Caliber need not come into play until after the ability to hit your target is obtained. With proper fundamentals you can shoot any caliber. Shop like you do for shoes... try 'em on first. If the gun doesn't feel "right" in your hands, you'll not shoot it enough to become proficient with it, in which case you may as well buy a ball bat, and save some money.

Use the MK III to gain proficiency in the fundamentals, stance, grip, sight alignment, and trigger squeeze.... THEN shop for a larger caliber gun.

If you're going to spend lots of time in the outdoors with it I'd go with the Glock just because of the reputation of reliabilty and ease of maintenance. Glock makes a 45 ACP also in it's model 21. A trigger job for the Glock would be money well spent and still keep you below $800.00.

The glock 21 which is full sized in 45acp beats both of your choices from springfield in weight and the glocks only get lighter when you go to the fullsized (G17) 9mm or the compact 9mm (G19) Glock gives i think 3 mags Springfield gives you a flush 10rd and extended 13rd mag. Do you care about a couple of ounces? do you want 2 or 3 magazines with your pistol.

the XD's have a lot going on aesthetically, the Glock looks simple. I'm tossed on my opinion here I don't like glock's square slide but i prefer the plain lock of the glock over the xd. Which one just looks better to you?

XD has a grip safety. Do you want that? not want that? don't care about it?

The XD is offered in od green and earth tone if you don't want all black.

9mm vs. 45acp that debate continues. do you want more rounds which cost less or less rounds that cost more. my preference goes 45acp on the basis of "it bigger and meaner looking"

For CCW the Glock 19 might be a better choice than the G17. You lose two rounds, but it conceals better.

When I started shooting the 9mm was less capable than it is today. But I still manage to stick with those old prejudices; I don't fully trust a 9mm. The .45 is a more worthy round in my opinion. The Glock 30 is about the same size as the Glock 19, and is a double stack.

you are a farmer so "combine" means for you when you are out on the farm on your equipment or as in combination?
if for combination or all around use then glock 19 over the 17
i just don't care for the XDs

Either one is a good choice.
If you are going to carry it all the time, the Glock weighs 6oz less.
On the other hand the XD is slightly thinner.
Which one can you shoot better?
CC

Now that all the Glockaphiles have weighed in with their opinions look back at the first posted advice you got on here and reread it ....was great advice...fundamentals are the foundation you build on ...having said that ...9mm is less expensive to shoot and the newest ammo is plenty potent for self defense needs but, .22 is even cheaper to practice with and learn good solid fundamentals. Buy what works and feels best for you personally both Glock and Springfield are good choices but you might also look at a S&W M&P.

While Glock is on the table...the G30 is a nice compact .45 acp as is the 36. You can carry more rounds in the 30 however.

Originally Posted by Raymond

While Glock is on the table...the G30 is a nice compact .45 acp as is the 36. You can carry more rounds in the 30 however.

Raymond is right

The Glock 30 would be the "45 acp ccw gun" to carry and has 20 to 30% less recoil than a 1911

I have hit the center of a target at 15 feet with my G30...something I have trouble doing with my 1911 due to the high recoil

As a small horse farm owner I prefer my 2075 cz rami around the farm for these reasons. It's light weight, comfortable to wear even with a cheap uncle mikes holster. its a durable little gun. You can have a round in the chamber hammer down or cocked and locked.getting on and off the tractor and going through fences is easy. Mines in 9mm but they do come in .40 great all around gun. My sig c-3 is too nice to kick around and my .357 is too big and clumsy. Also a little one for you a farmer the next county over was almost attacked by 2 no-gooders while getting back into his combine out way off the road. luckly he had his gun on his side and not up in the cab! I always want mine on me at all times. Plus a rami will set you back only in the low $400.00 (more for diesel fuel LOL) hope this helped.

Originally Posted by tom1911sigfreak

As a small horse farm owner I prefer my 2075 cz rami around the farm for these reasons. It's light weight, comfortable to wear even with a cheap uncle mikes holster. its a durable little gun. You can have a round in the chamber hammer down or cocked and locked.getting on and off the tractor and going through fences is easy. Mines in 9mm but they do come in .40 great all around gun.

Can this gun be fired double action or do you have to re-cock the hammer? Is it full frame? Is it close in comparison to the CZ75? I can get a CZ75 for $650 roughly.

Thanks for the advice everyone I have great marksman ability with a pistol. I'v had my .22 for about a year and carry it everywhere on the farm. Thanks for the advice on that though.

Yes single and double action I sent you a pm

The Rami is a very nice gun. It looks and feels far more expensive than it is. With aftermarket wood grips it would look outstanding. It has a good reputation for reliability too. CZ makes good guns.

The one downside is that it is not very popular and there are not very many holsters out there for it. Check to see that a suitable holster is available before you buy one.

I bought a Glock, not because I thought it was better made or better engineered than others out there, but because it has a long history of reliability and durability that only Beretta's 92 series also enjoys. The Beretta does not carry as well as the Glock for weight reasons, so that explains the choice for me.

From my point of view, I would need some really desirable feature from another weapon to make me want to switch. For instance a very small light weight weapon would pretty much exclude any Glock choices, so I got a S & W 340PD, a pocketable weapon.

I own a Cz 2075 RAMI P and love it. With extended mag, you can carry 14+1....very nice for a compact gun.
There are holsters available...just need to order it rather than buy it off the shelf. I recommend Comp-Tac for this one or nextholster.com's Guardian or Wild Bills Fusion Paddle.

It has a manual safety, and I carry it with a round in the chamber and manually decock the gun (Thumb between hammer and striker, pull trigger, slowly release thumb until it catches about 3/16" from striker. First shot will be a DA shot.

If you have the money, buy it from Cz custom shop and get the competition hammer/trigger job...about $160. Well worth it.

It is a very accurate gun and reliable and well-balanced and a decent trigger, even without the trigger job.

Invest in a good holster.
CC

Originally Posted by Azermiath

Hello once again.

I'm a farmer from Montana and I'm having problems deciding on which caliber of gun I should choose. 9mm or 45 apc, it's between these two calibers for now(I have shot both of these). My current pistol is a Ruger MKIII 22/45. What I need to know is what would be better for ccw and a "combine" gun.

I'm currently looking at either a Glock 17 or a Springfield 4" XD or 4.5" XDM. I need help deciding what would be better.

I'm willing to spend up to $800 on my first ccw gun. Any recomendations are welcome. Thanks for your time.

Personally, I would go with the Springfield in .45 ACP. JMHO.

Cz are good people to deal with also, my rami was to come with a 10 and 14 round mag, but only came with 2 10 rounders. I wrote them an e-mail and they responded in a few hours that a 14 round clip was on its way, just send back one 10 round clip.The 14 round clip on my 75 compact is the same as the rami. just the rami has the spacer. I'm waiting on a Dan Wesson rz-45 (be here Thursday) Anyone know if cz builds the dan's or they just bankroll them? From my understanding the Dan's are made in the USA.

Glock 19 or XDM 3.5 for CCW. My personal choice is the Beretta PX4 compact in 9mm.

9mm is the cheapest to feed.
I like plastic for carrying. My metal guns are too nice. Check out S&W M&P compact 45 it is about the same size as a glock 19 and very nice to shoot for a 45. Also I just picked up a used police trade Sig Pro 2340 in 40 cal for $335 plus shipping. Buds has the 9mm version Sig PRO SP2022 with night sights for $460 shipped, regular sights for $399 shipped. These Sigs make me a better shooter than I am I swear. I feel the Sig pros are the best value out there.

tom

All things considered the Rami is your best bet. you can get it in.40 and it lightweight being on a farm that meens alot. I have a 2022 sig 2 c-3 sigs 1 full size pow-mia sig a cz75, cz75 compact the cz 97 dan wesson rz-45, taurus 627 tracker, 990 tracker ruger markII, and the one I carry the most (RAMI) I'd bet my life on it for sure!

Hey again everyone, I'm currently between the 9mm XDM compact and the 45 or I'm thinking a 1911 for a shoulder holster carry unless I can find a good shoulder holster for an XDM. I don't like the feel of IWB (adds to much bulk) but if I have to I will wear one if someone can recomend me a good holster for it. And I rarely wear long enough clothing for OWB. Any ideas on a way I can carry a decent compact pistol OWB with say a T-shirt or untucked dress shirt w/o it looking like I'm carrying. I like the way Shoulder holsters feel. Anybody know of a good holster for the XDM I can get a moulded 1911 holster here but I can't find a horizontal holster for an XDM. Help please.

Originally Posted by tom1911sigfreak

All things considered the Rami is your best bet. you can get it in.40 and it lightweight being on a farm that meens alot. I have a 2022 sig 2 c-3 sigs 1 full size pow-mia sig a cz75, cz75 compact the cz 97 dan wesson rz-45, taurus 627 tracker, 990 tracker ruger markII, and the one I carry the most (RAMI) I'd bet my life on it for sure!

I liked the Rami, but I settled on the Glock 27 instead, because of the long track record and the availability of holsters to fit. This is not to say that the Rami is not equal or better than the Glock, but has to do with the long history and its popularity.

The Rami is priced very competitively and looks and feels like it is much more expensive than it is.

Originally Posted by Packard

I liked the Rami, but I settled on the Glock 27 instead, because of the long track record and the availability of holsters to fit. This is not to say that the Rami is not equal or better than the Glock, but has to do with the long history and its popularity.

The Rami is priced very competitively and looks and feels like it is much more expensive than it is.

The RAMI is a cool pistol, but I never see them in the stores around here. Cool pistols though.