Everyone has this story, the story about the gun that you wish you had never sold. I’ve sold and traded a decent amount of guns in my time, but not as many as some people. But in that short time, I’ve managed to compile a little list of ones that got away, guns I wish I had never traded or sold. Of all those guns though, there is one I wish I never let go.
I had a Glock 29, the compact 10mm with three 10 round magazines. I loved that gun. I sold it when I moved to Virginia, because I didn’t do my homework on VA’s gun laws, and thought for some reason that DC’s gun laws had influenced Virginia. Obviously, I was wrong, and the price I paid for not doing my homework was losing the single best carry gun I’ve ever owned.
I don’t often sing the praises of Glocks, especially since I’m somewhat known for having a love affair with revolvers, but honestly, this was a fantastic gun. Best carry gun ever. Powerful, compact, accurate, and honestly the 10mm recoil wasn’t really something that bothered me. Every time I go to a gun show, or a gun shop, I’ve got my eyes peeled for a used Glock 29. Honestly, if I ever just decided to sack it and buy another Glock, my experience with the 10mm will probably be a strong influence on me. I won’t get another 10mm, because ammo is super expensive, but I would (and probably will) get the slimline Glock 36 in .45 ACP. What’s not to like? It’s skinny, chambered for my favorite round, I love it.
I wonder if Oleg’s sold my old G29 yet? You should email him and ask him if he still has it; I know he was planning on selling.
It would stay “in the regiment” that way. 🙂
Merited snark about “spending dollars to save dimes” aside, reloading is a great way to save money when you get to calibers like 10mm. Even with premium defensive bullets like the Hornady XTPs, I’ve cut my costs for shooting 10mm almost in half, and more so when I go to generic plinking stuff like the plated 180-grain Berry’s. As for the XTPs, even though they’re more pricey, 155-grains of copper-jacketed lead at 1400 feet per second is just tons of fun.
The G29 is my carry piece. At 15 yards, 9 & 10 ring shots are a breeze. I grew up shooting .357 Magnum, so the recoil wasn’t something I feared. I never liked the way Glocks felt until I shot a friend’s 29. I owned one in a week afterwards.
Shan’t be ridding myself of it any time soon.
And I reload myself. I don’t buy into the fairy tale that somehow shooting someone with a reloaded round is worse than a factory round. Nobody can give me a case study where that was a factor in a conviction, so it’s a myth as far as I’m concerned. Besides, I know my handloads better than I do factory rounds and have more confidence in them. And yes, it’s a great way to save money (I use Remington bullets currently).
“Nobody can give me a case study where that was a factor in a conviction, so it’s a myth as far as I’m concerned.”
I do know of one case of reloaded ammo landing a guy in jail, if his story is true. But it wasn’t because it was self-defense ammo. Apparently, his wife didn’t like shooting full strength ammo, so he made her weaker stuff so that she would use it. She got depressed and shot herself. Since it wasn’t factory ammo, the powder residue wasn’t consistent with a self-inflicted wound. The judge wouldn’t allow a repeat of the test with any of the other ammo in the firearm, so the jury had no reason to doubt the conclusions of the prosecution.
As far as reloaded self-defense ammo goes, I’ve never found a case of it being a factor against someone in a self-defense case either. Either way, I don’t use reloaded when I carry. Instead, I reload ammo that performs like my self-defense ammo to use for practice.