What did you do today?

This was a test of firing varying four handguns at 12 paces (approx. 7 yards) on a standard cardboard IPSC target (resembling Osama, cleanshaven and without turban).

Browning High Power 9mm.  Standard fixed sights.  All exercises begun with thumb safety on.

Colt Python (6-inch)  Standard adjustable sights.  Heavy weight, Hogue grips, .38  Fired DA only.

Colt Police Positive (4-inch)  Small frame, pencil grip, light weight, horrid notch sights, awful stacking trigger.  .38  Fired DA only.

Glock 27, standard 5.5 pound trigger, .40, Trijicons

1.     First test was double tap on body, starting with gun in right hand and at side, left hand at side, on "go" buzzer.

BHP:  Six exercises, average 1.37 seconds.

PYT:  Six exercises, average 1.63 seconds.

PP:   Six exercises, average 1.64 seconds.

G27:  Seven exercises, average 1.45 seconds.

Autos faster than revolvers, no surprise.  Surprise 1 was the Police Positive staying with the Python.  Python may have been slower on target due to muzzle heaviness.  But its trigger is far better, and recoil with same ammo is much more controllable, PP feels like a .357 mag. when firing standard .38 Specials.  Next time examine splits.  Police Positive OK on "minute of body" accuracy, but trigger too rough for more precise work.  See head shots, below.

Surprise 2:  BHP should have been more dramatically faster than the Glock given BHP's heavier weight, better SA trigger and lighter caliber.

2.     Second test was single head shot from low ready position.

BHP:  35 reps, four misses (not in average), average 1.51 seconds.  

PYT:  23 reps, one miss (not in average), average 1.70 seconds.

PP:  18 reps, seven misses (not in average), average 2.40 seconds.  This was a fight against an awful trigger all the way.  Trigger stacks badly, then all of a sudden breaks, rotating cylinder and firing gun.  Only the slowest and most careful press could counter this, and even then, not always.

G27:  27 reps, five misses (not in average), average 1.51 seconds.

Interesting thing about the G27 and BHP misses is that they went low onto the body, contra the Police Positive misses which went either high or left or right (not on paper).  Also surprising Glock stayed with BHP for the same reasons as above, esp. the trigger.

3.     Finally the fun exercise, emptying six shots to the body from the low ready ASAP.

BHP:  Three reps, average 2.27 seconds.

PYT:  Three reps, average 2.92 seconds.

PP:   Three reps, average 3.32 seconds.

G27:  Three reps, average 2.42 seconds.

One bad surprise is my tendency to rest my right thumb on the BHP mag release, with the foreseeable result.  Never had that happen with any other handgun.

Moral of the story?  Same as it always is.  I need to buy more guns . . .

Do you like the G27? I am thinking about buying one.

Yeah Enigma it has been my daily carry gun for around five years.  Best power/capacity-to-size ratio around, I like it.  Having your little finger hanging off the bottom of the grip takes a little getting used to but if you don't like it you can get a Pearce mag extension.  I'd buy it again in a second.