addicted to trailing-throttle oversteer
| I've been traditionally a 'black gun' kind of guy, but the more natural stainless (and silver anodized) guns I end up with the more I seem to really like them. Aesthetically, the lines stand out better when done in the lighter tone, as does the attention to detail and even craftsmanship, though admittedly the latter is getting harder to appreciate in this age of cookie-cutter pattern, computer controlled CNC machines.
It's with this mindset and context that I appreciate the design of the Beretta more. Nothing particularly wrong with the traditional, classic P-SIG, mind you. It's just that to my eye, from an aesthetic sense the German is not all that particularly special. From the P220 onward, they've been more about being a no-nonsense, efficient tool. Stoic in design, a no-frills mentality; very Germanic, Bauhaus even. Engineered rather than styled. That in itself has been argued that it has its own level of beauty. But that just doesn't carry the same kind of flair and distinctiveness in the manner that only the Italians seem to know how to do and execute.
Lancia vs Opel. Ferrari vs Mercedes-Benz (sorry, the more 'natural rival' brand Porsche to me is an odd duck, in that they DO have a sense of style--albeit a bit quirky in how you can take a bathtub and invert it into a car--that goes beyond normal Teutonic efficiency of design and styling that generally inundates the German auto industry). That's how I read these two handguns as well.
I've owned far more P226s (and SIGs in general) than I do Berettas. But in the quantity of ammo I expend, these days I shoot them about the same amount of time. The Beretta 92 just seems more of a special design to me. Just having one or two is enough of a experience that satisfies me until I finally break down get another, though not that the next will necessarily be better than the last. The P226, despite how good it is, is however one of those designs for me that I was constantly trying to find a better version than the last one I had. With my Mk25 and X-Fives I think I (kind of) reached that plateau, but even now I'm not so sure.
From a functional standpoint both will do you right. Even the US Army found that out 30 years ago when the two were neck-and-neck during that particular military pistol trials. Neither gives an inch to the other, unless you're one of those who whines about how huge a gun grip feels in your small, small hands. Then there's no help for you.
You already own a SIG. You need to experience the Beretta. Thus endeth the sermon. |
