# Last sidearm standing



## HavCZwillFire (Sep 2, 2021)

Out of the dozen sidearms I own, and was forced to keep only 1, this would be my choice. 
A 2 lb. gun, metal frame, 15 round capacity, compact size, shoots real good, fits like a glove.

Has *Palm Swell Ridgebacks* Lok grips, to fit my hand size just right.
Note to those purchasing Lok grips. They come feeling a little sharp. I dulled those with a tapered sanding wheel that was for my Dremel.
All you have to do is kiss each groove by hand.


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

HavCZwillFire said:


> Out of the dozen sidearms I own, and was forced to keep only 1, this would be my choice.
> A 2 lb. gun, metal frame, 15 round capacity, compact size, shoots real good, fits like a glove.
> 
> Has *Palm Swell Ridgebacks* Lok grips, to fit my hand size just right.
> ...


How could that be the last sidearm standing?
Tell us more about how this is the last sidearm upright and how it is better than the others?


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## Higgy Baby (Aug 10, 2021)

Well I do agree that it "should be" a fine shooter. I have the Canik clone of the CZ 75- the Tristar C-100 that is alloy framed and just under 2#...and it is definitely fine.
Now if I'm going to carry a 2# gun it will be my old trusty Sig P228 (M-11) ...the smoothest shooter I have ever fired. I have no idea how many thousands upon thousands of rounds have gone through that old gun and never, ever, a blip of any kind.

But I hear you....I went through a CZ 75 desire a few years back but never bit the bullet. When I saw the reputation of the Caniks and their price...I went that way. Now that my age is creeping over the hill I have passed on some of my guns to family members and sold some. At this stage of my life I'm trying to find guns that I can easily carry- like Bersa Thunder CC, Sig 365, Ruger LCP Max .....lightweight stuff I can stick in my pocket.


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## Tangof (Jan 26, 2014)

I have quite a few SD gun's, but I always go back to the P-01 for most concealed carry. It just is the best I have found. I do carry a .45 97b in Winter, but the P-01 is the best 9 MM I have found for all around CC.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

I'm a fan of CZ's myself. My Shadow 2 has got to have thee best DA/SA trigger out of all the DA/SA semi auto's that I own. I've never had any issues with any of these guns. Every one has worked straight outta' the box. If I could only keep one it would be a toss up between my Shadow 2 and 97B followed by my P01 Omega.


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## Tangof (Jan 26, 2014)

desertman said:


> I'm a fan of CZ's myself. My Shadow 2 has got to have thee best DA/SA trigger out of all the DA/SA semi auto's that I own. I've never had any issues with any of these guns. Every one has worked straight outta' the box. If I could only keep one it would be a toss up between my Shadow 2 and 97B followed by my P01 Omega.
> 
> View attachment 20079


Beautiful! These are what got me started on CZ's.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

Tangof said:


> Beautiful! These are what got me started on CZ's.
> View attachment 20080


For me it was Jeff Cooper when he based his Bren 10 on the CZ's design. It was manufactured by Dornaus & Dixon. Unfortunately not too many Bren 10's were made.


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## tony pasley (May 6, 2006)

Every one has their own opinion, that said I will stick to my 1911a1 I have carried one over 50 years


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## Tangof (Jan 26, 2014)

tony pasley said:


> Every one has their own opinion, that said I will stick to my 1911a1 I have carried one over 50 years


Never a bad choice!


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## HavCZwillFire (Sep 2, 2021)

Happy medium would be the term I would use for my CZ compact. Size and weight puts it about in the middle for my sidearms. The fit is great. I know it was designed to be a combat weapon for military and police. Thus, the decocker, and no safety. I understand, when under heavy stress, you don't want to think, "did I put the safety on fire??". I like shooting this the best out of what I own. And it's a great looking gun. Aluminum frame, user friendly.

My Beretta has a safety/decocker, which makes it a very safe gun to use, load and unload. Polymer gun, I prefer metal frame guns. This gun has one use, stays in the vehicle. Reliable gun to shoot, I've had one jamb since owning it. At least 1,000 rounds fired so far.

Then there is my S&W 44 mag. I carried it several times hiking in Montana, within Grizzly territory. I bolted the flashlight on there good, for possible after dark use. Be sure of your threat I say. I really like the custom grips, takes the shock out of magnum loads. Using my padded gloves makes it even better.

My Beretta 92x target gun is like shooting with warm butter, hardly feel any kick. Cons - 3 lb gun, not practical to use for anything other than target shooting. And worse, it only has a safety, no decocker. So decocking and unloading can be a danger, in my point of view. You have to put it off safe, to run the action.

Then my Megastar 10mm. Also know as "the tank". A bit too big and heavy for practical use. And shooting 10mm can be a bit hard to shoot. But, the best thing this gun has, the safety/decocker. The best functioning of all my sidearms. Safest gun I own. First auto gun I bought, like 30 years ago. I thought most pistols had a safety button like that. Boy, did I have some things to learn.

The tracker 357 is a basic revolver. Has ported barrel for less kick. But, after shooting it, I would trade the lesser kick for lessor gunpowder in my face.

The micro Kimber I have for one reason, conceal carry. Again, this only has a safety, no decocker. So you are relying on your thumb to not slip, in preventing accidental firing when decocking. 
Yes, the trigger will not release hammer when on safe at *full cock*.
When it's at *half cock*, the trigger will release the hammer on safe. 
And firing pin hits the primer. Just not enough to fire the bullet. It does leave a mark on the primer though. Another dangerous gun I have.

The 22 Walther is nice and light. Easy to carry lots of ammo. Another gun with just a safety. It only likes to shoot Stingers. All other ammo gets jammed often. I only carry this in my hiking pack for emergency use.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

tony pasley said:


> Every one has their own opinion, that said I will stick to my 1911a1 I have carried one over 50 years


I don't think that anyone's putting down 1911's? What self respecting gun aficionado doesn't have a few? My first gun was a 1911 in .38 Super, I still have it. It was made in 1941. I used to carry that thing religiously. I had the frame done in "Metalife" a hard mat chrome like plating and converted it to .45ACP using a Commander top end. Since I carried it a lot I wanted a more durable finish as the frame was developing surface rust and pitting. It had been refinished at least once before to my knowledge. I still have all the original parts to convert it back.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

HavCZwillFire said:


> The micro Kimber I have for one reason, conceal carry. Again, this only has a safety, no decocker. So you are relying on your thumb to not slip, in preventing accidental firing when decocking. *The trigger will release the hammer when on safe, and firing pin hits the primer. Just not enough to fire the bullet.* It does leave a mark on the primer though. Another dangerous gun I have.


I've got seven of those guns. Four in 9mm and three in .380. Four Sig's and three Kimber's. Except for size, caliber and make they are for all intents and purposes the same. *The trigger should not under any circumstances release the hammer when on safe.* With the safety on you can only cock the hammer to its half cock notch. These guns are designed to be carried in condition one (cocked and locked). Indeed if what you say is true then you have an accident waiting to happen.

It sounds to me that the safety, hammer or both are worn out enough to allow the hammer to fall when the trigger is pulled while the safety is on. But there may be enough friction to slow it down resulting in a light primer strike. How that could happen is beyond me?


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## TTT (May 3, 2020)

If I had to be left with one last gun standing, it would have to be one of these. The one on the left started out as a .40 caliber SIG P229 Enhanced Elite. I added a XS Standard Dot night sights, a Grayguns trigger, Hogue checkered G10 grips, +2 magazine extensions, and Legion controls. I didn't like the Legion slide stop, so I put on a traditional one that was nickel plated. I also bought an OEM .357 SIG barrel (which is how I carry it) as well as a Bar-Sto 9mm conversion barrel so I can shoot three calibers out of it. I had to buy some 9mm magazines for the conversion but that is all since both the 9mm and .40 S&W/.357 SIG pistols use the same ejector and extractors.

The only reason the Beretta PX4 Storm Inox on the right is a contender is that it received most of the Langdon Tactical upgrades. In the end I guess I'd have to give it to the SIG because it can handle three calibers and it has a metal frame, but the Beretta is such a great gun I'd still have to consider it. I've had about two dozen concealed carry pistols over the last 15 years I've been carrying, and these are my favorites.


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## HavCZwillFire (Sep 2, 2021)

One small correction about the Kimber micro.

Yes, the trigger will not release hammer when on safe at *full cock*.
When it's at *half cock*, the trigger will release the hammer on safe.
I tested this in the desert with loaded gun. After looking at the bullet, I could see the firing pin hit the primer and left a mark.

To me, this is a design flaw.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

HavCZwillFire said:


> One small correction about the Kimber micro.
> 
> Yes, the trigger will not release hammer when on safe at *full cock*.
> When it's at *half cock*, the trigger will release the hammer on safe.
> ...


I just tried that on my three Kimber's. Indeed the hammers fell when in the half cock notch while pulling on the trigger with the safety on and off. I also tried that on my four Sig's. No matter how hard I tried I couldn't get the hammer to fall when it was in its half cock notch while pulling on the trigger. I then removed the slides on all of those guns and with a small pointed hooked tool I could feel that the half cock notch on the Kimber's hammer was not as deep as on the Sig's.

My next step on the Kimber's was to draw the hammer back just before the full cock notch and let it slip out of my thumb. I wanted to see if the half cock notch did its job of preventing the hammer from falling all the way. It worked as it was designed to do. I agree Kimber should have made the half cock notch deeper as on the Sig. Indeed it was a design flaw. Kimber should be made aware of that and redesign their hammer's half cock notch to be comparable to the Sig. But as long as it's doing its job and there's not enough inertia to set a round off when the hammer is in its half cock notch. It's probably not that big of an issue. You'd think that with the thousands of these guns that are already in private hands that there would have at least by now been incidents of accidental discharges. Enough of which to warrant a recall of all pistols out there. My search on the internet hasn't turned up any.

While there have been issues with Kimber's Micro line of 9's and 380's. Mostly failures to feed or eject and slides not locking back. I've not had any of those issues with mine.

Here's some 1911 hammers that have really deep half cock notches. It would be nearly impossible for the sear to pop out of these while at half cock and the trigger pulled.


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

This may not be the most popular choice for the "Last gun standing", but it is arguably one if not the most popular pistol in the U.S.A. Behold the G19!








Mine is a gen 3 and it has Glock night sights, a Crimson Trace Laser Grip, and has an Olight PL-Mini work light on it.
It rides in an Outlaw brand kydex light bearing holster. There is a Ghost Evo-Elite trigger system hand fitted by yours truly.

It is very accurate and boring in its' reliability. It is not perfect for concealment but after seven or eight years of concealed carry I have yet to be called out anyone including LEOs, so I am doing something right in that regard.
The gun is relatively light, capacity is adequate, and can take 17, 21, 33 round magazines if necessary.


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## HavCZwillFire (Sep 2, 2021)

Goldwing said:


> This may not be the most popular choice for the "Last gun standing", but it is arguably one if not the most popular pistol in the U.S.A. Behold the G19!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## TTT (May 3, 2020)

Goldwing said:


> This may not be the most popular choice for the "Last gun standing", but it is arguably one if not the most popular pistol in the U.S.A. Behold the G19!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I'm more of a DA/SA kind of guy, but I still love the Glock G19. I don't currently own any Glocks, but I've owned six in the past, including Gen3 & Gen4 G19's, and they were all great guns. The G26 is also still one of my favorites as is the G30.


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## BigHead (Jul 5, 2015)

tony pasley said:


> Every one has their own opinion, that said I will stick to my 1911a1 I have carried one over 50 years


I have clung to my Colt .45 auto for .40 years now. I ordered it new, and it will be mine until I die.


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## hassiman (Aug 7, 2021)

This is my choice HK P2000sk. VERY reliable and accurate.


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## Goldwing (Nov 5, 2014)

Blame that on the gun?


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