Question for FN FAL

[Grumman guy]

What is the greatest pistol of all time?

P.s aviation related because should airline pilots be carrying it?

 

[cforst513]

desert eagle.... but i'm not FN FAL, so my opinion doesn't matter.

 

[mattpilot]

sig sauer p228

weapon of choice for armed pilots

 

[RightPedal]

Sig Sauer P229 or P239.
Why? Because they are just as concealable, and they can make bigger holes.

Sig should be the weapon of choice for anyone that needs to be armed.

 

[Grumman guy]

I am looking for all opinions I had just addresed the question to FN FAL as he seems to be the resident firearms expert.

My vote is for the springfield armory 1911-A2


Any others care to cast their piece of choice?

 

[FN FAL]

desert eagle.... but i'm not FN FAL, so my opinion doesn't matter.

hahaha...good one.

 

[PBRstreetgang]

Hey,
Colt 70 series Combat Commander!
PBR
P.S. largest frame- G.E minigun w/shoulder strap a.k.a. cabin sweeper!

 

[FN FAL]

I am looking for all opinions I had just addresed the question to FN FAL as he seems to be the resident firearms expert.

My vote is for the springfield armory 1911-A2


Any others care to cast their piece of choice?

Thanks for the consideration, but I am no expert. Just a hobbyist with a lot of time on my hands.

Currently, I have a USP .40 Cal. I think it is great firearm, handles well and has a feature that I prefer best. That is, the de-cocker de-cocks to the fire position, not the safety position. For most people, you would use the de-cocker to set the hammer down to make the gun safe, so you'd want the lever to go into the safety mode when using it. Since I bought the gun because I was interviewed and was expecting a job as a part time police officer and could carry my choice of sidearm, I chose the USP and sold my Ruger 9mm to a friend.

Also, the safety on the USP works almost the same as a 1911 safety. In that it works in the same direction of travel for safe and fire positions and the safety allows the carry of the firearm in the cocked and locked position.

There are plenty of reliable semi-auto pistols that work and carry as well as a USP, for a lot less money. However, I don't have any experience with those guns. For the most part, my formal handgun training was done with revolvers and specifically with the S&W type.

Also keep in mind that I never carried a sidearm for a profession, nor do I carry one as a civilian...we have no CCW law in Wisconsin, so my USP is a home protector and is carried unloaded and in a case when I go to the range. A licensed CCW carrier or an ex/current police or military person, who carried side arms professionally, should be able to answer your question best Grumman.

In the past, I owned the following handguns...and they are long gone.

Sterling .380/Hated it.
Ruger Security Six blue steel .357 6'/Loved it.
Ruger Security Six SS 2.75'/Loved it.
Colt Detective Special alloy frame/Loved it.
S&W Chief Special/Loved it.
S&W Model 15 6'/Loved it.
S&W Model 586 8'/Loved it.
Ruger 9MM/Loved it.
Colt .45 Commander SS/Would have loved it, but it jammed alot...needed work.
Colt .38 Super 1911/Gawd, why did I sell that gun? Five stars!
Colt .45 1911 on an Essex frame, accurized/Great gun...should not have sold it.
MAC 9/11 semi-auto/Turd...shot ok, but useless for the money. (or was that turd a Cobray M11/9? lets just call it turd for short )

 

[Duderino]

My Choice goes for any Springfield Loaded 1911. I own a Springfield 1911 Mil-Spec Commander model that I sent back to Springfield custom and had the TRP package put on. It turned out great. Springfield has become a top contender, and has many Government contracts.

Anyone chosing a DAO should be discarded(oops).

 

[BillyD]

As mentioned before 1911's are great firearms, the .45 acp has great stopping power and it is a classic pistol. Springfield armory is not the only company making a nice version though check out kimber, para ordance, or any the heaps of other companies that make a 1911. For concealed carry the .45 can be a little bulky and heavy to carry especially in the summer time that is why I really like the Kahr pm40, Glock 37 and the new 39! and the springfield xd. As FN mentioned above the HK usp is a great gun, the usp is pretty expensive, but so is the kimber. Reliability is the most important part of having a self defense handgun.

I have a Springfield ultra compact, and just recently ordered a Kahr for summer carry, don't forget to get the night sights when you buy the gun!

 

[avbug]

For what it's worth, I'll chime in. I carry a Kahr P40 for it's size, effectiveness, comfort, and great design. Kahr makes a great firearm.

I'd always put them down, but I have purchased several Keltec P3AT's for backup weapons in .380. The size for a .380 is phenomenol. Great little firearms. I'm not big at all on "cheap" weapons...but while the little Keltec is inexpensive, it's reliable and increadibly tiny....and oh, so light weight. A true pocket or ankle pistol. If you happen to be employed wearing a Sam Brown belt, it tucks away really nicely behind handcuff cases or a mag pouch. Great backup.

The 1911 is one of the best designs ever built, though it has to be built right and maintained well. New innovations have come out in recent years that really make the design shine, including eliminating the barrel bushing, improved extractors, etc.

I like Springfield Armory, but Kimber is really hard to beat for the price and quality. I have a Kimber Pro CDP that's wonderful. I have some springfield's too, including my project .45 compact that was a learning platform for customizing...but the Kimber beats all the others I've used or carried, and it comes ready to go. The CDP treatment is snag free with blended or melted edges. It's lightweight, came with no-snag tritium sights, is ultra reliable, has a great trigger, and feels good enough in your hand that you just don't want to put it down.

I like revolvers, and have a Ruger sp101 .357 brick with a 3 1/16 bbl that fits really nicely in a small of the back holster. Love it. 110 grain treasury loads from Corbon in a semijacketed lead tip hollowpoint are effective, and make it a very viable firearm. As handguns go, it's "bulletproof."

If one is carrying and doesn't have time to spend a lot of time learnnig manual of arms or training, then a Glock is very, very hard to beat. Reliable, increadibly so, glocks are everything they're cracked up to be. I prefer the Glock 19 or the 23.

I have a HK USP in .45, it's the .45 compact, and while there are few firearms makers better than HK, it's a little bulky for concealed or daily carry. It's a great duty side arm, and great to throw in the vehicle or a backpack...but it's not exacly compact, despite the name. Also, there are a variety of trigger variants that come with the HK, and the newer LEM trigger system is perhaps by far the best. Double action is not necessarily a bad thing. I enjoy double taps from the 1911 as much as anyone, but it can also be accomplished by a striker action like a glock, or simply a double action arrangement quite comfortably in the HK. What I don't like is the long trigger pull of the first double action shot followed by a short single action...change out the trigger and action arrangement, and double action is far more preferrable to the old "crunch-tick" of trigger cocking a series of single action followups in any auto.

I own and carry a number of other weapons, but most are for fun. The Kahr is a staple, and I'm a firm believe that if one is going to carry seriously, one should train and be familiar with just one or two weapons that have a similiar manual of arms. I'm also a big believer in training a lot...merely owning a weapon without being very current is irresponsible, especially if one considers ever the need to use it.

Having said that, there's more to life and defense than carrying a firearm. If one feels the need for a weapon, edged weapons are far more concealable, far quicker to action, far quieter far less expected, and just as effective, perhaps even more so. Anything at hand quickly becomes a weapon, and a ball point pen can do the same job as a .38 if it's used properly...it also gives more choices when used for less than a lethal encounter against pressure points. The bottom line isn't the type of firearm carried or weather one has an edged weapon or even a field-expedient items such as a pen or a rolled up newspaper or broom stick. It's always the user; how much do you train, how well do you train, and how mentally prepared are you to use whatever it is that you have at hand? A .44 won't do you a bit of good unless you know how to use it and are prepared to do so. The weapon of choice for many covert activities for many years has been the simple .22 LR...it's not the size, it's where you put it, and how determined you are to put it there the first time, and each and every time to come.

 

[Phoenix45]

Basically it boils down to what you are most comfortable shooting. I own a Glock 20 (10mm). To me it is the best pistol I have ever fired. However when I was doing the personal security thing, it was **CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED****CENSORED** near impossible to conceal. I ended up buying a Charter Arms Bulldog (.44 special). The bulldog wasn't accurate at all past 15 feet, but it has a hell of an impact. Plus the 2-inch barrel made it easy to conceal anywhere.
Other considerations are caliber. If you are looking at firing inside a pressurized airplane, you might want to go smaller caliber so you won't necessarily punch a hole through the fuselage. Also using subsonic rounds and hollow points will help prevent this.
Think about wielding it around the cockpit and in tight spaces. Maybe a compact .380 would suffice. If this is your primary use, I would stay away from large frame pistols. Also I would go for higher capacity magazines, this excludes revolvers. But if you are going up against a MAC or UZI you will appreciate the 20 round mag.
Bottom line is finding one that fits your hand well and will fulfill your needs. Don’t just go with what is "cool." Remember, it isn't just your life in the balance...

Springfield has become a top contender, and has many Government contracts. QUOTE]

Sorry to burst your bubble Duderino, but just because the government buys it doesn't mean it is the best out there. Look at the Beretta.....

 

[avbug]

There's nothing at all wrong with the Beretta. I put several thousand rounds through mine, with two or three malfuctions...each one my own fault; poor reloads I made. If you don't like 9mm, get a .40. Some feel the 9mm is a poor choice, but most of those who do are relying on expanding rounds and big rounds to do their job for them. Put the round where it's supposed to be, in other words, learn to shoot, and a 9mm is just as effective as anything else. It's not what you hit with, but where you hit.

As far as shooting through a pressurized airframe, adding a hole is irrelevant...the outflow valve is a much bigger hole and will only close a little more. Only in the movies do people get sucked out a .5" hole in the side of the fuselage, turning it into a 6' gaping maw.

If you're going to shoot in an airplane or anywhere else, your first and foremost concern is stopping the fight...otherwise you wouldn't be shooting in the first place. That's the only consideration. If it's not, then you shouldn't be discharging that weapon in the first place, and if it is the only consideration, then you can forget everthing else and concentrate on stopping the fight, right now. Shot placement and reliability are the only two issues you need to worry about at that point, and all you should have to worry about are where to put your front sight (even if you don't have time to use it), and pressing the trigger.

Tactically speaking, 9mm has a lot less recoil, is a lot less loud, less muzzle flash, and permits follow up shots quicker with less muzle jump or displacement. It's a cheaper round, meaning that for the private shooter, one can expend a lot more ammunition training to put the rounds where you want them, which alone may make it a much more effective round to be carrying. 9mm's tend to be a lot smaller than most other calibers of weapons, more easily controlled, and lighter in weight.

It's not all about the size of the weapon.

 

[empenage]

It should fit your hand.

You should be able, with continued practice, to hit what you aim at.

You must be willing to use it. Paper and people are not the same.

Be responsible.

Keep it clean.

 

[CaravanMan]

Touching on Avbug's comment...

I'm not a gun buff, but the first gun I bought was a .40 Beretta. Maybe it's not the best out there, but it has never jammed once. I really like it... Feels comfortable and might be fairly accurate if it weren't for the operator!! Hehe!