4 of the 5 best 9mm Handguns on the planet are striker fired pistols

[noelekal]

Go Mike! Preach it!

The Colt "Positive Lock" of 1904.

Though they fielded several different efforts, Smith & Wesson didn't really come up with a truly fail-safe hammer block for their Hand Ejector models until they received reports of a tragic fatality during World War II when a sailor dropped a Victory Model onto the deck of a ship and it fired, killing him. The design Smith & Wesson finally settled on after the incident derives its effectiveness in much the same way as the Colt Positive Lock system of four decades before.

Good link too.

Hi OkieStubble;

I view the hammer-fired pistols as having a more sure-fire reliability edge over striker-fired pistols. This is an uneducated opinion based on reading along with personal observations of a few early striker fired pistols. Besides which, those "best" striker-fired pistols all possess triggers having the same flavor of "yuck". The triggers are the deal-breaker, even over the plastic and aluminum alloy which also doesn't appeal to me. I just won't enjoy using them at the range or carried afield so don't want them for any other purposes. The triggers and a personal poor opinion of the entire breed that feature such triggers are the down and dirty reason why I won't embrace the current crop of striker-fired DAO variant pistols.

I spent a pleasant afternoon some 10 years ago with a fellow's Colt Series 70 Government Model 9mm and found it enchanting to shoot. I am joined-at-the-hip with the grand ol' .45, but haven't been able to get that 9mm Government Model out of my mind ever since. One of these days one's just gotta come to roost here.

Gotta mention that steel. Make it forged please. I like weight and prefer the balance of steel-framed handguns. My doctor says I'm allergic to aluminum alloy and plastic on handguns, heh! I know. I was born too late and am way out of style. I'm happiest with K-Frame and N-Frame Smith & Wessons and the 1911 guns.




Spent a week comparing these two pistols just a couple months back with several trips to the club range and an outing at our old family place for plinking fun. The 2nd generation Glock 17 actually choked and I gleefully took a photograph of the "perfection" of it all. To be fair this was the first and only time it ever failed since I've owned it. Poor pistol. I only acquired it so I could gain the experience in order to "hate on Glock" better. I'm enthused over the CZ 75BD. I"m thinking that DA/SA triggers might be quite the practical notion.

 

[simon1]

Go Mike! Preach it!

The Colt "Positive Lock" of 1904.

Though they fielded several different efforts, Smith & Wesson didn't really come up with a truly fail-safe hammer block for their Hand Ejector models until they received reports of a tragic fatality during World War II when a sailor dropped a Victory Model onto the deck of a ship and it fired, killing him. The design Smith & Wesson finally settled on after the incident derives its effectiveness in much the same way as the Colt Positive Lock system of four decades before.

Good link too.

Hi OkieStubble;

I view the hammer-fired pistols as having a more sure-fire reliability edge over striker-fired pistols. This is an uneducated opinion based on reading along with personal observations of a few early striker fired pistols. Besides which, those "best" striker-fired pistols all possess triggers having the same flavor of "yuck". The triggers are the deal-breaker, even over the plastic and aluminum alloy which also doesn't appeal to me. I just won't enjoy using them at the range or carried afield so don't want them for any other purposes. The triggers and a personal poor opinion of the entire breed that feature such triggers are the down and dirty reason why I won't embrace the current crop of striker-fired DAO variant pistols.

I spent a pleasant afternoon some 10 years ago with a fellow's Colt Series 70 Government Model 9mm and found it enchanting to shoot. I am joined-at-the-hip with the grand ol' .45, but haven't been able to get that 9mm Government Model out of my mind ever since. One of these days one's just gotta come to roost here.

Gotta mention that steel. Make it forged please. I like weight and prefer the balance of steel-framed handguns. My doctor says I'm allergic to aluminum alloy and plastic on handguns, heh! I know. I was born too late and am way out of style. I'm happiest with K-Frame and N-Frame Smith & Wessons and the 1911 guns.




Spent a week comparing these two pistols just a couple months back with several trips to the club range and an outing at our old family place for plinking fun. The 2nd generation Glock 17 actually choked and I gleefully took a photograph of the "perfection" of it all. To be fair this was the first and only time it ever failed since I've owned it. Poor pistol. I only acquired it so I could gain the experience in order to "hate on Glock" better. I'm enthused over the CZ 75BD. I"m thinking that DA/SA triggers might be quite the practical notion.

Way to go, Noel. I've seen Glocks choke also.

So basically, Other then the transfer bar and floating firing pin on the modern revolver, Has then been any other foundational design changes, that has has enhanced, function, reliability and/or accuracy?

Well, let's see...function and reliability? I've never seen an electric pistol that was as reliable as a revolver.

As for accuracy...that depends on the platform of the firearm and the person shooting it. And then...there is that mushy trigger on the Blocks with the 'twang' when the striker drops. A good hammer fired gun has the best trigger. Let's talk 1911.

As far as the velocity difference between a Polygonal and Land and Groove barrel...there is not enough difference to even sneeze at, and it depends on the ammo. There is more standard deviation in velocity between individual rounds of the same manufacture.

Polygonal or Lands and Grooves? The Glock Tests at BBTI

And how does that Polygonal rifling work for you after 200 rounds of inexpensive lead bullets in a practice session?

 

[jar_]

I still have one striker fired pistol and it's up for sale. I guess I will have to settle for some of the Not Best handguns.

 

[Ron991]

Did you ever tell us how you got the dent in the bottom of the grip @Ron991?

It's made like that OkieStubble….actually a lip for gripping purposes. Can you see it Buddy..? BTW: You and yours have a great Thanksgiving....

 

[Acmemfg]

Hammer-Potato
Striker-Potahto

 

[jkingrph]

Who determines "best", and how do you separate best from I like or prefer??

 

[jar_]

Who determines "best", and how do you separate best from I like or prefer??

That's easy. I determine Best and what I like and prefer IS best.

It really is that easy though some others might think differently. They are, of course, wrong!

 

[shoelessjoe]

Chew on this for a minute ... many in the Wehrmacht fielded striker-fired pistols, yet somehow Germany still found a way to lose the war! Had Oberndorf used polymer instead of those outdated & heavy carbon steel frames on their ‘34s the Axis may very well have defeated the Allies. At the very least, they would have prolonged hostilities for at least another 4 or 5 years...

 

[Badgerstate36]

Sigh...young 'ungs now days...have to tell them everything.

Why Hammer Fired Pistols Still Rock - AllOutdoor.com

I have several issues with that article. One being that Glock didnt invent striker fire, H&K did. Two that hammer fired is more reliable. Its not. Three being that its safer. Also not. (Even 1911s were intended to be carried with the hamer cocked and if you have to **** the hammer before you shoot it, by the time you pull it and **** the hammer, youre already dead)
Hammer fired guns definetly rock. IMO, theyre cooler but other than that, Id have to respectfully disagree with the author of that article. If 1911s were easier to strip down and reassemble, Id trade my Walther on one in a second. Theyre not though and thats why, as much as I love 1911s and will probably own one someday, if I were going off to war tomorrow and needed a gun that I could rely on to protect my life in any weather and be easy to use and care for, Id go striker fired every time. Like I said, theres a reason why pretty much every police dept and miltary uses striker fired, poly, semi auto pistols nowdays.

 

[Badgerstate36]

Chew on this for a minute ... many in the Wehrmacht fielded striker-fired pistols, yet somehow Germany still found a way to lose the war! Had Oberndorf used polymer instead of those outdated & heavy carbon steel frames on their ‘34s the Axis may very well have defeated the Allies. At the very least, they would have prolonged hostilities for at least another 4 or 5 years...

Id say arrogance lost Germany the war more than anything else.

 

[Badgerstate36]

That's easy. I determine Best and what I like and prefer IS best.

It really is that easy though some others might think differently. They are, of course, wrong!

Thats why, "best" is a very subjective thing. In guns especially, when pretty much all of them go bang and send a projectile towards your target every time, "best" really becomes murky.

 

[shoelessjoe]

...One being that Glock didnt invent striker fire, HK did... Id say arrogance lost Germany the war more than anything else.

Ummm, I was being facetious, pal ... so much for my attempt at levity.

Oh yea, and HK did not “invent” striker fired weapons & in fact, Mauser, who would eventually morph into HK, complements of former Mauser engineers, Alex Seidel, Edmund Heckler & Theodor Koch, didn’t “invent” striker fired pistols with the advent of their Model 1910s. As memory serves, strikers date back to the later 1800s and were first used in shotguns.

 

[jar_]

Thats why, "best" is a very subjective thing. In guns especially, when pretty much all of them go bang and send a projectile towards your target every time, "best" really becomes murky.

Only when you deny the reality I posted. Some might think its murky; but they are wrong.

 

[OkieStubble]

Ummm, I was being facetious, pal ... so much for my attempt at levity.

Oh yea, and HK did not “invent” striker fired weapons & in fact, Mauser, who would eventually morph into HK, complements of former Mauser engineers, Alex Seidel, Edmund Heckler & Theodor Koch, didn’t “invent” striker fired pistols with the advent of their Model 1910s. As memory serves, strikers date back to the later 1800s and were first used in shotguns.

Interesting info Joe! I didn't know this, thanks!

 

[OkieStubble]

Remember guys, it was a yahoo article. Let's keep playing nice...

 

[OkieStubble]

It's made like that OkieStubble….actually a lip for gripping purposes. Can you see it Buddy..? BTW: You and yours have a great Thanksgiving....View attachment 929686

I can see that now. Optical illusion from the side I guess. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours also @Ron991!

 

[OkieStubble]

Go Mike! Preach it!

The Colt "Positive Lock" of 1904.

Though they fielded several different efforts, Smith & Wesson didn't really come up with a truly fail-safe hammer block for their Hand Ejector models until they received reports of a tragic fatality during World War II when a sailor dropped a Victory Model onto the deck of a ship and it fired, killing him. The design Smith & Wesson finally settled on after the incident derives its effectiveness in much the same way as the Colt Positive Lock system of four decades before.

Good link too.

Hi OkieStubble;

I view the hammer-fired pistols as having a more sure-fire reliability edge over striker-fired pistols. This is an uneducated opinion based on reading along with personal observations of a few early striker fired pistols. Besides which, those "best" striker-fired pistols all possess triggers having the same flavor of "yuck". The triggers are the deal-breaker, even over the plastic and aluminum alloy which also doesn't appeal to me. I just won't enjoy using them at the range or carried afield so don't want them for any other purposes. The triggers and a personal poor opinion of the entire breed that feature such triggers are the down and dirty reason why I won't embrace the current crop of striker-fired DAO variant pistols.

I spent a pleasant afternoon some 10 years ago with a fellow's Colt Series 70 Government Model 9mm and found it enchanting to shoot. I am joined-at-the-hip with the grand ol' .45, but haven't been able to get that 9mm Government Model out of my mind ever since. One of these days one's just gotta come to roost here.

Gotta mention that steel. Make it forged please. I like weight and prefer the balance of steel-framed handguns. My doctor says I'm allergic to aluminum alloy and plastic on handguns, heh! I know. I was born too late and am way out of style. I'm happiest with K-Frame and N-Frame Smith & Wessons and the 1911 guns.




Spent a week comparing these two pistols just a couple months back with several trips to the club range and an outing at our old family place for plinking fun. The 2nd generation Glock 17 actually choked and I gleefully took a photograph of the "perfection" of it all. To be fair this was the first and only time it ever failed since I've owned it. Poor pistol. I only acquired it so I could gain the experience in order to "hate on Glock" better. I'm enthused over the CZ 75BD. I"m thinking that DA/SA triggers might be quite the practical notion.

Great post @noelekal! I enjoyed the informative read.

 

[OkieStubble]

Way to go, Noel. I've seen Glocks choke also.



Well, let's see...function and reliability? I've never seen an electric pistol that was as reliable as a revolver.

As for accuracy...that depends on the platform of the firearm and the person shooting it. And then...there is that mushy trigger on the Blocks with the 'twang' when the striker drops. A good hammer fired gun has the best trigger. Let's talk 1911.

As far as the velocity difference between a Polygonal and Land and Groove barrel...there is not enough difference to even sneeze at, and it depends on the ammo. There is more standard deviation in velocity between individual rounds of the same manufacture.

Polygonal or Lands and Grooves? The Glock Tests at BBTI

And how does that Polygonal rifling work for you after 200 rounds of inexpensive lead bullets in a practice session?

After teaching a countless number of LEO's over the years in the way of the Glock, I would garner to wager, I have probably seen more Glocks fail/choke then most people. But most of those malfunctions were due to ammunition failures or operator error. Have I ever seen a trigger bar from a heavily used Glock disconnect? Yes. broken trigger spring? Chipped ejector? bent extractor? Oh yeah. But all of those, are from Glocks that were heavily used and being shot either from hotshot firearms instructors, who enjoy trying to make their guns break, or from young newbie cadets without any experience, who were either being stupid, or just had the attention span of a puppy.

In ten years and literally thousands of Glock pistols, I have never witnessed a single catastrophic on the range. Had a cadet find away sneak a 9mm round into his .40 and ruptured the case, but nothing detrimental on Glock firearms.

 

[OkieStubble]

Oh, If I was ever going to want/need to shoot lead cast from a Glock it would be a Glock 20 for bigger critters. And if I am going to put in the effort for bigger critters, I can put in a little extra, and go get me a drop in stainless steel match grade L&G barrel from Wilson, Bar-Sto, Lone Wolf or the likes. I want to keep that nasty lead from dirtying up my beautiful polygonal Glock barrel in the first place.

You can't tell me you have never seen someone using electrolysis, on a standard barrel with land and grooves rifling? They can get mucked up with lead also you know.

 

[shoelessjoe]

...I can put in a little extra, and go get me a drop in stainless steel match grade L&G barrel from Wilson, Bar-Sto, Lone Wolf or the likes...

Can’t speak for the others, but after much research, no small number of emails & phone conversations, I opted for a Bar-Sto. Fully supported, it’ll handle the hot stuff and as much lead as you care to feed it ... oh yea, it also turned an already accurate stock pistol into a FAVORITE, but not necessarily BEST match-grade shooter.