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#Post#: 32--------------------------------------------------
Top production guns
DIR By: allmanav
Date: January 30, 2020, 8:29 pm
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Ask 100 competitive shooters what's the best way to get started
in USPSA, and 99 of them will tell you Production division is
the way to go. It's a no-brainer, as the list of stock pistols
deemed acceptable by the USPSA Production rules is long and
includes some very familiar names. And, the number of shooters
in the Production division continues to grow—which not only
reflects an uptick in novices getting their feet wet in action
shooting without spending big money on a tricked-out race gun,
but also veteran competitors from other sports taking the guns
they already have in their safes to try out a new discipline.
Either way, the proliferation of Production class in the
shooting sports has made it easier than ever for shooters to
make the leap into competitive shooting.
Below are the top USPSA Production handguns last year at
Nationals according to shooter survey data. They are listed in
order of popularity as reported in the December 2019/January
2020 issue of FrontSight magazine. Note: the prices listed are
not MSRPs, rather they reflect current popular online retailer
pricing.
CZ-USA Shadow 2
CZ-USA Shadow 2
The CZ Shadow 2 Black and Blue has, surprisingly enough, blue
aluminum grips with checkering that matches the front and
backstrap.
Favored by over a third of shooters at Nationals, the CZ-USA
Shadow 2 ($1,349 as shown) remains the most popular production
gun at 36 percent. With a larger frame than previous models; the
Shadow 2 9mm is known to fit the hand well. High marks also go
to the double-action trigger, which is smooth and light with
little to no reset. The 4.89-inch cold-hammer forged barrel,
ambidextrous safety, fiber-optic front/HAJO rear sights and a
17-round magazine are features that competitive shooters will
appreciate. And, reciprocating mass is centered on the bore to
reduce muzzle flip. A hefty pistol at 46.5 ounces, the weight of
the Shadow 2 helps to mitigate recoil. In spite of the pistol's
girth and overall generous proportions, it remains very
user-friendly and a great candidate for your holster. Overall,
the Shadow 2 is a masterpiece.
EAA Tangfolio Stock 2
EAA Tanfoglio Witness Elite Stock 2
Tanfoglio guns were first optimized for competitive shooting in
the late 1980s, and have been improving scores ever
since—without breaking budgets.
Favored by 14 percent of USPSA Production shooters at the 2019
Nationals, the Italian-made Tangfolio Witness Stock 2 ($1,326)
imported by EAA is a top-tier gun that will not disappoint. For
the price there are loads of match-grade features, including an
extended ambidextrous safety, beavertail extension, a fat
magazine release button and checkered walnut grips. A
double-action/single-action pistol, the Stock 2 is available in
9mm, .40 S&W, .38 Super, 10mm and .45 ACP models. Common to all
five of them are a 4.5 inch barrel with polygonal rifling,
8-inch overall length and weight of 43 ounces. The fully
adjustable rear sight (SuperSight) and fiber-optic rear sight
completes the package. Best of all, the Stock 2 ships with a
tuned trigger job from the factory in Italy. Finally, like all
the guns in the Tangfolio line, the Stock 2 is simply beautiful.
Tie: Glock G34 and Walther Q5 SF/Match
Capturing 12 percent each, the Glock G34 Walther Q5 SF and Q5
Match were tied for third. (It looks like Walther's Q5 Steel
Frame and Match models were combined in the survey data.) This
is no big surprise—these pistols represent an excellent value
for competitive shooters that know what they want in a stock
firearm for USPSA.
Glock G34 Gen5
The Glock G34 improves upon the original G17 model with a longer
8.15-inch slide, extended 5.31-inch barrel and longer sight
radius. This Gen5 model also omits the infamous Glock grip
finger grooves.
One of the most well-known and iconic pistol brands, the boxy
Glock design has a cult following that gives the G34 ($719) a
much different look than most of the pistols on this list. While
the G17 model is the OG of striker-fired designs, the G34 has
improvements such as an adjustable rear sight, a Glock marksman
barrel and ambidextrous slide stop levers (Gen5). For these
reasons, the G34 is perfect for not only USPSA, IPSC and GSSF
competition, but it's also popular with SWAT teams across the
country. The weight sans magazine is 23.1 ounces, and fully
loaded the G34 comes in at 33.33 ounces. Overall length is 8.82
inches, and the standard 9mm magazine holds 17 rounds. Options
to increase capacity included extended base pads, as well as
larger magazines available from Glock ranging from 19 to a
whopping 33 rounds. (Be sure to read the latest rules before
buying high-capacity mags, as they may not be legal for the game
you're playing.)
Walther Q5 SF
Although t’s simply the Q5 with a steel frame, for some
competitors that simple distinction gives the Walther Q5 SF a
significant advantage over polymer pistols.
When Walther's Q5 Match first hit the scene, it resonated with
action shooters. And with good reason, its unique design is a
testament to the engineering skills of the folks at Walther. The
Q5 Match ($799) is considered by many to be a flawless gun,
which makes it all the more incredible that Walther took this
pistol and upped the ante by changing the frame material from
polymer to steel. About a year later, the Q5 Steel Frame
($1,479) joined the lineup and really turned heads with its bold
steel styling and high performance straight out of the box. The
Q5 SF has the same trigger used in Walther's polymer PPQ line,
plus this well-balanced pistol has a removable magwell, which
keeps it legal in USPSA Production rules. Jake Martens summed it
up best in his review of the Q5 SF—"Walther has taken everything
that is great with the PPQ pistol, the ergonomics and the
amazing trigger, and built it into a steel frame competition
gun."
CZ-USA Shadow SP01
CZ Shadow SP01
CZ's SP-01 Shadow Target II (CZ Custom) s a competition-ready in
the style of the Pre-B SP-01 Shadow.
You have to give the Czechs credit—CZ is one of only three
companies with multiple entries on this list. Over half of USPSA
Production shooters at Nationals were shooting either the
top-ranked Shadow 2 shown at the top of this article; or the
Shadow SP01 ($1,687 as shown), which remains quite popular with
an 11 percent share. The SP01 is a 9mm handgun with a 4.6-inch
cold hammer-forged barrel, ambidextrous safety, as well as a
safety stop on the hammer. The double-stack magazine has a
capacity of 18 rounds, and competitors will be familiar with
sights—the SP01 has an adjustable one in the rear and fiber
optic in the front. At 41.1 ounces, the SP01 is among the
heaviest models featured in this list. The model shown here also
includes a few extra competition-specific features: a stainless
steel guide rod, lighter springs for competition, extended
magazine release, drop-free magazines and checkered aluminum
grips.
SIG Sauer P320 X5/Legion
SIG Sauer P320 X5 Legion 9mm
The full-sized SIG X5 Legion 9mm pistol is the apex of the P320
line.
Two of SIG's premier production guns are the P320 X5 ($730) and
the uprated X5 Legion ($900). Both models were chosen by 9
percent of shooters at the 2019 USPSA Production Nationals. The
company has been on a roll as of late producing some great
firearms (and optics), and these two are no exception. The
Legion, introduced last year as the flagship model of SIG's P320
line has proven to be popular with action shooters, and we
wouldn't be surprised to see it place higher on the list next
year. (Read Jake Marten's review of the X5 Legion here.)
At 43.5 ounces (including magwell), the X5 Legion handles recoil
well and has good balance thanks to a tungsten-infused grip
module. This follows the current trend in competitive
shooting-specific handguns increasing their weight. The recoil
system is tunable with multiple springs included in the box. A
5-inch carbon steel bull barrel, ambidextrous slide and magazine
releases, and Picatinny rail; in conjunction with the modularity
of the P320 series, make the X5 Legion a top choice for
Production action shooters.
#Post#: 34--------------------------------------------------
Re: Top production guns
DIR By: Bryan B
Date: January 31, 2020, 7:34 am
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Very interesting article. I wonder if the results would be much
different if we looked at Canadian IPSC only?
#Post#: 35--------------------------------------------------
Re: Top production guns
DIR By: allmanav
Date: January 31, 2020, 11:44 am
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It is very obvious the same is true for Canada
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