James:
You asked for comments on the Taurus 24/7, so I thought I would give you my opinion. The major appeal of this gun to me was the price. I got mine for about $315 brand new with three magazines.
Aside from price, the other deciding factor was the ergonomics. With the Ribber grip, the gun is very comfortable to hold and to shoot. Since I bought the gun for my wife, who has small hands, this was a major factor. The manual safety was also important to my wife, although I don’t find them necessary if you know what you are doing.
Other nice features include the tactical mount and the loaded chamber indicator.
As far as reliability goes, my wife and I have put about 600 rounds through it, without a single malfunction. I have always kept the gun clean, and well maintained, so I do not know how it performs when dirty, but as it is being used strictly for home and vehicle protection, I am disinclined to put it through any real torture tests.
Accuracy is good enough for a pistol, and I am sure it the gun is accurate beyond my own limits, but the double action only (DAO) trigger has a lot of travel to it, which is something to be overcome, especially when shooting rapid fire groups. Tests show that it can shoot 4 inch groups at 25 yards, and I have never shot it at a known distance (KD) range, but I don’t doubt that it can.
All things considered, I am very happy with this gun, as is my wife. The only major drawback to it is its size. Since we got the compact, not the subcompact model, it barely fits in my wife’s purse, and lately it stays at home and my wife carries a Kahr P40 instead. Also worth noting is that I have never found a quality holster that was specifically designed for it.
I would recommend the gun to anyone who needs firepower and doesn’t have a lot of money to spend, but if you can spare $150 more, then you can’t go wrong with a Glock [Model 21]. – Pete
Mr. Rawles:
My experience with a Glock 21 .45 Auto: I’ve owned my 1st generation (no finger grooves or rail) Glock 21 .45 ACP with factory installed Trijicon sights for about 13 years. I bought it new and it has yet to malfunction. It will reliably run with both FMJ and JHP cartridges without modifications. I’ve put a few thousand factory loads through mine and it has yet to malfunction even once. Before my purchase I read about Glock’s drop tests and torture tests, talked to others that owned them and was finally convinced Glock was the way to go for me. If you adopt the mentality that your finger should remain off the trigger until ready to fire, the lack of a manual safety is not a detriment (like “Hoot” in Black Hawk Down – with his crooked finger in the air – “This here is my safety”). The G21 does feel large in my hand., but not enough that I can’t use it effectively. I’ve toyed with the idea of a custom grip reduction, but it may not be necessary for me. At the time I made the purchase HK didn’t have a comparable model. The G21 has a 13 round capacity and I wanted a capacity similar to the wondernine (large capacity 9mm) handgun it was replacing (I quickly got over the “tacticool” 9mm when I studied Dr. Martin Fackler’s data). The main advantages I saw, then and now, are reliability out of the box, price (I paid $529 in the early 1990s, about the same price now), parts are readily available (and Glock seems glad to sell them), accuracy and magazine capacity. Magazine prices average $16, though it’s worth mentioning that high capacity models crested $100 each during the 1994-2004 ban, during which I paid $55 each for used hi-cap magazines and I was glad to get them at the time (I installed Wolff springs in the used mags). I’ve been seeking another 1st generation G21 locally since “two is one – one is none” is a thought for the day. Other than the Wolff magazine springs, the only accessory I’ve seen fit to add is a Surefire tactical light and mount designed specifically for the Glock models that lack an accessory rail. The light has a quick detach feature (a part of the mount stays on the pistol frame) that is very easy to use. I have a Blackhawk holster that works well with or without the light. Before I added the Surefire mount, I carried the G21 in a Bianchi UM-84 holster and was pleased with how it fit.
Glock has recently introduced a new model .45 recently dubbed G21SF with a reduced the grip size (still 13 rounds), added a Picatinny 1913-sized rail and ambidextrous magazine release. I’ve been told the new rail design won’t work with some existing G21 holsters. The new magazine release requires a different magazine with a notch in the front of the magazine body. The G21SF specification magazine will work in the old G21s, but the old mags won’t work in the G21SF. From what I’ve seen Glock is only shipping the new magazine design now at the same price as the old mags. I’ve already noticed the new magazine design on gun show tables. I haven’t held a G21SF yet, but hope to do so soon. Kind Regards, – M. Artixerxe
Jim:
I am very impressed by the reliability, parts availability, and accuracy of STI pistols. They are more expensive than owning a Glock. In fact, for the price of a new STI you can own three new Glocks. For the price of a used STI you can probably own four used Glocks.
I have Glocks in 9mm and 10mm. Fantastic pistols. However, I shoot nothing better than I shoot my single stack .45s and my high-cap STIs.
STI is the big dog in competitions such as USPSA, IPSC. The guys who shoot them are hardcore and would buy anything better if it existed. After probably 50,000 rounds through my STIs they have all proven dead nuts reliable.
A high capacity .45 STI Eagle will cost about $1,600 new. Magazines that hold 15 rounds are $60. Not cheap, but excellent quality. Regards, – Straightblast
Jim,
About six months ago my wife bought a [Springfield Armory] XD in 9mm. After she fired it she made me take it to the range on my next trip to give it a run thru. I was so impressed I traded one of my two stainless steel HK USP 45s for a NIB bi-tone XD also in 9mm with light and a couple of other items including 10 used USGI 30 round AR[-15/M16] magazines. I replaced the USP as my daily carry and now use the XD as my primary.
The USP 45 is a good platform, however it is extremely ammo picky. Point in case is Wolf brand ammunition. Both of my USPs and a friends USP 45 cannot reliably fire Wolf brand ammo. Time and again they cannot chamber the round and become so stuck [that] alternate means of clearing the pistol is required (mallet to hammer it closed and hope when fired the case extracts, not recommended). The same can also be said for the occasional S&B round as well. The XD eats them all. As my skills have progressed I also am not pleased with the accuracy of any of the USPs I’ve shot, for the price they are disappointing. Out of the box both of our XDs are extremely accurate. I still have one of the USPs in my collection and as a carry gun for so many years I don’t know if I can part with it.
At the time of buying my XD I did not know about the parts issue and I found out when I went to order some extras as I was planning on using them as my ‘house standard’. With close to 1,000 rounds thru both the XDs without a single failure in these past few months (including roughly 50% Wolf brand ammo) I’m glad I have it. I don’t like the feel of glocks and neither does my wife, we’d never buy one. The verdict is out on a standard sidearm for my house, a pair of XDs a pair of [Beretta] 92FSs, several other 9mms… I know the .45 comment will be coming so here is something to consider- in my house I have a wife and three daughters. I’ll leave it at that, the .45 versus 9mm [arguments] have been beaten to death. To each their own and unlike the military I can shoot +p hollow points. 😉
One last thought: My wife was recently shooting her new SIG P228 and was getting some failures to eject. I had no issues and I figured out pretty quickly she was ‘limp wristing’ the pistol. Never had that issue with the XD. I hope that helps and if Springfield ever starts selling parts for the XD I’ll likely buy three more XD9s for the safe and enough parts to go around. – Prometheus