There are three handguns which I would say I have shot enough to feel I can give a good report on:
#1: Smith and Wesson Sigma, .40S&W, 1st Generation--This pistol is junk and I would never carry them. You don't have to worry about a KaBoom, but you do have to worry about your front sight falling off, your striker pin breaking, and if you don't clean it often, the slide retention bar spring will be pushed down by power residue. I had this happen with two issue to me, I finally got an HK USP .40 Compact because I don't trust 1st Gen Sigmas at all.
#2: HK USP Compact, .40S&W--I only had one or two stovepipes with this pistol. It was 99.99% reliable. The one issue I had with this gun is that it is susceptible to rust on the slide. During the winter months, we didn't go shooting. Snow flakes were able to blow onto the back of my slide where they melted and water gained entry to the under body part of the slide. Five months later, when showing the pistol to a friend, a rust spot was noticed. I wasn't happy about it, but it was my fault for not inspecting the pistol. I had to pull the two pins, removing three or four small pieces in front of the hammer to clean all the rust. No major issues at all, the rust wiped right off and didn't have enough time to eat into the metal. I ended up selling the HK to get a Glock 22.
#3: Glock 22, 3rd Generation, .40S&W--I carried this gun for about five years. I had a handfull of jams, but I was shooting a lot of ammo and my arms were tired, so I do blame "limp wristing" on these jams (at least for some of them). I have never had a KaBoom and still trust the pistol 99%. No pistol is 100% in my opinion. I finally ended up with a department G22. It is a very recent manufacture. I don't fear a KaBoom with this new G22. The co-worker who had it before failed to qualify at first and he did nothing but shoot, shoot, and shoot some more...so it has been "tested" as far as I am concerned.
Overall thoughts: I think the best handgun out there is the HK USP series. The only problem I have with the HK USP is that their rail system isn't picnay and requires an adaptor. I think HK did themselves a big disservice in this aspect. I also think the Glock pistol is a good pistol. There are some issues with some specific guns, that is just the way it is. If you look at that Glock KaBoom page, you noticed an HK USP also had a KaBoom. On this thread, an XD KaBoom is pictured.
The way to work through this is to shoot your pistol. Even if you are caching pistols for whatever reason, you should be shooting them. For a prepardness/survivialist type, one needs to have a Glock in 9mm and .40S&W. Their popularity means they are out there, and it would be nice to have a couple of pistols that you might be able to find spare parts for. The Beretta 92 is another popular pistol I would cache. For daily use, I would be carrying an HK USP if I had the money.
#1: Smith and Wesson Sigma, .40S&W, 1st Generation--This pistol is junk and I would never carry them. You don't have to worry about a KaBoom, but you do have to worry about your front sight falling off, your striker pin breaking, and if you don't clean it often, the slide retention bar spring will be pushed down by power residue. I had this happen with two issue to me, I finally got an HK USP .40 Compact because I don't trust 1st Gen Sigmas at all.
#2: HK USP Compact, .40S&W--I only had one or two stovepipes with this pistol. It was 99.99% reliable. The one issue I had with this gun is that it is susceptible to rust on the slide. During the winter months, we didn't go shooting. Snow flakes were able to blow onto the back of my slide where they melted and water gained entry to the under body part of the slide. Five months later, when showing the pistol to a friend, a rust spot was noticed. I wasn't happy about it, but it was my fault for not inspecting the pistol. I had to pull the two pins, removing three or four small pieces in front of the hammer to clean all the rust. No major issues at all, the rust wiped right off and didn't have enough time to eat into the metal. I ended up selling the HK to get a Glock 22.
#3: Glock 22, 3rd Generation, .40S&W--I carried this gun for about five years. I had a handfull of jams, but I was shooting a lot of ammo and my arms were tired, so I do blame "limp wristing" on these jams (at least for some of them). I have never had a KaBoom and still trust the pistol 99%. No pistol is 100% in my opinion. I finally ended up with a department G22. It is a very recent manufacture. I don't fear a KaBoom with this new G22. The co-worker who had it before failed to qualify at first and he did nothing but shoot, shoot, and shoot some more...so it has been "tested" as far as I am concerned.
Overall thoughts: I think the best handgun out there is the HK USP series. The only problem I have with the HK USP is that their rail system isn't picnay and requires an adaptor. I think HK did themselves a big disservice in this aspect. I also think the Glock pistol is a good pistol. There are some issues with some specific guns, that is just the way it is. If you look at that Glock KaBoom page, you noticed an HK USP also had a KaBoom. On this thread, an XD KaBoom is pictured.
The way to work through this is to shoot your pistol. Even if you are caching pistols for whatever reason, you should be shooting them. For a prepardness/survivialist type, one needs to have a Glock in 9mm and .40S&W. Their popularity means they are out there, and it would be nice to have a couple of pistols that you might be able to find spare parts for. The Beretta 92 is another popular pistol I would cache. For daily use, I would be carrying an HK USP if I had the money.