Do you have a Handgun buying strategy?

[JonInWA]

Great thread, with much good input. My personal strategy is a bit more complicated; it's driven by a couple of things.

1. Platform. The platform I have tended to shoot the best is Glock. Specifically, the G17/19/34s; ironically, however, I've put in a lot of time in the past couple of years with my G21, which s indisputably the most difficult Glock for me to fire at the same levels as the others-I blame it on the temptation of the Heavy Metal GSSF division...Also availability and decent pricing of support gear for a given gun/platform can be a determinant factor-such as holster and magazine availability and pricing. For years, one of the main reasons that I stayed away from HK was a combination of the scarcity of magazines and their concurrent high prices. That has loosened up in both aspects in the past several years, which was a factor in my acquisition of my VP40 and P30L-and it's a great thing that both of these guns share the same magazines in a given caliber. Also a huge plus for Glocks.

2. My primary sponsor is Check-Mate Industries, which means that I spend a significant amount of time with my 1911s and Beretta 92D. The 1911s I find to be a bit of a challenge, the 92D is a joy to shoot, and I do decently with it, but I'm still demonstrably better with my Glocks.

3. Revolvers. Probably up to two months a year I'll dedicate to revolvers, for both competition and carry. Just because. And my primary hunting handgun is my Ruger Blackhawk, so the revolver carry/dedication period has gradually oriented around the hunting season of October/November. That works, because my GSSF and IDPA State matches are in the spring/summer timeframe.

4. Caliber. Generally, for most purposes, 9mm will do everything that I need in a handgun cartridge. However (and in these discussions, there's always a "however," isn't there?), in the past 2 ammunition crunches, .40 has been the ONLY cartridge that I could find with any expected frequency, in acceptable quantities, and at acceptable prices. So, for a number of reasons, my past several acquisitions have been in .40; a Glock Gen4 G22, HK VP40 and HK P30L Variant 1 (light LEM).

5. Manufacturer. I've had superb support from Glock and Ruger over the years, and I shoot their guns well, so they're at the forefront of my list when applicable. What my sponsor manufacturers magazines for can influence my use and sometimes impact on my acquisitions (in a favorable sense-they're hardly dictatorial in what I shoot). HK has been the current road that I'm exploring, and it'll be interesting to see how I shoot with them compared particularly with my Glocks.

6. Shooting venue. Other than my single-action Ruger Blackhawk and my restored P.08 Luger, my expectation is that all of my guns can be used for both carry and competition. My primary shooting venues are IDPA and GSSF, which at times has impacted on acquisitions; for example, if I desire to shoot or concentrate within certain divisions in those venues, some choices will work better than others.

7. Comfort and ease of carry/concealment. Within reason, and judiciously choosing holsters, belts and clothing, I can pretty much make most guns in my collection viable. But given certain clothing choices and seasons, some guns are easier to configure and carry. That can have an impact on acquisition, at least a minor impact.

Best, Jon

[MSparks909]

I've been on a pizza gun binge for the past year. I don't see that changing in 2017, although there are only a few Berettas that I would consider "must have's" for me. I plan to shoot Beretta TDAs 75% of the time for training, while I'll shoot my 1911s the other 25%. I also have a few other handguns I'll bring out for the group range trips with friends when I'm just shooting and not training.

Regarding my Beretta short list...one I couldn't resist would be the Langdon Edition 92, another would be the next WC/Beretta collaboration. I'd like to eventually add a spare M9A3 G to the safe and maybe a second Langdon 92 if I can swing it.

But before all of that, I'm working on selling a few guns that I don't shoot nor have a desire to shoot. I'm going to keep 3 Glocks (17, 19 and 43) as my wife prefers to shoot Glocks. The 17 wears a WML and is on her nightstand, and she rotates carrying the 19 or 43 depending on season and attire. Have a few Glocks to get rid of over the next few months. As much as I hate saying it, Glocks are the ubiquitous world handgun and they're too simple and cheap to maintain to not keep around. Spare parts and magazines are in literally every one of my local gunshops, should I ever need them. With that said, since they are no longer my primary carry guns, I can let the spare models (19, 17, 34 and 21) go and put the money towards ammo. My wife isn't a high volume shooter by any means, so her 3 "allotted" Glocks should easily last her the next 15-20 years.

I've offloaded most of my HKs, although I am going to keep the P30. I enjoy shooting it from time to time and I can't find it in myself to part from all of my HKs (especially my hammer fired ones!). I do plan on adding a HK45 T to the stable eventually as a dedicated .45 suppressor host. I'm going to get a dedicated 9mm can for my M9A3.

I'm quite happy with my 1911 lineup and would like to pick up a Colt Combat Unit 9mm when I sell my Springfield TRP. Not in a major rush to sell that as I want to change the sights and have the ejector pinned before I let it go to someone.