TGO David

By way of an update... We took the 3914 to On Target this afternoon and my wife put about 100 rounds through it. She did great with it and experienced no stoppages or failures of any kind. We both noticed that with Winchester white box ammo, it prints about 2-inches low from point of aim at 15 yds. It's definitely not the shooter but may be just the way this particular gun digests WWB ammo. I suspect that a shorter front sight or taller rear would fix the problem. That being said, I am going to withhold any sort of oddball FS/RS combination and just order a set of Meprolight sights for it instead. We'll see how the POA / POI intersect after that. I have also ordered a second factory 8rd magazine for it and will be ordering a holster of some sort this week so that she can use it as her carry piece when she wants something other than the J-frame. All in all, I think we're both very pleased with the way it performed.

Favorite... Glock 19 Most concealable... S&W 3900 series

Original post in this thread updated with actual photos.

Oh come on now... Joe mislead you. I've got a few now that I won't part with. The others are up for discussion.

Thanks to Joe @ Hero Gear, we were able to scoop up a used in excellent condition Smith & Wesson #3914 handgun for my wife today and got a good deal on another M&P 40 for me. About 15 years ago I had a S&W #3913 and have regretted getting rid of it almost every day since I parted with it back then. These are slim single-stack DA/SA firearms with safety and de-cocker. Just awesome little guns, perfect for concealed carry. Updated photos of the handgun follow. Blackberry Curve is included as a size reference to show how compact this thing really is.

I have owned the M&P 9, 9C, 9L, 40C and 40. I just bought another 40 today to replace the one I sold a while back. It will probably be my primary carry during the winter months. They have all been good guns but the 9C and 9L were a bit quirky out of the box and required minor issues to be addressed before I felt comfortable with them for anything more than range use. You're welcome to shoot my full-size 40 anytime. I hope to have a 45C sometime before the end of the year.

A lot of innovation comes out of the "gaming" circle. Quite a few of the top "gamers" end up being paid handsomely to teach elite units how to shoot faster with better accuracy. I know that Latham does or did teach the SpecOps guys on occasion. Larry Vickers came about it from the other angle and was one of the originators of the sport. Gaming isn't all bad.

JMB was a pretty innovative fellow. I bet he'd have at least dabbled with polymer frames if he'd been able to.

Wilson Combat can build you a 1911 platform handgun chambered in just about any handgun cartridge. I'd also look at those built by STI if you want something at a somewhat lower price point and "off the shelf" configuration.

Who says that JMB wouldn't have used a polymer frame had those materials been available to him back in the early 1900s?

Anonymous tip to the TDOS asking them to review his carry status due to mental incompetence might be worth a shot. I hate to deprive a person of their right to defend themselves, but this sounds like a justified case. When a person becomes a liability to others, it's time to act.

I carry one of those. People often ask me if I'm just happy to see them.

One shot stops are a complete myth. Sometimes it happens, but you should never buy a handgun on the premise that whatever cartridge it is chambered in will provide instantaneous incapacitation. No handgun is capable of that. Immediate incapacitation depends entirely on you striking the central nervous system and/or the target losing the will to fight. If you hit soft tissue instead of the CNS, you're going to have to wait for them to bleed out or give up. Both of those things will operate on an arbitrary time schedule. What you want is a handgun that is (a.) comfortable enough and small enough that you will carry it, and (b.) brings enough muzzle energy to the table that it will penetrate clothing, meat and bone to get into the core of the target and do some damage. The .380ACP is at the absolute low end of the scale in my opinion. I know some people go smaller, but I see no point in it considering the compactness of modern firearms designs. The .38spl has significantly more muzzle energy than the .380ACP. Just because the bullet diameter is roughly the same, do not confuse the two cartridges. Simply setting two of the cartridges side by side shows that the .38spl carries a much larger powder charge. I'd seriously look at a small revolver if your funds are limited and you feel that a larger handgun would be difficult to conceal given your frame and stature. Alternatively, you might be able to find a used Glock model 19 (9mm) for about the same price, but I'd expect it to be pretty worn and tattered at that price point.

I'd look for a used Smith & Wesson J-Frame revolver. You can find them for around $300 if you aren't a stickler on it looking like new. The .38spl is about the smallest cartridge I would consider carrying for self defense. I own a Bersa 380 and only keep it around for nostalgia's sake. I have had no problems with it, per se, but I just don't think I'd want to trust my life to it either.

We picked up an XBox 360 Pro over the Thanksgiving holiday and a few games to go along with it. Left 4 Dead was one of them and we finally got around to playing it some last night. Lots of fun.

Draw us a picture in MS Paint!

How'd you wear the old one out?

They replaced your hand?

You're doing it wrong.

I've shot way more than that on countless occasions through my Remington .30-06 and have had no adverse effects. The manufacturer built them to be shot, not to be set aside and admired.

Way more than the average person is likely to shoot their gun in a lifetime.

I'm convinced that the Glock 26 and 27 were built for cartoon characters with three fat fingers and a thumb. They are possibly the only people who could ever find those particular Glocks comfortable to shoot as they certainly weren't designed to be "ultra concealable". Fat grip... CHECK! Short grip... CHECK! Fat slide... CHECK! I owned a 27 for a while. I couldn't place my finger (no pun intended) on why I didn't like it when I owned it, but it dawned on me subsequent to buying a Glock 23 and then later a Glock 19. The 26/27 just suck from an ergonomics standpoint.

This really belongs in the trading post.

I think it'd be a very logical choice for a BUG. Charter hasn't always had the best record for initial build quality but I'd still give it a fair shake before writing it off.

You might try a search. http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14025&highlight=ammunition+accountability http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/showthread.php?t=4286&highlight=ammunition+accountability