Most popular polymer pistols? Plus rant...

[wizzamen]

Based on range experience and reading forums I can safely say the most popular and best selling polymer pistols are: Glock, Smith & Wesson M&P, and Springfield XD and XDM series (alphabetical order, please don't chew my head off). I'm I wrong about this?

What happened to the Beretta PX4 line, has the slide mounted safety doomed this pistol? I know you can get it without a safety, but it is uncommon.

FN FNS & FNX series, don't know much about them.

H & K, priced themselves out of reach? Do they even care about the civilian market?

Ruger polymer pistols? Rugged, reliable, but have safeties!! (I don't want a "safeties on my pistols, revolvers don't have safeties and people did just fine with them for a long time).

Sig Sauer SP2022, a highly underrated pistol. I blame you Sig for not advertising this pistol enough and expanding on the line.

Walther P99 and PPQ pistols, are great!!! If you can find them. Same as the Sig, they need better advertising.

[power5]

Price and aftermarket are one reason to consider. PX4 and Sig is DA/SA is another. Many who prefer da/sa also prefer metal at least I do. Availability is another main one. Besides the sheild, the others are very common. My LGS have about a dozen of the different calibers and sizes in the case of your first 3 and only a couple of the others all combined. I rememmber when I was looking at the px4 he gave me a 9mm to handle becasue they didnt have any .40 when I was looking at that caliber.

[TunnelRat]

To be honest mate I'd say you're a tad out of touch.

What happened to the Beretta PX4 line, has the slide mounted safety doomed this pistol? I know you can get it without a safety, but it is uncommon.

They sell okay, frankly there are other options out there that are cheaper and DA/SA isn't as popular these days. I owned one and it was a decent pistol, but mags can be hard to find at times and there were some early reports of problems.

FN FNS & FNX series, don't know much about them.

They sell okay, but not by much. The FNX tactical became very popular with competition shooters. The FNS line is still somewhat new. FN really doesn't make a big effort to advertise for civilians, instead focusing on government contracts. If they're smart they'll make some effort to get a piece of the pie. Frankly the FNS doesn't do much more than the competition for more money too.

H & K, priced themselves out of reach? Do they even care about the civilian market?

HK has and likely will always have its niche of die hard fans that have no problem paying the money. You're right that it will never have the mass appeal of cheaper firearms, though they are supposed to be releasing a striker fired gun at the NRA show for substantially less than their other pistols. They're starting to care more about the civilian side as government contracts are getting harder to find these days.

Ruger polymer pistols? Rugged, reliable, but have safeties!! (I don't want a "safeties on my pistols, revolvers don't have safeties and people did just fine with them for a long time).

You and I may not like safeties, but there are still folks out there that do. Many will tell you to just not use the safeties. Either way Ruger comes in at a very good price that is pretty much on its own in the current market. They sell a ton of guns and have exploded over the past years.

Sig Sauer SP2022, a highly underrated pistol. I blame you Sig for not advertising this pistol enough and expanding on the line.

That is easily one of the most promoted pistols on this forum. Its low cost was a result of the massive contract awarded for it from the French National Police. A few years ago it really got noticed and demand exploded driving the price these days over $500. At that price point it's in somewhat stiff competition, though still an excellent gun.

Walther P99 and PPQ pistols, are great!!! If you can find them. Same as the Sig, they need better advertising.

For years Walther was imported by S&W who frankly did nothing to promote the Walthers (in many ways they had competing products). Walther recently established Walther America that has been on a decent media blitz over the past year or two in magazines and the PPQ generated a lot of buzz. By coming out with longslide versions aimed at competition Walther is showing an interest in the civilian side that is likely to grow.

[SHE3PDOG]

You probably aren't too far off with which ones you consider most popular, but I feel like that has more to do with their quality at a price point that most people can afford, as with everything.

As far as all the others go, it kind of sounds like you are repeating stuff you've heard on the internet. I'd encourage you to actually shoot and handle those guns if you can so you can formulate your own opinion. You may end up not changing your opinion, but who doesn't like shooting more guns???

[jmr40]

I think Ruger will challenge for the #2 or 3 spot in time. I actually like the idea of the safety if done right. It is the magazine disconnect on the Ruger that bothers me more.

[barnbwt]

"What happened to the Beretta PX4 line, has the slide mounted safety doomed this pistol?"

Pretty much. Other than some childish objective claims about the gun looking 'girly' (really?) compared to guns with no attempted styling, this is the only, and I mean the only criticism heard commonly. It's so common, that Beretta should really work on offering a frame or trigger safety variant if they don't wish to continue their decline in market share (it's already dwindled to the point they cut the Cougar from Stoeger's line). My parents have a .40, and neither can rack the slide easily due not to the spring's strength (which is considerable, but surmountable), but due to the pain involved in gripping the rear of the slide to do so. Makes practicing the cocking of the gun a 3-4 shot deal, and an unpleasant one at that.

I really love the design, I think it is superior to a lot of stuff out there (a barrel-centric return spring would be my only desired change), but Beretta really needs to get away from putting controls on all their guns that are nearly universally panned by everyone not already an owner/fan of the 92 (which has a large, coarsely slotted grip surface well ahead of the safety lever, btw)

TCB

[wizzamen]

power5, TunnelRat (very nice response), SHE3PDOG, you all have some great observations and insights. I don't need to be agreed with, I appreciate all opinions.

jmr40, I would really be surprised if Ruger cracks the top 3. I recommend them to start by adding a little style to their pistols.

[TunnelRat]

I recommend them to start by adding a little style to their pistols.

Are you talking about the SR series of pistols? The old P series Rugers were a bit bland, but even I have to admit the SR series is pretty stylish.

[wizzamen]

Are you talking about the SR series of pistols? The old P series Rugers were a bit bland, but even I have to admit the SR series is pretty stylish.

I find the SR series a step up in style compared to the old P series but I still find them ugly. Don't get me wrong, Ruger sells the SR series at a good price point, but I could never call them stylish.

[TunnelRat]

Ruger sells the SR series at a good price point, but I could never call them stylish.

Just to get on the same page, what pistols would you call stylish?

[wizzamen]

Just to get on the same page, what pistols would you call stylish?

I have always found the Springfield XDM series (especially bi-tone) to be great looking. I am strictly talking about polymer pistols.

[TunnelRat]

I have always found the Springfield XDM series (especially bi-tone) to be great looking. I am strictly talking about polymer pistols.

Agreed those are very nice looking pistols. Keep in mind though that they are significantly more expensive than the Ruger SR pistols. It's important to try and compare apples to apples. No doubt a BMW is more stylish than a Honda, but the BMW cost more too.

The SR series is to me a bargain line of pistols. I don't mean that in a bad way. You get a lot for your money and some folks have limited funds. There should be guns for them too.

[sigp226wgerman]

I think that Glock and M&P are the best sellers with law enforcement.

[Spats McGee]

Originally Posted by sigp226wgerman

I think that Glock and M&P are the best sellers with law enforcement.

And there are lots and lots of civilians who choose their firearms based on what the police carry.

[biohazard313]

i have a smith and wesson SD series 40 cal. its a bit cheaper than the M&P series and i like it more than the M&P it appears to be a very popular low end smith poly. no safety, just a 8lb trigger pull reminiscent of a DA revolver. took me some getting used to, my apex kit took it down to about a 5.5-6 lb pull.

[kcub]

What about that other Austrian manufacturer Steyr?

I know little about them but would like to know more.

[Don P]

and there were some early reports of problems.

I concur, I owned 2, 9 mm and S&W 40 and both are long gone and so are the problems.

[Goodguy14]

I know a lot if folks aren't fond of the px4s slide mounted safety or sa/da... Those features are some of the reasons I chose it..

[dehughes]

Agreed about the PX4. I REALLY REALLY REALLY liked my 9mm full-size PX4, but I REALLY REALY REALLY hated that stupid slide mounted safety/de-cocker. Same with the 3rd Gen. S&W like the 4506-1....beeeeeeeautiful, save for that stupid slide-mounted safety.

So yes, if Beretta made a frame mounted de-cocker version, the PX4 would likely be my favorite polymer 9mm. That said, I'm loving my Sig SP2022, AND, my Glock 19 Gen 3 with a Hogue grip. Purrrrfect.....

[dgludwig]

As TunnelRat noted, you don't have to use the safety on most pistols employing a slide-mounted safety. In fact, before I retired, my agency required officers to carry their Third Generation Smiths with the safety in the "off" position. Not saying that mode of carry is the best for everyone, only that it's an option to consider.

[wizzamen]

i have a smith and wesson SD series 40 cal. its a bit cheaper than the M&P series and i like it more than the M&P it appears to be a very popular low end smith poly. no safety, just a 8lb trigger pull reminiscent of a DA revolver. took me some getting used to, my apex kit took it down to about a 5.5-6 lb pull.

Maybe Smith & Wesson should consider buying Apex Tactical or at the very least copying their trigger enhancements.

[manta49]

And there are lots and lots of civilians who choose their firearms based on what the police carry

Why do you think that's the case, ? my choice of what handgun would have nothing to do with who did or didn't carry it.

[Spats McGee]

Originally Posted by manta49

Why do you think that's the case, ? my choice of what handgun would have nothing to do with who did or didn't carry it.

I suspect it's because people here (especially people who don't know all that much about guns) assume (rightly or wrongly) that that police departments purchase the best equipment, period. The thinking goes something like "I don't know much about guns, but my buddy said that everyone in his department carries a Glock. So Glocks must be good."

[TunnelRat]

Whether a good idea or not, there is no denying that the choice of law enforcement does creep down into the civilian side. This is true if for no other reason than those are the guns they see on tv and when they get to the gun store that's what they want to see.

[Waspinator]

It's so common, that Beretta should really work on offering a frame or trigger safety variant if they don't wish to continue their decline in market share (it's already dwindled to the point they cut the Cougar from Stoeger's line)

?

Where did you see this? Stoeger's website still lists them and a LGS I frequent just started carrying them a month ago. I handled one in the store and thought it was a really nice gun, especially for the $369 price tag it had on it. In fact, I thought that the Cougar was nicer, with its metal frame, then the more expensive poly framed PX4 next to it in the case. (I'm one of those "metal frame for DA/SA" guys mentioned already in this thread).

Did you read this somewhere, or is this just rumor?