Ever had high expectations of pistol

scott_r

scott_r

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Well I'm kinda bummed out today. I had purchased what I thought would be my dream pistol, an HK P30L a few weeks back. I handled a new one many times at the local gun shop, felt great, it looked super ###y..it was German made...expensive. I was so pumped to go to the range and shoot I could hardly contain myself. I even ordered an HK decal off ebay for my safe..lol This dream all ended after about 500 rounds. I just could not shoot this pistol, I would pick up my Glock and go 10 for ten on a small gong at 20 yards and 1 for 10 with the HK. Ammo was the same for both guns. This gun just seemed to feel different the minute the trigger was pulled, just felt bad all of a sudden. So I owned it for a few days and sold it and bought a new Glock 17 gen 4, very boring but dang do they make a good shooting pistol. Figure I might as stick with what works. Anybody else have a similar tale?

Cheers!!
 
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Yeah for me it is everytime I buy a semi auto. I have owned or tried them all and other then .22's the only semi auto's I own are two 1911's one is a Kimber and other is a Colt Gold Cup those I can shoot. If you haven't guessed it by now I am a revolver guy through and through. That is my tale of woe.

Graydog
 
Sr1911. Couldn't shoot anything even if it was infront of me. Got a np28 which was better but still bad. Then got a np29 which was just as bad at the sr1911 and now I'm with a Sam 1911 which I'm great with lol.
I have no idea what happened but all I know is that I'm happy now.
 
Yepp.. Had high expectations like OP on a PPQ Navy... Too much recoil because it was very light and a result, shots were all over the place. It was really expensive too for being a GERMAN polymer gun. Luckily you can give it a shot, and if you don't like it trade it away!
 
I had high expectations for my first pistol.

Did the research online.

Found out I wanted a semi-custom 1911, without doing all the parts buying and fitting. Custom tweaks are great when they work.

I bought a Kimber Stainless 2.

1200 rounds in, and I can say.........That worked out well.

I have changed nothing, and it's everything I wanted it to be.

It was surprising to hear about the H&K. I hear when a gun has so much personality, it's between you and the gun. Those weird feelings OP gets, may work in the other direction for another shooter. I hear Sigs are like that too.

Here in Winnipeg, we have a place that rents at the range so you can try before you buy. Sure I surprised to see it's 94.00 plus their ammo, but still. I would pay 100.00 to try something that was different right before I bought it. Like a Styer M9. Odd pistol. Most dislike, some love.
 
scott_r said:
Well I'm kinda bummed out today. I had purchased what I thought would be my dream pistol, an HK P30L a few weeks back. I handled a new one many times at the local gun shop, felt great, it looked super ###y..it was German made...expensive. I was so pumped to go to the range and shoot I could hardly contain myself. I even ordered an HK decal off ebay for my safe..lol This dream all ended after about 1000 rounds. I just could not shoot this pistol, I would pick up my Glock and go 10 for ten on a small gong at 20 yards and 1 for 10 with the HK. Ammo was the same for both guns. This gun just seemed to feel different the minute the trigger was pulled, just felt bad all of a sudden. So I owned it for a few days and sold it and bought a new Glock 17 gen 4, very boring but dang do they make a good shooting pistol. Figure I might as stick with what works. Anybody else have a similar tale?

Cheers!!
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Yup, my story is nearly identical to yours, but I tried shooting my dream gun, the HK P30L first before buying. As beautiful it was in the store in my hands, I just couldn't shoot it well. Same with the Sig 226. Tried several others with better success, but the Glock 17 Gen 4 was the best for me.

I'm not going to tell anyone the Glock is a better gun, but I think the lower bore axis and grip angle makes it easier to control recoil and therefore easier to shoot. I'm willing to bet the Stehr and Caracal would possibly be even easier to shoot for those reasons. Lots of people shoot the HK P30L, Sigs and other high bore guns very well. I just know it will take me a lot longer to adapt to those than the Glock.
 
Took my SIG 220 .45, out again today. Also took my Norinco 1911 with me, so I could hit something.
Just a matter of personal preferance, I'm sure.
1911 feels good and a natural pointer, for me.
I like the feel of a hefty gun, and the SIG doesn't cut it.
 
For me it was a Sig 226. It looked and felt like everything I ever wanted in a pistol. I only made it a few hundred rounds in - that sig 226 just didn't fit me, and I couldn't shoot groups for anything. I sold it and bought a full size 1911 in 45 ACP. Haven't looked back!
 
Walther p1 is the only gun I've bought multiple's of because I really like the design and wanted to shoot often....but I just could not shoot a single one well. Sold em all, still think they are esthetically pleasing however. I just don't have much use for guns I can't shoot well. And I would like to think my fundamentals are strong enough to shoot most pistols to a reasonable degree.

Guess the German joke about them being good for "8 warning shots and 1 aimed throw," had some truth behind them.
 
safety first said:
Here in Winnipeg, we have a place that rents at the range so you can try before you buy. Sure I surprised to see it's 94.00 plus their ammo, but still. I would pay 100.00 to try something that was different right before I bought it. Like a Styer M9. Odd pistol. Most dislike, some love.
Click to expand...

Well I bought this one used for $850 and sold it for $850. No big loss to me. Maybe when I become a better shooter I will revisit the P30 L.
 
scott_r said:
Well I bought this one used for $850 and sold it for $850. No big loss to me. Maybe when I become a better shooter I will revisit the P30 L.
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Good stuff, I'm glad to hear it didn't cost an arm and a leg

Thanks for sharing your experience, I enjoyed hearing your impressions
 
Perfect thread, I'm currently looking to purchase my first pistol. Don't want to have high expectations buy it then regret it. Is there any ranges in Southern Ontario where I could test or rent a some pistols? Interested in Sig p226 MK25, HK USP, HK45, or even a higher end 1911.
 
S&W Sigma: too light, hated it. That's when I went to a rental range and tried everything: any plastic/polymer gun like the Sigma or Glock I couldn't shoot worth crap. I have a Sig P226 in 357 Sig & 40 S&W and love it.

I had huge expectations for my Boberg XR9-L: some have been, but I have not been disappointed at all... but that is a different story!
 
I sold my HK P2000 because I was disappointed with the way it shot.

Then I bought a Glock.

And after thousands of rounds and constant dry fire through the Glock, I'm confident it was not HK that let me down, it was my ####ty fundamentals.

I wish I had that P2000 back, maybe with a LEM trigger though... I bet I could rock that little bastard now.
 
For me, I had expectations that were not met for both the P30L and HK45. The P30L felt great in my hands but the trigger pull (I had the LEM version) was just...I don't know...too weird. I wasn't fond of the reset either. I'm much happier with a Glock 19 and Beretta 92 as my 9mm pistols now. I actually bought an HK45, sold it, then bought another one thinking I hadn't given the first one enough of a chance. No luck with the second one either--the grip I still found weirdly slippery, and the damn groove in the trigger guard would bite my trigger finger on recoil. Sold it and and managed to buy back the same Glock 21SF RTF2 I sold to get the HK45. I know, you can probably make some convincing argument that the newer H&K guns are objectively superior to their Glock counterparts but they still leave me...cold, I guess is the best way to describe it. I must admit I've have the hankering for a USP40, though!
 
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