(L-R): Richard Cole, author Paul Scarlata, and Dick Jones Many of our younger readers will no doubt think I’m lying when I tell them that at one time there were no polymer-made pistols
Although the first polymer-made pistols were introduced in the 1970s, it took decades for “plastic” pistols to gain popularity
RELATED STORY Pocket War: Features and Ratings of 5 Popular 380 Pistols Since their introduction in the late 1800s, most semi-automatic pistols, fire Internally, service-type pistols have used stainless-steel rims, frames and internal components
In the 1950s, Colt, S&W and Walther offered pistols with aluminum alloy frames
By the 1960s, more and more handgun manufacturers were offering their products in aluminum When the Browning Hi-Power pistol introduced a 13-round magazine in 1935, the concept of high-capacity magazines was slow to catch on
By the 1970s, however, attitudes had changed, and high-powered designs such as the S&W Model 59, Beretta 92 and CZ 75 were widely chosen by military and law enforcement agencies around the world world The 1980s saw the introduction of the Glock 17, which had a polymer frame and internal components
Although initially viewed with suspicion, he became the driving force behind the “Polymer Revolution” Today, polymer-framed pistols dominate the police and military markets
He accepted immediately, and within weeks, I received a Beretta 92A1, CZ 75 BD, European American Armory (EAA) Witness Steel Full Size, Sig Sauer P226 Legion and a Taurus PT-92
The Beretta 92 is the handgun of many military and police forces around the world, including the US, Italy, South Africa, Brazil, France, Japan and Indonesia
Sig’s P226 is another world favorite with military, police and snipers, with current users including the US Coast Guard, US Navy SEALs, US Secret Service, US State Department Security and UK Royal Marine CommandosThe Brazilian-made Taurus PT- 92 is a modified version of the original Beretta 92 and has seen police and military service in many countries in Latin America, Asia and the Middle East
Although the politics of the Cold-War resulted in the CZ pistols arriving in the American market, they have become popular with the police in Central Europe, the Balkans, the Middle East and Africa Made in Italy by Tanfoglio, the EAA Witness Full Steel is a variant of the CZ 75
An all-steel pistol with a double-action/double-action (DA/SA) trigger system and side-safety
These guns have seen service with police departments throughout the Middle East and are very popular with action pistol competitors around the world
INFO 10mm Pistol Comparison: Rating and Rating 4 Popular Models Features of Handguns All of these pistols have some features
The CZ and EAA are all steel (stainless in the latter case), to the delight of traditionalists, while the Sig, Taurus and Beretta have steel slides and aluminum frames
The Sig uses a timer on the left side of the frame to allow the hammer to be released on the loaded chamber
The Beretta has an ambidextrous rear on the slide when the hammer is dropped, and if left down, it acts as a safety, preventing the pistol from firing
On the Taurus, the ambidextrous, frame-mounted thumb guards can be used to carry the pistol in the First Position, or can be depressed in front of the “fire” position to lower the hammer or the hammer can be lowered for DA’s first shot
The CZ has a standard hammer-loading frame that automatically moves up to the “fire” position after the hammer is cocked As for the other controls, all five pistols have the magazine release and stop clips in the “correct” positions, while the magazine release on the Beretta and Taurus will can turn south
Both the Beretta and the Sig feature loaded chambers while the Taurus is the only one equipped with an internal safety lock
RingI rules tested each pistol for accuracy by firing 5-shot groups from an MTM K-Zone rest at 15 yards
All five shot at target level and produced groups from 2 to 3 inches, which I think is more than adequate for service-type pistols
If none of them work, we try to fix the problem at the range and keep shooting It was a little thought that my friends Richard Cole and Dick Jones, both championship shooters and CCW permit holders, would come along to help me run these pistols by their speed
As in previous “Battle Royales,” we evaluated the pistols in seven categories: ergonomics, recoil control, visibility, hand accuracy, ease of loading, reliability and DA trigger control
We thought these parts would give us all a taste for these “full steel” pistols through a series of drills designed for steel targetsSteel Plate DrillOn cue, the shooter executes a rack of six plates 8 yards from the firing line
Then they reloaded the pistol and repeated the drill three more times
Scoring is full time for every four runs and a five-second penalty for remaining plate appearances
PaulRichardDickBeretta471760915CZ514592562EAA470646590Sig463583745Taurus510703565Kei Puka/Popper Drill On cue, the shooter inserts a five-yard iron rib from the Birch s, hit each target twice before shooting the popper down to stop the clock
The pistol is reloaded and the drill is repeated from 12 and 8 yards
The total time for each of the three runs with a five-second penalty for errorsPaulRichardDickBeretta9251068961CZ918898982EAA8401017800Sig110310261067 double shooter – fired two iron shots at 25 yards, re-engaged and re-engaged
The test was conducted three times
The score includes the full time for each four runs and a five-second penalty for errors
PaulRichardDickBeretta105514031342CZ115314091090EAA95312291256Sig96212401170Taurus129113001171 Eventually, each of the 4 bullets will run out for at least 4 rounds 4 shot s from five guns
The runs with each pistol are averaged for the final score All drills began with the shooter holding the pistol in the low-ready position and firing the first shot in each line of fire from the DA mode
We started shooting at 11 am Except for a short break for lunch, we continued to put down targets until 3 pm, over 1,400 rounds9mm Metal Handguns 14141310Control Trigger11121289Response Control1315141311Views111011147Leave-Aid Accuracy121212129Simplicity Loader111071010TOTAL8488858564Note: 15 is perfect score for each category, 105 is the total score of time, the total time is a total
Here I will give some necessary explanations to help ReliabilityFour of the test pistols ran flawlessly, but we experienced two stovepipe jams and two double-feed with the Taurus
We couldn’t tell if this was due to a faulty magazine or notErgonomics This is a real issue, as a shooter has smaller hands and it’s difficult to control the trigger / safety posts on the frame, the other didn’t like the look of the mounts on the Beretta and Taurus
We all liked the ergonomics of the EAA and CZ, although one shooter found it difficult to rack the EAA’s film and thought it would be easier to catch in the trenches , long, heavy and skinny
Recoil ControlHere the EAA and CZ scored high as the Sig’s grainy panels and front sight- and rear sights allowed for a very safe purchaseSights We felt that there were little or no sights on four of the five pistols
Halfway through the shot, the white dot insert fell off the front sight of the Taurus, and the count was low bound if the Taurus’s front sight installation didn’t failReloading EaseOne thought that five pistols would benefit from longer magazine release buttons
As pistols get dirty, EAA magazines sometimes fall out and are manually pulled from the handle
Getting something really interesting in metal guns as I usually do, I asked my fellow shooters about their favorite of our test pistols, and why
Dick Jones picked up the CZ 75 DB and said, “I really liked this pistol
It just feels good in my hand, the index is very accurate, and I like the DA trigger pull” Richard Cole is his favorite
He said, “It has a better balance than others and is very manageable and sustainable” My point is the Beretta 92A1
As my old high school math teacher used to tell us, “Numbers don’t lie!” Guns Caliber: SpecsBeretta 92A1Caliber: 9mmBarrel: 49 inches OA Length: 85 inches Weight: 333 ounces (empty) Sights: PolymerSights: Three-Dot Action: DA /SAM Black: Light Black Capacity: 17+1MSRP: $775CZ 75 BDCaliber : 9mmBarrel: 46 inches OA Length: 81 inches Weight: 353 ounces (empty) Grip: PolymerSights: Three-point Action: DA/SAFinish: RPEA 6Capacity: RPEA+6Capacity: RPEA+6Capacity: RPEA+6Capacity Sights SteelCaliber: 9mmBarrel: 45 inches OA Length: 81 inches Weight: 33 ounces (empty) Grip: PolymerSights: Three-point Action: DA/SAFire: WonderCapacity: 17+1MSRP: $699Sig Sauer P226 in the LegionCaliber: 8mmCaliber: 8 blade: 34 ounces (cloud)Holds: G10Sights: X-Ray day/nightWorks: DA/SAFinish: Legion gray PVDCCapacity: 15+1MSRP: $1,413Taurus PT-92Caliber: 9mmBarrel: 5 inches Length OA: 85 inches Length: 85 inches Length: 85 inches PolymerSights: Three-dotAction: DA/SAFinish: Matte blackCapacity: 17+1MSRP: $498For more information on these metal guns, please visit berettacom, cz-usacom, eaacorpcom, sigsauercom and taurususacom