An older or newer handgun?
“Older handguns have stood the test of time,” Joe tells me. “Yes, more modern guns have great features, but put a vintage hammer gun or a 1911 in my hands, and newer guns don’t stand a chance.”
He grins and adds: “Especially not striker-fired guns.” Joe knows I prefer striker-fired versus hammer-fired. He thinks he knows best.
“OK,” (because I know what I know), “pull out an old-fashioned hammer gun and we’ll compare it to a modern striker-fired gun. You’ve got the older version of the Rock Island 1911 Compact and Greg will let you borrow his Star BM which is an older style handgun. They have barrels of about 3.5 inches. Your striker-fired Sig Sauer P365 X-Macro only has a 3.1 inch barrel, but I bet it will beat out the older ones, even with its shorter barrel.”
“You’re on.”
So, this Saturday we go out to the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office range with the threehandguns. We plan on shooting three rounds from each gun on three separate targets. Now, none of these guns belong to me, so please don’t have an expectation of multiple x-rings.
We’re shooting 115-grain full metal jacket 9mm rounds at 8 inch targets with a distance of 21 feet. Joe goes first with the Star at the top one. Bang! Bang! Bang!
All three shots hit yellow circles on the target. Next, he picks up the Rock Island at bottom left. Again, three shots ring out.
What? What’s this? Looks like one big hole.
Nah. Couldn’t be.
“Let’s go “cold” and look at this closely downrange,” I suggest. Joe puts down the Rock Island. We yell “Cold!” even though we’re the only ones at the pistol range.
Drat. Look here. He’s got all three hits touching the x-ring. They’re so close together, it looks like one wide hole. I’m getting worried we might not shoot the Sig better than this. We return to the shooting bench after yelling “Hot!”
Joe picks up the Sig. He shoots three rounds. Only two rounds hit the target.
Now it’s my turn. I pick up the Star. Yikes. It’s a heavy gun. I’m used to a much lighter gun with a polymer frame.
Drat. Only two of my shots hit the target. Oh, well.
Next, I pick up the Rock Island. This guy is even heavier. I get two on this target.
When it comes to the lighter-weight striker-fired Sig, all three of my rounds hit the target. Yay!
But of course, Joe is might happy with his accurate shooting using the Rock Island. He likes Greg’s Star pretty well, too.
He hasn’t changed his mind at all about the old hammer guns and he prefers them. Although he still likes his Sig.
So, which gun is best? Those old-fashioned hammer guns or the more modern striker-fired guns?
Well, let’s remember this is just a sampling by the two of us on a Saturday morning. We might shoot differently on a different day. We might have shot differently if it hadn’t been so hot and humid. Who knows?
But neither of us have changed our minds about hammer versus striker-fired handguns. Let’s think a little more about these three.
What do you like in a handgun?
Some people prefer the weight of an all-metal gun. The weight can help you to have a steady grip, absorbing some of the recoil as the gun fires. The Star weighs 34 ounces.
The Rock Island has a heavy bull barrel. It weighs 2.42 pounds. Again, this is good to help manage recoil. If you carry using a holster and like to wear your pants loose and low, well, the weight of either gun might drop your drawers the rest of the way…
The Sig weighs only 21.5 ounces: substantially less than the Star or the Rock Island. You’re in much less danger of losing your pants wearing this one in a holster.
Even with the hefty weight of the Star and the Rock Island, both Joe and I feel the recoil on the Sig is lighter. Go figure.
The Star and Rock Island’s barrels are abouta half-inch longer than the Sig’s. Better for accuracy. So now, these hammer guns have more weight and longer barrels. Are they better?
Ah, but the Star and the Rock only hold eight rounds in their magazines. The Sig holds 17. If Mr. Bad has friends and they’re all coming at you, wouldn’t you rather have 17 rounds than 8? If you’re not that great a shot, doesn’t 17 opportunities to save your life sound better than eight?
The sights on these hammer guns are black square cut-outs in the back, and a black ramp in the front. Normally they’d be hard to see against the dark targets, but Joe painted orange nail polish on the front ramps. This helps a lot.
The Sig has Tritium rear sights and an “X-ray 3” front sight. This front sight is really bright green and it’s large too.
Speaking of sights, the Sig has a cut-out on the top of the slide, so you can add a red dot sight if you’d like.
The Sig’s polymer frame has indentations on the grip for the comfort and control of your index finger and thumb. The Sig’s grip is part of its frame. You can’t change it out. However, we rated the Sig as having the best-fitting grip. This is strange because Joe has big hands and I have small ones. Now, on the hammer guns, you can change the grips. If you like something different than what comes with the gun, remove a few screws and put on new grips.
The Sig has cut-outs over the front of the barrel to release shooting gases and to reduce muzzle jump which should help in staying on target.
The Sig has a rail on the frame beneath the slide for a possible laser or light if you want to add one.
When it comes time to fieldstrip and clean your gun, the hammer guns need either a paper clip tool or a wrench for the bushing. This is a bother to me, and I graciously allow Joe to fieldstrip any hammer guns.
The Sig has a lever you push down to fieldstrip. Cleaning your gun isn’t fun, and this Sig is easy to take down, making this chore simple and uncomplicated.
There isn’t a lot of difference in our three targets on this Saturday (except for the way Joe shot the Rock Island). If you’re comfortable with your accuracy and like a solid, heavy gun, then carrying an all-metal hammer gun in a sturdy holster may be best for you.
If you prefer a lighter handgun with a lot more rounds in the magazine and the ability to add several different peripherals, you may choose a striker-fired polymer gun.
Hm. Maybe I need another striker-fired handgun.
I sure won’t compete with Joe and his Rock Island 1911 hammer gun.
It’s all a matter of preference. Joe and I don’t plan on changing our minds.
However, one of us is right.
Marj Law is the former director of Keep Wakulla County Beautiful who has become an avid shooter in retirement.
