Combat Pistols

Animal,

One of the biggest questsions you have to ask yourself is what you fully intend to do with this pistol. If you are planning to only keep it in the house (lockbox, drawer etc...) then any of the pistols you listed will suffice. If you plan to possibly carry said weapon, either in the vehicle or on your person (ccw or open carry) that throws a different variable into the equation. If you are planning on carrying/concealing the weapon, of the pistols you listed, I would recommend the Glock 23 simply because of the smaller size.

From your picks, I see you would prefer a larger caliber (.40 S&W, 45GAP, 10MM). If you go to a gun shop or a range that does rentals, you will find that there are quite a few pistols on the market that would also satisfy your needs.

As for pitfalls, I would take into consideration availablity of ammunition locally. Most stores will carry a good selection of .40 S&W ammo but depending upon the shops near you, there may not be as much of a selection of the other two calibers you listed.
(I don't carry a single round of the 45GAP and have NEVER even received a single gun, the only reason I have any 10mm ammo is because I personally own a couple of guns that shoot it!). If you plan on buying your ammo online or in bulk, then this would not be a consideration.

AnimalMother291 said:

I need some advice. I'm trying to decide on the perfect combat pistol to purchase. I've narrowed the field down to the Glock 23, Glock 37, and the Glock 20. I'm transitioning from a Colt 1911 wanted something with less bells and whistles. Any feelings on which is the most adequate for a defense use or pitfalls to avoid?

Click to expand...

This is difficult to consider as a serious question… more like an exercise in mental masturbaaaa… um, self-indulgence.

But tha's all right because that's very high on the list of pass-times of members of the firearms community.

1. There is no "perfect combat pistol;" if there was, it would certainly have to be the Colt's/Browning pattern pistol for reasons already well-established.[/*:1kded0z7]
   
2. In describing the one you already have as having "bells and whistles," then something is seriously freakin' wrong somewhere, because the 1911 is not from the factory delivered with any manner of unnecessary accoutrement… unless it is an early Charles Daly or some such, or someone (you or a previous owner) glopped the pistol up with fuzzy dice, mud flaps and three-quarter race speed wax instead of spending that money on practice ammo.[/*:1kded0z7]
   
3. Adequacy of self-defense is, of course, a software issue residing with the operator and less with the ordnance selected.[/*:1kded0z7]
   
4. The primary (as well as secondary and tertiary) "pitfalls to avoid" start with thinking in terms of "the perfect combat pistol."[/*:1kded0z7]
   
5. That you've determined your next purchase to be one of the larger caliber Glocks is fine, but given the rest of what you've expressed there's some question about the decision-making process which led you this far because you've "narrowed" your selection down to three pistols, the sole common element of which are that they are all .40 caliber or greater from the same manufacturer. You have three chamberings in three different-size handguns… pray share with us your determining criteria in your quest.[/*:1kded0z7]