clawson2011 Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 So my girlfriend and her friend have decided they likes shooting, want to shoot USPSA with me but do not like my 40. They tried a 9mm and says it is much better with factory ammo so I know it will get even better once I reload something that makes minor for them. My question is does anyone have any suggestions for which gun? I am thinking M&P full size 4 1/4" or 5" pros for them and then some fiber sights and grip tape. Trying to keep the cost down so the CZ and Stock 2 are out. I just laid out for a Cheely custom today so I can't spend huge cash. Thanks in advance Shug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BritinUSA Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 M&P, Glock or XD / XDM ... anything with a removable back-strap should be fine, the big issue is to make sure they can reach the trigger and magazine release without changing their grip. If possible bring invite them to a match and ask other competitors if they can fire a few rounds through some different guns until they find the one that they feel comfortable with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smitty79 Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 CZ's don't have to be expensive. You can buy an SP-01 for a little over $600 and mod it over time. Another option, I've seen that works, is get a P-09. Less than $500, changeable back straps. You can get good parts for a "trigger job" and put them in yourself. Hammer fired guns dominate the top levels of USPSA Production. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LilBunniFuFu Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Ask around and see if you can borrow a gun, most of us have back ups or rigs we don't really use much. Two important things I've noticed that is frame/trigger size and a low recoiling round put the 147 or 160 gn pill to work. Usually a nicer trigger will make the venture into uspsa a little easier as the press doesn't influence the sights as much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kneelingatlas Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Baby Eagle 9mm, small grip, shoots soft, same internal components as the Stock II, can be had for ~$500 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Butterpuc Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 M&P, Glock or XD / XDM ... anything with a removable back-strap should be fine, the big issue is to make sure they can reach the trigger and magazine release without changing their grip. If possible bring invite them to a match and ask other competitors if they can fire a few rounds through some different guns until they find the one that they feel comfortable with. This ^^^^^^ The M&Ps, Glock Gen4, and I believe XDm all have right side capable (or ambi on the XDm, right?) mag release.... This is a big benefit for small hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hi-Power Jack Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 my girlfriend decided they like shooting, but do not like my 40. They tried a 9mm and says it is much better What didn't they like about your .40? Is that loaded to major, or minor? I understand a .40 loaded to minor can be as soft (or softer) than a 9mm. Cheaper to load up some minor loads in .40 than buy a new gun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clawson2011 Posted December 1, 2014 Author Share Posted December 1, 2014 my girlfriend decided they like shooting, but do not like my 40. They tried a 9mm and says it is much better What didn't they like about your .40? Is that loaded to major, or minor? I understand a .40 loaded to minor can be as soft (or softer) than a 9mm. Cheaper to load up some minor loads in .40 than buy a new gun. Jack, I agree except that I intended to build them M&P 40 or Glock limited guns so I was intending to spend some cash. Since they don't like the feel of the .40 and I would prefer not to mess with my 650 powder drop back and forth, I'm gonna do production minor and use the saved cash from the limited parts not needing bought to purchase a complete caliber swap. I have talked with the instructor they learned to shot from and she has access to an M&P 9, Glock g34, xdm in 9, and a CZ sp-01. they are gonna meet up this weekend and shoot 50-100 rounds thru each and go with what they like best. Thanks to everyone who posted here. I am sure more questions will come up and it is nice to know such a goo group of people are around to help. If they pick something other than the M&P I will be needing lots of advice about what can be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camazama Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 My current setup for USPSA Production is: Smith and Wesson 5" Pro 9mm. Red fiber optic front sight and green fiber optic rear sight. I have removed the back-strap (even the small was too big) and simply placed skateboard tape there instead. I also teach a ladies intro to handgun course. And by far, S&W is the most popular firearm for ladies in my area. They will come in with their significant others firearm (Glock, XDM, etc.) and shoot a couple of mags, but the ladies with smaller hand size all prefer the S&W once I let them try that instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clawson2011 Posted December 1, 2014 Author Share Posted December 1, 2014 My current setup for USPSA Production is: Smith and Wesson 5" Pro 9mm. Red fiber optic front sight and green fiber optic rear sight. I have removed the back-strap (even the small was too big) and simply placed skateboard tape there instead. I also teach a ladies intro to handgun course. And by far, S&W is the most popular firearm for ladies in my area. They will come in with their significant others firearm (Glock, XDM, etc.) and shoot a couple of mags, but the ladies with smaller hand size all prefer the S&W once I let them try that instead. I am assuming it is legal for production to do this then? can I smooth out the rough edges on grip where the missing back strap causes them to be? Camazama would you post a picture of your M&P so I can see how you have the grip. I want to make sure they are both comfortable and happy so they want to shot with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GOF Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 I've run a few CCW classes where new lady shooters showed up with 'a gun'... and then tried some of the range guns we had on hand. The standard 4.25-inch 9mm M&P was very popular with them. Second place was a XDM 9mm. Many of them changed guns after trying those. I'd suggest letting them try before they buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trgt Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 The CZs with the thin grip panels are not bad at all on size. Several of the lady production shooters here have switched from Glock to full size CZ (SP-01 ...) because of the soft recoil with a the full dustcover frame and 147gr 9mm loaded to about 130PF. And with competition (lighter) springs, it is an easy gun to rack. One of the intro classes I saw a lot of the preference came to which gun they could actually rack, since some with stock springs are quite hard to rack. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonytheTiger Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 My wife has held all of the above and shot most of them, the CZ SP01 and Baby Eagle where the hands down favorite for shooting, she hasn't shot the H&K VP9 but really liked the feel of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camazama Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 I've never had a problem with it being illegal, but I do know there are a couple of different threads on here that discuss the legality of it. I've shot Sectionals and never had a problem. Below is my Limited Gun, same platform except in 40cal. I just started shooting it in May. It has the exact same back-strap configuration as my 9mm. And I haven't had any problems with the rough edges where the back-strap used to be. The tape lines up pretty well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clawson2011 Posted December 1, 2014 Author Share Posted December 1, 2014 Camazama, Thank you very much. I will search for the threads on its legality in production but looks great. I will have to hunt down some purple grip tape and give this a try on my limited M&P with a could down tunes loads for them to try out. still gonna have them shoot a bunch of different guns this weekend in 9 also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck223 Posted December 1, 2014 Share Posted December 1, 2014 Take a look at the Grand Power K100's on sale right now. The 4 different backstraps means they fit virtually everyone.The trigger is awesome right out of the box. The slide is very easy to cycle as there is little shear force needed. Plus the rotary barrel locking system makes it very easy to handle the recoil. If she loves it, upgrade to the X-Calibur down the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clawson2011 Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 I just received a reply from DNROI about removing the back strap from an M&P and its legality in production without it. here is the reply copy and pasted from my email. "Good evening, Sheldon. Unfortunately, removing the grip panel/backstrap component on the M&P Pro pistol changes the factory profile of the pistol, and is not allowed. Interchanging the grip panels is fine, but removing them will render the pistol illegal for Production division. You quoted the correct section number from Appendix D4, #22.2.Regards,Troy" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clawson2011 Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 Canuck 223 Thanks for the info but I am not seeing the X-caliber on the approved production list. thanks for the heads up if I can find one for them to try I will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Camazama Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 (edited) Thanks, Clawson. Good thing I gave up Production a while ago and switched to 3-gun and Limited I find it interesting that removing the backstrap changes the factory profile of the pistol. So does adding the large grip, if the medium grip came installed. http://www.brianenos.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=203583 - Here is a more in-depth discussion of the grips in production class. Update: Looks like I'll be changing my Production set-up again Too bad another RO recommended this set-up to me. It seems this needs to be clearer in the rulebook, IMHO. Edited December 2, 2014 by Camazama Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwontanamo Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 Glock is probably the cheapest way to get into production. I managed to find 5 glock 17 magazines for $15/per. I also highly recommend using freedom munitions ammo. $200/1000rds and with the brass buyback program you are reimbursed for the amount of ammo you send them (as long as its ammo they make, which is all the popular calibers) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clawson2011 Posted December 2, 2014 Author Share Posted December 2, 2014 Should have posted this here earlier. The girls love the feel of the CZ SP-01 so that is the route w they are going. As for ammo I will just reload its cheaper than buying already loaded ammo and I know exactly what goes into each case. I want to thank everyone for the help. Hope to see you all at the range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonytheTiger Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 They made the right choice. You can tell them some random guy on a forum says so, that should legitimize their decision. Oh and +1 for Freedom Munitions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kwontanamo Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 good choice on the CZ. Best of luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeerBaron Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 yeah I think the SP01 is a great choice. a new lady shooter in my club just bought a shadow (they are easy to get in my country) and her husband bought a glock. She seems to be enjoying it a lot. I think the P09 was a good suggestion too, but the SP01 won't disappoint. You can very cheaply tune it up with just some new springs that will make it easy for her to handle and shoot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tiny Warrior Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 I agree, good choice on the CZ SP01......and the CCG When I started USPSA/IPSC, my first gun was the SP01 & I really liked it. Hope they have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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