abrahamsmith
New member
I'm in the market for a pistol, and asking here allows me to waste bandwidth, quickly gather totally biased and absurd opinions, and avoid studying for midterms. 
Here are my parameters:
1) 9x19. I will also accept 9x18mm, but I'm not interested in .45, .40SW. .357SIG, etc. I need cheap practice ammo!
2) Compact/Medium size. On the scale of a Glock 19, but not sub-compact like a G26. I'm willing to move to a larger frame if the gun still feels small and fits well.
3) 4" (101.6mm) barrel or more. My excuse for carrying openly in WI's woods is small game hunting, and this is only legal with >= 4" pin-to-muzzle.
4) total cost no more than 400. Ideally more like 350, though wiggling up to 450 wouldn't be horribly painful including transfer fees, etc.
5) I tend to prefer low bore axis pistols, though I realize I have to shoot them to see how much this matters in a specific model
6) Light is good. I'll be plodding around the woods for hours/days on end with htis on my hip.
Of course, high reliabilty, good quality and nice finish is always important!
Based on these criteria, I'm thinking so far of the Glock 19 (hard to find in southern WI for a reasonable price!), the CZ-75 Compact and
Compact PCR (would prefer the PCR), CZ 100 (bad trigger?), and Steyr M-9 (worried about parts, corporate issues). I like Makarovs, but their barrels are too short and at $150, I don't consider it a big enough purchase to be relevant to this discussion. Others have suggested the various (FEG?) HP clones.
Any other recommendations?
Any comments on these? (I'm sure!)
Any recommendations on good pistol shops in southern WI?
Here are my parameters:
1) 9x19. I will also accept 9x18mm, but I'm not interested in .45, .40SW. .357SIG, etc. I need cheap practice ammo!
2) Compact/Medium size. On the scale of a Glock 19, but not sub-compact like a G26. I'm willing to move to a larger frame if the gun still feels small and fits well.
3) 4" (101.6mm) barrel or more. My excuse for carrying openly in WI's woods is small game hunting, and this is only legal with >= 4" pin-to-muzzle.
4) total cost no more than 400. Ideally more like 350, though wiggling up to 450 wouldn't be horribly painful including transfer fees, etc.
5) I tend to prefer low bore axis pistols, though I realize I have to shoot them to see how much this matters in a specific model
6) Light is good. I'll be plodding around the woods for hours/days on end with htis on my hip.
Of course, high reliabilty, good quality and nice finish is always important!
Based on these criteria, I'm thinking so far of the Glock 19 (hard to find in southern WI for a reasonable price!), the CZ-75 Compact and
Compact PCR (would prefer the PCR), CZ 100 (bad trigger?), and Steyr M-9 (worried about parts, corporate issues). I like Makarovs, but their barrels are too short and at $150, I don't consider it a big enough purchase to be relevant to this discussion. Others have suggested the various (FEG?) HP clones.
Any other recommendations?
Any comments on these? (I'm sure!)
Any recommendations on good pistol shops in southern WI?