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Old August 14, 2013, 07:45 PM   #26
Elerius
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I hope the PPS works out for you. I shot a rental in .40 and thought the recoil was just too much, so I'm interested in your perception of it
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Old August 14, 2013, 10:00 PM   #27
bt380
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A couple points I have recently read about is giving me room to re-think my needs. August/September 2013 Handguns magazine, page 10 said the FBI has changed their tactical pistol shooting to accommodate the more realistic 3-7 yard scenario that 75% of their agents have been involved with trading shots.
American Handgunner Sept/Oct 2013 by Greg Ellifritz page 52 article about the reality of calibers vs the human body from actual wounds and was most interesting. The chart on 1-shot-stop-%, avg-number-of-shots-to-stop, and %-who-did-not-stop, gives pause to think. Basically the caliber is not as important as the control placement of the shots.
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There were a few other articles, but suffice it to say, the most important and best pistol is the one that does not fail, one that you can quickly fire after recoil and hit the target on the follow up shots. So rather than buy a big bore weapon, rent them from the gun range and see which model you can control on quick follow up shots. If no gun range has the one you want to try, join a gun club and trade weapons w/ others who naturally like to share. Once you decide on the one you can control, make sure the weight and holster will accommodate your clothing for conceal carry. If this is a home gun, get a 12 guage shotty and make big holes.
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Old August 17, 2013, 08:34 AM   #28
Cosmodragoon
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pat701, I did handle a smaller Sig. Whichever model it was (I forget) was SAO and required thumb-cocking. It was amazingly comfortable to hold with the included Hogue grips but it took gorilla-level thumb strength at an odd angle to get that hammer back. I passed.

Elerius, I was concerned about that. I think that concern is reflected in my original post. I will hopefully find out soon. Life and work have been unbelievably hectic and I have a cold to boot. I suppose that if it is too much, then I could always look to trade for a 9mm. My holster choice doesn't change and the extra mags I've got for this one, including two of the supposedly discontinued flush magazines, would certainly boost incentive.

Luckily, I'm not there yet. Hopefully, kcub and others are right that it is manageable. I know from past experience that the much smaller Bodyguard 380 was unpleasantly snappy but workable. It got sold due the opposite case with the trigger. The PPS trigger on the other hand feels great the few times I dry-fired it.

Ironically, it is a striker-fired pistol and has hijacked this thread. If the PPS ends up being a wash, I'll trade it for a 9mm and go back to the original quest here. Thanks for all the comments, folks.
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Old August 17, 2013, 06:47 PM   #29
kcub
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Don't forget about the Limbsaver.
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Old August 24, 2013, 07:11 PM   #30
Cosmodragoon
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So I finally had a chance to shoot the PPS. I went up into the hills with a tape measure, jugs of water, and a duct-taped ream of old New American magazines. (I'm sure the pro-gun writers of the John Birch Society would approve.) I had a 100-count box of 165-grain flat-tipped Winchester FMJs and a random handful of the same type in 180 grain by Armscor.

The difference between the 180s and 165s may just be in my head but the heavier loads felt a tad more robust. The recoil wasn't as bad as I was expecting but it was definitely different. What I've read here and elsewhere on the .40 was pretty accurate. It was a sharp snap versus the 9mm or .45acp and will take some getting used to. I'm not sure if it is the round or the gun but this worked my shooting arm over in a very different way. It felt like the tendons from the middle finger to pinky took more of a beating than usual and my forearm feels a little strange now. It wasn't unpleasant though. I actually liked it a lot.

The problem was accuracy. I'm no polished marksman but this was tricky. I shot the ream at 20ft and the jugs at 30ft. Strangely, my unpracticed first shots on each were dead on but subsequent shots covered a wider area than I'd like. (If my target was a small cow, every shot would have scored!) I was surprised by how wide a pattern I was getting. I suppose cycling through the three differently sized magazines was contributing to this wide grouping but I sincerely hope this is just part of the learning curve.

I will say that the power was impressive. Pulling the ream down, the wider grouping allowed me to see the ballistic effect in dry paper very clearly. These flat-tipped FMJs blasted out very smooth expanding cones from the point of entry that turned into shred before exiting the back of the ream. I've shot a variety of calibers into similar paper reams and I don't think I've never seen such a clean and uniform channel shape.

On performance, the PPS functioned flawlessly. I really pushed the envelope to see if it would malfunction, emptying the largest magazine as fast as I possibly could. I even shot it homeboy-style and the only thing that went wrong is a sharp pain in my wrist. From the slide release to the trigger, everything was just right. It was also a breeze to clean.

I'm pretty sure the accuracy issue is me so that aside, my initial impression of the PPS is outstanding.
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Old August 24, 2013, 08:33 PM   #31
CUBAN REDNECK
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FNP-40, if you can find one...
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