McAllyn

My understanding is that the 17L is just that... a long 17. The 34, roughly 3/4 of an inch shorter than the 17L, comes standard with adjustable rear sight, extended magazine release, and extended slide release which are typically desired upgrades for action sports weapons. Basically, the 34 was built to race. The 17L was built to shoot more accurately than the standard 17.Mac ETA: I stand corrected. The 17L had several similar features to the 34. Apparently, over the 10 years between their respective introductions, Glock made some changes.

You could carry a pink wiffle ball bat with unicorn stickers, and somehow things would get turned against you in the press. Weapon choice is irrelevant if anything else about the story can be twisted to sell papers. To the OP, there are many fine Class III dealers in the Nashville area. The one that comes to mind with the most actual items to look at and fondle is Outpost Armory in Murfreesboro, however they are not the only ones around. See the top post in this forum for a pretty good list of NFA Dealers. Mac

Thank you and Dolo for answering my question. That pretty much narrows my opinion down to that fact that since you can buy a weapon, you should be able to use that weapon to defend yourself and your loved ones. Learn something new every day Mac

Please excuse my ignorance, but can you, as a resident alien, purchase a weapon from a dealer, passing a TICs background check? If so, then I would think it just makes sense that you would be able to carry and use that weapon to defend yourself. If not, then I can see that as the point of restriction. I would think that answers the "could." As to "should," I'm all for law abiding members of society protecting themselves and their loved ones. Mac

As long as it doesn't distract your eyes from picking up the sights, I say rock what you got. Mac

Seems like a simple case of an old guy who knows more than everyone else. I'd hate to prove the guy wrong, but I'm fairly certain there are people out there 1911's from other manufacturers that know their weapon just as intimately as this guy knows his and can do exactly what he's doing. I've never seen anything done with a Kimber that any other respectable manufacturer's weapon couldn't do. And to just as much a degree, "it's the indian not the arrow." Mac

Since the OP asked specifically about 9MM, I responded with my experiences with those. I've never shot a 10MM, so I can only assume that my splits would be quite a bit different than they are with a 9MM. But yes, I maintain that recoil control is BUILT from the fundamentals. Mac

Without defending one brand over another, I will say, my personal experience has been: I've never owned or shot a Sig that the trigger didn't feel... "squishy" to me. I've had a P6/225, 226 and 229. None tuned, all box stock base models. Very accurate, but on the "big and heavy" end of the spectrum. Ultimately reliable. I loved my XD9 and XD9Tac. Very controllable, pretty accurate when they were box stock, but after tuning both ran very well and were very well behaved at speed. Fairly reliable, but seemed to drop off pretty quickly as the weapon got dirty. Perceived that to be higher than other manufacturers. Both of my Beretta 92's were fantastic machines. Not "custom 1911" accurate, but easily as accurate as I was. One of the heaviest and longest double action trigger pulls of all the top tier manufacturers right out of the box. Drop dead reliable. Not the lightest or smallest thing you'll find for carry. But, hey, Martin Riggs and John McClain can't be wrong, right? I currently shoot a moderately tuned 34 in USPSA. Shot an untuned 17 for a short time. Prefer the longer sight radius of the 34, although it's rarely necessary (very few long range shots i.e. over 25 yards). Can honestly say I've never had a reliability problem with either one of them that was gun related (only one failure between them, and that was a squib... my fault). I shoot them both fairly accurately, but some people tend to start out low-left with the factory Glock trigger if they are used to anything else. My S&W M&P 9 Pro was a great weapon. Very accurate, on the high side of reliable, and a decent factory tuned trigger out of the box. I personally didn't care for the grip because even with the changeable backstraps, the front of the grip seemed very thin, but that was after getting used to Berettas and Sigs, which have thicker grips. My ex-wife still shoots and loves this piece. My CZ SP01 Tactical is a really nice piece also. Boy, is it HEAVY after playing with the tupperware. From the factory, they are terribly over-sprung both on main-spring and recoil spring, but the weight makes them easily manageable. Because mine has a decocker, I can't tune the trigger to Shadow specs, but after about 500 rounds, the factory trigger smoothed itself out to a very comfortable and repeatable level. For an all-around target, plinking, or game gun, this is one of my favourites. Much better DA trigger than the Berettas, in my opinion. As heavy as they are, you could shoot any commercially available load and not be bothered by recoil. Bottom line, I prefer the striker fired or SAO pistols, especially for gaming. I've never mastered the DA/SA transition. That's a personal thing, and I'm sure I could train out of it, but I don't care to. I've never experienced any issues with 9MM recoil regardless of platform or load. Admittedly, I'm as far from being a small guy as humanly possible, so that might be something, can't say. I tend to believe that recoil control is built from the fundamentals, not strength or size. Accuracy out to 50 yards for a pistol, I'd tend to lean towards a 5" barrel. 25 yards and under, 4" should be fine. Your mileage may vary. Mac

Glock is the #1 production type weapon in the action shooting sports. Definitely in USPSA, haven't checked the numbers in IDPA recently. Simply changing the recoil spring from the factory unit to a lighter one and not using "full-house" Super He-Man American Guns Blow Stuff Up ammunition will make them as easy to control as a 1911 with a cinder block hanging from it.Mac ETA: just checked... Glock is #1 and #2 in IDPA

I believe the X-43 was a bit faster, by roughly 3 times, than the BlackBird, but it's unmanned. Not sure any human would enjoy flying at Mach 9+ anyway.

If this is the system I looked into a couple years ago, I believe it's contact sensitive, meaning it "fires" when it feels or hears the hammer strike. Which is great if you want to train with a double action weapon, but if you shoot a single action or safe action, then you have to cock the weapon manually (pull back hammer or rack slide to a degree) each time you want it to actuate, which took it out of my realm of usefulness. However, from my research, the people who train double action with it really like it. If this is not that system, then disregard everything I've said, as most people do anyway. Mac

I have the CTR and an ACE. Both serve their purposes well. Can't imagine needing to change. Can't get much lower cheek weld than the ACE, it's a foam tube directly over the buffer tube, but no collapsy, no movey. (Although they do have an adjustable model.) Mac

Exactly. When the time comes to defend yourself or your loved ones, your lifetime warranty isn't going to help much if your weapon malfunctions. Not that I don't own a Taurus or don't like some of their products, it's just that the "Lifetime Warranty" means less than nothing to me when it comes to purchasing a weapon.Off-topic, but it's the same thing as was touted about those new "hi-cap" AR15 magazines someone mentioned. They are Aluminum and have a Lifetime Warranty!!! Woohoo, I'll be sure to keep my warranty card with me when I'm in a life and death situation in case it fails. No thanks. Give me a box of PMAGs or metal GIs. If one fails, I switch to another and leave the bad one on the ground. Mac

The manufacturer should be Arminius, a division of Weinrauch in Germany. Supposedly, they make all the wheel guns for EAA, including the Windicator that I previously owned. Mac

Seconded...I've had an EAA Windicator and an EAA/Tanfoglio Gold Custom. Both worked flawlessly without the slightest bit of trouble. However, be forewarned that if you do happen to get something that misbehaves, EAA does have some reputed "issues" with their level of customer service. That is well documented on the interwebz. Even knowing about their CS issues, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase another EAA weapon. Mac

These are in order, sort of... based on how I liked them, not necessarily whether one was "better" than another" Brazos Custom STI Beretta Glock Ruger CZ Springfield Armory Smith and Wesson Colt Kimber EAA/Tanfoglio Kahr Sig Sauer Walther Dan Wesson Taurus Bersa

I have no dog in this fight, but I have had my own experiences with On Target, some good, some... not so much. I know there's no "gun registration" in Tennessee, but is there any way of determining the original sales date of a weapon via serial number? If that serial shows up anywhere, then they sold you a used weapon represented as new and Mr. Criminal Attorney will need to dance to a different beat. I know it's a long shot, but it's not like you met someone in a parking lot and did a FTF exchange with cash and a handshake. There was federal paperwork involved. Mac

In reference to the "lifetime warranty" that so many manufacturers seem to base their lives on... offering it is great, but if the customer who only owns one firearm to protect his/her family has to repeatedly send in the weapon for 1-3 weeks at a time, is that weapon actually doing what it's supposed to be doing? (protecting the family).Warranties and guarantees have been summed up very succinctly in the past: Tommy: Let's think about this for a sec, Ted. Why would somebody put a guarantee on a box? Hmmm, very interesting. Ted Nelson, Customer: Go on, I'm listening. Tommy: Here's the way I see it, Ted. Guy puts a fancy guarantee on a box 'cause he wants you to feel all warm and toasty inside. Ted Nelson, Customer: Yeah, makes a man feel good. Tommy: 'Course it does. Why shouldn't it? Ya figure you put that little box under your pillow at night, the Guarantee Fairy might come by and leave a quarter, am I right, Ted? [chuckles until he sees that Ted is not laughing] Ted Nelson, Customer: [impatiently] What's your point? Tommy: The point is, how do you know the fairy isn't a crazy glue sniffer? "Building model airplanes" says the little fairy; well, we're not buying it. He sneaks into your house once, that's all it takes. The next thing you know, there's money missing off the dresser, and your daughter's knocked up. I seen it a hundred times. Ted Nelson, Customer: But why do they put a guarantee on the box? Tommy: Because they know all they sold ya was a guaranteed piece of ####. That's all it is, isn't it? Hey, if you want me to take a dump in a box and mark it guaranteed, I will. I got spare time. But for now, for your customer's sake, for your daughter's sake, ya might wanna think about buying a quality product from me. Ted Nelson, Customer: [pause] Okay, I'll buy from you. Mac

Hmmm, well, granted, I've never been to that guys training class, but I've had Colt Defenders in 9mm and 45 and a Kimber Ultra Carry in 40. None ever malfunctioned as shown even after multiple range trips. I don't doubt the guy's familiarity, but I do discount blanket statements... every time. Mac

I'm a huge fan of N320. Currently use 125JHP's for everything, but have seriously considered moving to 147's and slowing it down some to change the recoil impulse a little. Don't see myself changing powders anytime soon. Mac

I have the Hornady Sonic. It's definitely quieter and more thorough than vibrating and no dust, but the limited capacity and extra steps with rinsing and drying turned me off. Mac

Unfortunately, they don't make a pocket pistol, but in relation to other popular carry weapons, the Ruger LC9 is 6" and the Glock 26 is 6.5" so a 3" 1911 isn't that much bigger. FWIW, I'm pretty sure the Lawman replaced the Rogue, but brought it's length up to 6.5".Mac

I don't sell guns, so I can't speak to that side of it, but I tend to buy a few from time to time. As a customer, I try to be polite, moderately informed, and have in mind what I'm looking for ahead of time. I don't like to waste a salesman's time, and I'm not the "shoot the bull" type of guy, anyway. I'll try to make a little chit-chat while the BC is running, but usually, I just walk around looking at things on my own and let the salesman handle other customers while I'm waiting. With lurking so much in the stores, I get to hear first hand what some of the customers say, and, frankly, I don't understand how some salesmen don't absolutely lose it. Having been one of Mike's customers, I can tell you for sure that the night he helped my ex-wife and I, I still don't know how he didn't reach across the counter and beat us both with whatever weapon was close at hand. Mac

Outpost Armory in Murfreesboro has a few in the case. Last time I was in there they had a Trojan, Spartan, Edge, and maybe a Tactical. Originally, I found out they were STI dealers but they didn't have anything in stock, so I ordered my Trojan in hard chrome. 6 months later it came in, and aparently they saved on shipping by ordering a bunch of other stuff.Mac

Because .39 is silly and .41 is overkill? Best answer is posted above, why not? There will always be someone out there developing a round to fill a specific (or general) purpose they have in mind... See wildcatting. Sometimes that round picks up a following, like the .40S&W, sometimes it falls flat, like the .45GAP. I prefer 9MM and most of my weapons are chambered in that calibre, but I have a couple competition pistols built on the .40. I went .40 with those because of power factor requirements, magazine capacity vs .45, and standardized reloading components(I don't have to change the primer system) I know I could use small primer .45 brass, but it's rare to find that as range pickup. Mac