A NEW GUN

Billy Ray, myself and several other of my friends have all been mentioning that we'd like to pick up a new pistol. We've all got our different pistols in mind, and most of us have more than one handgun we'd like to get.

I've been hankering for a Colt Government Model .38 Super for the longest time, and one of my friends and I happened upon the fact we both regretted that we did not have one of these nickle plated beauties that Colt is currently making.

Likewise, I recently shot a very nice Sig Sauer 239 in 9mm. I'm very interested in this pistol and it shoots very well. I found it to be an accurate pistol that fit my hand very well, and although recoil was a bit sharp with the 9mm, I would really like to have one of these guns in .357 Sig. Many of my law enforcement friends who have been assigned Sig 226's or 229's in .357 Sig have become true believers in this caliber, and a lot of those users were die hard Glock or 1911 fans prior to being issued a Sig.

Many of these friends are carrying their duty 226 or 229 on and off duty. They cite the absolute reliability of Sig Sauer pistols as one reason many hard core 1911 fans abandoned their beloved single action .45's for the .357 sigs for off duty wear when they can carry what they wish.

Several of my friends do carry 239's off duty, as the single stack magazine and slightly smaller size allows for greater concealability. But for all practical purposes, the 239 weighs just a few ounces shy of both the 226 and 229, and compared to it's polymer brethren like Glock et al, the 239 is one third heavier than most carry pistols.

It's apples and oranges I guess, since a Sig 239 is metal and a Glock is half polymer. But my Glock 36 in .45 caliber weighs 9 oz. less than the 239 and is nearly as thin as the 239. The one thing that has always bothered me about carrying the Glock in a non-duty holster has been the lack of a thumb safety. Call me old fashioned but I like a thumb safety on an semi-auto.

Before the Glock, I guess ever semi-auto I've ever shot had a thumb safety. I've discussed this preference for thumb safeties before, and even though the 239 does not have a thumb safety, it's double action trigger makes me feel a lot more secure carrying it next to my body than the Glock trigger.

I'd like to have a nice S&W Model 40, a J frame hammer less model that features a grip safety.

I'd like to have one of the Taurus Public Defender Ultralights. It's an ideal field weapon, and could be used for CCW when jackets or coats are worn.

And, as I've written before, I've had a hankering for an HK P7. It has remarkably low recoil due to it's gas operated nature, and I think it is the safest automatic that has ever been made. Even though it has no thumb safety, it does feature the extremely instinctual combination cocking/decocking handle. As I've mentioned before, HK really should put this gun back in production and consider offering it in .357 Sig based on the .40 caliber P7 frame.

Finally, every few years I become interesting in big bore revolvers. I'd really like a ultralight frame, five shot, three inch barrel, round butt and fixed combat sighted revolver in .45 auto caliber.

I'd be interested in seeing a similar gun in .357 Sig caliber as well. They have made 9mm revolvers in the past, and although not hugely successful, it'd be an interesting backup gun for all of those officers who carry .357 Sigs for their duty weapon if also available in a five shot hammer less or shrouded hammer snubnose.

I'll pull the proverbial trigger on one of these guns in the near future.