Guns, Hunting, and anything else remotely related...

Lol, I like his short shorts XD

That begs the question- your patriotic duty to Texas or your patriotic duty to these United States?

No wrong answer there. It is all good.

Update on my quest for the perfect single stack 9mm. The other day I went out and examined a ton of options at different stores to determine what I would like to test at the range with my limited funds.

First off, it's AMAZING to me how the "ultra sub-compact" variant of pistol has improved since I was a kid. They look and feel like guns despite their size (guns as opposed to something that comes with a happy meal). That is, except for maybe one.

All Sig Ultra Sub-Compacts- The ironic thing about Sig is that they have so many ultra sub-compacts in the same caliber, but they all seem to feel the same.

Pros- short, sits naturally on top of the hand, decent trigger pull

Cons- happy meal look (the only gun in this list to earn the dubious honor), getting a grip with the bottom two fingers is a trial, awkward ergos, external safety, 6 capacity, temperamental cocking mechanism

Price- $650 at both places I went.

Verdict- No.

Kimber Solo- Okay, in a world where I had to go all metal, this would be the one.

Pros- Best trigger pull on the list, classic 1911 hand fit, cocks and racks like a dream, smooth external safety, sights are awesome, thin, really sexy looks

Cons- heavy, rather large, 6 round capacity, complex operation (requiring more practice), defeating the purpose of concealed carry by looking so good thus tempting me to show it off.

Price- About $600

Verdict- This is the girl I would love to have on my arm at a fundraiser, but she's high maintenance and a little out of my designated price range...definitely an option for a man like Des.

Springfield XDS- An acquired taste.

Pros- Decent trigger (for a polymer ultra-sub), decent sights, longer grip

Cons- Terrible grip made more terrible by the grip safety it feels blocky and mushy at the same time a big turn off.

Price- $500

Verdict- Nutnfancy adores this gun. I don't.

Smith and Wesson M&P Shield- The gun I really wanted to hate, but couldn't do it!

Pros- decent ergonomic fit, sales for them abound so they come with cool accessories, 7-8 round capacity

Cons- very strange, squishy trigger

Price- $550 with accessories

Verdict- They say Smith and Wesson guys cross over to the Glock 19 and Glock men typically like the S&W Shield. That seems to hold for me. Especially if I get a laser with the gun. Wow.

Beretta Nano- Disappointment

Pros- 7 round capacity

Cons- shockingly awful grip, bizarre take down method, bizarre safety mechanism, absurd trigger travel

Price- $450 and my dignity.

Verdict- I really, really, really hated this.

Glock 43- Just another Glock. Just smaller.

Pros- Great trigger for a polymer gun, 7 round capacity, great grip, well proportioned, Glock ergos ie total and complete ease of use.

Cons- The sights. The famous Glock looks...though I kind of dig the way it is ugly. It's the probably the opinion every woman I've ever dated has held about me

Price- $529

Verdict- I'm a Glock man. This is a Glock.

Ruger LC9s Pro- Shocked. The salesman had to convince me that Ruger change its evil ways since the last LC9 and did he ever.

Pros- Best trigger on any of the polymer guns I tried, decent sights, thin profile (maybe a tad too thin), 7 round capacity, no external safeties, similar ergos to the Walther PPK (the James gun)

Cons- Light trigger but no safety, dubious reputation with the old model, markings on it are a total kow tow to lawyers and gun control ninnies: "read instruction manual before using firearm" "gun will shoot with magazine removed" and on the box "arms makers for responsible citizens."

Price- The least expensive model I found was about $350. With that I could buy both the Ruger and a good shotgun.

Verdict- I do not like Bill Ruger Sr.'s legacy because I'm one of those "no compromise" types in the realm of gun control...but this gun is just plain cool. I wonder if it legal to take off the lawyer language (it will drive me crazy to no end).

Walther PPS M2​- I cannot find it anywhere for testing. The search continues.

Guns which will advance to live fire testing-

Glock 43

M&P Shield

Ruger LC9s

My favorite of the three so far is the Glock 43. The Shield has an odd allure because it surprised me. If the Ruger didn't make me feel like I was back in law school, it would've been the odds on favorite.

Kimber was going to be on the block, but I learned she's pretty choosy with the ammunition she'll shoot even after the break-in period. Looks like somebody else will be taking her to the dance.

I know someone who has a Glock 43, and he is very happy with it!

Aaaand I'm dying here.... D': I was going to have me a Kimber baby in a few years.... You've just shattered some dreams. *sighs heavily*

If you get a .45 you should be okay. There's definitely a break-in period.

Is it still choosy with the .45 rounds? The high maintenance thing also is sort of a downer for me. I like something that doesn't HAVE to be pampered.
I sort of feel the way about guns that I feel about dogs. I don't want to end up with the "chihuahua" of guns.

A kimber is definitely a gun that needs pampering.

I already have one pampering gun- my beautiful AR, Deborah. She's enough work as it is. Not ready to add another in my life

:/ Well. Bye-bye, Kimber. I'll most likely be following your little hunt much more closely now. LOL

I've been very luck to not have a temperamental firearm in the collection. Between an AR-15 I built myself, a Mosin-Nagant I modified to the nines, my cheap-o Girsan 1911, my Glock 26, and now my Ruger 10/22 rifles that are both home built jobbies, all of them have just functioned flawlessly with all situations and all kinds of ammo. They all just work.

Its so nice when your guns "just work". When you can drop it on a rock accidentally, or into a bucket of water, and it's okay. When you don't have to be picky about the brand or finish of the bullet you use. So nice.

I was very disappointed in the Nano, also. It was actually pretty blocky feeling.

I still haven't found a PPS, either.

The LC9s has a good feel to it, but if you want a better trigger, check out the Taurus 709 slim. Not as glamorous, but from what I've read, they are dependable..

I *might* have my customized Mosin-Nagant sold to a local guy. I spent some time Internet window shopping last night for the parts to finish out my 10/22 bullpup. So many choices. For the number of aftermarket 10/22 parts though, I am having trouble finding exactly the parts I want, so not sure how I'll resolve that. I wouldn't have thought it hard to find a barrel of a certain length with a Stinger/Velocitor chamber, but it is unless I want it custom made for a price much higher than I am willing to pay.

Well I'm pretty sure my AR-15 would survive those torture tests as long as it is well-lubed beforehand.

I just know if I put it through the "cake it in mud on the insides" torture test, that it wouldn't work for beans. Most AK's will. One day I'll probably get me a reasonably priced AK to have a supplemental auto-loading rifle.

Still, they've improved the AR-15 model soooo much in just the last twenty years or so.

I actually thought the newer model LC9s's had an awesome trigger. Oddly, the only thing keeping me from buying one is that I do not want to have legal mumbo jumbo on my firearm.

Well that and the fact you need to grab a tool to take it down.

Tried the Taurus after writing the review yesterday. I thought the trigger was okay. Wasn't a huge fan of the factory sights and overall frame, however. So it isn't in the running.

Without firing anything right now, I'm really leaning M&P Shield. It's still a neat, innovative design and I don't hate the trigger as much as the other M&P's. Plus it's $100 less than the G43. I could take that money and put it into an okay holster and decent range time.

That sounds like a fun project. I hope you'll post some pictures when it's done!

My marlin seems to outshoot everything.

Looked it up one day and it seems marlin puts a tighter spiral in the rifling,and the bullet spins faster.