beretta 92fs vs springfield 1911 GI vs rock island .38 super 1911

[luis luevanos]

my dad and I were looking for a home defense semi auto and he came across a springfield 1911 GI .45 acp, beretta 92fs 9mm, and a nice nickel plated .38 super rock island. does anyone have any expiriece with these guns? we were mostly debating on the springfield and the beretta since i have no expirience with rock island 1911s. i have heard many good things about them though. any ways i wanted to see what you guys think about these as home defense fire arms??

[Cheapshooter]

Beretta 92. Higher capacity, and less expensive ammo for practice. 9mm Luger is perfectly adequate for HD.

Springfield 1911. Less capacity, but more powerful round. More expensive ammo for practice, and although some will disagree, the 45 isn't all that necessary for HD over the 9mm. ( I just opened a can or worms)

Rock Island 38 Super. Fine firearm, but 38 Super ammo can be very hard to find, and expensive.

My vote of the three. Beretta 92, but the 45 would serve you well also.

[Hog Red]

unless your shooting competition i would stay away from the 38 super, why not a RIA in 45acp? RIA's are great guns for the money. Any of the ones you mentioned would be fine for HD.

[ATW525]

While .38 Super defensive ammo exists, it can be difficult to find, expensive and often doesn't offer much better performance than 9mm +P. Between the Springfield and the Beretta, either one should work and I'd go with the one that fits better and provides the more desirable set of features to you and your dad.

[Leejack]

Of the three choices, the Beretta first followed by the GI.

Forget 38 super.

[twhidd]

Well I happen to own two of the three, the Beretta and the Springfield. both are fine guns that would serve you well for home defense. As far as 15 rounds of 9mm being better than 7 or 8 rounds of .45ACP, I think that is a non-issue. Because if you can't stop an intruder with 7 rounds then you've got bigger problems. In that situation perhaps a shotgun would be a better choice.

[jborushko]

personally i dont like the beretta, but it shoots well enough. i would pick a CZ75 over a beretta any day of the week

i would shy away from the .38super, i have never shot one but the scarcity or could be scarcity of ammo would be a deal breaker for me. i one several rock islands in 45 and that all function very well.

my springfield 1911 is a good gun also

why not consider the rock island 45?

but nothing really beats a short barrel (18" or less) 12ga shotgun for home defense.

[Spats McGee]

I'm going to ask the same question that a few others already have: Why not a Rock Island .45? They're good guns for the $$. My first choice would probably be the SA GI in .45, but you'd probably want to put new sights on it, so that's going to bump the price up a bit.

[Sgt Pepper]

Springfield in .45. You can use the same loads for target practice and plinking that you use for self defense, and therefore avoid having to need to be loaded up with "self-defense" rounds that you otherwise never shoot. In general, nobody ever complained about the .45 acp being a manstopper in FMJ.

BTW, I am a huge fan of the Beretta 92FS, and I do not think that you can go wrong there either. It really comes down to caliber choice and style preference. Both guns are going to be reliable and accurate.

[glenncal1]

I would not discount the .38 super, ammo is out there, not too expensive more than 9mm about even with .45. I have a Commander in .38 super and it is a great shooting gun, wery easy on recoil and balistics somewhere between .38 special and .357 mag. You wont find ammo at wally world but most of the online places have it. Try it you might like it.

[bigghoss]

the I've spent 4 years packing the Beretta and I own 2 1911's. the beretta has the safety in the wrong place and backward. springfield armory makes one heck of a fine 1911 but I'd go with the mil-spec instead of the GI. it's barely any more money but is significantly better. rock island pistols are alright but for just a bit more you can get the springer and a .45 is a better choice.

[Brian48]

I think the 92fs is a fine gun. I have one myself.

Speaking strictly for myself though, what would sway my decision is my preference for the .45ACP vs the 9mm, rather than the Beretta vs the Springfield. As much as I like my 92fs, my home defense gun is a 1911 in .45ACP.

[Coltman 77]

Beretta 92FS. Accurate and super reliable.

[pgdion]

Beretta 92FS

Ditto on the super accurate and very reliable. Also very easy to shoot and easy to hit what you shoot at. Low cost to operate (9mm), has plenty of stopping power (yea the .45 has more but if the 9 is enough, it's enough ... and it is), and lots of capacity. Also, me personally here, but I like the DA/SA operation over other modes and I like Beretta's implementation of this better than others.

[ShipWreck]

Ya gotta get the Beretta

[MLeake]

... your choice, five, six, seven rounds...

I read this a lot in the forums, and while I understand the concept (work on your shooting skills so you make shots count), I think it fails to address a couple issues:

1) Good COM hits do not always produce immediate stops; most of us train to shoot until stop, so this can burn up an extra round (or several).

2) An awful lot of attacks and home invasions these days seem to include 2, 3, or 4 BG's. Assuming two good hits per BG, that uses.... hmmm.

Of course, the odds are an attack or home invasion won't happen to any given person, so this normally doesn't matter.

But on very rare occasions, such things do happen. If I'm going to carry, I like to have either a fairly high capacity handgun, or at least one spare magazine.

[Dilbert]

Well, owning all three, I will say you can't go wrong whichever you pick. I'd go Beretta, Rock Island, Springfield though. I've actually got my Beretta next to me, right now, on my nightstand, and the Rock Island sitting next to it in my little safe.

[twobit]

Then to add to the pot.... a Beretta 96A1 (which is a .40 cal) and gives you more rounds than the .45 but less than the 9mm. I've had a 92FS for fifteen years. It is a great full size pistol.

[Sgt Pepper]

Shipwreck, you are no help to this guy at all. You say, "Ya gotta get the Beretta" but then crack open pandora's box --- which Beretta ?!?!?!?!?! Of course, how can you choose only one.....

[ShipWreck]

Haha, sorry. I would recommendthe 92FS or the 92A1

[Baba Louie]

I agree with cheapshooter in that the Beretta will give your dad more trigger time per ammo dollar spent, which should mean more familiarity, better shooting.

It is large for a 9 however w/ a long DA trigger pull (in my hands, YMMV).

Usual answer is which one feels best in hand? To me and my hands, that'll be a 1911. If you consider the Springfield, look at their mil-spec which has better sights for older eyes.

RIA does make a 1911 in 9mm as well as .45acp. if cheaper ammo appeals to your wallet and the 92 is too large.

[MidwestRookie]

if your dad has small girly hands, the 92 isn't the choice.

if he has normal sized guy hands, go with the 92..

[J.Netto]

I don't think the size of someones hands is all that matters.

I have seen women shoot full size 5" 1911's, and what about females that are in the military.

Do they train them with different guns just because their hands might be smaller?

I think what any given individual is comfortable with is more important.

Someone that is unsure of what they want needs to get out there, handle everything they can, and find out what they like, or what they are comfortable with.

Caliber and capacity comes into play as well, but you have to take into consideration how much experience someone has with firearms and shooting in general.

You can't and shouldn't base all of your decision making solely on the size of someones hands...

[ShipWreck]

I have small hands, but with hogue grip panels, I love the feel of the 92 when held out 1 handed. The undercut of the trigger guard makes the gun balance very well.