the gun.
If I were to carry one concealed, I would drill flipping it off safety as I drew until it was pure muscle memory.
As an open carry / combat / range gun it seems pretty nice, though again I have only handled one, never shot one.
For concealed carry, I wouldn't choose it. Too big, first of all. And the potentially large magazine seems too likely to run me afoul of some stupid local ordnance (i.e. Chicago). And a lot of controls. I think I'd just choose a snub nose .38 5 round revolver or something (which is more accurate than I think I could ever explain).
(Message edited by reepicheep on February 28, 2012)
I would think that you could decock it and go safety off. It would be as safe as a revolver at that point and you can simply draw and shoot. The first trigger pull would be DA, the rest SA. Is that not how it works?
IL sucks. I try to not go through Cook county with guns in the car. They are now talking about state wide laws that will make me an instant criminal for owning guns over 10 round capacity. If that happens I'll be storing some stuff out of state. I plan to follow the guns ASAP. Hoping to get out of here in the next 2 years anyway.
It used to be a decent area to make a living with reasonable cost of living. That ratio is heading the wrong way fast! Now that my wife lost her job we would be out of here fast if we could sell the house. We want OUT!
I don't know if it is still true, or even if it was true to begin with, but my understanding of a city of Cincinnati ordnance was that it was illegal to have a weapon even capable of holding more than X rounds (15 maybe?). You didn't even need to have the higher capacity magazine with you, just the fact that one existed somewhere was enough to render a gun "evil".
I thought it was absurd because it made a Ruger 10/22 illegal in the city of Cincinnati.
It was just another reason for me to not burden the City of Cincinnati with any of my discretionary spending.
It was just another reason for me to not burden the City of Cincinnati with any of my discretionary spending.
When I drove to Washington State from Virginia last year to be with MaB during her final days I carried a copy of the country-wide reciprocity map with me and avoided the states along the way that don't recognize my Virginia CC permit. It was my way of boycotting these states.
This was all well and good until I got to the West Coast, as Washington (and Oregon, California and Nevada) doesn't honor my permit.
I wasn't sure how long I'd be in Washington, so I went to the local sheriff's office to apply for a WA CC permit (which I used to have, many moons ago, when I still lived out there). The fees are stiff, and there's a lengthy waiting period before they'll even BEGIN to process your paperwork.
The gal behind the counter was at a loss to explain why, and seemed not a bit amused when I smiled wanly and said, "Virginia recognizes your concealed carry permit."
Illinois seems, from my perspective, to be pretty oppressive in regards to recognizing my rights as an American citizen. Hey, doesn't our current President hail from Illinois? Coincidence??
the "decock" on an M9 has two main functions - 1. it deactivates or disarms the hammer. if the hammer is locked to the rear, as in single action, decocking returns the hammer to the forward position.
2. it disengages the firing pin. So if your hammer is locked to the rear, and you decock, when the hammer slams forward it is not able to strike the firing pin.
it can be used as a "safety", but it's main purpose is to decock a loaded hammer. (insert innuendo here!) the pistol cannot fire while decocked.
my favorite pistol is the HK 40 compact. i'm sure you've heard stories of guys soaking up 9mil rounds and still not going down. also the ergonomics of the pistol fit my hand. you just have to find a gun that fits your hand. and, i'm accustomed to the stiff pull of double, followed by the light pull of consecutive singles.
i'm currently trying to get a deal on an FN .357 (which can also fire .38's).
but.... i need to testfire an FN 57... it looks like a fun little gun.
