The Perfect Pistol Shot

We organized the handgun test into three broad categories: full-, mid-, and micro-sized guns, pitting the various firearms against their peers and the field at large. We shot the guns head-to-head on paper targets at distances from 3 to 15 yards and used them on steel targets from 10 to 25 yards. The steel targets included plate racks, dual Texas stars, pepper poppers and others that gave great feedback on how the guns handled during dynamic drills that required fast shooting, target transitions, movement, and reloading.

A substantial thumb rest has been secured to the frame with two Torx fasteners. This shelf allows the shooter to put downward pressure on the pistol with the thumb of the support hand to minimize muzzle flip under recoil. The slide stop has a raised surface with three pronounced steps for easy manipulation as well.

But even with the optic included, we felt the pistol was a hell of a value. And given how well it ran out-of-the box while being smartly configured for concealed-carry use, it earned the Great Buy designation as well.

Budget pistols can get a bad rap for fit, finish, and ergonomics, but those are areas that the STR9-F did well in. Although the workmanship and aesthetics of the pistol averaged fair to good among the test team, we found the handling and ergonomics to be good to very good.

The frame also has several upgrades that separate it from Glock pistols it is based on. The grip has panels with nicely done stippling on the front, rear, and sides. There are also pads of stippling on the frame for the support-hand thumb. The trigger guard has been thinned out and sculpted. The frame also incorporates a pronounced beavertail on the grip for better control.

Our sample weighed just 21 ounces, making it a comfortable option for all-day carry and nearly as light as some micro 9s. Thanks to its ergonomic enhancements, the pistol shoots well. The judges gave it high marks for accuracy, handling, and reliability. (We had zero issues with the pistol during the evaluation.) We mounted a Trijicon SRO on the pistol and were able to get fast hits on paper and steel.

We shot the hell out of the Python and enjoyed every minute. At 7 yards, .38 Special loads were a breeze to keep on-target, and we could run full-power Hornady .357 Mag defensive loads quickly and accurately. If we had speed loaders on the range, we may well have melted the thing. -TF

The 16-round magazine is also very good. It approximates the dimensions of a double-stack 9mm magazine making it easy to hold and maneuver. It also loads easily. Even more importantly it feeds like a charm. Prior to the gun test, I put hundreds of rounds through this pistol and experienced only a couple failures to feed. During the week-long evaluation at Gunsite, none of the testers recorded any feeding, cycling or ejection issues. It earned one of the highest reliability scores of the test.

Third, the hammer dimensions were changed slightly to decrease the propensity of the hammer to pinch (or bite) the web of the hand when the slide travels all the way to the rear after the pistol is fired.

The M&P 2.0 10mm has an accessory rail that can host a light and has ambidextrous slide stop levers and a reversible magazine catch button. Red dot mounting is a cinch via the included mounting plates, and the pistol comes with tall sights that are co-witnessable through many optics.

Like many of its peers, the Springfield Hellcat Pro seeks to strike a perfect balance between concealability and magazine capacity. In that regard, they did a good job. It is a hair smaller than a Glock 19 and a hair larger than the Micro-9s but has a 15+1 capacity with flush-mounted magazines. It is also trimmer than a G19 and has low-profile controls for snag-free carry.

Like other Springfield pistols, it is spec-ed out with a solid list of features. It has a revisable magazine catch, a loaded-chamber indicator on the top of the slide, it comes with two quality magazines, has a tough Melonite finish, a generously-sized accessory rail, and cocking serrations on the front and rear of the slide.

We had a lot of good things to say about the Stoeger STR-9C, especially in view of its budget-friend price. It has an MSRP of just $399, and during the week-long test it held its own against much pricier competition. That alone was enough for us to develop a sweet spot for the pistol.

The fanciest thing about the STR-9C Optics Ready is that the slide is cut for mounting a reflex sight. That feature has become de rigueur on defensive pistols and is one of the reasons that this Stoeger should do well in the market.

We found the manual safety to be unobtrusive, yet easy to switch between safe and fire with either hand. The magazine catch is functional as well, but protrudes a bit and is one of the less elegant features on the pistol.

The Stance features a 3.2-inch stainless-steel barrel, vented slide, and is available with a variety of colors of comfortably textured polymer frames. The frames include a couple of interchangeable grip backstraps, and the pistol is topped with low-profile sights that are rounded in the back to prevent snagging.

McBride, an engineer equipment chief with MWSS-273, shot a perfect score during pre-qualifications and qualificationstwice in 2014 when he was based at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, during pre-qualifications and qualifications. This year he threw two shots during pre-qualification, but hit the mark each and every time when it mattered.

His 2014 feat was born of a rivalry with a captain who goaded him by saying there was no way he could record a perfect score score perfect more than once. Both of them did just that during pre-quals, but McBride pulled ahead on the actual qualification.

This year, he was driven to prove it wasn't luck. While some Marines around him were rooting him on, others expressed skepticism, saying McBride's achievement last year was a fluke. The unit's pistol coaches, however, said they quickly realized knew quickly that he was an exceptional shooter.

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