I carry a 70-series .45 ACP Colt Combat Commander with 8 +1 magazines. It has a 3 1/2 pound trigger pull. This is the gun I shot in USPSA competition in the early 80s. It has aftermarket sights and in the late 80s it was modified to have a longer barrel with a compensator. The barrels are interchangeable and it will put two bullets within an inch of each other as fast as you can pull the trigger. The Mozambique drill was one of the classification stages back then. I quit shooting USPSA in the early 90s because of race guns. There is nothing practical about them. The only thing that I've added since then is a laser sight in the grip.
Around 2000 I started shooting SASS. Single action wheel guns are fun especially if shot gunfighter style (one in each hand). We did not shoot self defense loads. Back them SASS didn't have a minimum power factor. This is the absolute truth. I was RO on the next stage over when a guy stacked five.32 rounds in his barrel because of a squib fire. No damage to the gun. His hand loads were so weak that the pressure just vented between the cylinder and the barrel. I competed with 125 gn .38 specials loaded to around 800 fps. That's a power factor of 100. For comparison, I loaded my USPSA rounds with 200 gn .45 ACP bullets loaded to 950 fps. A power factor of 190.
Years ago when I was shooting USPSA my wife wanted a handgun. I suggested a 9mm. She asked what I was shooing. After giving me a dirty look she decided she wanted a .45 Colt Government. She shot it very well. She also joined me when I was shooting SASS.
We have gotten older. Arthritis has set in. Shooting several .45 rounds hurts her hands. So a couple of years ago I bought us some 9s. A Ruger for her and a Taurus for me. She is OK with her Ruger but I absolutely hate them. They are striker-fired and I have never felt such a long trigger pull in a gun. The Ruger's pull is smooth just long. In my opinion the gun should fire with only half the trigger pull. Without a lot of practice a long trigger pull like that will result in squeezing the entire hand instead of just moving the trigger finger. That pulls the sights off the target.
The Taurus is even worse. I can feel a click about half way back. The first three times I tried to shoo the gun I stopped there thinking something was wrong. After firing the wife's Ruger I pulled the trigger all the way back and the gun fired. What a piece of trash.
So, when I carry I carry a gun that I have owned for over 35 years that has over 60,000 rounds shot through it. Pretty much the only parts that needed to be replaced were the extractor and the ejector. It is absolutely reliable.
I was wondering. Did I make it absolutely clear how much I hate striker-fired pistols?
ProCharger P-1SC, 9 psi, STD 396/383; Uncorrected 388/375; SAE 383/370.
Ret. USAF 1969-1973,1980-1996: Vietnam veteran. Aircraft maintenance. R & D, ICBM Operations.
Also own: 1997 Harley FXDWG, 1998 F-150, and 2002 Corvette LS1