What are characteristics of a pistol that will run the cheapest 9mm reliably?

[1Rangemaster]

Buy a Glock. Keep it well and appropriately lubed. Wipe off the breech face, feed ramp and make sure that your extractor is not chipped once in a while. Shoot and repeat.


Some folks say a constant diet of cheap steel will chip the extractor such that having an extra around is a god idea anyway.


If I was headed to a class or shooting some kind of a standards test for coin/pin/glory etc., I might chamber check those cheap rounds before loading/shooting them.

I would respectfully add that the recoil spring assembly(on any weapon) should be periodically changed. For a Glock, somewhere between 5-10,000 rounds.
No need for heavy lubrication; the pistol should be detail stripped every year or two and cleaned to avoid gunk building up, or in an unusual situation, e.g., it was submerged in salt water.
Modern guns run much better than earlier designs.

[Trstn]

Thanks for all the replies so far. The 92fs suggestions stand out to me because I was picturing a hammered fired type of weapon when starting this thread because I’ve heard before that a hammer would set off stubborn primers where a striker might not. Unfortunately the hammer fired weapons I’ve handled have always felt too large for my size small glove sized hands. The one time I shot a 92fs I had to twerk my hand a good bit just to fire in double action.

The Glock suggestions seem sound. Think a small backstrap could work for me. Anyone have experience with the psa daggers? Supposedly they’re Glock 3 clones, but not sure how many parts really interchange. I would hope the striker control device could work with it. Anyone know? Also, any thoughts on the sd9ve? I know it has a heavy trigger but I like to dry fire my lcr 22lr so I think my finger could probably manage the weight.

[JonInWA]

Thanks for all the replies so far. The 92fs suggestions stand out to me because I was picturing a hammered fired type of weapon when starting this thread because I’ve heard before that a hammer would set off stubborn primers where a striker might not. Unfortunately the hammer fired weapons I’ve handled have always felt too large for my size small glove sized hands. The one time I shot a 92fs I had to twerk my hand a good bit just to fire in double action.

The Glock suggestions seem sound. Think a small backstrap could work for me. Anyone have experience with the psa daggers? Supposedly they’re Glock 3 clones, but not sure how many parts really interchange. I would hope the striker control device could work with it. Anyone know? Also, any thoughts on the sd9ve? I know it has a heavy trigger but I like to dry fire my lcr 22lr so I think my finger could probably manage the weight.

First, before dismissing a Beretta 92, consider using it with a set of VZ/Langdon/Wilson Combat ultra-thing G10 grips; they'll single-handedly (yeah, pun intended) literally favorably transform the grip and handling characteristics of a 92, making it feel and handle much like a single-stack.

Second, run away from the outliers-I've never even seen a "PSA Dagger" but the fact that it's marketed as a "Glock clone" sets off all sorts of warning flags and bells, unless you're getting it purely as a range toy.

The S&W SD9VE has played to some semi-decent reviews here, but in my opinion you'd be far better off with something like a SIG Sigpro 2022, if they're still available.

And, frankly, if you're looking for a price-point gun, you could do far, far worse than getting a used later production Ruger P89 in decent shape.

Best, Jon

[LittleLebowski]

LAV has a saying about Glocks and this…

[TicTacticalTimmy]

For the beretta, Echoing the above, my hands are on the small side of mens L and I find the LTT thin B92 grip to be perfect.

If your hands are mens M or smaller I think you would really like the Beretta vertex frame, it is significantly smaller in circumfrence vs the traditional Beretta frame.

All the Berettas with modern features, except the LTTs, come with this frame. The 92X series is well set up from the factory and seems like a good value.

[4RNR]

I think the characteristics are quality manufacturing.

I have factory OEM guns. Glock, legacy Sig, HK, SA. None have anything aftermarket. All I shoot is Russian steel case. I can think of 3 malfunctions in 20 years

Shot steel, stocked brass.


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[Trstn]

LAV has a saying about Glocks and this…

And that would be...?

[john c]

If you have smaller hands, skip the B92.

I’d also skip the PSA dagger. It might be a fine pistol, but they haven’t been proven over high round counts to be reliable. Reliability in firing cheap ammo appears to be your primary objective. It doesn’t seem worth the $100 savings over a used glock to get a dagger.

If you’re super price sensitive (I mean cheap [emoji3]), consider a Ruger P95. I consider them duty-level guns. Mine shoots anything, and mags are reasonably cheap.

But even the cheap P95 isn’t worth the discount over a used glock. I mean that the used glock is worth way more than the extra $100 over a used P95, so it’s a better deal overall.


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[1Rangemaster]

And that would be...?

Something like: “if you treat your gun like your lawnmower, get a Glock.”
There’s also: “1911s are what you show your friends-Glocks are what you show your enemies.” I’m not sure that’s a LAV one tho…

[Exiledviking]

I got a batch of 9mm ammo from Freedom Munitions several years ago that was on the weak side. It wouldn't cycle my Glocks and the same with my Berettas and HKs.
Surprisingly it ran fine in my CZ 75 SA. So, if I was looking for a pistol that'll run cheap ammo, I'd look at a CZ 75.