One handgun, not sure which to choose ....

[Galbraith]

Appreciate the suggestion and feedback. Thank you!

Ultimately, most of the mid-higher end modern 9mm makes and models out there from the major manufacturers will be reliable and durable enough for you to not be overly concerned for your usage. I would still recommend a full sized pistol as they tend to be easier to shoot quickly, shoot accurately, they are less prone to shooter induced malfunctions like limp wristing, and they tend to have greater longevity and durability.

One thing you definitely want to get into is shooting some drills that will improve your skill. There are a number of printable targets and drill descriptions in the training section of this forum. Adding a shot timer to your training routine would be great, as it will greatly improve your speed in all aspects of shooting......from draw time, follow-up shot speed, reload speed,....etc. Another nice training aid for those that can't get to the gun range or shoot up a lot of ammo are laser training cartridges. With a cleaned and oiled barrel, they fall into the chamber of the pistol and rubber o-rings give it a snug fit. The cartridge fires a laser pulse every time you pull the trigger and the laser hits to the point of aim of the barrel and sights. It gives you instant feed-back as to whether your grip/trigger is off and allows you to quickly adapt to your operator errors, and correct it. With a laser training cartridge I find that my students can more quickly get their grip and trigger control where it needs to be faster than actually shooting live ammo.

As far as mag capacity limits go, don't sweat it. I used single stack .45s(duty) and 9mms(off duty) for years and would not feel undergunned today given the right training routine and acquired skill. I still carry a 10+1 .45acp and shoot better than most other shooters that I encounter who are using high capacity long slide 9mms. The key is to have extra mags readily accessible and set up your courses of fire during training to make constant reloads.

[Galbraith]

Double Post.

[spinmove_]

Based on what? Slow fire groups? Timed drills?

You shoot 1x a month, and if I read correctly you don't shoot either pistol two months in a row. That's not much data. If you just want new gun smell, buy it and don't try to rationalize.

If this is the case, then Hambo is totally correct. It doesn’t matter what gun you standardize on as you haven’t acquired enough time and skill for it to ultimately matter. Pick one, learn it’s idiosyncrasies, take a class or two, shoot it a bunch, and learn from there.

There’s going to be pros and cons to every platform and none of them are perfect. Glock is the easy choice. Other brands really aren’t too far off in general. DA/SA guns really aren’t that much harder to shoot at all either. What matters most is your own personal skill and familiarity with whatever you’re shooting. Just pick one and run with it.

[spinmove_]

Also, you’re in CA. Getting 10rd magazines that work is a necessity and you can’t always find Magpul mags.

Of the three you’re considering (M&P 2.0, Glock Gen3, and CZ P-01), if it were me starting all over again and knowing what I know now, I would totally go with the CZ P-01.

[willie]

The S&W platform is ok, but it seems that surprises show up from time to time. I have two Shields, 9 and .45, that are reliable and accurate. I have had the full size guns that were ok. I may buy another. That said, I would not sell a CZ to buy a Smith. .

The newer pistols offered to us are improvements over factory offerings from 40 years ago. Metallurgy is more advanced.
Designs have been tweaked. Today there are more people placing stress of high round counts and dry firing frequency on across the counter purchases. In years past the older pistols would have had higher incidence of failure. I view a CZ 75 series gun including the P01 offering as a robust and reliable handgun. A Glock is a Glock. The op liked a rented Glock's trigger. I have two 3rd gen Glocks with fine triggers. One was born this way. The other came about by my swapping parts.

S&W, CZ, and Glock provide excellent customer service. Stay within these tribes, and you will do well. Soon even 10 round mags will be expensive. Panic buying will start.

[HammerStriker]

Also, you’re in CA. Getting 10rd magazines that work is a necessity and you can’t always find Magpul mags.

Of the three you’re considering (M&P 2.0, Glock Gen3, and CZ P-01), if it were me starting all over again and knowing what I know now, I would totally go with the CZ P-01.

Thank you for you input! What is it that would steer you towards the CZ P01?

[HammerStriker]

Ultimately, most of the mid-higher end modern 9mm makes and models out there from the major manufacturers will be reliable and durable enough for you to not be overly concerned for your usage. I would still recommend a full sized pistol as they tend to be easier to shoot quickly, shoot accurately, they are less prone to shooter induced malfunctions like limp wristing, and they tend to have greater longevity and durability.

One thing you definitely want to get into is shooting some drills that will improve your skill. There are a number of printable targets and drill descriptions in the training section of this forum. Adding a shot timer to your training routine would be great, as it will greatly improve your speed in all aspects of shooting......from draw time, follow-up shot speed, reload speed,....etc. Another nice training aid for those that can't get to the gun range or shoot up a lot of ammo are laser training cartridges. With a cleaned and oiled barrel, they fall into the chamber of the pistol and rubber o-rings give it a snug fit. The cartridge fires a laser pulse every time you pull the trigger and the laser hits to the point of aim of the barrel and sights. It gives you instant feed-back as to whether your grip/trigger is off and allows you to quickly adapt to your operator errors, and correct it. With a laser training cartridge I find that my students can more quickly get their grip and trigger control where it needs to be faster than actually shooting live ammo.

As far as mag capacity limits go, don't sweat it. I used single stack .45s(duty) and 9mms(off duty) for years and would not feel undergunned today given the right training routine and acquired skill. I still carry a 10+1 .45acp and shoot better than most other shooters that I encounter who are using high capacity long slide 9mms. The key is to have extra mags readily accessible and set up your courses of fire during training to make constant reloads.

This is solid perspective and great advice. I know I should want a full-sized pistol and believe in the benefits of a larger gun. For some reason I just like the "compact" 4" barrels better, don't ask me why. lol. I'm torn on which platform to focus on and whether it will be full-size or compact. One thing is for sure, I need to choose one and focus my time and energy on training rather than equipment selection. Thanks, again for the feedback!

[L-2]

Some thoughts I had after reading this thread.

http://baggss.us
Map of CA indicating what counties might be easier to get a CCW vs. counties which are likely to be impossible.
There are 58 counties in CA. If you have to live in one of the 22 harder-to-get-CCW counties, then that's-the-way-it-goes.

Also, there are legalities allowing the carrying of a handgun in CA, even without a CCW. And there are other states which allow open or concealed carry for non-residents, which include Californians.

There's no law or rule preventing a person from owning 3 or 4 handguns, which means you can buy the G17Gen3 and the G19Gen3 to add to what you've already got. Later, if you want, you can sell off what you don't want, making your own decision instead of asking the forum. It doesn't matter what we'd keep or sell, just as it doesn't matter to us what you buy, keep, or sell.

There's nothing wrong with your S&W or CZ (or if you get a Glock, nothing wrong with Glock). What could be wrong with having only one gun is if that one gun breaks-down, gets stolen, or is somehow lost. In CA, you'd have to go a minimum of 10 days before getting another firearm, and that's if you can decide what to get the very first day when that one firearm is unavailable.

There are many sides to home-defense (HD), and a handgun is only one aspect. Being this is a firearms forum, we members typically place firearms as a priority, which is yet another personal decision. I said "firearms" as there are other firearms besides just semiauto pistols. There are also rifles and shotguns. Other things to spend money on are alarms, locks, baseball bats, knives, pepper spray, dogs, martial arts training, cell phones, bars on windows, etc.

Touching on the training suggestion, for me, the firearm cost is minor compared to the ammo I put through them. I might even recommend budgeting in at least 1000 rounds/month (to start, maybe up it to 2K rds/mo.) in shooting/practice/training and then posting a thread telling us what gun(s) you keep and use.

My final thought for this post is that folks are constantly looking at a hardware solution when existing hardware (the CZ and the S&W) might be just fine. Reading enough forums, you'll likely find folks who prefer CZ or S&W instead of Glock, or other brands not even mentioned. I like Glocks and have several. I also like variety and have and carry other brands at times, but I'm most comfortable with Glock. It doesn't mean it's the best brand-choice for everyone. It's just what I use. Again, any of the brands you're considering are fine.

EDIT, add'l thought. I have tried 10-round mags in my Glocks 17 & 19. Particularly with a G19 10-round mag, if I only have one round in that mag and try to chamber that round, more often than not, that single round will fail to feed; just my observation on that issue.

[john c]

Are you limiting yourself to on-roster guns? Or are you willing to pony up an outrageous amount for an off-roster pistol?

If the former, get another P-01. If the latter, another M&P 2.0 Compact. Considering all M&Ps are off roster, it will be difficult to get even a 1.0 pistol at a reasonable price. The flip side to this is that your 2.0 is probably worth $850. That's both good and bad; you'll get a lot of money for it, but you won't easily be able to get another.

Based on the reliability of 10 round Glock mags, and only being able to get a Gen 3 pistol, I personally would pass on a Glock in your situation in favor of keeping your M&P. I've been a Glock guy for 26 years, but was seriously considering shifting away from the platform in favor of newer, better options like the M&P, VP9, etc. Then the Gen5 came out, and brought Glock up to parity in terms of advancements over the competition. I sold all of my pre Gen5 guns (except one) and got Gen5s. They are really that good.

In your case, I'd keep both pistols, and just focus on shooting one exclusively for a year or so. Take a class from a good local trainer, and maybe shoot some IDPA or USPSA. Then evaluate. Since the P01 is still on the roster, pick up a second one if you feel the urge. But keep the M&P 2.0 because you won't be able to get another one.

[spinmove_]

Thank you for you input! What is it that would steer you towards the CZ P01?

Given your 3 options in the state that YOU live in, quite a bit.

It’s a roster gun. Reliable 10-rd magazines. It’s an aluminum frame gun which means you can choose just the right texture and sized grips that you want without permanent modification. You can get essentially whatever sights you want within reason. The slide can be milled for a mRDS. While not entirely uncomplicated, you can get a really nice trigger in it. I find the TDA style trigger mechanism to be less distracting to actually shoot while giving the end user some additional layers of safety. There are great full sized options of that gun available for competition.

Those are the big things that immediately come to mind. What I look for in a gun essentially boils down to the 3 things I actually interface with: sights, trigger, grip. I want a smooth trigger, not necessarily light. I want sights that are simple yet easy to see. I want a grip that’s got good texture all the way up and down the side panels. Apart from that, it has to have reliable magazines, but most guns do these days. Everything else I find to be largely trivial.