I left Law Enforcement in 1997. I have done virtually no shooting since then but have gotten the bug again.
I carried a Glock 45 on patrol, my S&W 6906 while in Plain Clothes and a Sig P230 while off duty. I absolutely love the Sig and always have. I also have a Colt 45 1911, S&W .38 and a newly purchased Sig P322. I truly love them all but in truth The 6906 is not a great range gun. Neither is the P230 or .38. Great concealed carry weapons but not fun to put a lot of rounds though. The P322 has been incredible. I have put about 1200 rounds through it since Dec. This leads me to my dilemma.
I want to get a more fun to shoot 9mm and have narrowed it down to the Sig P320 and the HK VP9. I like iron and have no intention of shooting in competitions or with optics. My questions:
1) Is the 4" barrel on these still fun enough for the range? (I am not going to CC them) I have enough compact guns. This would be just a round monster at the range.
2) I have always liked Sig but I have always wanted an HK as well. Both feel great in my hands. Anybody have both to compare?
3) Is a 5" barrel more fun? I just don't have the experience shooting a 9mm beyond the 4" barrel length.

H&K USP Expert or Elite. Excellent pistols with target type sights. Consider the Walther and CZs also.

A 5" barrel is more fun. A 1911 Government model is more fun than a Commander; a M&P Pro is more fun than a standard; a Glock 34 is more fun than a Glock 17 or 19.
But a 6" barrel is beyond the point of diminishing returns.

9mm in a commander sized gun is not a problem.

While the Compact/Carry size P320 is easier to carry, I really prefer shooting my full-size duty gun more, and shoot it a little bit better. I'm not sure why...it may be the balance, the different recoil assembly, clearer optic, or just that I'm more used to that particular gun due to my high round count with it, but if my goal is to put up my absolute best performance, I grab my full-size P320. It's not enough that it's likely to make a huge difference in the real world, but on the range (which it sounds like is your goal) it's usually good for a couple of points improvement on a B8 and a tenth-ish of a second faster. YMMV.

Sounds like you are ready to have some fun with it. My most recent purchase was a 9mm and it just kinda jumped out at me.

I think you'll like a P320 and the versatility that it offers. Shop around for a used one if the price point seems high.

Here's mine:



Welcome to the forum!

Since you have a 322 already, a full sized 320 9mm should serve you well. Police trade-ins are very reasonably priced now.
Welcome aboard.

What's alot of rounds at the range?? I mean nothing is going to compare to a .22 and I cannot imagine any 9mm compact to service sized handgun being too onerous for extended range sessions. I mean if we are talking 500-1000 rounds or something then pretty much anything is going to be tiring.

I cannot imagine either an HK VP9 or the 320 will do you wrong in this regard. If you are running irons a 5 inch is going to give you a longer sight radius and likely make for easier hits and therefore more fun but its not going to be RADICALLY different from a 4 inch gun.

Honestly you would kind of have to go out of your way and really put some effort and research into choosing a crappy 9mm handgun these days. Most any of them are pretty darn good guns out of the box.

My take is you like your 322 so get its bigger brother a P320 in whatever flavor suits you.

Y’all are pretty convincing. I’m leaning toward the P320 now and will mostly likely purchase one this weekend. My local shop had the sand colored one when I was there on Sat. I will have to order it in black though as I just don’t like the sand color.

The 320 looks like the logical choice for you. I would've suggested the Beretta PX4 Storm. Either full sized or compact. Definitely fun, reliable & an all around well designed pistol. (and very underrated)

Any full size 9mm will do.
Sig P226
Glock 17 or 34
Beretta 92
One of the Hi-Power knockoffs (or a real Browning)
1911 in 9mm
HK USP9 or VP9
Walther whatever they’re called now
CZ75/85
S&W M&P
And the list goes on…

Take some time to shop around and get a chance to at least handle the guns you are interested in before buying. Renting at a range would even be better.

There’s some good used options out there too. Some of the all steel guns are great for the range with their added weight.

I have the Sigs and HKs but prefer the CZ A01 or the TS2 Green. Both are quite heavy and absolutely wonderful on the range. Also, a CZ 97 or a 1911 in 45 ACP is great at the range. What makes these guns super is that they are all steel! Leave that light weight stuff for EDC.

I have a VP9 and its a fantastic gun but the P30L is even better. However, I would pick a 226 over either ant day of the week

quote:

Originally posted by badguybuster:
I have a VP9 and its a fantastic gun but the P30L is even better. However, I would pick a 226 over either ant day of the week

yes the 226 SAO is fantastic not the legion
I shaved the slide stop yonks ago saw the post here ages again; then saw SIG had done the same on the Legion's

A lot of great guns listed. HOWEVER...

Between the two actual guns that you've already focused upon and given your intended use for this new pistol, I'd give the nod to the 5" VP9. I like its configurable ergonomics better than the 4.7" (or 5" Legion) full-size SIG. The differences in their trigger actions is apparent but in actual use is ultimately negligible to me; both are guns that inspire accurate shooting. I've really come to like the slide ears on the back of the VP9's slide; makes both slingshot and fast overhand racking that much easier. To me the recoil and muzzle rise differences is about the same between the two. But in the end when I choose to shoot my polymer 9mms, when it comes to these two I almost always prefer taking my VP9s over my P320s.

However the 800 pound gorilla in the room is the flexibility in future configurability, which if that's something you think that you might want to try down the road, the P320 in any 9mm out-of-the-box configuration has it in spades compared to the HK. Its inherent modularity and insane popularity makes this aspect of the SIG the runaway winner in this 'shooting match'. The VP9 just doesn't have that kind versatility; short of sending it off to someone to make rather permanent changes to it, the only user-made user-configurable options are with red dots with its optic cut, weapon light (or shooting weights) with its frame rail, and of course with its interchangeable grip backstrap and side panels. Here the P320 rabbit hole just offers far more choices, both from SIG and from its aftermarket ecosystem.

Bonus: don't underestimate the quality of Walther and Canik in this poly realm of the market. With Walther, I've got a 5" PDP and its also a joy to shoot as well. And Canik...boy are they superb guns for excellent value, something only a few years ago I never would've imagined of almost any gun coming out of Turkey.

I recently picked up a used Tanfoglio TZ75 a clone of the CZ75 built in Italy and reputed to be a tighter slide to frame fit than the CZ. It holds 16 in the magazine and CZ75 magazines can be modified to work in the Tanfoglio frame.

Since it's unlikely you'll find another used TZ75/88 I did a bit of poking on the Net and found that the Italian Firearms Group is importing Tanfoglio pistols. More poking found a new pistol that looks a lot like my rather dated TZ75 on Bud's for 548 bucks. IMO a rather good deal for an all STEEL handgun. Note the grip panels are plastic but the rest is good old STEEL.

Link follows for the Combat Defense pistol.

https://www.budsgunshop.com/pr...mbat+steel+frame+9mm

Then if you want bells and whistles there is the Stock 1 competition pistol. A much higher cost but you do get a sexy beavertail and extra serrations up front.

https://www.budsgunshop.com/pr...teel+slide+wood+grip

Awhile ago, I purchased a Walther PDP 4.5. This pistol really fits my hand well. It might be a viable solution!

For a range only pistol, you can step into an optic ready HK VP9 match for the mid to upper 800 dollar range. It comes with 4 20rd magazines and a coupon for $200 in gear from the HK web store. A VP9L would be in the high 700 dollar range, but comes with only 2 magazines.

I would go VP9 match or VP9L for the magazine promo alone.

Recently picked up a Springfield Armory Echelon that was on sale at my LGS. Really liking it and think the trigger is better than the P320.

It is really tough to beat the Magazine bonus on the HK VP9. 4 Free Mags is pretty awesome. This actually made the decision easy for me. I did factor in the modularity and ability to upgrade the gun. I do not think that will ever happen. I truly like the iron sites still and have not felt the pull of optics. I see why people may like them but I did not care for them when I tried it out. I have never altered any of my guns and prefer to leave them unmolested. I bought my Colt .45 1911 back in the 1990's. If I have not altered that weapon I am fairly certain I will not alter any weapon.
I have truly looked hard at Walther, Sig, and HK. Those 3 felt the best in my hand. They also have the quality and reliability factor I prefer. I am just not sure of Canik's quality. I did look at CZ and also Shadow Systems. I am not knocking them but they are just not for me. The Shadow Systems actually turned me off before I even held it. I do not like how internal parts are visible between the slide and the frame.
I ordered the HK today. It just came down to the Magazines.