jkh@jade.BERKELEY.EDU (Jordan K. Hubbard) (01/14/87)
Article: 1:27 Stay away from Smith and Wesson 9mm pistols. Too many moving parts, too many doubts about quality control. The Belgium Browning P-35 is absolutely reliable. It is very sturdy. I have shot loads that would have blown an S&W to bits in it with complete safety. It costs about $400 with fixed sights. The Hungarian JHP is identical and costs $200. The HP has poor standard sights. The magazine safety must be removed, but that can usually be done with a pin punch. The steel used to make the slide is on the soft side, so the finish may scratch easily. Depending on your budget, you might like to look at the HK P7M8 or P7M13, but they are over $500. Jon Kaplowitz erc3ba!jfka
jkh@jade.BERKELEY.EDU (Jordan K. Hubbard) (01/22/87)
Article: 1:47 In an article in Ammerican Handgunner they talked about the pistols used by shooter's from South America. Since the .45 is banned, they have to use 9mm or 38's. The most popular 9mm is the Colt Gov. Model because they claimed the Browning falls appart. As far as the S&W's reliability, they stayed in the running with the Sig and the Beretta in the Armys's test. They were eliminated by by some technical screwup that is being challanged in the courts. They are also used by many police departments. John Mireley
jkh@jade.UUCP (01/31/87)
If you're interested in buying any gun, you might just talk to a local shooting range that rents its own guns. I found it instructive. The local owner (based on his sample of one gun each) said that most 9mm don't hold up to the same use as the L-frame S&W revolvers or the SA Colt in 9mm and .45. He estimated his guns go perhaps 2,000 rounds a week, so that adds up after a while (even if he exagerrated, clearly they get more use than your gun or mine). Anyway, his specific experiences were: Beretta 92F: Won't feed hollow-point bullets reliably Cracked 5 times in one year, finally ruined and not replaced. SIG-Sauer P226: After about a year, cracked the sidebar (?) In the shop and will be back out again. Browning Hi-Power: Held up well, until some jerk rented it and shot 3 boxes of 9mm machine gun ammo through it. With 14 cracks in the frame, it ended up in the trash and won't be replaced. He had the Steyr in his used gun case, and it was about the same size as the Beretta, with a slightly thicker grip. Like the SIG, it has a decocking lever, no safety. Finally, I was amused to note that the tiny .380 Walther PPK (stainless) had held up just fine to this abuse. Perhaps there's something to be said for having an established, tested design (like the 1911 Colt) that has all the bugs out of it.