P7 is an amazing gun...VERY accurate due to its fixed barrel, even a novice shoots better with it. Recoil is nicely subdued due to gas piston system. Very reliable, but you must use jacketed rounds to avoid getting junk in the gas piston area. Its safety system is probably one of the best on any pistol...the squeeze cocker is great for taking the gun to a firing state, yet keeping the gun in a safe state when you DON'T want it to go off.
I made the mistake of getting one as my first pistol. That's like getting a Mercedes as your first car without realizing what a nice car it is compared to many others...Then your spoiled for life.
While it is a great one, there are some negatives. Magazines are very expensive. Holsters that are good are also expensive. If you shoot a lot of rounds through it at one session, it will get hot due to the gas system...sometimes too hot to continue shooting for a moment. While the gun is small and slim, it is also relatively heavy for its size due to its solid steel construction compared to guns that have a lower made from plastics.
Overall, I don't regret my purchase for a moment. If you can find one at a good price, get one.
If you are just looking for a good gun that's accurate enough for self defense, nothing dramatic, then a simple striker fired model like a Glock, or XD, or several others will be sufficient. Not special, just sufficient, and you will keep more of your hard earned dollars. If you are not famililar with the Glock, be VERY careful. It will do just what it is designed to do if your finger tweaks the trigger. It will go off. Don't put your finger on the trigger of a Glock unless you intend to fire it. Sounds obvious, but it seems that Glocks are the ones most involved in unintentional discharges...
I waited a long time to increase my level of firearms experience before also getting a Glock. The Glock is good, the P7 is better
