I understand that is the common belief/advise- however; how does shooting a mag of ammo through a pistol, help the average male- that has no skill with a pistol, find the “best” one for him?
It’s equivalent to someone that can’t drive but wants to start rally car racing- and then telling them that jumping behind the wheel and test driving all of the options so they can find the one that “drives” best…. they have no idea what they are doing.
He/they have no skill level and no knowledge of what the differences are. There aren’t large enough differences in the pistols being discussed for the average adult male to matter in “feel”, and they won’t shoot any of them well enough at a rental range for the difference in shooting to show up…. Well, if they do, they will almost certainly choose a 1911 or 2011 (or a Shadow 2).
I’ve been involved in legitimate performance testing between pistols, and there are no surprises. People aren’t special, and baring a major permanent injury- everyone shoots the same guns best.
I have significantly more experience with pistols and training others on pistols, than I do with rifles. Far more. Significant use of Beretta M9’s, Glock’s in 9mm, 40, and 45 from Gen 2 to G5, Sig P320/M17/M18, Sig P229 and 226’s, Sig P365, HK’s, various CZ’s, 1911’s, 2011’s, etc. etc.
People shoot the same pistols the best, regardless of how they think or feel about it. Well built 1911’s are unmatched yet in pistols. Then well built 2011’s. Then CZ’s like the Shadow 2- though a few will shoot them better than 2011’s after the first DA pull. People perform better with P320’s than they do Glocks. P365’s are shot better then G48 and 43’s. Etc etc.
Going by feel at a rental range, lots of)maybe most) will pick a HK VP9 or Sig 226/228/etc. Or some Walther.
We're tracking very closely here, including with myself having shot out pistol barrels (1911 and Sig 229), and having had to have one high-cap 1911's rails stretched/widened when being rebuilt, from shooting it loose with wear. I was having carry-comp high-cap 1911s built for me before Staccato was STI. Everything you've said about which guns shoot best for any random selection of shooters, I've seen the same thing.
Where we disagree seems to be in how to help a random hunter find a handgun that meets all his needs, balanced between size, cost, weight, and what he'll hit best with. The specific point of where we differ seems to be in me recognizing he's got some shooting experience, vs being treated as though he's some joe off the street with no background in shooting at all. Were he that, then I'd agree with you about the utility of a rental range day being non-existent.
But he is not a 16yo kid being told to go drive a Lambo around the track, and that's where the analogy falls short. If he's experienced with hunting and general shooting, short of having an instructor walk him through a selection of reliable handguns and balancing out what seems to be the best match for his needs, then doing it on his own at a rental shop and seeing which hits best will. And some
will hit better than others, with just a mag or two in experimentation with each, out of that selection. Which you have already acknowledged. Whether or not that one fits his budget or use-case needs is different.
If your point is that too many people just think they can just go fondle some handguns and will 'know' which will hit best based on feelsies, then I agree, that's dumb. But his example, trying out a selection of reliable handguns, is not that. It's about finding which reliable handgun inherently shoots the most accurately for him, with the least amount of experience with it.
Regardless of how the trends of "what shoots best" definitely
do lean towards 1911s, CZs, Sig 200-series (after the DA pull), etc, there are absolutely real trends on how different hand-shapes lend towards different guns fitting and shooting better for individual shooters. You will see it most clearly in situations and training scenarios of extreme-pressure and minimal sensory advantage. Especially with iron-sight night shooting without NODs or white light, in drills without sights entirely, and in situations of mental and physical exhaustion. The guns that fit best do shoot and hit best, for that individual. Big institutions hate this reality because it kills uniformity and expands costs, but orgs not needing to worry about that are a different story. When someone is paired up with a gun they shoot most accurately with in those situations, it absolutely does transfer over to also needing the least amount of range time to get them reliably lethal under pressure.
I have low standards. That pistol is easy to shoot and put lead on target. I now track with Form’s arguments about bear protection… same for people protection.
