My first pistol was a Springfield XD40. I still have it and shoot it every now and then. It's a good gun and I've never had a single issue with it. I used to have a Sig P229 at one time. I liked the gun, but I just couldn't shoot it well. Eventually I saw a Sig 1911 and decided to trade in the 229 towards the 1911 to try something different. I have never shot better with another pistol and the 1911 has also been perfectly reliable. To me, that is the point that really matters in a carry handgun. When you need to use it, can you maximize your chance of hitting a vital area with a wimpy pistol round?
My XD40 carries four more rounds in the magazine and has essentially the same if not more energy behind each bullet but I am simply not as good with it. It feels slippery even when my hand is bone dry. The recoil is also much snappier, it's harder to get back on target as quickly, and the XD40 just doesn't point as naturally for me. My 1911 is the opposite. It just works for me and that's what I want: a pistol that I know I can use in a stressful situation or during a weekend IDPA match and it's my best chance to win. That's why I trust my life with a 1911.
As an aside, Daniel Shaw seems like an awesome guy. Back in 2012 when I was in Lemoore learning to fly the Hornet, my wife was stationed down in San Diego. I had, at best, a 4.5 hour drive each way to see her every weekend and I needed something to break up the monotony. Radio in central California is...not good, so I would download podcasts and listen to those as I drove. I wanted to listen to something gun related and found Daniel's podcast and loved it. He was funny, humble, intelligent, and knowledgable. Plus, he's a fellow Marine, so I have to give him some love.
Those podcasts helped make my weekends a little less painfull. Especially the ones where The Ogre joined him and talked guns and zombies. It was like I was the quiet part of a couple guys talking guns while just hanging out. When you get stuck in three hours of LA traffic at 8 o'clock on a Friday night and all you want is to see your wife, you need some pretty strong medicine to occupy your mind. So Ogre, here's my thanks to you and Daniel.
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