Back when I shot Cowboy Action it was a couple of slicked up old model Ruger Vaqueros.
Throated, polished, triggers tuned. Built like a tank.
Big plus was I could run fire breathing monkey death car nuke-um from orbit reloads thru them as well.
I have a Glock 34. That is my first, favorite, and only competition Pistol. 9mm.
For Rimfire, steel challenge: we have used Beretta NEOS and didn't like it too much. I would try a Smith and Wesson Victory for a .22 now if I had the money. Not "having the money" precludes having lots of experiences to share with different firearms.
STI in about two dozen configurations. Same gun as SVI but from the original company and without having to deal with a raging asshole and his jerkwad children
STI in about two dozen configurations. Same gun as SVI but from the original company and without having to deal with a raging ******* and his jerkwad children
So many stories to tell...like how after SV's limited agreement to buy the plastic grips expired he was cut off from buying from STI so went through dealers buying in bulk and was caught. Changed the magazine catch on his (in this case, actually superior) 9mm/38 Super magazine bodies as to not fit the original STI pattern magazine release because he hated STI shooters using his magazines. Changed the extractor design and bragged about how superior it was...although "Team SV" (at the time) was using AFTEC extractors and was observed swapping them out after shooting the match (but before displaying their "superior" pistols in the vendor tent). Donated 5k worth of those way overpriced and rather inferior proprietary extractors as match sponsorship because they couldn't sell the darn things. The stories go back a ways Sandy is a very talented engineer and a horrible human being
STI was the original company. Strayer, Tripp, and McCormick with backing from Mike Voigt.
They had a falling out and sold the company; Chip McCormick took his share and went on to make great 45 magazines and other nifty stuff. Virgil Tripp took his money and went back to building excellent one-off guns, metal refinishing, and awesome magazines. Sandy Strayer had his name on the 2011 patents so he took his money and went to make...2011s...under SVI, to keep brand recognition as much as he could. Part of the deal was the right to buy as many plastic grips from STI (the molds to make those, with the integral metal reinforcing, was hideously expensive) for a predefined period of time. When the deal expired, then things went sideways.
Lots of other amusing details of a business partnership gone bad, some good folks dealing with a turd in the punchbowl, and the ups and downs of a great Texas company and a fantastic widebody 1911 but those are the highlights.