OK, so I am still relatively new to shooting, and recently purchased my first gun. (Ruger SP101). Now I am in the market for a semi-auto. I have shot many guns and to tell you the truth, I see pro's and con's to all. I like shooting the Glock 19 and the Springfield XDM with 1 exception. No external safety on the Glock, and if I am going to carry in a holster, I find the Grip Safety on the Springfield utterly useless. (Think about it... when you grip the gun, you deactivate the grip safety). My favorite so far is an HK USP Compact, and I love the DA/SA trigger, but it is going to cost approx double what a Glock costs, so is out of reach.
SO... What I am looking for is...
9mm Semi-Auto Subcompact...
SA/DA with at least a Decock lever, but preferably decock and Thumb Safety like the USP.
... oh, and fwiw, and I know this is personal preference, NOT a sig. Just don't like them
I watched the 2010 Gun Show on the OutDoor Channel yesterday, Smith and Wesson has came out with the semi-auto that will fill everyone's needs in a compact pistol !!!
Bit I'll be dearn I forgot the name of it but I thing it can be found at there website and it should say it's new.
LOL!
The top of my list was an HK but too overpriced. If I don't find a DA/SA I like it will be a Springfield XD(M) 9MM. I'm going to try the CZ. Does anyone know anything about a Ruger P95? I love my SP101.
Alot of people don't top off. I dont. Some people even down load mags by a round or two. Even though my G37 is 100% reliable topping off, it is a little hard to seat a fully loaded magazine (on a closed slide). I am pretty sure the ability to easily seat a magazine during an administration reload is more important than one measly round. One realy needs to experience topping off a pistol in a time of needing to to understand easy seating of a fresh magazine is much more handy than it falling out, or fumbling around with it trying to get it to seat while being fully loaded on a closed slide.
Thats for later on down the road for you to decide if you ever carry a pistol.
The P95 is one of the most under rated pistols out right now.
The CZ pistols will be some of the most accurate out of the box pistols out there, especialy for the money. Only problem you might run into with a CZ in 9mm is the lead into the rifiling is short and will cause problems with non rounded ogive projectiles. If you like Sierra or XTP style hollowpoints, they might come in contact with the rifliling. Rounded ogive projectiles will not have that problem.
Congratulations on buying my wife’s primary carry piece and my (occasional) secondary! Good choice, the SP-101 is a solid little 357 that can eat lots and lots of ammo without the slightest hiccup. (We’ve often fired our SP-101 until it was too hot to touch with bare skin! Never a problem.)
I’m not crazy about the H&K USP pistol. As someone has already pointed out, it’s way overpriced for what it is; and H&K factory service certainly isn’t the best in the industry. (Parts are outrageous!)
Yeah I have to agree on Smith & Wesson, Walther’s licensee: After getting off to, something of, a rocky start, I think there’s a definite future for Walther’s new PPS semiautomatic. Great size and shape for an EDC gun.
How come nobody’s said anything about SIG/Sauer? Got ‘a be a few good choices there, right! The DAK, short-throw trigger is, also, one of the best I’ve ever used. I’d take it over any Glock I own.
I carried a 1911 45ACP for many many years. It used to be a common practice not to, ‘top off’. In fact the Marines insisted on it. It’s not that old habits die hard; but, two of the most unexpected FTF’s I’ve ever had happened with a Glock that was loaded to full magazine capacity plus one.
If you’re going to have a problem it’ll happen with the magazine’s top round which, at least in my experience, doesn’t like being so heavily pressed down.
My own EDC Glock Model 21 is always loaded down by one round. Twelve is certainly enough to see me through; and, besides, I haven’t had an FTF/FTE in, at least, the last 5,000 rounds. I’ll, also, agree that Ruger’s P-95 is underrated.
Why should I? My Bersa UC 9mm is 13+1, so I figure 13 total is good, my Bersa HC 9mm is 17+1, I figure 17 is good enough & my Bersa Mini 40 is 10+1 & I figure 10 is enough, so don't go to the trouble of topping the mag off. Now, my Kimber .45 is 7+1 & my Kel-Tec 9mm is 7+1 & I do top them off.
Great Advice all around. Looks like I have a lot more guns to try before a decision. As for Sig...Call this a personal issue but I just don't like them. Since starting to shoot several months ago, I have shot thousands of rounds through many varieties of Glock, Sig, Springfield and HK autos. In those thousands of rounds I had to FTE in the glock. And 10 in the Sig. Might be the user, as I am sure I was limp wristing the gun, but since I dont have that prob with other guns, I'll say the grip on the Sigs just doesnt fit my hand. (I have small hands as men go, thus the SP101 for warm weather carry/backup gun).
Congratulations on buying my wife’s primary carry piece and my (occasional) secondary! Good choice, the SP-101 is a solid little 357 that can eat lots and lots of ammo without the slightest hiccup. (We’ve often fired our SP-101 until it was too hot to touch with bare skin! Never a problem.) 
