Originally Posted by
Rex G
The resurrection of this discussion is a reminder that I really should find a 9mm conversion barrel for my much-loved .40 P229R DAK. (.40 S&W does not “love me back,” as my hands have aged. Arthritis started becoming a problem, for my right hand, by age fifty, in 2011.) This was my longest-serving personally-owned duty pistol, 2004 to 2015, and the only auto-pistol I could ever shoot as well as a good 5” all-steel 1911, at least on the 15-yard police department qual range, using the qual course as a gauge. I transitioned to a Glock G17, a more “orthopedic” pistol, as soon as my then-chief OK’ed 9mm to be an alternative duty pistol cartridge.
I can still shoot .40, in moderate doses, right-handed, if I hang a heavy weapon-mounted light on the rail, and provide plenty of support from my left hand, or if I shoot lefty, with my still-healthier hand. Actually, the P229 is an excellent lefty gun, with the slide latch and that de-cocker “hump” nicely out of the way.
There is, however, the problem of the differing trigger resets. If accustomed to shooting Glocks, I will, sometimes, not let the SIG DAK trigger far enough, especially if I have just fired a Glock, and then switched to the SIG, in the same range session. (Memorably, this happened at ECQC, in 2005, when I had been using a Glock G22, my former duty pistol, in a concealment holster, for the morning shooting, and then switched to my duty rig, set up for the P229, after lunch.) This will, probably, keep my P229 relegated to being an occasional fun gun, for the range.