I guess the closest comparison I can come up with out of my safe are my two 10mm pistols.
I got the S&W 1006 first... my buddy bought it new in '92 and sold it to me in '94 and I've had it ever since. Save for a 3 boxes of factory ammo and a few small boxes of defense ammo, I've crafted all the ammunition it's ever eaten. I have some kind of attraction to this handgun -- the way it looks, the build quality, the feel of every moving part, I'm absolutely in love with it.
Much of it is substance -- it's a quality build, feels like a tank and rock solid. It runs with aplomb and will do whatever you ask of it. It's smooth where it should be, rough where it needs to be and handsome all over. It's eaten a few thousand rounds but still looks nearly new. We all have different reasons for loving this or that particular firearm, but this one holds a special place for me. It's not an antique or an heirloom but it evokes and emotional response when I see and hold it.
On the other hand is my Glock 29. It's my daily carry. It was born ugly in every dimension, there's nothing that my eyes can see about this pistol that's visually gratifying. About two weeks after I got it, I had a buddy (more skilled than myself) take a dremel to it, to give me some more room for the middle finger of my shooting hand under the trigger guard. Also wiped the hook from the bottom of the front of the trigger guard. You can tell it's seen a dremel -- and these marks look right at home on a tupperware tool.
The trigger is OEM Glock, 5.5 lbs... and feels like it. Lots of springy take-up, breaks like the stock trigger on a Glock. (you know what I mean) Not like breaking a glass rod... more like stepping on a piece of old plexiglass.
But the way this pistol shoots is astonishing... I can easily outshoot my 1006 with it using the same ammunition, switching back and forth on the same range day. It's got a shorter barrel fer cryin' out loud. You know what else is hard to believe? Less felt recoil with the G29 than with my tank 1006. No, really. No BS here. I believe it's the flex of the polymer frame and the fact that the chamber is much lower in my hand and much less forward on the G29 than it is on the 1006.
It does not EVER stop running... no jams, no FTF (feed or fire), no FTE, no stovepipes and it tosses brass so consistently that it's eerie. (the S&W tosses them everywhere) And I can shoot one-inch groups with it at 7 yards. I've put a few boxes of factory carry ammo through it, and a couple thousand handloads through it. It EATS and it's hungry for more.
I don't care for the hump on the back of the OEM Glock grip frame... but I'm afraid to have it altered because I shoot it so darn well! I hated the OEM sights but a set of Meprolight night sights has allowed me to wring accuracy from a short barreled flame thrower that's hard to understand. I needed the Pearce grip extensions -- perhaps more so than ANYTHING, and they allow me to hold it properly.
It's fun to shoot and it's got 110% of my confidence in it. This pistol seems to love me even more than I love it. That's nuts!
