Guns & the Love-Sick Mind

Guns. I miss them. I had a safe full of them before I was married but, my love-sick mind allowed my then finacee to convince me to sell them off because she didn't feel safe around them. Well here we are 14 years later and I really want to get back into shooting again. And with my wife's approval, I am going forward with my plans. This time, however, instead of focusing on shooting skeet and deer hunting, my interest has drifted more toward a self-defensive purpose, handguns and practical defense shooting. So what to buy and why?

I've recently had the opportunity to shoot several different types of pistols, all of which I like! Within the last month or so, I've shot a Beretta 92FS, Beretta Px4, Ruger .357 revolver (can't remember the model), Springfield 1911, and an assortment of Glocks in varying calibers. Before I shot the Glocks, I was sold on the Px4. That thing shot like a dream! It felt great in my hand and I shot quite well with it. But then I got to shoot some Glocks. It's safe to say I really like them. There is nothing about the G17 or G26 I can complain about. I have two applications for handguns, concealed carry (self defense) and competative shooting. These two different applications have two different requirements.

A self defense weapon intended for concealed carrying should be powerful enough to stop a threat, but small enough to actually conceal. After some serious consideration about size, dependability and stopping power, I've narrowed it down to either the Glock 26 or the Beretta Px4 Sub-Compact. Both weapons have rave reviews and both are toted as being highly reliable. I'll admit, however, I am starting to lean heavily toward the Px4. Although I doubt I'll carry with the safety on, it's a nice feature to have when needed. The Beretta also carries 13+1 where the Glock is 10+1. Those extra 3 rounds before a reload might be the difference between winning and losing. And when it comes down to an armed confrontation, I cannot afford to be the loser.

The requirements for the pistol I need to shoot the types of competitions I want to shoot vary only slightly to my CCW weapon. The specifics can be found in the IDPA Rulebook. Basically, it needs to be a production full-sized semi-auto pistol. The full-sized weapon I'm debating on is either the famous Glock 17 or Beretta's full-sized Px4. I can use either out of the box for IDPA shoots, carry open and even slip on a gunlight for low light situations. Whichever I choose, there are certain minor modifications that IDPA allows but the only one of those I intend to utilize is a sight change. Even if I opt for a gun light accessory, I want "night sights" to cover that time between when normal sights work fine and a gun light is needed. (Both guns will have the same sights.)

Whatever decision I make, I want both the sub-compact and full-sized versions of the gun. Familiarity is important if/when it comes time to draw my weapon in self-defense so it only makes sense to shoot guns as close to identical as possible. So if I go Glock, they will both be Glocks and if I go Beretta, well, you get the picture.

So the debate rages on in my head. I continue to research and read the written reviews and watch the YouTube reviews. I guess I won't make the final decision until January when it's time for the purchase. Oh, and I will also be reacquiring rifles and shotguns. All in time.