There was a time where you pretty much had a 1911, HI Power maybe a P38/PPK if your were feeling froggy or a good revolver. None of them bad choices.

Now there are Glocks, HKs, SIGS, Rugers, Walthers, Beretta, Smith M&Ps, CZs and everything in between and they are all good choices. Combine that with the fact that you still have a myriad of wheel gun choices and it amazes me the shear number of affordable quality handgun choices available today.

Not to mention all the high dollar options or the days past still viable options (Makarov/Star/3rd gen Smith etc. etc. )

Folks ask about guns all the time and the reality is there is a TON of viable choices these days in any caliber you could possibly want at a price you can afford. We bitch about craftsmanship or pinned and recessed etc. but these are the golden years IMO.

They are. I’m going back to a renaissance of TDA and am enjoying the PX4’s. We’ve got various striker platforms, Glock, Sig, HK, S&W, CZ, Beretta. Still some excellent TDA polymer platforms in the HK and Berettas. So many choices....

For the firearms enthusiast, these are indeed good times. There are more choices than I can possibly afford, but it's nice to know they are out there. As an added bonus, since the Wicked Witch of Westchester County lost in 2016 to DJT, we don't have to deal with her trying to limit those choices.

I'm just happy if I want a full steel battering ram, I mean 92fs, I can fondle mine in all its sweet sweet imported glory. I'm pretty sure its not a total import, as it seems some of it/ all of it came from some place in the midwest, but damn, to be able to have that full steel gun. So sweet.

There are a number of choices... If you want a plastic striker fired pistol. If you are looking for a metal hammer fired pistol the choices are not as varied as they used to be.

I think the same can be said for the AR world, it’s pretty much reached its pinnacle IMO. Piston, DI, tons of aftermarket support that just seems to keep growing.

quote:

Originally posted by qxsoup:
There are a number of choices... If you want a plastic striker fired pistol. If you are looking for a metal hammer fired pistol the choices are not as varied as they used to be.

It seems to me as though most of the better ones are still around even though some (like the BHP) may be going out of production soon. Which models do you miss?

I agree the choices today actually can be bewildering!
At one time your “big gun “ was a 1911 or smith k frame and your small gun was a j frame.
One of the old saying used to be buy smith revolvers and colt autos and don’t mix that up

Having a lot of quality options can never be a bad thing. There's definitely a LOT to wade through to find the one that's going to be The One for you, if there's even such a thing.

But it couldn't be worse than the subsequent search for the elusive 'perfect' holster. Just sayin'...

quote:

Originally posted by qxsoup:
There are a number of choices... If you want a plastic striker fired pistol. If you are looking for a metal hammer fired pistol the choices are not as varied as they used to be.

My pretty good metal hammer fired pistol choices:
SIG 9mm X5 Comp – with Robert Burke action job
SIG P238 .380
Beretta 87 Target .22 LR (external hammer)
All SAO. Taking the Beretta to the range today.

Back in the 60's into the early 70's there really were few choices. Smith, Colt or Ruger for wheel guns.

Short of the 1911's in .45acp , most autos were considered to be problematic and not to be trusted for defense.

The new Smith M-39/M-59's were just starting to make some inroads into LE . Mostly due to Super-Vel HP ammo. The same ammo made a Walther PPK or Mauser HSC a viable off duty gun.

Back then not a LOT of choices at all, compared to today. The entire Colt/S&W catalog of offerings would fit in a small catalog.

I recall the eighties/nineties when I couldn't even keep the S&W auto pistols remotely comprehensible. SO MANY variations.

We are living in some good times if your a shooter.