STI - Perfect 10 or one of their newer offerings?

[Unimakpass]

  Looking into the STI double stack 10mm options. Like the looks of the Perfect 10 but wondering if the Nitro or others has any improvements concerning the trigger ect. worth considering?
  Thanks for any input.

[sqlbullet]

Nitro is single stack....

[Unimakpass]

 Looks like their also making it in the 2011 now.

http://www.gunbroker.com/item/653700305

[sqlbullet]

In that case, the real question is do you want a 5" or a 6" barrel.  With the full length dust cover it is a really big gun for CCW even in 5", so I would opt for the longer slide.

[Unimakpass]

 Not for ccw. Could go 5"or 6". Mainly wondering about improvements or otherwise on newer models.

[sep]

I have a Perfect 10 but haven't owned any of STIs other 10mm pistols so I can't speak to any improvement. The Perfect 10 is my favorite 10mm. I also own a Dan Wesson Bruin and a G40. A couple things to consider about the Perfect 10.

Magazines-I bought a spare magazine from Dawson Precision which turned out to be marked on the package for either 10mm or 40 S&W. I called Dawson to ask about it and they told me some pistols will function with a 40 S&W magazine and some won't. I compared the magazines to my stock 10mm magazine and the feed lips are different lengths. So, I special ordered some 10mm magazines from Dawson Precision as I want as close to absolute functional reliability as possible.

Front sight-I swapped out the black partridge style front sight for a Dawson Precision fiber optic front sight as my 52 year old eyes prefer the fiber optics.

I also replaced the magazine well with a tactical magazine well to reduce the footprint. No functional reason for doing so, just personal preference.

It is challenging to put the recoil spring back into the pistol on reassembly. I slip on gloves when I put it back together so it doesn't hurt or cut my hand. It's just easier with gloves on.

Trigger-the trigger is good however, I am considering sending it back to STI to slightly reduce the pull weight to be more like my Dan Wesson Bruin.

Holsters-I have a G-Code XST hip holster and a Man Gear style Alaskan made chest holster. IIRC, Diamond D also makes a hip holster and Guides Choice holster for the STI as well so you have several options.

I handload for my Perfect 10 and my ammo choice here in interior Alaska is the 200 grain XTP as well as 200 grain Hardcast. The XTPs shoot more accurately so it depends on what you want. With a handle like "Unimakpass" I assume you too are here in Alaska. So, you know the deal with bears. I do the drop or plunk test with every round I load and use for woods carry so I'm sure the pistol will cycle reliably. So far it has.

BTW, the Fairbanks Daily News Miner is reporting a homeowner in Douglas, Alaska shot and killed a 725 pound Brownie on May 25th in defense of life and property. No mention of the gun used nor the circumstances except to say the bear didn't run away when confronted by the homeowner and Troopers say it was a justified shooting.                   

[Unimakpass]

Thanks for the info sep, answers a lot of questions. Yes Unimakpass is a indicator of where I hangout. Commercial fished that area for many years so hunted Alaska Penn, Kodiak, Kenai Penn ect for many years which of course means lots of bear encounters. My dad homesteaded in Homer in 1938 and was one of the early guides in the area and well known bear encounters.
Picked up a G20 that was a impulsive sale purchase. Liked how light it was and figured for black bear woods carry was good. Was hiking up a local creek that thought only black bear hung out at when ran into a brownie sow with cubs and she immediately charged. Was able get three quick shots off but tripped backwards and last shot clipped the end of my middle toe off as it came up between me and her. It worked but picked up a 454 Alaskan for a little more horsepower.
  Like 10mm but would like one in a Sti .

[sep]

We read about your bear encounter last year. Glad to hear you survived and made it to medical help in time. Things could have been much, much worse. The Alaska Peninsula is my favorite place to hunt brown bears and your Dad was definitely one of Alaska's pioneers. They don't make em like him anymore...as Phil Robertson from Duck Commander likes to say about many of todays younger folks, "too much time in the subdivision".     

Anyway, back to the 10mm, I think the 357 Magnum, 10mm, 41 Magnum, 44 Magnum, 454 etc. are all good defensive bear medicine if you can hit the head, neck vertebra or spine. I can shoot the 10 most easily so I prefer it but I also have 357 Magnums and 44 Magnums should I choose to carry one instead and have on occasion.

Just out of curiosity, do you plan to carry the STI 10mm for bear defense or have you permanently migrated to the 454? Would you do anything differently when it comes to ammo selection for the 10mm for bear defense? I'd be happy to answer any other STI questions you may have.                   

[Unimakpass]

 There is something about the Alaska Penn that stays with someone. Love the country and people. Wintered in Nelson Lagoon, Port Heiden, fished out of Sand Point, King Cove.
  Still like the 10mm for general woods carry but when in big bear territory the 454 just feels a little better. The feeling of needing to get as many shots off as possible because your at the bottom of the energy range can get a little bit to exciting  . Grant it, it's enough, but why not the 454. Might only be able to get that one quick shot off and not placed exactly where one wants it either. The Ruger Alaskan being a snub nosed is a specialty item for just that, a get off me gun that you hope you never have to use for the purpose it was purchased. Besides a good excuse to buy one more gun that is hard to argue with and I really like shooting it.
Having said that if all I had with me was a 10mm I wouldn't hesitate to beat the brush on some adventure in big bear territory. Went deer hunting on Kodiak last fall and had a mighty 257 Roberts and G20 with me. Turned out to be a fantastic hunt, 3 was limit and shot two more on a proxy tag.
Old timers like my dad used 270/30-06 for everything and a .357 for packing out meat so guess I'm used to not carrying hand cannons.
  Started looking into the Sti after we had a passenger on our landing craft that had two open carry Sti 40s, hmm. Upon closer look I just had to have one. May end up using for woods carry if it becomes a reality, trying to push the justification element a little to hard perhaps though. Can always pretend like I'm Robo Cop in the woods with that thingif nothing else.
  Would be using hard cast bullets in the future which is another reason for the 454. Need a different barrel for G20 when going that rout. Then need to shoot a pile of rounds to make sure it feeds well to feel confident. Ruger Alaskan- get the biggest and baddest, end of story.

[sep]

Good stuff Unimakpass. BTW, I originally bought a G20 and a KKM 6 inch barrel for it. I sold the G20 to a co-worker who just had to have it and I now use the same 6 inch KKM barrel in my G40. Good barrels for hard cast.

Sounds like you had a great deer hunt on Kodiak too. I went to Montague Island last November but lost most of the hunt to bad weather but we managed to kill a few deer. The party before us killed a brown bear sow in defense of life too. I guess you never know when it's gonna happen.

Ironically, I have been around far more brownies than black bears and have been bluff charged twice by black bear sows with cubs. Fortunately, we didn't need to shoot either time. Anyway, hope you have a good fishing and hunting season.     

[ottoman]

I also have a Perfect 10. Very nice fit an finish and it fit my requirements... double stack with 6 inch barrel.
No malfunctions so far.. trigger pull is a hair over 5lbs... very accurate
I have five 10mm's and the only one I rank higher is my Witness Hunter.
I did a quick search and didn't find another double stack 10mm STI... maybe they sell one I couldnt find?
It sounds like the perfect 10 may be what your looking for if you want a STI