Newbie questions on CHL gun selection

[The Annoyed Man]

There have been a great many such reports, and the issue is summarized in the following Wikipdeia article. Scroll down below the cartridge background info for an outline of the problem.

My son had a first hand experience with this in a Glock 23. He didn't enjoy the experience, which blew the magazine out of the gun and numbed his hand. The exterior portion of the slide stop was never found. Fortunately, he received only minor cuts and no permanent damage. He was using reloads at the time. I suspect but can't prove that the projectile was set back into the case mouth as the round encountered the feed ramp, which sharply increased the internal pressure when the round was fired. He doesn't use .40S&W reloads at all anymore.

Then I stand corrected. Your story is the first "first hand" one I've seen. All I've seen before was generalizations on this board, but no specifics.

I've just inspected the way my H&K USPc chamber supports the case head (picture below), and it does not appear to have the same issue as the Glock.

[Excaliber]

There have been a great many such reports, and the issue is summarized in the following Wikipdeia article. Scroll down below the cartridge background info for an outline of the problem.

My son had a first hand experience with this in a Glock 23. He didn't enjoy the experience, which blew the magazine out of the gun and numbed his hand. The exterior portion of the slide stop was never found. Fortunately, he received only minor cuts and no permanent damage. He was using reloads at the time. I suspect but can't prove that the projectile was set back into the case mouth as the round encountered the feed ramp, which sharply increased the internal pressure when the round was fired. He doesn't use .40S&W reloads at all anymore.

Then I stand corrected. Your story is the first "first hand" one I've seen. All I've seen before was generalizations on this board, but no specifics.

I've just inspected the way my H&K USPc chamber supports the case head (picture below), and it does not appear to have the same issue as the Glock.

From your picture it does look like the H&K provides much better support near the case head than what's found on the Glock where the feed ramp meets the chamber. That may account for the fact that I have not yet come across any "kaboom" accounts involving H&K's.

[The Annoyed Man]

From your picture it does look like the H&K provides much better support near the case head than what's found on the Glock where the feed ramp meets the chamber. That may account for the fact that I have not yet come across any "kaboom" accounts involving H&K's.

Egad! On closer inspection, it appears that I overlooked a little bit of schmutz next to the chamber the last time I cleaned the gun. I have just rectified that, and I feel SO much better!

[neilp]

Thanks for all the advice. I did like the XD and I am considering replacing it. The grip on most double stack pistols is too big for my small hands so the XD's thinnish grips work well for me. I'm thinking that the sub compact 9mm might be a good choice. I am concerned about how easy it would be to conceal one.

My SIG Mosquito is proving reliable. There are many stories about unreliability on the 'net, although I think they apply more to earlier examples. It does seem as bit picky about ammo, preferring higher velocity rounds.

I do want to take the CHL, but I'm going to consider my options for a little while. I am still tempted by that cheap Bersa though!

Hopeful I'll find a job soon which will give me more options.

[troglodyte]

Concealing is a mult-faceted critter. Part body shape, part clothing, part weapon, and part voodoo I think.

The XD9C will conceal fine. Get a decent holster. Buy pants a size larger in the waist (may not be needed), and wear an appropriate shirt or jacket.

There are so many ways to conceal that it's not that hard to conceal a much larger weapon with a little thought.

If you like the XD pick up another one. You already know how it runs and feels. Otherwise, have fun looking for a new gun.

[neilp]

"You already know how it runs and feels"

True, this is a factor. I put around 2000 rounds through my XD and found it reliable and accurate. In the two range trips with my SIG I'm frustrated that I can't get the same accuracy from it. Perhaps I'm just out of practice, or expecting too much from a 22?

The more I think about it the more an XDSC makes sense. I'm going to think on this some more.

[SOJ]

If you need a thin grip and can live with 6 plus 1, try a Kahr PM9, I have been carrying it for a while now, and it is thin and shoots great, or if you want a bigger round, they have it in a 40 and 45 also.

[TxDrifter]

You could get the 1911 you wanted and get a 22 conversion kit for practice. I haven't used one to find out how reliable that is, but for practice it would be inexpensive. Although I think you can only get those for the full size 1911s and my carry is a 3" barrel, so that might not work.

[neilp]

I just wanted to follow up on this thread. I'm picking up a used SIG P239 SAS 9mm tomorrow! I think it makes sense to have a "real" pistol that is very similar to my "practise" pistol Mosquito. I have been impressed with the Mosquito's build quality and it has been reliable so far, at least when using the anything but Remington rounds! I rented a P239 a few years ago and liked the smaller grip size.

I want to use my current down time while looking for a job to become proficient with the 239 and to get CHL qualified. It will stretch my resources some but I sold a guitar to cover the cost of the 239 (You can only play one guitar at a time!)

I've been keeping any eye on the ammo availability around here (Austin) and the shelves have been just about bare. So I tracked down someone selling some 9mm locally on the internet and paid more than I wanted to for some WWB rounds. $400 for 1200 rounds is probably way too much but there's nothing more useless than a gun with no ammo.

Then, this evening, on the way home from band practise I stopped at a Walmart that had some 9mm Blazer Brass on the shelf. $9 per 50 rounds. So I couldn't resist buying a few boxes. I did leave some for other ammo hungry Austinites. Kind of ironic that I'd find this ammo today considering my earlier purchase at inflated prices, but such is life.

I'm going to stop by the range on the way home tomorrow and give the new-to-me SIG a workout.

Thanks for all the advice here. I hope to be posting about my CHL class soon!

Neil

[LaUser]

The SIG P239 SAS in 9mm is an excellent pistol.
The recommendation that I was going to make was to practice and qualify with what you carry.