Do you have a Handgun buying strategy?

[Totem Polar]

No need to beware of the guy with one gun if he doesn't practice.

^^^Signature line worthy.

Not that anyone should listen to me, but, I have a strategy with regard to curating my collection, and it centers around caliber consolidation. I like to be able to shoot whatever I own that isn't absolutely ancient. I therefore tend towards 9mm and .38/357 for most acquisitions of late (despite constant freedom boner uprisings over things like the new GP in .44spec).

So far as platform, I totally see both camps. Was it Ben Franklin who said "an educated man knows everything about something, and something about everything?" I think maybe Surf here came closest to expousing this approach the last time the conversation came up with comments about majority practice being on carry platform, but cultivating the ability to run anything.

I have purposely bought and flipped exemplars of every common handgun system (even taking one class with a PPK clone a while back) just to have a working knowledge of striker, 1911, DAO, DA/SA... I even have a toggle action.

But most of my range time is split between Gaston Bricks and elegant wheelies. OMMV, and you can take that to the bank: I'm no TLG on any platform yet. Grain of salt...

[Chance]

All my practice reps are with one platform. Once you've hit the point where you start performing actions at a subconscious level, even minor changes in things like the position of controls can screw with reloads, et cetera.

[AMC]

I do, as much as possible. I carry a classic P-series Sig and an LCR the vast majority of the time. 870 for shotgun, AR for rifle.

Many disagree with me, and it's likely a function of how much time you have to dedicate to training, but I do not like platform hopping. I want the gun to point the same way, I want the magazine release and slide release to be in the same spot, I want the trigger pull to be the same, etc. when my mind is highly occupied with a chaotic and rapidly evolving situation. What's generally made me change platforms was rules at work or changes to my physical ability.

^^This^^. For me at least. Limited resources, and considerations beyond just shooting.

[Drang]

My recent handgun buying strategy has been based on the theory that it is better that my wife and I shoot essentially the same gun. She can/will not shoot Glocks, but the small size grips on a 320 work well for her. She shoots it as well as or better than her previous carry pieces, a Star Firestar .40 and a Ruger LCP. (She has an LCR, but she found it almost impossible to shoot.)

I was willing to render the 1911s safe queens in order to gain that commonality; the greater capacity of the 320 in 9mm was a bonus, as was the fact that it's easier on my arthritic hands.

We started with a pair of sub-compacts, which are the only model that come with small grips. I added a medium grip frame to mine, but did not see any apparent advantage.
I picked up a compact, and a carry size grip frame for that. Testing of the latter continues, but the added length of the grip frame may be better for my size hands.

[GardoneVT]

Brass tacks -the "Single platform" applicability will depend on the individual shooters resource levels.Someone with Jerey Michuleks time and ammo budget can practice enough with different guns to shoot all of them proficiently. Joe Blow with two kids to feed and the same number of jobs to work -not so much. Where we fall on the spectrum is an individual determination; although I'd love to compute measured skill level + monthly shooting cost allocation compared to time practiced in order to establish a comparable skill/cost curve, because I'm that kind of data geek. Then one could simply look at their budget in comparison to SMEs and accurately determine a realistic shooting goal .

Owning ten guns and expecting to be a sharp shot with all of them on demand with a $100 monthly ammo budget isn't realistic or feasible.Owning twenty guns and having $5000 in ammo budget + forty hours range time per month to burn between them is a different story.


Note that only matters for "business use" guns. Buying weapons for the sake of it is not only acceptable,it's awesome.

[Flintsky]

I'm thinking now that I have gone about this all wrong. Owning a hodgepodge of different models seems to be working against my proficiency with the handgun platform.

I think the old saying, "Beware of the man with one gun" makes a lot of sense. Now of course you cannot own 'just one' but I take this as meaning, "One platform". Going from Sig, M&P, H&K, Glock....the ergos are all just different enough to make me wonder why I did that!?

Intended use is of course important, mine would be;
Self defense/recreational shooting with eventual competitions in the future
A backup bear weapon for bowhunting in Ak/Mt

So i'm thinking; A couple 9mms; Fs and compact, a .40 and a .45 on a platform with the same ergos
It seems for a bear backup I can set my SW629 aside for the USP [which I own] in .45 super or one of the 10mm semi autos like the G20,G29....
To complicate things I'm in Ca....but due to family out of state might be able to do a work around....

Essentially, Do you stick to one platform?
Do you think it affects your shooting by switching platforms and the different ergos?

I stick to one platform because that is what my agency allows for me to carry. I have no problem "testing" out new guns, but I will try out a friend's gun, rental, or buy a used model knowing that I can probably sell it for what I paid for it.

These days, I stick with 9mm. I can find no "game changing" need for using other service calibers given that they all pretty much do the same thing. 9mm is cheaper to feed it, it gets the most technological market support, and it is far more user and equipment friendly in that it doesn't wear out equipment as fast, and it maximizes the shooter's ability to make fast and accurate shots. I do believe in the philosophy of "2 is 1, and 1 is none". So I keep two identical pistol setups for my carry gun so that I have a backup ready to go.

[GAP]

Yes, the average joe benefits from sticking to the same object and using it over and over again.

Everyone has a wall they reach. How far they can go before they reach that wall depends on the individual's ability.

Once you hit that wall, it may take the same amount of time/dedication to improve another 1% beyond that wall.

We can't out shoot modern firearm potential, I can't dunk a basketball either. Switching to Reeboks won't make that happen.

[Beendare]

I appreciate the thoughtful comments....I really like the info on this site.

I should have mentioned that I'm a lefty. When I bought my G23 decades ago I didn't consider that the mag button setup for RH was going to be that big of a deal- it is!

Now, switching between the G23 and M&P I have to think about it. I now realize how important ergos are. I really appreciate things like the paddle mag releases of H&K and CZ putting ambi slide releases on their new offering.

The intuitive-ness someone so accurately mentioned is difficult with mag buttons on different sides.

I am in the category Gardone VT mentioned...part time plinker with my budget being better than my state restrictions dictate. The part time will change in a couple years...but for now my primary shooting sport is bowhunting with stickbows.

[JSGlock34]

After more than a decade of carrying and shooting Glock 9mms, I went through a rut during which I decided to see if other 'platforms' had anything to offer. I spent over a year with a Beretta 92G Brigadier Tactical, and more recently I was bit by the 1911 bug. I've enjoyed learning different trigger systems - the Glock is my striker fired pistol, my Beretta is my DA/SA pistol, and my 1911 is my SA pistol. Those three pistols are what is in my safe.

I found my overall knowledge (and enjoyment) of pistol shooting has grown by learning and training with different trigger systems. Like many on this forum, I sometimes find myself in the position of instructing beginners, and having some experience across a diversity of platforms is helpful, since they don't always show up with a Glock. Plus I enjoy pistols, and diversity is the spice of life. But I'll note that I had a very solid foundation with the Glock before I branched out, to include numerous training courses and competitions, and picking up a Glock still feels like "going home".

On the other hand, my brief dalliances over the past two years to see if there was a polymer striker-fired 'Glock killer' have generally been wastes of time. I played briefly with the Walter PPQ and HK VP9, and they're fine pistols, but at the end of the day I didn't find that they offered any real advantage over the Glock. I've moved them from the stable because I found they are just too similar to the Glock to make a difference for me, and I wasn't really learning anything new. I don't plan to go down this road again anytime soon.

For 2017, I'm returning to Glock, with a twist. I want to give my Roland Special the lion's share of my training time, and see if I can master the MRDS pistol...this morning I shot three FASTs with the Roland, all clean and under seven seconds, with a best run of 5.8. Look forward to seeing if I can bring that down even further.

[HCM]

I have a collection of handguns for enjoyment and reference, but 90% of my practice and training classes are shot with one "platform."

Pretty much this ^^^^.

Glock 17's are my primary duty, carry, training and competition guns. Have some Glock 26, 34 and 17L thrown in for various uses. Glocks are my 90% guns.

I have revolvers, 1911's and Beretta's which I shoot for fun. I like shooting them and shoot them well.

I have copies of most of my old duty guns for nostalgia and back up use since I already because I have full support gear for them (mags, holsters, etc).