Smith

I've had the FNP and XD and I would go for the Walther P99! I have small hands as well and the P99 is the best gun I've ever had, in the polymer variety.

The problem with lawyers, and I've been in these situations, is that they are completely selfish in their counsel. By that i mean they don't care about others on the other end. When your dealing with friends there are nuisances that have to be accounted for that the law doesn't recognize. I don't really know either side, but it seems that one side went black and right on a gray issue and then the other side responded in kind. Personally I think they were both extreme, but hindsight is 20/20. If it were me, I don't know that i could have handled it differently. You know what they say, everyone's and expert except those involved. Good luck to everyone involved in mending fences. PS - Maybe TGO could ease up a bit on the legalities, disclaimers, etc., etc. and wrap all that up in the user agreement.

I hear the complaints, but I haven't had any problems with Vista and I've been using it for about a year now. All in all when you adjust it is pretty good. IMO.

I haven't heard the fragile thing before, but I can say I had them on my XD9 and they were phenomenal. Best sights I've ever had. I only wish they made them for all the guns I have.

HaHa, I'd hardly call them perfection. But in fact he did improve it with the Hi-Power!

I think the question is why? Carry or don't everything else is nonsense. The likelihood of being exposed with a handgun runs about the same risk as disassembling and trying to argue the point. If the LEO is that bent on making a case on a weapons charge he has you either way. drawing it out in court isn't going to benefit you much.

I know this is somewhat subjective, but after reading some other threads can anyone compare and contrast the differences in the different finishes? I understand melonite/tennifer and had some guns GunKoted, but how does Black-T, DiamondKote, Ionbond, Cera-Kote, etc. compare? I know they all have pro's and cons but what is the best (IYO) all round finish for us average Joe's who just want a bombproof finish? PS - Please don't link and say read this. I've read all those and they all show their pluses. I'm more interested in comparisons from first hand experience.

Anyone ever heard of a gas system for 1911's? What do you think? http://66.70.158.141/ncggasgun.com/ "What is the NCG Gas Gun? NCG brings to you a fixed, gas operated barrel for the 1911. The barrel fits the 1911 without any modification to the frame. This system provides numerous advantages to both competitive and recreational shooters, dramatically improving the accuracy and speed of the shooter. NCG's direct blowback Gas Dampened, Fixed Barrel Conversion for the 1911 has been described as one of the most significant design changes in the 1911 since it's inception. The Gas barrel is unlike any other gas system on the market today. The Gas Barrel will provide faster target recovery, approximately 60% less Muzzle flip, and the ability to shoot high pressure rounds. Utilizing link less gas retarded blow-back design. The Gas Gun'sTM barrel stays stationary when the gun cycles, allowing much tighter tolerances, which results in a more accurate firearm. Kart barrels are used exclusively in the Ultimate and the Super Gas. The 32SW uses a proprietary barrel. The Super Gas Bull barrel is constructed from Douglas Air gauge as of March 2004 The NCG Gas Barrel Provides: Reduced Recoil Due to the Gas Gun'sTM system, recoil is dramatically reduced allowing the shooter to acquire expedient target recovery. Improved Cycle Time The Gas GunTM ejects and reloads faster than any 1911 on the market today.

That's a heck of a way to start ink!

Around here they are about $70-$80 difference NIB. I preffered the FNP for a couple reasons, but it is really apples to oranges. The FNP is a smaller feeling and lighter carry gun with an exposed hammer in DA/SA. The XD is a rugged tunable service gun that is a little blocky and heavy feeling. I like them both, just liked the FNP more. Try them both and see what you like.

Well, after my wife told me to sell a gun to pay bills, the clouds parted and the bills got taken care of. I went ahead and sold one gun, but Rabbi provided an excellent replacement. A very nice Walther P99 QA. I have read and heard a lot about these guns and always wanted one and so now I have one. The FNP-9 was an excellent pistol that made me a better shot than anything I had before, but the P99 put me over the top. I've heard about you guys talking about grouping and so on and I never seemed to really understand that felling of first shot dead center.....well, now I do. This thing consistently hits where it's pointed and is designed very well. I thought it might be more of a novel design than a practical one, but I'm discovering I really like every aspect of this nice little pistol. It's fit and finish is very nice and it feels very slim where it needs to and filling where it's supposed to be. so far it is the nicest fitting pistol I have held. It also came with 3 extra front sights in different elevations, 3 backstraps, 3 mags, and a case Enough talk here she is. BTW I also got another toy which provided the background. It is a Hyosung GV-250. They make all the parts for Suzuki. It's mainly a commuter bike and can see myself moving up in the engine dept down the road, but the 250 in this has twice as much HP as the Honda Rebel and rides really nice.

I used to reference Chuck Hawks site, but you have to pay membership now to see some of the charts. Some of the research he had gathered, from many of the well know ones, showed "one stop shot" in .45's was like 92% and 9mm was 88%. These were based Police shootings nationwide. He also made a good point as follows, http://www.chuckhawks.com/index2.guns.htm "Because it is not as fat as the popular .40 and .45 caliber cartridges, a double stack pistol for 9x19 can hold between 50% and 100% more cartridges. The slight energy advantage held by the larger caliber per shot (345 ft. lbs. for the 124 grain 9mm slug compared to 370 ft. lbs. for the 230 grain .45 slug) does not come close to making up the difference. The shooter with a 15 shot 9x19 pistol in his hand controls 5175 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy, which he can deliver to any number of targets between 1 and 15. The shooter with a 7 shot .45 ACP pistol can deliver only 2590 ft. lbs. of muzzle energy to between 1 and 7 targets. This is one very good reason why the U.S. Army adopted the 9x19 and the Beretta M-9 pistol in 1985. All during the post-WW II years from 1945 to the 1990's there were a tremendous number of articles and books written by supposed experts alleging the superiority of the .45 ACP over the 9x19. These assertions were usually based on theoretical models of stopping power (like the Cooper "short form") that suggested a large .40 or larger caliber bullet had some intangible advantage in stopping power irrespective of the actual energy delivered. These theoretical models seriously over estimated the stopping power of the .45 ACP and seriously underestimated the stopping power of the 9x19. Assertions that .45 ball (FMJ) ammunition was 90% effective in achieving one shot stops were common. The truth revealed by the 15 year Marshall-Sanow study of thousands of actual shootings is that standard 230 grain .45 ball ammunition is about 62.89% effective, and 9x19 115 grain ball ammunition is 62.26% effective in achieving a one shot stop. More important to civilian and police shooters is the effectiveness of the best bullets in the calibers, which for most purposes are expanding JHP bullets. The top load for the 9x19 is the Cor-Bon +P 115grain JHP, which is 91% effective in achieving a one shot stop. (For comparison, the top load for the .45 ACP is the Federal 230 grain Hydra-Shok, which is 92% effective.) The 115 grain +P loads from Federal, Remington, and Winchester are all close, averaging about 89% one shot stops. The effectiveness of the 9x19 goes down as the bullet weight increases and velocity decreases. The best 124 grain JHP loads average about 81-84% one shot stops, and the best 147 grain JHP load delivers about 76% one shot stops. Remington ballistics tables (Federal and Winchester are similar) for the standard 115 grain JHP load show a muzzle velocity (MV) of 1155 fps and a muzzle energy (ME) of 341 ft. lbs. The trajectory of this load shows a midrange rise of .9" over 50 yards, and 3.9" over 100 yards. The 9x19 is one of the best auto pistol cartridges for long range shooting."

Bob is a good guy. He personally calls or responds very quickly to any problem or question. He is also active on the FN forum to answer potential questions. So far i would give them a big thumbs up....even though I haven't had any need for CS from FN.

Wow! You're a cantankerous one aren't you? .......start new flame war!

9mm and .40 are getting pretty close in price theses days. I don't feel as bad about my .40 anymore. I had a FNP-9, that was a very nice looking and shooting gun. Just sold it cause trigger reach was a little long for me. That being said i could shoot circles around my former XD-9. As far a hammer modules cracking, there have only been about 300 returned for service out of 200,000 (.0015%) sold. Evidently there was a minor molding issue that was caught pretty quickly.

.....and no tax, wholesale pricing, no TICS, ect. BTW in response to concerns, I always carry my secondary on my hip. I generally trust folks, but I'm not stupid either.

It's a little nit picky, but they are more than just an importer. SA did buy exclusive distribution, marketing, licensing rights ect. In effect they control every aspect, even development of new designs. IMM, at this point, is only the factory operating at the desires of SA.

Yes, but they are selling them through http://www.mississippiautoarms.com/. He is putting out a DIY trigger guard that is really interesting. No price yet, so I'm waiting to try that on my 12g build.

Tromix isn't taking any more work for awhile. $329 is an absolute steal on the 12. Most of them are going for at least $100 more! Enjoy.

1. Hmmm...Glocks vastly outnumber XDs, and HPs are few and far between in the U.S. Not so on a world wide basis or in total sales. HP's have been used in the larger capacity as service pistols around the world (which I think is a better measure anyway) as Glocks. This is one of the jaded Glock views that Glocks are the biggest, best selling gun ever because of their "perfection". 2. Exactly how many "kabooms" have you seen? I have seen 5 reports just this year. 3. ND = AD. They mean the same thing to me. How can the gun be at fault? Was it a careless or poorly trained gun? The gun can be at fault due to poor design or mechanical deficiencies. If a gun goes off by being bumped, for instance, while holstered then that is and AD. If you buddy shoots you in the foot as he was cleaning it because he forgot to check the chamber. that is a ND. operator error. BTW a lot of the anti-Glock sentiment is in jest cause some Glockers are way to easy to get going about their little pieces of "Perfection".

Good point. I think Glocks are fine. Their history just doesn't inspire confidence, plus I'm really turned off by the "Glock Nation" koolaid. I personally had an XD and enjoyed it. I just couldn't get used to Glocks grip angle, but joining the MNPD in June I guess I'll have to learn to!

Good try, but XD's aren't exactly new on the block anymore. I would say Glocks have more AD's than say a Hi-Power, so sales numbers and market time are relatively irrelevant. One of the biggest issues for Glocks is the unsupported chamber, where most kabooms I've seen haven happened. Mainly in .40's. Deerslayer, you always bring up ND's.... those are always operator error by definition. We are talking AD's and those are the realm of "Perfection" and by definition solely the guns fault.

I don't worry about it. Some say it helps cover any legal issues, but I figure if it's that bad I'd rather have maximum deniability. Less is more IMO

Really like them. Don't own one myself but, my brother has a Marlin 30/30 and I've hunted with it a few times. I really like the classic lever gun.

+1!