A gun is a gun
By MARJ LAW
Joe and I are at the gun show at the Fairgrounds in Tallahassee on Saturday. We see hundreds of handguns.
“Handguns are like cars,” I say. “Cars generally have four wheels, doors, headlights and brake lights. They get you from one place to another and hopefully never break down.
“Handguns have triggers, grips, barrels and slides,” I say. “With them, you can protect your life or that of another. They do their job and hopefully never have firing problems. A gun is a gun is a gun.”
But Joe? Heck no. To Joe, each of his handguns has its very own characteristics. He could have 100 handguns, and justify a separate use for each one.
We all have personal preferences and wants when it comes to our handguns.
Joe is big and strong, and he looks for a 9 or 40mm handgun most of the time. I prefer a .380 or a 9mm.
A gal at the gun show has been told that 9s have sturdier trigger pulls than .380s, they have more kick, their slides are harder to pull back and they have to be a bit larger because of the longer length of each round. She is leaning towards getting a .380 because it’s easier to handle than a 9mm.
The gun show gal is comparing the Smith & Wesson .380 Shield EZ to the Smith & Wesson Equalizer 9mm handguns. Same company: Smith & Wesson. So, according to what she thinks, the .380 will have a lighter trigger pull, it will be easier to rack the slide, it will be shorter and narrower, and best of all, it will have less recoil.
Nice.
Maybe it will have less take down power than the 9mm Equalizer, but with all its advantages, isn’t this a no-brainer?
The woman at the gun show has a Ruger Mark IV .22, and she wants a carry gun with more power than a .22. “I’d like the Equalizer because it’s a 9mm handgun, but I don’t think I can handle more than the .380,” she says. “But I’d like that 9,” she adds wistfully. You really have to know your guns before you buy. A while back, I would have said exactly the same thing because 9mm handguns are bigger and tougher to handle than .380s.
Except.
First, the similarities.
The .380 Shield EZ and the 9mm Equalizer guns look alike. Both have 3.675” barrels. Both have 2 rear white dot sights and 1 front white dot sight.
While you can’t see a hammer, don’t be fooled to think these are striker fired guns. Both are internal hammer fired handguns.
Both have safeties built into the grip. You can get manual safeties as well, but in this case, both have grip safeties.
Now for some differences.
The 9mm Equalizer weighs more at 22.9 ounces. The .380 is 18.5 ounces.
The Equalizer is 1.04 inches wide while the .380 is 1.05 inches wide. Yes, you’d think the .380 would be a smidge less wide, but it’s the other way around.
The .380 is 6.7 inches, which is a tad longer overall than the Equalizer. And, get this: when both have flush mount magazines, the .380 is a half inch taller than the Equalizer! Not what you’d expect when the .380 holds eight rounds while the Equalizer holds 10.
The 9mm Equalizer comes with magazines holding 10, 13 and 15 rounds. And it comes with an UpLULA too.
The .380 comes with two 8-round magazines.
At Smith & Wesson, the .380 runs $454 with a $50 rebate. At sportsmanoutdoorsuperstore.com, the cost is $399.99.
At Smith & Wesson, the Equalizer costs $599. At sportsmanoutdoorsuperstore.com, it is $499.
Yes, the Equalizer runs about $100 more, but the extra magazine and the loader in the Equalizer’s box almost make up the difference in cost, bringing the Equalizer’s price to about the same as the .380.
But what is the difference at the range? Shooting the gun is what really counts to me.
Joe is much taller and stronger than I. He has much larger hands. We may come to different findings. Let’s see!
First, we shoot the .380 EZ. Joe thinks it has an easy trigger pull. On our 1-5 scale, with 1 being the easiest and 5 being the most difficult, he gives trigger pull a 1.5. Trigger pull travel isn’t too bad, either. Trigger travel rates a 2.
I agree with both scores. Not hard at all.
Kick? He thinks recoil is easiest of all. He puts recoil a 1 on that 1-5 scale while I give it a 2.
He likes the grip and so do I.
Grip gets a 1.
Joe finds racking the slide to be easy and gives it a 1. So do I.
The S&W .380 Shield EZ is truly an easy gun to handle and shoot. It has an easy trigger pull, a slide that’s easy to rack, and not much recoil.
Now for the 9mm Equalizer.
How much more difficult will this 9mm Equalizer handgun be?
Joe gives the Equalizer a 1 for trigger pull and a 2 for trigger pull travel. I do, too.
We both give the recoil a 2. Not bad!
We like the grip and give it a 1.
I find the slide harder than he did, and give racking it a 2.5. He gives it a 1.
Bottom line: is there much difference between the 2 guns? Is the Equalizer significantly harder to use than the .380?
We end up giving both guns close to the same scores.
This kind of ruins the gun show gal’s assumption that all .380 handguns are much easier to shoot than 9mm handguns. This thought may be true in general, but Smith & Wesson has worked hard to create handguns that are easy to manage. The .380 Shield EZ and the 9mm Equalizer are great for someone who wants a carry gun that is small, has a low recoil, a fairly easy to rack slide, and an easy trigger.
Each handgun is different. Some are easier to use than others. If you know what you want, you might locate it at a gun show. If you’re not sure, find a way to rent or borrow the model you think you’ll like so you can try it out before you buy. The one that you like and can manage the best is the gun for you.
Marj Law is the former director of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful who has become an avid shooter in retirement.