re: Lets have a best side arm contest.

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That man invented the BAR... By accident

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.45 glock if shooting ball ammo.

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Just to be sure we are talking the same, you're not talking about the g37 in .45 Glock AP.

After 100+ years of continuous evolution and how widely the platform is used, it's hard to argue against that.

Of all the guns I own, I still shoot the S&W M&P best. That would probably be my choice if I had to pick one. My FNS9 would be a close second.

HK p30 and its not even close.
Only knock is price.

I served 14 years. Most with side duty of firearms instructor.
I ran a counterterrorism course as well.

I admit upfront bias against Glock. They are the least left-hand friendly shitdogs in the market. Reliable, but very biased in user capabilities.
I would never use glock in a shooting competition because it takes way to much hand movement for a lefty to perform magazine changes.

Sig 226 is up there.

But my vote easily goes to HK p30. It has everything I want and need in a pistol.

If it goes to votes, it is unfair to have multiple makes and styles from one brand up against just the brand of another. Ie: several HK pistols vs Glock. Just Glock.

Anyway. Happy voting.

As I stated earlier, anyone that has shot both a p30 and a VP9 would never pick the p30. They are virtually identical except for the action p30 being hammer fired and the VP9 striker.

I guess I shouldn't say never but few would pick the p30 over the vp9

What isn't hard to argue is the reliability fault of the 1911.

I only own 1 semi-automatic pistol and it's a Lorcin .25

My vote is for the S&W model 686 .357 magnum.

Sig P229 .40 is a lifesaver!

You are the exception to the norm. The vast majority of 1911s will not make it through a full day of shooting classes 500+ rds. Of the three I have been to 4 out of the 5 1911s in the classes all started having repeated functional issues. One being a dan Wesson, one being an ed brown one Springfield and one limber. The colt is the only one that made it through a full day without cleaning.

This revelation is not held by just me but by many instructors alike.

And the fact that you get so defensive about it is kinda weird

It's real hard not to just be emotional about your favorite.

That said, my personal favorite is a CZ 75, it has been for over a decade. I've collected a lot of others, especially in the same category (DA/SA metal fullsize pistols), and the CZ has successfully held the others off thus far.

The funny thing is, my most recent 9mm pistol purchase is a Sig P226, a worn beater, but matching W German. And I'm a lefty, so the controls should be awkward for me.

And yet, I have to say, that old Sig has already overtaken the Beretta 92 and the 3rd Gen S&W... it just shoots so well. It's pushing my CZ, and I thought I didn't want it to.
But that CZ of mine pushes back, with it's fantastic grip and ultra-slick trigger... it's an old pre B before the firing pin block, and it doesn't come in second to anything I've handled.

I can't speak to the newer Sigs, I've heard that the stainless steel slides throw the balance off just a bit. Or the newer CZ's (the B series), I've heard their triggers are a fair bit rougher.
But the old pre B CZ with the rounded trigger guard has a super sweet trigger, and so does the old West German Sig, with the stamped slide. Both are, in my mind, as good as anything you can find, in terms of reliability and accuracy, for a regular production gun. The only thing I've changed on them are the grips, and that was just for comfort- I've settled on stock-looking hard rubber for both (the factory rubber panels for the CZ, a pair of Uncle Mike's for the Sig).