Gun weight - heavier or lighter?

[stevehof]

I've been shooting some IDPA and USPSA Limited for the last couple of years, just getting started. I use a Glock 35 most of the time. I recently picked up a Sig X-5 comp. The X-5 is a heavy pistol at 46 oz. Here's the rub....With the nice crisp trigger on the Sig I can just about shoot A's regularly in practice if I shoot within my own 'speed limits'. However, when I start to work out of my comfort zone speed wise, I do much better with the lighter G35. I'm not a big man at 5' 7" and 170 lbs

What's the accepted philosophy on pistol weight and weight distribution. Is this purely a personal choice based on the size of the man wielding the pistol or are there some generally accepted weight parameters that competitors like to stay within...?

[-JQ-]

Welcome to the board!

My own personal decision on this very same gun was to send it to gray guns for their "lightening" package. I have both the comp and tac and love them both but the tac (alloy frrame) seems to point better for me and feels quicker in the transitions. It is also 9mm v. .40 of the comp.

I guess when it gets back I can answer better...just so you know it can be lightened if you decide.

I think the general thought on this topic:light weight leads to quicker trans. versus recoil control...you might dig a round a bit with "search" to dig up the past.

I may have over simplified this a bit and YMMV.

Great gun choice though!

Again, welcome.

[HSMITH]

Welcome to the board!!

I run a 6" STI platform somewhere between 32 and 35 ounces for Limited and L10, I can change the weight very easily and do just to have a little different sight return. I very much prefer a light gun, it does everything a heavy gun does, it just does it faster. Transitions are the biggest gain for me, I can transition a light gun faster and more accurately than I can a heavy gun, recoil control is not a problem. I run a full 5" Open gun that is 37 ounces, very light for an Open gun, for the same reasons.

The X5 is very heavy and very stable, it is a very easy gun to shoot, but shot to shot time is one of the least important aspects of this game.

Good luck!

[Joe4d]

The situation you described I dont feel has anything to do with weight. Some key points, Glock most of time and for a few years, Sig recent. The way I see it the Sig has a better trigger is more accurate and longer sight radius

(maybe) you Glock guys need to realize non glock guys dont have the numbers memorized so have no idea what a 34 is in caliber or length)

So when you take your time and aim the Sig is on top when you try to run faster the muscle memory of the trigger and probably more importantly the grip angle take over.

[Flexmoney]

...(maybe) you Glock guys need to realize non glock guys dont have the numbers memorized so have no idea what a 34 is in caliber or length)

LOL...maybe you non-Glock guys shouldn't comment so much on the Glocks?

(no malice...tongue-in-cheek comment...just found it funny)

You are probably right about him being timed into the platform that he has used more (Glock).

[stevehof]

The situation you described I dont feel has anything to do with weight. Some key points, Glock most of time and for a few years, Sig recent. The way I see it the Sig has a better trigger is more accurate and longer sight radius

(maybe) you Glock guys need to realize non glock guys dont have the numbers memorized so have no idea what a 34 is in caliber or length)

So when you take your time and aim the Sig is on top when you try to run faster the muscle memory of the trigger and probably more importantly the grip angle take over.

Thanks for all the welcomes to the board and ideas... My Glock 35 is 40 S&W as is my X-5 comp. I'm shooting minor loads for the time being. The sight radius is actually a little longer on the G35 with its 5.3 inch barrel...My usual indoor range practice is speed shooting from the holster - two shots COM and at least a couple of mags worth followed by a head shot. At least two mags are shot with moving the sights 'off target' 5 or 6 feet after each two shots to COM then back to the same target. This gets me some work moving the gun laterally. The drill is the same for both pistols. The drill results favor the Sig until I try to speed it up past my comfort zone. I 'think' the quick breaking trigger of the Sig lets me time the squeeze better but the weight of the Sig limits my transitional speeds and makes reacquiring the sights harder...??? However, those of you who suggest muscle memory with the Glock is the main differentiating factor may be correct...That's why I'm asking. I love that Sig but I don't want to spend a lot of time with it if the prevailing logic is that guns over 40 oz or so will slow down the average shooter...

[HSMITH]

The two best shooters I know personally shoot guns that are about 40 oz, maybe even 42 or 43. These guys are really world class shooters, and have titles to prove it. It can be done, and done at the highest levels.

I am a big fan of light guns, some guys like heavy guns. Pick a set of drills to shoot that will let you objectively evaluate what each gun does. IMO it requires a timer and scoring of the targets, the evaluation criteria is hit factor alone, points over time. The gun that gives you the higher hit factor over a set of drills is going to be a better choice to move forward with than a gun that gave a lower hit factor. Feelings can be terribly inaccurate, hit factor is the best way to track changes that I have found. I had a gun once that felt like a million bucks, the best feeling gun I ever had, but I could not shoot it at all. Went to a gun that didn't feel nearly as good and shot a world better.

[davidwiz]

Personal preference. Anyone who tells you that "X way is better" is doing you a disservice. When you goto your next IPSC match, you are bound to find people who various configurations. Most of them will let you try their guns, if you ask.

[photog]

Personal preference. Anyone who tells you that "X way is better" is doing you a disservice. When you goto your next IPSC match, you are bound to find people who various configurations. Most of them will let you try their guns, if you ask.

Truth spoken above.

My Limited Witness is 43 oz, and i like it. But its personal preference. Some shooting limited/l-10 like their 28oz Glocks.

[spd522]

I can relate to the weight issue except instead of apples (Glock) to Oranges (Sig) I will compare Oranges to Oranges.

My Production gun, SSP, and for several years Duty gun was a SIG P226 9mm. Thousands of rounds through it in competition and police training and a few on-duty shoots.

A few months ago, I got a SIG X5 All Around in 9mm. Basically the same gun but more weight and longer sight radius. Grip feel and trigger are very close.

I hadn't shot a SIG in competition is a few years but it came back quickly. I admit the transition target to target may have been a tad slower but my accuracy was much better and splits were quicker. Overall, I shot the heavier SIG better than the alloy P226.

I swapped out the heavy SIG recoil spring for a lighter 11 lb, added a Dawson FO front sight, and worked up a sweet 147 gr reload for it. It is very soft shooting and I feel I can make up the difference of slower transitions with the faster splits and better accuracy.

It's all in what you get used to but I am looking forward to putting a lot of rounds through the SIG and enjoying the added weight.

Edited June 21, 2008 by spd522

[Carlos]

Personal preference. Anyone who tells you that "X way is better" is doing you a disservice. When you goto your next IPSC match, you are bound to find people who various configurations. Most of them will let you try their guns, if you ask.

Good post! For sake of comparison, look at the weight of the guns used by some of the best out there:

-Sevigny has convincingly won Nationals with a Glock with a frame weighing only a few Oz.s

-TGO's last Nationals gun was a 6" gun - that is a lot of weight out front.

-MOST of the top 10 used some variation of the STI brand "Edge" - a gun with extra weight out front in the frame.

-SPS - a clone of the STI made in Spain - offered the "Pelican" - which a frame featuring even MORE weight out front than an Edge.

Conclusion? DavidWiz is correct - no one can say which approach is better because top competitors are winning with frames crafted on theories that are 180 degrees apart (i.e. - light vs. heavy).

Try both. Then decide.