If you want a pistol that was engineered and tested to perform at a high standard, H&K will have a gun for you. The H&K standards for developing longevity in their products are unmatched in the gun industry. The VP9 is arguably the most loved H&K pistol on the market, and will continue to enjoy success for years to come. VP9 stands for "Volkspistole", translated to peoples pistol. I believe the pistol lives up to the name with fidelity.

The Walther PDP F-series is marketed as being an optimal design for female shooters. They have used female competition shooters to advertise it's worthiness for use by females of all types. Other reviewers seemed to feel like the F-series may fit their hands a bit better than the standard full size models of the PDP that had a bigger grip. The pistol generally reviewed well, but there was/is a lack of long term user reviews out there.
I had my wife use the heck out of it for over a year, and she has run roughly 1000 rounds through the pistol. I helped increase the round count by about 700-1000 rounds as I used the pistol as a tool for demonstrating shooting techniques and testing the red dot on the pistol.

​The Glock is a well-trusted brand around the world. The Glock 26/27 has served in Law enforcement for decades, and still does. It has served as a backup gun and as an off-duty option for decades, starting in the 90's. It has changed as time goes on to make the platform more user-friendly or more durable. The biggest functional changes were to the extractor and barrel, while the other changes were grip and finish-related. Despite the changes, the function and service it offers and provides has remained unchanged. No matter what generation you invest in, the legacy of the Glock 26/27 as a reliable concealed carry pistol remains. It is the OG baby Glock you don't want to turn away. It may not be the BEST option for every concealed carry need, but it is the standard by which other subcompact pistols and micro pistols are judged.

After experiencing the original Beretta APX full size, I felt that there may be a place for a pistol like it on my hip, albeit smaller. I liked the way the original APX functioned, and my local gun store had one for about $400 collecting dust. I was tempted to jump on the old APX, but after doing some research, I figured the APX A1 Compact would be a step up if I could get it at a comparable price. I ended up getting my APX A1 Compact on www.palmettostatearmory.com for about $300. After about 500 rounds, I feel that I have a good amount of experience to discuss what the pistol is like. If you did not see my article on the full size APX, read it here to get a more comprehensive review on the original APX design.

THE BERETTA LEGACY
​
Beretta has been used in the US military since the M9 began service in the 80s. It has dazzled us on the big screen for decades and has left a lasting impression on us through cult classics like Die Hard and Lethal Weapon. It was on scene during the North Hollywood shootout and served in Federal (Border Patrol) and State Law Enforcement holsters for years. Not to mention that they have 500 years of experience manufacturing firearms. Suffice it to say that Beretta has a reputation that it intends to uphold. The APX is just the continuation of this legacy. 

My attraction to the Rex Zero 1S started years ago when it first came out. YouTube channels were fawning over the new gun and were anticipating a swift rise to popularity for this Slovenian pistol. I reluctantly followed the updates about this pistol, and finally got the opportunity to handle it at SHOT show back in 2018. I found it to be borderline too awkward for me to handle effectively. I figured my first exposure was going to be the last I was going to give to the pistol, but fate had other ideas. Recently, Arex had released the Rex Zero 2S with the hope to answer consumer desires. Unfortunately, there are few places that sell the new design, and the classic Rex Zero 1S has been collecting dust on shelves. Yeah, leave it to me to buy a gun that has next to no consumer interest just to review it. SPOILER ALERT, I have been so pleased with the pistol that I got the compact version for concealed carry and I am looking at getting another so I can have one to put into service and one to beat up on the range.

With 9mm starting to show back up on shelves in my local area, I figured it would be a good time to give my opinion of my own M&P Shield Plus. This pistol was an impulse purchase to upgrade my situation and get a pistol I knew I could trust that was on par with the Sig P365 and the Hellcat. Though Smith & Wesson did not market this pistol in advance, I had to have it. I couldn’t stand having a single stack Shield as my smallest carry, and was looking into getting a Hellcat. The only thing that held me back was that it would be a whole new system I would have to trust and get used to. The Shield Plus is the first pistol on the market toeffectively convert a once single stack pistol into a double stack, and with minimal changes.

​I have been playing around with this idea of whether the M&P Shield 2.0 would be enough to carry me through the long years all by itself. This will likely agitate many people who like to have several guns to select from for self-defense, but this is just a topic that has crept up on my mind in the recent political climate. If I had to get rid of all but one of my guns, would the M&P Shield 2.0 suffice?

After about a year of hoping and waiting, I finally stumbled upon the 2.0 version of the M&P40C in a local gun shop and snagged it up. If you read my articles about the first generation M&P40C, you will know that I had quite an affection for that model. Unfortunately, the slide would go home automatically when I would conduct a speed reload, causing a stoppage in the process. The grip was also quite slick and made handling iffy, even in the early 9mm model I had years ago. Luckily the 2.0 version of this pistol has resolved the issues this pistol had, making it once again a contender for my heart. Just so you know, I have not spent all that much time with this pistol but it has fit into my carry and practice rotation like a glove and required no real retraining and adaptation. That is why it is already worthy of an overview.

I have lost count of the amount of time I have spent trying to get the Glock 23 Gen4 to be an integral part of my carry system. It is about time to discontinue my time in Special Glockerations. In this article, I am going to discuss my closing thoughts on the Glock 23 Gen4. Many Glock fans will disagree with my perception, but that will not dissuade me from recording my thoughts and experiences. With that said, let’s get to the meat of this article.

I got the M&P Shield in 40 years ago and was not too happy with the recoil it gave me. After doing a straight trade, I fell in love with the 9mm, though it's grip still left a lot to be desired. It was the perfect height for a complete grip, but I really thought a 4" barrel was more desirable. In fact, now that is a common thing to see, but only out of the Performance Center for a couple hundred more bucks. No thanks. I ended up giving up the Shield for other pistols in hopes that I would find the holy grail. Never really happened, so I ended up just getting the 2.0 Shield since the grip was upgraded, despite the extra $50 or so dollars it cost me. So was it worth the upgrade?

​Almost 4 years ago, Smith & Wesson release the 2.0 series which included the new “Compact” 4” model, which directly competes with the much-loved Glock 19/23 in size and capacity. After years of success with the M&P line, Smith & Wesson noticed a few things that could use changing to further improve an already robust design without necessarily fully inventing the wheel. If you look at the M&P 2.0 line, you will see how the engineers took the older generation and basically changed only that which needed improvement and left the rest alone. This means that there is still some parts compatibility between the older generation and the newer 2.0, such as magazines, springs, sights, and other generally high wear parts, making the switch that much easier for those of us worried that parts we already have will be useless. Granted, my compact is a new size addition, requiring a new set of recoil springs for my collection.

Not too long ago I invested in an M&P Compact in 40 caliber. I actually like it and find it to be very manageable compared to the Glock 23 Gen4 I have. There are other things besides recoil characteristics that I like about it, but that is not the focus of this article. What I want to talk about is a recent development that is making me kind of have buyers remorse.

It has been a hot minute since I have given the Beretta 96A1 any trigger time. I honestly was actually looking at selling the pistol in order to make some dough for something else. However, after handling the pistol a bit, I decided that it was time to put some rounds through it and see if there was any spark between us. The recoil was firm and the hits were right where I wanted them to be. The gun just has this odd characteristic that makes it hard to hate, but somewhat of a challenge to dedicate solely to. Let me use this article to explain what I mean.

I was shooting long before I started this blog or my YouTube channel. Prior to even living in Alaska, one of my favorite guns was the S&W M&P line. I say the M&P "LINE" because I owned virtually every caliber except .22 and .380. The reason for my love for the M&P line was that they simply performed perfectly in my hands. I cannot remember having any legitimate issues with the pistols in terms of reliability other than the one time my shield recoil spring popped off its guide rod. Any time I had an issue or had a recoil spring that was a bit weak, S&W was a quick call away willing to send me parts or offering a return label for me to get my gun fixed free of charge. In my simple mind, naturally performing well with the gun and having the manufacturer standing behind you 100% makes the M&P line a no-brainer for me now.