Sleeper Pistols: Underrated, Underpriced, and Readily Available

[MrInox]

They were still uncharted territory WRT care and feeding when I first started shooting one, but once Ernest Langdon dragged the PX4 - and Beretta to some extent - over the line, the PX4 became what you describe. I still call it the best handgun most people won't even try (I myself was a Berettaphobe for years, and backed into the PX4 quite by accident). The pistol is eminently useable out of the box and gets better with relatively cheap and painless mods, but could use an up-to-date grip retexturing/slight contour change, similar to what Beretta did to the APX Carry compared to the Nano.

IMO, the Beretta 92X RDO also fits the Underrated, Underpriced and Readily Available description. It is one of those rare instances of a fully mature design being thoughtfully updated and made more versatile without ruining what made it worthwhile since the beginning... and not being MSRP'd through the roof in the bargain.

I just sounded like a fanboi, didn't I? Oh, well.

Had a px4 compact, liked everything about it aside from one glaring thing which is the same glaring thing I don’t like about all beretta DA/SA guns……trigger is too far forward in DA for my shortish fingers to reach

[45dotACP]

If properly modified, I think there is no polymer pistol that can equal the M&P9.

Sleeper? Not sure. Underrated? Absolutely.

Sent from my SM-A326U using Tapatalk

[JonInWA]

Great write up, Jon. I actually came across this the other day when I was reading up on what I’d got. Haha. Just read through it again.

But I echo uour sentiment of being… taken aback… by how much I liked the gun. I kinda saw it as “blue-collar volkspistol,” like you said. And while I’ve only put a box of ammo through it… it definitely doesn’t feel like a compromise. Really at at all. Well, maybe in terms of size and bulk—but it’s not like a Beretta 92 is doing a whole lot better in that respect. And I think I might like the DA trigger better on the Ruger. Though I still think the 92 is smoother overall, in terms of how it cycles.

Mine has the barrel hood that rides up above the top of the slide. I thought was interesting. And it locks up really tight. It’ll hang up a bit if I ride into battery (so does my Walther P88c). You know what year they made that change? I looked up the serial on mine and the prefix seems to suggest it was made in 1994. But not sure that’s correct.

According to my notes, it looks like the barrel and barrel breech positioning modifications were made someplace between the 304 and 305 block of serial numbers, which is between 1993 and 1994, The modification was done to improve timing, lock-up and accuracy is what the Ruger project engineer told me. Looks like it worked for ours...

Best, Jon

[Lost River]

Aim Surplus has police trade in Glock 22 .40s for under 350 bucks

$329 for a Gen 4
$350 for a Gen 3.





I picked one up not too long ago. It came with fresh night sights and a trigger that was very good. In fact I had to check for aftermarket parts as it was surprising how good it was, but it was totally stock.

Off at Mapleleaf right now getting cut for an optic and ceracoated.

Thanks to GJM for the recommendation.

[JonInWA]

Going by their reviews posted, those LEO turn-in G22s are a heck of a deal, especially the Gen4s. And you can get a Glock .357 SIG barrel for it (which is not available for a Gen5).

Best, Jon

[revchuck38]

Going by their reviews posted, those LEO turn-in G22s are a heck of a deal, especially the Gen4s. And you can get a Glock .357 SIG barrel for it (which is not available for a Gen5).

Best, Jon

They also had LEO trade-in M&P40 1.0s for $299, for which I already had magazines and holsters. All I did was replace the RSA and magazine spring, ran ~300 rounds through it including three magazines of HST, and declared it good to go.

[rayrevolver]

I am a big fan of Steyr, even though you can't find holsters/sights/sweet merch/milling for red dots...

$399
https://botach.com/steyr-arms-m9-a2-mf-9mm-pistol/

I was lucky my older M9A1 was pretty reliable and I hope these newer "MF" pistols are better for more people. I just traded into an L9A2 MF and will do a quick review once I shoot it.

[Mjolnir]

P10C. If only there was a gadget...

I concur! Oh, and Tenicor holsters.

[Mjolnir]

Any Beretta 92 - including an LTT pistol. For any Beretta that is not WC or LTT one can purchase an LTT Trigger Bar and Beretta's X-Treme S Trigger or a TJIB with the 13# hammer spring and it's a sleeper of sleepers. I would also swap out the tuned Wilson trigger for a TJIB, too, but that's just me.

[MattyD380]

According to my notes, it looks like the barrel and barrel breech positioning modifications were made someplace between the 304 and 305 block of serial numbers, which is between 1993 and 1994, The modification was done to improve timing, lock-up and accuracy is what the Ruger project engineer told me. Looks like it worked for ours...

Best, Jon

Interesting. Yeah, mine is a 307. So, that timeframe makes sense. And from my one range trip… I agree: it worked. Seems like a very accurate gun. Looking forward to doing sone more shooting with it.