What's a good 9mm competition pistol?

[snapping turtle]

They don't make the Glock 17L anymore but they do make the model 34. Add a barsto barrel and you get a nice target version of a Glock. CON's It still has a trigger only a sponge bob fan will love.

Sig 210. what is not to like about this one. CON's good luck getting one under 2k lately.

 

[Born2vette]

I held a CZ competition the other day, but it had the blue grips. I don't know enough about CZ's to pick apart the differences between the competition models, but man that thing was smooth and had a nice trigger. I don't know if I'm ready to drop $1,700 on a pistol yet, but it sure had me thinking about it.

You may want to look at the CZ SP-01 then. Street price new is around $650. A few hundred dry fires can really smooth out the trigger or pick up some Cajun Gun Works parts/kit and make it a really sweet race gun.

 

[92FSTech]

I looked up the competitions you listed and it seems that they are pretty physically demanding, and I personally wouldn't want to lug around a heavy steel-framed race gun for such an event. It also sounds like a harsher environment than your typical steel challenge or IDPA event, so reliability in adverse conditions would be more important to me than speed and ease of shootability. It seems to me that you're looking for a duty pistol, not a competition pistol.

Honestly, if you like your Glock, I'd probably just stick with it. Maybe upgrade the sights a bit, or add a red dot (probably something with a closed-emitter based on what I'm seeing in the descriptions of those events). Like you said, the pistol stages aren't the focus of event, and are just there to keep you honest. The priority is having something easy to carry that works when you need it to.

ETA: Also, those matches sound pretty awesome. Would love to hear some stories and what's involved in getting into something like that.

 

[teddy12b]

Not gonna lie, I kinda do. I just don't know if I can handle that kind of price tag.

 

[teddy12b]

They don't make the Glock 17L anymore but they do make the model 34. Add a barsto barrel and you get a nice target version of a Glock. CON's It still has a trigger only a sponge bob fan will love.

Sig 210. what is not to like about this one. CON's good luck getting one under 2k lately.

The 210 is something I've looked at in the past too. Those are artwork.

 

[teddy12b]

I looked up the competitions you listed and it seems that they are pretty physically demanding, and I personally wouldn't want to lug around a heavy steel-framed race gun for such an event. It also sounds like a harsher environment than your typical steel challenge or IDPA event, so reliability in adverse conditions would be more important to me than speed and ease of shootability. It seems to me that you're looking for a duty pistol, not a competition pistol.

Honestly, if you like your Glock, I'd probably just stick with it. Maybe upgrade the sights a bit, or add a red dot (probably something with a closed-emitter based on what I'm seeing in the descriptions of those events). Like you said, the pistol stages aren't the focus of event, and are just there to keep you honest. The priority is having something easy to carry that works when you need it to.

ETA: Also, those matches sound pretty awesome. Would love to hear some stories and what's involved in getting into something like that.

I think you've hit the nail on the head for what I'm looking for. There's no way on earth I'd carry anything bigger or heavier than a glock 17 for a Mammoth type of event. There's lots of youtube videos out there on that competition, but in short what I love about it is hiking/rucking, camping, and shooting all rolled into one weekend on a military base doing things that far outweigh the price tag of the event. For Mammoth, I'm not looking for a new gun, but for other competitions I'd absolutely carry the extra weight for a little bit more accuracy.

 

[Max Volume]

A Springfield 1911?

 

[Amishman44]

They don't make the Glock 17L anymore but they do make the model 34. Add a Barsto barrel and you get a nice target version of a Glock. CON's It still has a trigger only a sponge bob fan will love.

That's what I have, a Gen 4 Glock 34 with a 6" KKM Precision barrel for it... accurate as heck!
Now I just need to get a better trigger for it...I've been favoring the Overwatch Precision 4# flat-faced trigger and will probably go in that direction?

 

[Amishman44]

I'm looking at the new 92XI SAO.


View attachment 297760

I like everything but the grip angle on those...much too vertical for my comfort!

 

[gglass]

For the money, I don't think you can beat the Canik SFx Rival-S.

This video came out some months ago and compared the Rival-S to some other top competition guns.

 

[Gingerbeardman]

You can compete with anything. A guy that shoots a g19 5 days a week will be better than someone with a custom race gun that only shoots once a month. A Glock with an aftermarket trigger and a red dot is just fine to get started and see if you like competition pistol shooting. For longer distance get a 2 moa dot. A g34 has a great balance to it. Canik, sig, Springfield, Smith and Wesson, Walther, CZ, all make a good competition version of some kind.

 

[Noble Sniper]

That is the absolute worst question you could ask this bunch of enablers!!

 

[DadSmith]

I like everything but the grip angle on those...much too vertical for my comfort!

I'm yet to get one in my hands I may change my mind afterwards, but for now it's looking good.

 

[Timjoebillybob]

I haven't seen the most important question asked yet. How much are you looking to spend?

Arm, leg, left ***, one or both kidneys, first born? Any or all combinations of them?

 

[mom45]

Offers to purchase and quoted post content deleted due to classified rules violation.

 

[Mij]

One of the most informative posts I’ve read on INGO for a while. Thanks to all posters.

 

[teddy12b]

So last night I ran a little test in the backyard thinking about this topic. G19 Gen5, G17 Gen4, Sig M17, and Beretta M9A3. Same distance, 4 different types of ammo, all on paper. I honestly didn't see much if any difference in the level of accuracy in any of those handguns. I was thinking I'd see some guns prefer a type of ammo over another, but generally the guns themselves shot each type of ammo pretty consistently. The ammo was CCI 115gr aluminum and brass cased, Winchester white box 115gr, and Federal HST 147gr.

Maybe I need to shift my focus to match grade ammo, if there is such a thing in 9mm?

 

[bwframe]

So last night I ran a little test in the backyard thinking about this topic. G19 Gen5, G17 Gen4, Sig M17, and Beretta M9A3. Same distance, 4 different types of ammo, all on paper. I honestly didn't see much if any difference in the level of accuracy in any of those handguns. I was thinking I'd see some guns prefer a type of ammo over another, but generally the guns themselves shot each type of ammo pretty consistently. The ammo was CCI 115gr aluminum and brass cased, Winchester white box 115gr, and Federal HST 147gr.

Maybe I need to shift my focus to match grade ammo, if there is such a thing in 9mm?

It's been a few years back, since I shot much USPSA or steel matches.

Back then, a power factor load with 147gr bullet was the way the grandmasters shot it. Made for the softest recoil impulse, thus faster/confident follow up shots.
*** The icing on the cake with this loading is that 147gr HST's shoot and recoil pretty close to the same as the competition handloads. 147gr HST's perform quite well in self defense load testing. They are all I have ever carried for SD. ***

As far as pistol accuracy, if you are not speaking of long range precision accuracy, reps are gonna be the answer over equipment.

Depending on the age and condition of your eyes, a RDS could well buy you some "accuracy." Again though, still gonna be dependant on reps. Dry fire, along with live fire.

 

[Dean C.]

So last night I ran a little test in the backyard thinking about this topic. G19 Gen5, G17 Gen4, Sig M17, and Beretta M9A3. Same distance, 4 different types of ammo, all on paper. I honestly didn't see much if any difference in the level of accuracy in any of those handguns. I was thinking I'd see some guns prefer a type of ammo over another, but generally the guns themselves shot each type of ammo pretty consistently. The ammo was CCI 115gr aluminum and brass cased, Winchester white box 115gr, and Federal HST 147gr.

Maybe I need to shift my focus to match grade ammo, if there is such a thing in 9mm?

What distance and are you using a timer?

Almost all modern pistols are capable of shooting very good groups inside of 15 yards IMHO. The question is which pistol can you shoot the best, the fastest? A shot timer and some B-8 targets go a long way in figuring this one out.

 

[teddy12b]

It's been a few years back, since I shot much USPSA or steel matches.

Back then, a power factor load with 147gr bullet was the way the grandmasters shot it. Made for the softest recoil impulse, thus faster/confident follow up shots.
*** The icing on the cake with this loading is that 147gr HST's shoot and recoil pretty close to the same as the competition handloads. 147gr HST's perform quite well in self defense load testing. They are all I have ever carried for SD. ***

As far as pistol accuracy, if you are not speaking of long range precision accuracy, reps are gonna be the answer over equipment.

Depending on the age and condition of your eyes, a RDS could well buy you some "accuracy." Again though, still gonna be dependant on reps. Dry fire, along with live fire.

In the competitions I'm interested in, I don't have to worry about power factors. It's much more simple where a hit on the edge of steel counts as well as a hit in the dead center of the plate. I agree 100% that practice will get me more hits than equipment upgrades, up to a certain point. I've looked through a handful of RDS pistols and I agree that it's just a matter of time before my eyes tell me I have to make the switch. For now, my eyes are good/good enough to still run irons so I'm sticking with that.