Anyone here into firearms?

MacCool

I wouldn't own a 1911 again. No point to it. As a defensive weapon, there are far better choices out there that don't have a single stack mag and thumb safety. I could see it as a hobby gun.

Depending on your use, I'd recommend HK, S&W M&P, Glock, Walther. Stay away from Sig - quality too far down the scale these days. S&W, they had some issues with their earlier M&P barrels in 9mm, now fixed. Glock, has multiple issues with their Gen 4 and later Gen 3's relative to ejection. The current Gen 4s are working better, current Gen 3s still problematic. HK and Walther, especially the Walther PPQ...very highly regarded. If I were you, I'd look at the Walther PPQ.

I have an M&P 9L with a DCAEK installed and a fitted Storm Lake barrel. It's an extremely accurate and reliable handgun. My Glock 19 Gen 3 is reliable and pretty accurate, but annoying for its erratic ejection. I have a new Apex "Failure-Resistant" extractor for the Glock on order. Early reports from the beta testers are good. We'll see.

ImportConvert

I keep hearing about the PPQ. Do you have one? Have you handled it? How does it compare to the G19 for 4:30 IWB carry? The butt is what prints the worst/most likely on my old Gen 3 G19. How does the PPQ fare?

MacCool

I don't have one, but I've shot it. That one had the best trigger out of the box of any handgun I've seen. I found it to be easy to shoot well, good grip axis so easy to keep on target, grip angle very similar to my Glock. The grip is more rounded so it feels like it fits my hand better (with small backstrap). The PPQ just feels like a better handgun, more solid, better put together. The Glock is kind of a funky conglomeration of parts, and dry firing it leaves me with the impression that it's likely to be a piece of crap. Yet...for whatever reason I shoot my G19 as well as any pistol I've ever owned. Even so, for the money, I'd skip right over the Glock in favor of the PPQ if I were to do it again. You'd have to be OK with the trigger guard mag release.

I have no idea how the PPQ might print, but the back of the butt is undercut and more rounded, and the back of the grip is farther under the rear of the slide. My buddy didn't have a holster for the PPQ, so I don't know how it would carry, but given the grip location and shape I'm guessing that the butt wouldn't stick out as far. The part of the Glock that shows the most is the lower rear of the butt. Comparing a PPQ to my G19, their overall dimensions appear to identical, but the shape and location of the grip make a big difference. I like it a lot. If it weren't for what I consider to be a decline in Glock's quality of design and reliability, I'd consider them equally functional for me. But especially given the current state of Glock, I think the PPQ is significantly superior, based on first impression with only about 200 rounds behind the PPQ.

I have little experience with IWB carry, so I can't really give any kind of informed opinion on how it might work in that role. I'd guess that the grip would sit lower to the belt line and therefore print less, but it's only a guess.

MacCool

You have me interested in re-looking at the PPQ now. I just texted my FFL to order me one. Unfortunately, they are widely out of stock at virtually all of his distributers.

Here's an interesting thread over at M4C regarding Larry "Mr. Glock" Vickers and his impressions of the PPQ...

Walther PPQ - M4Carbine.net Forums