All right, I can hear the comments: I have written before that the 1911 Colt is the gold standard of handguns and the .45ACP is the gold standard of cartridges. How then can I, in all good conscience, opt for a different handgun firing an inferior cartridge? The FBI, after all, ditched the 9mm for .40s.
All true. But the PT-92 has one feature that the 1911 lacks: The ability to be fired in double-action for the first shot. This means that I can keep the weapon fully loaded, with a round chambered. I do not need to work any safeties or anything other than the trigger, just point at a target and fire. Then the weapon shifts into SA mode, which I have a fair amount of familiarity with, and the controls on the weapon function in the same way as a 1911's do.
Add to that is the fact that this particular gun has never jammed or failed to feed on me. So, to my mind, I have a handgun that has reasonable power, a considerable ammunition load, reliability and ease of operation.
So when there is a reason to reach for a pistol, it's the PT-92 for me.
(Your mileage may vary.)
Sixteen years later: The gun is long gone, after two moves, the last one to a high-cap ban state. I sold it before the move, along with other non-compliant guns that I didn't see a need to keep.
4 comments:
Sounds similar to my reasoning behind using a double-action revolver for home defense purposes, i.e., it's pretty much a point-and-shoot weapon where you don't have to worry about, under stress, whether you jacked a round into the chamber, whether the safety button being to the left means "Safe" or "Ready to fire", etc... a .357 with a moderate round will make pretty much any home intruder dead and not inflict too much stress on the user in the process. And when was the last time you ever heard of a revolver jamming?!
- Badtux the Well-armed Penguin
I prefer a 1911 or a double-action revolver, but that's just me.
A person should use what works best for them.
I like the double action first round. Had a P38 for a long while, but went to a S&W 629 for the larger bore. Does any one make a .45 auto with double action first round?
Jeg,
SiG makes some, I think. But I'm not going to drop close to an AMU on one.
(AMU= Aircraft Maintenance Unit, or $1,000)
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