First of all, it is almost guaranteed that I am overthinking at least parts of this and pretty sure that my thoughts are jumbled and not quite well formed. I digress and begin....

Obviously (at least in my mind) when you go to a real training class, you want to bring your MAIN gun. And in my mind, I also want to bring a back-up to my MAIN gun- preferably a duplicate....

All normal type thoughts, so far?

Ok, great. The break down comes for me because my favorites are Old school 226 9mms (yes they are sentimental too.) I have a pair of them (a KA and a KB) and love them and use them well. I have a spring kit or two and even a spare barrel but it occurred to me that parts ARE eventually going to run out- and some are already discontinued based on a cursory search last night.

On another note, I've been carrying a 2022 for the last few months. Checks for me a lot of the boxes that the 226 does but with a bit lighter weight to it. This allows me to keep the 226s as nightstand guns for my wife and I- I like the mag commonality and that she enjoys shooting and is familiar with that gun.

Knowing what I have said about my weird and maybe idiotic thoughts and worries:

Do I get more 2022s? (I know my favorite answer is buy more crap but I do not have an unlimited budget.)
Do I shoot the 226s for the class because they will be fine even if the zombies come and no parts are in sight?
Do I keep the 226s on bedside table duty- shoot occasionally but mostly just there at night to be ready but not accumulating wear and tear on potentially unavailable parts- and carry the 2022 I have because the two models are close enough to each other that the shooting experiences transfer?

Does it even matter?

I have glock 19s but they are the guns I'm giving to the children as they age into adulthood and out of my house....

Do I just need to find that pancake on a bunny pic and chill for a while?

Because the next thoughts are about getting all the gear I need for the class that I may not already have....

The class should make you better, not the pistol. So it doesn't matter which you take. If anything, take the one you struggle with the most. The purpose of a class is to learn and get better, not try to impress everyone with how good you are already.

For me, that'd mean take the SP2022. Get used to having your pinky out so you don't pinch and fail to reload. The trigger is nice, but breaks further back than classic SIGs, plus it has a longer reset. If it goes down, just have a P226 for back-up.

I'll say it again, because I think it's worth repeating: the skills you learn should translate across platforms. Unless it's an armorers class.

quote:

The skills you learn should translate across platforms.

I can tell you from firsthand experience, it does.

When I took my first training class with Bruce and Jerry, I carried a M&P at the time, but shot the class with my 226.
I did this for two reasons: 1) I wanted to learn how to run the DA/SA platform and 2) I new what I learned on a 226 (prep the trigger, etc.) would transfer over to other pistols - and it did.

If it were me, I'd shoot the class with the 2022 and bring one of the 226s as a back-up/spare.
But even if you shot with a 226, 700-800 rounds is a mere drop in the bucket WRT the 226's service life.

Thank you guys. I'm sure I was just trying to rationalize another purchase. I didn't want to monopolize the training thread but it is your class I'm headed to at operation specific training. I also like to buy once/ cry once but I have a hard time doing that with guns. I think 15 years ago I probably should have just bought a dozen g 19 or 226 and be done with it.

I think Buddychryst has an excellent point about practicing with the one you need work on.

But here is another way to look at it.

Bring the one you are most comfortable with. Get the most out a class without the distraction of having to deal with gun quirks. You can always practice the same stuff after class with the wierd gun.

Both are excellent approaches. Ask yourself what is more important to you.

Thanks all. I think both ideas are valid. I have a lot of shooting to do between now and January's class so I'll do some direct comparison shooting.