YOUR evolution of buying competition handguns

[Heatstroke18]

my progression was I shot a Glock 19 in limited minor for my first 2 matches. Shortly after that I knew I wanted to do this (USPSA) so I bought a Glock 35 already set up with a magwell, trigger, base pads etc.  I dumped more money into that by adding a weight and getting a race holster (Ghost the one).  Shot that for a year and had my fair share of issues, mostly my fault I sure but knew I wanted to get something "better".  Bought a TSO from a friend and immediately shot better...... for one match. Then all the faults I have as a shooter came back out. Despite that I am happy with my selection of a CZ. I like how the gun feels better than the Glock ever did.  has a more natural feel. 

[Sawdustnsteel]

I’ve been told get your grip. Meaning either find the gun that fits your hand and your natural point or make it. This from a professional shooter so I’ve been following his suggestion and picked up a few different used guns, sold off some other safe queens I had prior to getting involved and outright omitted a few guns I know already don’t fit my hand. 

 

Thus far ive gone through beretta 92, sig p226( which was a service pistol for me for a long while, even though I’m comfortable with it and stilll love sigs, the grip isn’t perfect for me but it still works fine as a house/truck gun) glocks ( not a one I can get to fit my hand well, and I’ve modded quite a few, angle feels steep and natural point is high)  walther ppx has easily the best fit for me so I’m searching for a new q5 steel frame ( held one in store, it was perfect, came back the very next day to buy i5 cash in hand and it was gone)  Springfield TRP 1911 fit well but single stack isn’t something I want to do after all,  I want to work on carry optics, production, and limited. Which is already too much

 

i like tanfog and cz. I don’t like da/sa for production or carry optics. It one more step to remember, one more thing to potentially DQ on. Thus walther for the striker fire.

 

ill keep my sti dvc 3gun mostly because shooting it is fun. I power factor restrictions are dumb and I’m not serious enough about uspsa to  give a damn about penalties for using 9mm instead of 40... to me, buying a caliber the rest of the world typically avoids to play a game is foolish, plus steel doesn’t care what caliber hits it. My goal is 3gun and steel matches, everything else is training days.

 

id owned a sig, p226 x6 scandic but couldn’t really find a class for it where it’s suitable. Limited it’s pretty but not as good as a 2011. So that was one of my first collection guns I sold off, just made no sense keeping it when I only shot it in the desert on my own steel.

 

of course I’m still new to spor5 shooting so I’m going through firearms a lot trying to find the best fit and function.

[balmo]

It all started with SW M&P 4.25" in production. I've bounced around all divisions except Revolver and now shooting PCC for the 2nd year.

[onpointgun]

For competition I started Walther Q5 and then tried the Sig P320 X5 but ended up with a STI 2011 Limited.

[TheHooter]

Hey all, like a few of you guys I started shooting USPSA with my Gen 3 G19. Shot a 5 or 6 matches then upgraded the trigger to an Overwatch Precision then sent the frame to ModK Armory in Florida for some work. They removed the finger grooves, undercut the trigger guard and epoxied silicon carbide to the grip -WOW was that an improvement. Totally changed the ergonomics for the better. Gun felt like it was a part of my hand. Shot that for a while and made it to B class. Shelved the G19 when I took a Sig P226 Legion RX on trade, shot carry optics for a few months when I bit the bullet and ordered a Dan Bedell Custom in 40. As soon as I put the order in, a buddy was selling his STI Edge in 40 and so of course I needed a backup gun to the gun I didn’t have yet HA!  And down the rabbit hole I go. 

[lstange]

M&P45 -> M&P 9Pro -> M&P CORE -> Stock II.

[belus]

I've only shot Production and Single Stack. Started in 2009.  These are listed in order of purchase with some notes on how they're set up and how much they're shot.
 

In Production all my pistols have been treated to the CZ Custom Shop tune-up.

CZ 75 Pre-B, which I used from 2009 - 2013 or so. Sold it prior to moving to South America in 2014.
CZ Shadow 2 is what I currently shoot best. I picked it up when I got back to the States and it's seen about 7000 rounds.

Glock 34 gen 4 MOS that I got a good deal on and is my only striker fired gun. I haven't competed with it, nor do I have real plans to.
CZ 75 Shadow (SKU 91762), a pair I just purchased to try and recreate the Pre-B handling. Not sure whether I'll use them or the S2 going forward.

In Single Stack there's not a ton of variation

Springfield Armory .45, which ran reliably for me with Wilson 47DEs and the steel SVI magwell. Really enjoyed the Marvel Unit 1 kit I had for this at one point. Sold it two years ago because I stopped reloading 45.
Caspian .40 that I've half assembled. It's been put on hold until I have some more permanent workshop space.

STI Hex Tac in 9mm is picky about ammo fed to it and sees very little match time. Started out wearing the XL Techwell, but now everything is Dawson Ice. I wanted a railed tri-topped 9mm when I bought it.

Springfield Armory 9mm/40, a nicely assembled two barrel affair I bought off this forum. My girlfriend likes it a lot and now all my 1911's have the 19-20 grips from DS Perman.
STI Trojan .40 gets shot with factory ammo when I've forgotten to reload before a match. Major PF is nice at times too. Using Wilson 9rd .40 mags.
 

I've also owned a CZ TS which had been tuned by CZ Custom. My sister really enjoyed this pistol but I never bought the holster and mag pouches to shoot Limited.  There's a CZ Kadet wearing a C-more that comes out of the safe sometimes when I'm instructing older shooters with poor eyesight. It's seen some .22 steel matches.

[Nathanb]

Glock 22 >> Glock 34 >> Stock 2 >> Shadow 2

[TrackCage]

Owned and carried a Glock 19, so that's what I used to get started. After just a few matches, I bought a G34 which I shot for year and a half. Decided I wanted a Tanfo Stock 2, bought that and used it for 3 matches. Decided I wanted to go back to Glock, so I went back to my 34. I also dabble in Limited (G22 very lightly set up) and G17 for Carry Optics. I like Glocks and shoot them pretty well, so it kinda made sense for me.

 

I'd get a 2011 but I live in California and am not willing to pay the crazy prices people ask for them here. For the few times a year I shoot a match in Limited, my G22 with a magwell works fine. 

[dgrdvm]

For USPSA competition I started Sig P226 TacOp > Sig P320>Sig P320 X5, with a detour to IDPA with a P229 Legion, and P225. And I got STI 2011 Edge and STI Trojan in 40, just in case I want to shoot limited or SS. 

And I am looking at PCC ( Sig MPX Comp, or JP GMR

 

Its a sickness.

[45 Raven]

This goes back to 1976, so bear with me:

 

Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum - Metallic Silhouette matches

S&W Model 29 .44 Magnum - Metallic Silhouette matches

S&W Model 28 .357 Magnum - "Combat" matches in the pre IPSC, USPSA, IDPA days

AMT "Long Slide" 1911 .45 ACP (That thing actually ran really well!!)

Colt Gold Cup 1911 .45 ACP

Colt Government Model 1911 #1 .45 ACP

Colt Government Model 1911 #2 .45 ACP

Ed Brown 1911 .45 ACP

Wilson Combat 1911 9mm

Springfield XD(m) 9mm

STI 2011 9mm

Glock Gen3 G19 9mm

Glock Gen3 G17 9mm

Glock Gen3 G34 9mm

Glock Gen4 .45 ACP

CZ 75 SP-01 (non-Shadow) 9mm

CZ 97B .45 ACP

CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow 1 #1 9mm

CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow 1 #2 9mm

 

Playing around with a CZ SP-01 Shadow 2 but haven't shot it in competition yet

Have a CGW CZ P-09 on the way.

 

I'm probably the wrong guy to ask, but my preferences are the CZ 75 SP-01 Shadow 1 for steel and IDPA SSP and ESP Divisions, and the Ed Brown 1911 for IDPA CDP Division or USPSA/Steel Single Stack Division.

 

 

 

Edited June 26, 2019 by 45 Raven
Clarification

[Rez805]

In 2013 I bought an M&P. I should have picked up a couple--that was the last year on the roster (Tere Hanges rears its ugly head every year)

 

That's all for me. Unless you consider a PC slide (for Carry Optics) to be an evolution.  

[DukeEB]

fn fnx 45 for steel challenge

cz 75 compact for steel challenge

ruger mk 3 bull steel challenge

uspsa

STI Edge in 45

STI edge in 40

Briley 40

custom grundhauser 6" 2011 in 40 

 

1911 sig max in 45

1911 springfield loaded in 45, customized after.

[PhilTerry]

Started in UKPSA in the late 70's with  a Star 45  (1911 clone) - no separate divisions.

Texas 1996 changed to a Ruger P90 to shoot Limited then in 1997 to a Para P14 -45.

Picked up an STI frame at the 1998 Limited Nationals and had Dave Dawson build a 40 Limited, which was a superb pistol.

When Production Division started got a Para LDA 45 which was also used for IDPA.

In 2007 decided to travel overseas for competitions and with the limitations on ammunition weight on airlines chose to go to 9-mm and sold the Dawson gun and bought two SP 01's prepped by Matthew Mink both of which are still working well, however in 2014 I added my current Production gun a Tanfoglio Stock II Extreme from Eric which has been my competition gun since then.

[tdp88]

I started two and a half years ago and have changed platforms each year. Year one was a G34, year two was an RO Elite 9mm, and I'm currently shooting a Tanfo Stock 2. I might get good one day if I stop changing guns. If I had it to do over I would have kept shooting the 34 and taken a couple of classes. 

[Siemens2]

Following up from original post. Sticking with CZ platform at this point. Finally classified with CO as production gun was not running properly. Love the platform and now the practice needs to be more consistent.

[Bakerjd]

I've been all over the place with guns and divisions. Started with a glock 19 with a bunch of mods I had done to it before learning about USPSA. So limited minor. Used that for about 3 months and then found by chance a old Para 16-40. Bought that and had a gunsmith get it running great. Actually never had any issues with that gun or the back up I bought to match it. Ran around 2 seasons on that gun. Then this season decided I want to shoot SS. Bought a Springfield loaded 9mm, had Ryan Spencer do some awesome work on it. Been using that till last week, so about 15 or so matches. Got a Dan Wesson SS and now shoot SS major. Hopefully my L10 gun will he done this week and I can get to using it in prep for LoCap Nationals this year. Also sold all the Paras and bought a STI Edge. 

[lacivilian]

Glock 17, 2 years ago, atlas chaos 1 year ago. 

[Dutchman195]

From the entrance into my 'shooting career' with brief logic

 

S&W SD40VE for Production, I thought I could carry and shoot it cuz the guy at the gun store said its 'basically a glock 19 but american made' ended up selling that for

Smith 5906 in 40 cuz "stopping power" which I ended up selling for

CZ 75 40sw Decocker with 10rnd mags For Production cuz I already had 40 but someone said CZ was the bees knees which i traded for

M&P 40 full size for limited and ipda ESP (kept this one)

 

Got bored of the above nonsense 

Glock 35 open gun with slide ride red dot, no comp, had a barrel with the ports in the slide lighting hole on top, thought I was hot s#!t. which i sold all the dumb stuff for

Glock 35 for Lim after realizing I should google things before I buy them

2011 custom built buy a guy who said he knew what he was doing and I'd shoot better with a 2011

Same 2011 custom rebuilt by guy number 2 who said HE knows what hes doing 

Same 2011 FINALLY rebuilt buy guy who did in fact know what he was doing

STI Trojan 1911 off 2014 Nats Prize table

 

CZ 75 SP01 Cajunized 

 

Now STI 1911 trojan for IDPA CDP and a trojan and DVC Classic for USPSA SS

 

I have acquired other glocks-CZs-2011s etc along the way but dont use any of them.  (For Sale OBO)

 

 

[MemphisMechanic]

19 minutes ago, Dutchman195 said:

Glock 35 for Lim after realizing I should google things before I buy them...

 

 

That was, indeed, the first gun in your list that didn’t have me shaking my head wondering what you were thinking.

 

(Sometimes Open Glocks run. But a sigma and a 5906 at matches? Ugh.)

 

Edited August 8, 2019 by MemphisMechanic

[Steve RA]

1911 and S&W 41 for Bullseye - Merrill 30-30 for Silhouette, 1911 and 2011 for USPSA.

[RJH]

Already responded to this thread once, but have added an XDM 40 open gun with a slide Rider. Saw the post up a couple and it made me think of adding this one to this list. It does however have a comp haha. I've told umpteen people not to build this style a gun, and yet here I am with one because, f*** it and  cheap. Only shot one match with it so far and I'm having lots of fun. So maybe they don't suck as bad as I figure they did. Still don't recommend them to other people unless they really know what they're getting into like I did, I'm not looking to go anywhere other than Club matches with that blaster, but I do think I'm going to enjoy it.  And if I ever decide I completely hate it , it'll still make a pretty good carry-ops gun 

Edited August 8, 2019 by RJH

[11MM]

I started with a custom built 2011, then went through the 1911 phase, now back to factory tweaked Glocks. I would do a CZ for fun if I have the money to change everything over. If money was not an object, I would go back to a higher end 2011 limited in 38 sup comp before I get too old and slow.

Edited August 8, 2019 by 11MM

[Dutchman195]

20 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said:

 

 

That was, indeed, the first gun in your list that didn’t have me shaking my head wondering what you were thinking.

 

(Sometimes Open Glocks run. But a sigma and a 5906 at matches? Ugh.)

 

When I was brand new to guns at 22-3ish I was easily sold into things that were incredibly dumb. And wouldn't listen to anyone who would try and help because I thought they were Fudds. But then I myself became those in which I despise:

 

I've literally come full FUDD circle. 
Started Fudd, only to 5 seasons later, come back to shooting a 1911 in Fudd 45. 

Edited August 9, 2019 by Dutchman195
add clarity to my Fudd-ness

[Dutchman195]

19 hours ago, RJH said:

Already responded to this thread once, but have added an XDM 40 open gun with a slide Rider. 

XDm, Only gun I've ever seen the actual feed ramp break off the bottom of the barrel. When I was working the counter at a indoor range, it was our rental gun. 

Also, with the PRP drop in trigger, best 'drop in' trigger I have ever felt. 

It has pluses and minuses. I will still make fun of it though, just like I expect people to make fun of me for my 1911s. All is fair on the range.