Sea Change

For as long as I remember... I've had a standard response to the "first handgun" question. I would ask a few questions to get a little information about the individual asking... then I'd give several different options with their benefits and drawbacks.

That method seemed to work pretty well... and I had no intentions of changing it.

Then the other day I see JRL's question in the comments... and I start to type out the standard response... and it just didn't work. It wasn't true anymore. Somehow over the last few months my opinions on handguns have changed dramaticly.

As I've shot the Steyr M40 more and more... I've come to accept that there simply isn't a double action weapon made that stands up to honest comparison to it. For a long time I'd assumed I just had a ringer. I assumed my weapon had been worked. But as I've now handled many of them... virgins... I can tell you... my trigger is perfectly average for the model.

I got a call the other day... someone telling me they saw an M40-A1 in a shop for 430 bucks. I knew this fella had plenty of weapons... I knew he didn't need a new carry gun. First words from my mouth? "buy it."

I suppose for the first time money doesn't enter into it any more... because the best DAO money can buy... is one of the most affordable... mostly because very few people in America realize that Steyr is one of the most storied manufacturers in the world.

But hey... they also think CZ is an off brand.

At the risk of sounding like a paid employee... seriously... you owe it to yourself to find an M40 and dry fire it. If you can't tell the difference between it and a Glock or anything else for that matter... then ya may as well go buy a DA wheel gun with a 15 pound pull. After all.. what's the difference?