Define what you mean by “slide separation.” Also, how often do you qualify?
Thanks for the info. It’s been a while since I’ve shot and I’d like to get into it with a rifle that has some character. Am I likely to find one at a gun show, though, for a decent price?
Last couple gunshows I went to had Yugo SKS carbines in piles. They weren’t as cheap as Chinese ones used to be, but they didn’t cost a month’s pay either.
Have you considered getting a Curios and Relics FFL? With a C&R license you could have one delivered to your door and at dealer price.
The portion of the slide forward of the serrations, parallel to the barrel, fracturing or cracking due to stress.
That’s irrelevant. It’s not as though I’m making some outrageous claim, like “I’ve personally seen 75 Glock KaBooms!”. I’m not. I’m asserting why I very vehemently dislike the weapon.
Again, this is my opinion, it doesn’t have to be yours. You can love it to death. I don’t. I’m not prepared to get into a fight over this. Enjoy your weapons. I’ll enjoy mine.
cost = < or >300?
You, I think, are FOS. A decade or two ago the things you claim to have witnessed first hand occurred in the SF community using Berrettas that did not have the frame stop AND that were being fed a steady diet of +P++ loads. I don’t care what gun you carry or favor. I do care that you imply experience that I think you never had.
You’re absolutely right. I have everything to gain by lying on a message board to complete strangers.
You know what, Airman Doors? I don’t even own a Beretta model 92-fs (aka M-9). I had one a while back (circa mid90’s) and wasn’t all that impressed with it. It’s just fascinating, though, how the gun’s shortcomings that you claim to have seen 1st hand (thought your earlier post implies you experienced them) so neatly duplicates the SF experience with the M-9 as fed a steady diet of proof loads during the early days of its adoption.
I certainly didn’t intend to imply that the gun came apart in my hand. For that confusion I apologize.
As for the rest, when I did a year with the SPs the armorer told me that the weapons used for aircrew qualification were essentially shot to destruction. They were used when we got them (being a lowly Guard unit, not special like the AD folks), and they endure a minimum of 200 rounds a month. At 2,500 rounds or so a year and no less than a decade of usage, they are well within the range of where they have been observed to fail in the manner described. Cite.
That’s not to mention that they leave it to the operator to carry the weapons (unloaded) to the range, they are regularly racked 10-20 times for training purposes, and the operators clean them, which naturally leads to half-assed maintenance.
Like I said above, I am willing to attribute the problems to age, abuse, and lack of proper maintenance, but they did in fact occur as I had described. I don’t have stock in Beretta’s competition, so I have nothing to gain here. I simply cannot trust my life to a weapon that I have seen malfunction so dramatically with any confidence. That’s the bottom line for me.
Now, that said, if you’d prefer to call me a liar again, that’s your business.
Well, I certainly can’t argue with the reliability of Glocks, but in defense of the 1911, I’ve had nothing but good experiences with my Kimber Custom 2. There was a bit of a break-in period during which it had a couple of failures to feed the first round from the magazine, but since then it has performed flawlessly. It has never jammed once on Federal Premium JHPs, and I haven’t even had the feed ramp polished or anything like that.
I’ll readily admit that I do have a bit of a prejudice in favor of 1911s, though. 
Yeah, me too. I’ve even had good experiences with off the rack Colt 1991’s. But, while you can always tell a Glock lover, you can’t tell him much 
Just kidding Airman. Just like Martini doesn’t like my beloved mdl 94 and you don’t like my beloved 1911, I don’t like Glocks (or most “plastic” handguns - they don’t feel right) or scatterguns. Just a matter of personal preference. I’ll take an AR over an AK any day of the week (and twice on Sundays), and arguing won’t change my mind about any of them. Experience might, but I’m tired of dropping $600+ on something I’m going to turn around and sell in a year anyway. Doesn’t mean they aren’t just right for someone else…
I’m not a fan of the Glock pistols at all. They’re incredibly boring, IMHO, and they’re just not quite right for my hand in an irritating way that I can’t pin down exactly.
Revolvers, on the other hand, are an entirely different kettle of fish. I favour the Webley break-top revolvers, but the Ruger GP-100 and the S&W Model 10 are also great pistols and I’ve been kicking around the idea of retiring my Webley and replacing it with an S&W Victory Model in .38 Special so I can afford to keep shooting in pistol matches.
Having said that, I’ve also been having impure thoughts about purchasing a 9mm semi-auto, but the short-list is only 4 guns long and two of them are almost impossible to obtain (Mauser C96 and Tokarev TT) and the other two are bloody expensive (Browning Hi-Power and Springfield M1911).
If we’re talking about pump-action shotguns, though, what I’d really like is a Winchester Model 97 Trench Gun, but that’s not going to happen this side of Uncle Kev changing the gun laws to something a bit more sensible.
Most people attribute it to the grip angle. To my eyes the angle isn’t dramatically different, but it does have a rather large palm swell, and that might be what distracts you.
I got my Yugo SKS from here for under $200 delivered. They were a bit cheaper at that time, but you can still find shooter-grade rifles for <$200 (such as here)
I’ve only been to a few gun shows and haven’t been impressed; I think buying guns online is now the better option.
The C&R FFL is a great deal if you have any interest at all in military surplus firearms–you can get firearms more than 50 years old and any deemed “curios or relics” by the ATF delivered to your door. It costs $30 for three years, and you’ll make that up within 1 to 2 firearms by not having to pay transfer fees. It took less than a month for the ATF to process my application, although that varies by office. There is good info here if you are interested.
I don’t handle firearms regularly any more, but when I did the Browning Hi-Power (the first centerfire handgun I fired), the CZ-75, and the SIG P220 and P229 were favorites. (I find it curious that no one else has mentioned the Sig Sauer pistols as they’re top of the line production guns, though I personally find the P226 too big for me.) The 1911 is okay–I have no aversion to Condition 1 carry–but unless it is customized it feels very much like a piece of bar stock to me. The Beretta 92F is too big for my hands and the safety in inaccessible, and even in recent handling I find the Glock to point every way wrong for me. The HK USP and the P2000, however, are pretty much built-to-fit, as is the Walther P99 (I haven’t handled the S&W version) and the Springfield XD, but of these I’ve only fired the USP in 9mmP). If I needed a service weapon, I think I’d pick the single action version of the SIG P220, or the USP in .45.
I don’t care for most revolvers, but the Colt Police Special and the Ruger Speed Six (no longer produced, but similar to the SP-101) are passable, although the latter requires trigger work before seeing service.
In rifles, I think the Remington 700 is the best fitting general purpose bolt gun out of the box, and the HK 91 (the semi-auto version of the venerable but robust G3) is one of the best autorifles out there. I also liked the Steyr AUG (select fire) I handled once, but I didn’t have extensive experience with it, and I think the .223 Rem is of limited utility. In pump shotguns, the Mossburg 500/590 is preferred, but frankly I don’t find much difference in handling between the brands; I just think the Mossburg is a little more robust than Remington, Winchester, and Ithaca. For mil surplus guns, the oft-overlooked Karabiner Model 1931 is the tops. I’ve owned an SKS and handled AKs, and have never been impressed, though I’ll admit that they fulfill the function of infantry rifle better than anything fielded by U.S. troops in two generations.
Stranger
I recently purchased a Kimber Custom II from a friend for an embarrassingly low price. It’s a beautiful weapon and I enjoy it, but it just doesn’t feel as good as a Glock in my hands.
One pistol that truly feels like an extension of myself, however, is the Ruger SP-101. I can go months without shooting it and still hit tin cans at 15 yards without even trying. I love that gun.
As far as rifles go, I adore the Ruger Mini-14.
Wow. Thanks for those links! (Mosin Nagants for 60 bucks! Wow.) I’m still going to the show but if I can’t find an SKS for under 250 in decent condition there, I’m ordering from that site. I already applied for the C&R (or, more accurately, the package of forms that I have to fill out to apply for it.) They supposedly will be here in a few weeks.
We all need to be taking advantage of our right to buy semi-automatic rifles while we still have it. It might not be around for much longer.
I fired a lot of weapons in the military, and by far my favorite was the M-14. While I could knock off a bee’s ass with an M-16 at 200 yards, I could do the same with an M-14 at 300 yards. It has good heft and balance, was easier to hold steady at longer range, and I really liked the 7.62 cartridge.
See now it’s the opposite for me. I really like my 22C but my new Kimber Stainless Pro Carry II is SMOKING!! 
I’ve NEVER held a pistol that feels as good or is as balanced in my hands as this one (and that’s true with every Kimber I’ve held and/or fired).
The Kimber stuff is very good, but very, very pricey.
I agree with Stranger regarding the Sig P226; the Sig-Sauers are excellent pistols, but start at about AUD$3,000 and are pimped out for IPSC-type matches. The standard P226 has a barrel that’s about 8mm too short for legal use here, and unlike Glock and Browning, they don’t appear to be offering a model with a 5" barrel yet.
As it is, I may have to go to the US for a Mauser C96 as there just don’t seem to be any Red 9s here…