I currently have been kicking around the idea of selling my Stainless Beretta 92FS because even though it is a very nice gun and feels great in my hand, I have owned 3 of these and neither I nor my wife are very accurate with any of them besides the Highway Patrol 96D I owned (which doesn't make sense).

She will not even consider owning a revolver and is a diehard auto pistol kind of gal.

So I was thinking about getting her the Taurus Millenium in 9mm or .40 and buying the USP .45 for myself.

Should I go with this or stay with the 1911 style pistol that I love so well? One thing I like about the Beretta is the reliability. I have never had a Beretta with a single problem no matter the conditions or type of ammo.

First off, your mind is working very well, considering the USP. [:D]

I would forget the Millenium, I have heard more bad things about these little guns, they are apparently Taurus's first big screw up. Glock 26, even though I'm not really a Glock fan, is my rec. I wouldn't get my life on the millenium, just considering the lock ups and breakages I have read about.

My USP is stone cold, die hard reliable. Period.

It will endure massive torture, cheeck this link.

[url]www.streetpro.com/usp[/url]

I love mine and will definitely buy another, over my Taurus PT92, and my Kimber ProCarry.

They are truly top of the line, and I'll bet you'll enjoy shooting it if you like the Beretta grip.

Juggernaut

The only handguns I own are HK USP's.  They are the best pistol made.  They are DA/SA polymer pistols that use a bit of John Browning's famous 1911 design.  I like Glocks, I love 1911's so naturally the USP is where I ended up.  I have a USP Tactical, USP 40 SS, and a USP C in 357 , I think the most of them, I dont plan on ever buying another pistol and I will keep these forever.  USP's are also the only Handgun rated to fire 30,000 +p rounds.
TEREK

I love mine with a passion.

If only I could shoot as well as the gun itself can shoot.

500 rounds through mine and not one hitch. Some people say they might jam once before they are broken in... not here. Only thing is don't shoot wolf ammo though it, it sticks to the bore.

Recoil for a .45 on the USP is very nice as well as all other calibers, they have a VERY good buffering system.

The only downside is the trigger. Single action is pretty crisp. Double action... dear god. It's rough. But after 2000 pulls it gets smoother. I picked up some range rentals and the trigger on them was awesome! And USP's are built to last, the range rentals at the range I go to have been used and abused, they are on their 2nd barrel and it takes a hell of a lot of shots to wear out a polygonal barrel. Only problem they have had is one of them broke a firing pin, sent back to factory (covered for life) and has been fine since.

H&K USP is a world class pistol.

I love mine.


[url]www.hkpro.com[/url]  (go to the message board there for more info)

Totally Frank,
their DA is a bit scary.
I gave my new pistol, unloaded, to my friend and yelled to him, "Pull the trigger right now as if your life depended on it" He grabbed the gun from me and tried to pull the trigger in its DA mode and couldnt even do it! He wasnt the least bit prepared for the weight of the pull on that thing, and its not that he isnt a strong guy.  I have heard that they loosen up with time also but I just roll Cocked and locked myself so I dont care.
TEREK

Juggernaut, thanks for the info on the Taurus. Any other autos you all can recommend for the lady? She doesn't like anything smaller than the 9mm and like I said before, she hates the revolvers.

I think I'm sold on the USP. What is a good price for the .45? The local dealer wants 735.00..........

Get her the USP Compact 9mm.  Same BBL length as a G26/27/33 but with a full size grip, I cant stand the sub compact glock frame.  

I like the glock 27 or 26, or the Kahr MK9 or MK 40. Both top quality firearms, compact, and well built. I was going to buy a millenium until I learned how problem plagued they are.

The miniGlocks fit larger hands well with the finger supports for the mag bases, so it'll fit about any hand, and take full size Glock magazines. Normally holds ten rounds for CCW, but with a G26 in a purse with a pre ban G17 mag, she has 17+1. Hi power in a very compact package-the G26 is my next buy.

The Kahrs are single stacks, built on polymer or steel frame, and function very well. They are slig, some some women may like them better, though the recoil is harder on a slimmer gun. This is because of how a wide doublestack spreads the recoil across the palm.

You won't regret your USP. It is my finest firearm thus far, the one I would part with last.

I owned a HK USP full size 45 for a while, but did not like it nearly as much as the USP 40 and Compact USP 40 I owned. It was just too big, the trigger reach was all wrong for me and I wasn't very accurate with it.  Also had a problem with the seams splitting on two of the mags I had with it.

Well, geeze, the USP 9 or 40 compact is a given for a midsize-compact. I thought we were talking small guns, tho. The compact fits small hands pretty well, it just seems bigger.

If you like the size, the compacts are a better choice than either the Kahr or the Glock, IMHO, but then, I'm a USP lover, so I'm biased.

USP C is a Small Gun Jugger. with the same size barrel and slide basicly as the G26/7/33 and with a bit larger grip.  Go look at the specs for these gun sizes and you will see.  1.2 inch of grip doesnt put it in a Midsize range.


The G26/27/33 were designed in Austria with out "PiearcE" Grip extenders.  These extenders change the point of impact.  The gun is properly used without them and hence the grip is to short and uncofortable in hand.  I shot my G27 with extended floorplate mag and then as designed without, significant difference.  Glock Austria's shooting techinque for the sub's in pinky under the mag/frame.  Go do some more research.

TEREK
If you have to get her a Glock 9 get a model 19, she will be alot happier.  And you can still give her 17 rounders for it, lol.

Don't own one, butI've heard a lot of good things about the HK's, especially here on AR15.com.
I love my Sig 220 in 45ACP...you should at least give them a look for your wife. The single stacks are particularly comfortable for someone with less than big hands.

Essentially The Glock 17/22/21/31 are not true full size handguns so they are Midsize.  Same with the USP's.
The barrel length on a Full Size Glock and Full Size USP is under 5".  They all have 4.6 or 4.5 inch barrels. That seems like a Midsize Compact to me.

I have a 45 compact.About 500 thru it without a hitch.Shot a full size 45 and thought it was to big.

Midsize compact? You must have hands like a bear! I guess that's why we differ on sizing terminology...

Either way, It was good discussion.  
Good luck in your search bwilder,

Regards,
TEREK

I used to own the first USP 45 sold in the city of Yuma Arizona. The serial number was 25-000xxx. I was a dumbass and sold it.

Then I found a deal on a Tactical. Woohoo! I scooped it up along with the light, the case, three mags, the lock and a bunch of O-rings for a little under a thousand bucks, and have really been impressed. I shot a group of 13/16ths of an inch from 15 yards, and gotta love that. It fires, ejects and loads every time I pull the trigger, and it's as tough as a dump truck.

If you want Tactical accuracy out of a box-stock USP, go to [url]www.ccfa.com/oring.htm[/url] and order an O-ring barrel, with or without the threaded extension. Larry at CCFA is good people.

Semper Fidelis
Jarhead out.

Ohhh yeah! I am already set on a threaded 9mm barrel, as soon as he offers them in premium button rifling. The O-ring is high on my list of needs, and that flashider is creeping it's way up, too[:D].

I own a USP .45 full-size.  Great gun, no problems except that the first two rounds I fired through the gun did not feed well.  I just attribute that to break in.  Next 300, no problem.

Only thing is that the grip for the double stack may be too wide and if you are going to carry, the full-size is probably too big.  I would go with a USP .40 compact.  Good gun, good caliber.

                                                   suggestion......usp 40, and uspc 40........then you both have state of the art in the same cal......go with 357sig or 45 if you want but stay with same cal......i`m a diehard 1911 myself, but next persuit is usp45...todays technology.........[pistol]

I just picked up a uspf-45 this past weekend, they are everything the advertisements say.  It does have a fairly large grip, if you aren't planning on using it forconcealed carry then go for it. The accuracy and feel make up for any difference in size, but you will quickly get used to that and not even notice how big the grip is. I compared its size to my ruger p-89 and it's a pretty close match for grip height and slide lenght, the p-89 isn't that large of a pistol either.

idaho-ar15

My H&K Tactical does occasionally not lock up when the slide returns. I blame it on the cheap ammo I buy. It was made for +P stuff, so use good ammo.
Also agree with another, my H&K hates Wolf and don't use lead tips in H&K or Glocks because of the rifling.
Your wife may want to look at a used Sig 226. They are a real nice gun.

I sold mine after 2 years of owning it.

I found I just was not as accurate with it as with my Para Ordinance P14 Limited.


The USP is rugged as hell and user friendly but I just couldn't shoot it as quickly or as accurately as I wanted.  Having a second 45ACP that I wasn't as accurate with didn't really seem to make much sense, especially when I had 5 high cap mags for my P14.



Part of my opinion of the HK USP 45 full size is that I feel it sits too high out of the hand for my preferrence.  I much prefer pistols that sit lower into the hand and aren't too clunky.


Being in California I wish I took the money I used on the HK USP and put it towards an HK P7M8 or possibly a P7 M10 where the gun sits lower in the hand, isn't as clunky, and has remarkable accuracy.

I have a USP in .40 S&W.  They are very well made and thought out.  I haven't had a malfunction yet.  You wouldn't go wrong with a USP, they're well worth the money.

Pathfinder

I own USP handguns in all calibers except .357sig. I have found them to be ultra reliable and very accurate. As I employ a number of different types of pistols I have found switching between the variant 1 USP's and 1911 style guns to be simple for me. The triggers do smooth out in time. The full size .45 is one hell of a gun. You cant go wrong. Look at the compact model if you are of small build and concealed carry is a option. Otherwise good leather goes a long way toward making that big .45 disappear. As for your wife I would recommend she look at a USP 40 compact, a Sig Sauer P228 in 9mm, or a Steyr M40 or M9 pistol. If she likes the smaller frame The steyr is also availible in an "S" model which is compact. Although these guns have gotten relatively little exposure they are top notch and have some of the nicest features to be found in any polymer striker fired gun. Also have her look at the Heckler & Koch P7M8. Again a top notch choice all the way around but one that REQUIRES training and regular practice to safely handle due to its unique design.Skip the taurus you will be happier you did and your life is worth more then the 250-800 dollars you might save buying it vs. any of the above mentioned.