Over the past few months, my handgun shooting has been primarily with a Glock 19. To be sure, I’ve fired plenty of rounds from other handguns, but the vast majority of the centerfire and rimfire rounds I’ve put downrange have been from the Glock 19 and an Advantage Arms .22LR conversion. I do this because it’s what I carry, and it is thus important to maintain proficiency with it.

It’s not the most mechanically accurate handgun I own, though. So I decided to take some of my more accurate 9mm handguns – a Sig P226 X-Five Tactical and a 5″ 1911 – to the range and see whether, in a bullseye shooting scenario, I was more accurate and precise with the familiar Glock 19 or the unfamiliar but “better” handguns.

The test consisted of 50 rounds fired at a reduced silhouette placed at 50 yards, with 5 “sighter” shots fired before each 50 round course of fire. I was surprised that I did so well with the Glock 19, scoring 43 out of 50 hits. Those shots that missed did not do so by much.

Next I shot the X-Five, which is a more finely assembled and tuned handgun than the Glock by any standard. However, my performance with it fell short, and I scored only 40 hits. The pistol is certainly capable of much greater accuracy, having been shipped with a test target that showed a small group at 25 meters.

Finally, the 9mm 1911, for which I found the 5 sighter shots useful. I discovered that with this particular load, the pistol shot about two feet low at 50 yards. This made precise shooting difficult, but I still scored 36 out of 50.

To be honest, I consider my performance with each pistol to be lackluster. However, the fact that I was able to outshoot the more mechanically accurate pistols with a box-stock Glock 19 is a reminder that being familiar with your equipment and constantly practicing with it are essential to accurate and precise shooting.