Titled:   First Pistol

Thinking of buying your first pistol? Say Uncle points to an excellent short piece by Catfish on the Texican Tattler.

His advice comes down to a choice between a Springfield XD and a Glock, pushing aside Say Uncles favorite Sig. I know that our very own Buck is rather partial to the SIG too, though he too considered the XD.

I have both a P226 Sig in .40 S&W as well as a Springfield XD9 Sub-compact. When I bought the SIG as a first handgun, I wanted it for home defense and range shooting. When I made the transition to CCW a little later, it was a concealed carry weapon too. And very heavy it was, with that dig-in-the-kidney character. Still, it was supposed to be comforting, not comfortable.

The XD Subcompact was an attempt at compromise. It is certainly compact and comes with a great reputation. I wanted an XD40 too, but after 3 months, was unable to find one, so I settled on a 9mm from a Lansing gun show. It cost a lot less than the SIG too, almost by half, and is a neat Bi-tone color, with extra magazine and holster.

Carrying became easier, more comfortable and more frequent. And soon I took up IPSC competitive shooting to get real acquainted with it under pressure. It shoots very well, functioning a lot more reliably that most of the 1911 race-guns there. I can't say its a competition winner - it is after all handicapped by my ability, the low power rating of the 9mm round, short 3 inch barrel and the 10 round magazines that the Production Class calls for. But it doesn't let me down.

After a year or so, I remembered the SIG back in the gunsafe, and I took them both out for range time together. I had always assumed that the SIG would outperform the XD. But next to each other I was better at and preferred the XD. The SIG had the edge on long distance slow shooting, but for up-close speed and accuracy, the XD works best for me.

So if the bump in the night happens, and I reach for a handgun, which would I choose?

Probably the XD.

And that says it all.