Can't decide on a standard pistol

[Virtuosity Student]

Hoss,

Do you still reside in NY? If so, I may suggest forgoing the G19 as you will have to run the neutered 10 round mags and those seem to be hit and miss.

[psalms144.1]

Anytime between the late 1980s and 2010, I would have said "Get a G19, night sights, ammo, and training." Now, not so much. The G19 is THE benchmark, but, unfortunately, they are no longer the exemplar of reliability they used to be. Yes, they're easy to work on, but, if you get one that doesn't work well out of the box, you're likely to spend a lot of time, money, and frustration getting it to work right. Plus, as V.S. rightly noted, if you're forced to use neutered magazines, GLOCK is NOT the platform I'd pick, for reliability reasons. Lastly, IMHO, the GLOCK is the hardest striker fired pistol to shoot REALLY well, when you're discussing accuracy. They're easy to shoot fast - trigger is short and crisp and they're not at all "flippy," but lots of shooters (myself included) have to be A LOT more conscious of precisely how we're manipulating the trigger if we want to get best accuracy out of the GLOCK. I say all of the above being a guy who until the last month or so carried a G19 all day every day for work, backed up with a G26. But, I went through the torture of the damned to get one post 2010 that would work, and the one I have been using in the last 18-24 months only functions properly because I've filled it with aftermarket parts to make it extract/eject consistently and not into my face.

The P320 has a lot going for it - especially the ability to easily change "grip modules" to get the one that's JUST RIGHT. Plus, being in NY, if you have to list your pistol by serial number on your permit, one P320 serial number gives you the ability to "build" a pistol in FS (for range use), Compact (for carry), and Subcompact for deep carry. You can mix-and-match some parts across sizes - a FS slide on a Compact frame, Compact slide on SC frame, Compact slide on FS frame - you get the idea. If you go hog wild, you can get caliber conversions as well. Down side to the P320 is it's newish, and Sig is still tweaking things based on unpaid beta tester (read consumer) input, so I can't really say if it's ready for prime time, yet.

The VP9 is a heck of a pistol, mine is MUCH more mechanically accurate than any Glock 9mm I've owned or shot, and the ergonomics are exceptional. It's a BIT of a special snowflake, though, limited aftermarket options (sights, etc), but otherwise pretty much a great pistol. HK makes WONDERFUL magazines, and I've never heard of any issues with reduced capacity magazines for HKs...

The Walther likewise gets a lot of love from folks who use them alot, but it's a VERY special snowflake, so finding parts, sights, mags, etc will be a challenge. I've never owned one, so I don't know how big of an issue that is, but, it's out there.

I'd suggest that striker fired pistols aren't the be-all and end-all of quality defensive pistols, and, if you're open to a hammer gun, the P250 offers everything the P320 does PLUS a hammer; likewise the P2000 is a great hammer-fired G19 alternative. Lastly, as one of the epic threads on this forum will show, we're likely to see the introduction of the Langdon-tweaked Beretta PX4 Compact soon - which is something I'm saving my pennies for...

Best of luck! If you're on Long Island, PM me, and I can let you do some side-by-side with my G19, VP9 (and P2000 LEM), if you'd like.

[Joe in PNG]

If I was starting from scratch, I would probably go with my beloved Beretta 92's.
If I had to go with a striker gun, then I would go with the VP 9.
Glocks have become a bit too hit and miss, plus you will have to change out the sight shaped space holders.

[Oukaapie]

P320C is awesome as is the VP9. P320C is easier to conceal and in my hands shoots better. Add an RMR for shitty eyes an you'll be ringing steel at 100 all day.

I carried a 19 for years, can't go wrong with it but you aren't giving up anything with the others. Can't comment on the PPQ.

It really is a question of personal preference.

[Beat Trash]

Try to find an indoor range where you can rent one of each pistol and put a few rounds through each.

I've owned and carried Glock 19's for years. I also own a VP9 and a Sig 320 c. I like all three. The VP9 is the easiest for me to shoot accurately. I can compete with the VP9's accuracy with the othe mentioned guns, but I have to concentrate more to do so.

I like all three of these guns. But I still carry one of my Glock 19's. There are a lot of factors that go into selecting a carry gun and for me, the Glock 19 in Gen4 checks the most boxes.

Now if not talking about a carry gun to be concealed, and just talking about shooting for fun, then it's the VP9 all day long.

[RevolverRob]

I can't find a compelling reason not to select the VP9 over the other weapons on the list. Reliable, accurate, and the bog-standard version can be found for about $520 new.

[breakingtime91]

Vp9 is probably the best striker gun value out there right now..

[HCM]

Two caveats regarding the G 19:

1) I notice you are from NY. Glock factory 10 round magazines for the 19, 17 etc are not as reliable as the standard capacity mags. This is a known issue.

2) Hand size can make a difference. The finger groove spacing on the current Glock 19 favors those with small to medium sized hands. If you have larger hands (XL and up) you may want to grind off the finger grooves or look at the 17 or 26.

[Sero Sed Serio]

My advice to people trying to choose a gun is always to make a list of what features you need/want to fulfill the gun's purpose, rank them in importance, and see what best fills the role. When I switched to AIWB carry I wanted a hammer fired gun. I listed all the features I wanted (5" height, polymer, hammer-fired, double-stack 9, subcompact version available) then went looking for guns that met them, and came up with a P2000/P2000sk combo. I NEVER would have given these guns serious consideration without an objective list, but it has turned out to be the best combo for MY needs.

I guess that's a really long, drawn-out way of saying "mission drives gear," but it was definitely an "aha" moment for me and better than trying to shoehorn one tool into a role that another could fill better.

[spinmove_]

I was beginning to wonder if I had gone crazy as people kept mentioning that you're from New York, but I didn't recall seeing it in your OP. Finally figured out what they were talking about...

Yeah, since you're in a less than favorable state, I would recommend against the Glocks as their neutered mags are known to have reliability issues. Another well known SME around these parts is also in a less than favorable state and his state is becoming even less favorable. That would be DocGKR and he is moving from his Glocks back to his M&P pistols because of their reliable 10-round magazines. As per what the Doc runs, I would recommend going with the M&P9c. It's only slightly smaller than a G19, but you can still get a full or very close to full firing grip on it, will hold 10-rounds, is known to be reliable, does NOT have the accuracy issues the M&P9 fullsize model is sometimes plagued to have, still has a light rail, and they're extremely affordable. Considering that you're already rocking an M&P Shield, this would be a really good larger sized compliment to what you have.