This is a discussion on Which pistol would you use? within the CCW forums, part of the Firearm Forum category; Ok I thought the decision would be easy for my CCW class but it's turned out to be a tough decision to make. Which pistol ...
Ok I thought the decision would be easy for my CCW class but it's turned out to be a tough decision to make. Which pistol would you take to do your CCW course?
Walther PPK/S- A little bulky with the comfy grips, rough on the hand with the factory grips installed but also very thin with factory grips. Very accurate and one of my smallest guns.
SIG Sauer P230 SL- Largest of my .380's, extremely comfortable, never failed to feed/fire/eject, felt recoil is on par with the Bersa. Gun is off right now, shoots high and to the left bringing accuracy into question.
Bersa Thunder 380- Comfortable, lightweight, never experienced a failure, least amount of felt recoil, just as accurate as the Walther. It's a little bulky in the grip area, grips tend to get loose after 100 rounds or so and need tightening (locktite would probably fix this), feels rather cheap in the hand (can I trust my life to this gun?).
Other option- I have about $400 I can spend on a CCW pistol of a larger caliber. Other than a Taurus MilPro PT111 or PT145 I don't know what you can get in that price range.
Doesn't matter as far as the test goes. As long as you can hit the target some, you will pass any of the shooting tests that I have seen. When I took my shooting test, a Lady that was shooting when I was, shot the string that the instructors tied between two posts and clothes pinned the targets to, and all the targets fell, but she passed.
Ok, that's good to know. I had planned on using the Sig but if accuracy was going to be important I would have to choose between the other two. How far away do you generally have to shoot?
About 7 yards. I had been practicing at 25 yards and It was easy. I used a .22 and you could see the holes in the spot, but my Wife used a .45 and she took all the black spot out of the target. If yours is like ours, it will be easy.
I qualified with my P95DPR, 9mm... pretty easy. I now carry my P345PR, .45 ACP... and on occasion, Wifey's SP-101 revolver in .357 Magnum...
In our state if you qualify using a revolver, you are restricted to carry of revolvers only... Since I qualified using a semi-auto, I am allowed to carry any legal handgun. And it's nice to have the option.
Gnome, I don't know how much things have changed in the last 10 yrs but here around Louisville back then, the shooting part was very easy. I've heard of legally blind people passing. In fact I believe if the instructor had just turned me facing the target I could have passed with my eyes closed. Any hit on the body part of a silhouette target counted. I decided to use a revolver and the people at the range told me just to use my old K.22 since I didn't have any .38 ammo at the time, only .357s(not allowed) and didn't feel like buying range ammo. The most comfortable(to you) gun of the 3 you listed should be fine at 7 yds. The written test is the one to pay attention to. Not really hard if you listen to what's discussed. Although some questions may seem bit tricky it's a pretty easy test. BTW, here in Ky, once you get your license you can carry any type of legal handgun you want.
Baker
I'm going to take my new PT111 Pro to the range this week after finals are over and give it a go. Depending on how it does at the range I'll probably take it. I purchased it as a primary carry since it's a 9mm with 12+1 round capacity and packs a bit more of a punch than the .380's, the added capacity is a nice bonus. It's only a little larger than my .380's are and it does actually fit in my front pocket, although I wouldn't want to carry it that way.
David, sure thought you were sold on the Sig. I think we only shot at the 7 yd line here. But it's been so long ago I don't rightly remember. If you ask, they will tell you. Now with the PD they made you qualify at the 3, 7 and 25 yd lines. I was surprised at how poorly some did, even up close.
I need to get the windage fixed on my Sig before I can use it. I'm nervous to take a brass punch and a hammer to my stainless Sig, you're suppose to use a special tool for it. The Sig is so off at 25 yards that I couldn't hit the paper.
My two cents i'd take the bersa and the walther. Bersa strikes me a similar to a ruger, not the prettest or most expensive auto out there--but very functional.
Well I just got paid today and found an excellent deal on a Kahr CW9 (NIB $400). I'm going to sell the Taurus to a friend of mine for $10 less than I paid for it. I liked shooting the Taurus but my hands are just too big for it. There's no way to comfortably hold it without accidentally hitting the magazine release. He loves it and after I fixed the sights it's shooting pretty accurately now. The Kahr is a little longer but it's much thinner and lighter than the Taurus, it will make a perfect CCW for me, fits my hand like a dream.
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