I am looking to be a first time owner - MI - looking for suggestions

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sawyer711

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I am looking for suggestions as I would like to be a first time owner.

I live in Michigan. I have fired guns and am fairly familar and confortable with handguns.

Here are my wants ranked in order. Number 1 being the most important.

1. home protection
2. range shooting/practice
3. CPL/CCW (this is more of a future want)

So I am looking to buy my first gun and am not looking to spend alot of money for my first purchase. However I want a good gun.
 
Welcome to THR, from another Michigander.

I think most here would agree, that the best home defense firearm is a shotgun. If you want a good one without spending a lot of $$, I'd recommend a Remington Model 870. You should be able to get one for under, perhaps well under, $300.

For target practice, the sky is the limit. If you want to shoot cheap, .22lr is the way to go. A ruger 10/22 rifle or Mark II pistol are excellent choices.

For CCW, there are a lot of good choices out there. I'd recommend something with good stopping power, such as 9mm or .45 ACP. My current CCW pistol is a Kel Tec P11. Very compact for a 9mm and I bought it for $250 out the door.
 
Sawyer, to make one gun fit all your requirements you're going to be sacrificing something somewhere. A 9mm semi auto pistol will fill the bill pretty well on most of your points without sacrificing to much on any of them. 9mm ammo is relatively cheap and if you're going to be shooting a lot, the cost can add up. You can always buy a different caliber later.

Now here is what you do... Go to a local indoor gun range that rents pistols. If you need to drive a little ways to find one, that's ok. Rent each pistol that interests you in 9mm and shoot it. If you have a friend with a few different guns, shoot theirs but remember what fits them might not fit you. Remember that you eventually want to carry the gun concealed so find something that is going to make that chore a little easier. Find out what you like. Find a gun that fits your hand and that you feel you can shoot well. Then shop around and find the best deal.

When all that is said and done, remember that you are a responsible adult who can own and use firearms if you please. Don't vote for any politician who would ask you to trust them with all that power but who doesn't trust you to be a responsible gun owner.
 
followup

Sorry for not being clear. Looking for a handgun. Not a rifle or shotgun.

I have been told that the Kel Tec P11 is not a high quilty gun. No flame war on that comment please. Just have been told they are kinda small. Your thoughts?
 
I don't think a handgun should be the first choice for home defense for a new gun owner.

It's not my first choice and I've been gunning for 40+ years. :)

That being said, I agree that you should go to a range that rents handguns and try several.
 
Yes, the P11 is small. There is a grip extension that attaches to the magazine that helps somewhat.

The P11 is definitely not the highest quality gun out there. But you mentioned that you were looking for a less expensive gun.

My high quality CCW guns are:

Springfield Armory Micro compact .45, which was three times the price of the Kel tec

Sig P232, stainless, which was twice the price of the Kel Tec

If you have the money, by all means pick up one of those two.
 
For an auto, look into a basic Kimber or Colt 1911. You should be in the $600 range.

For a revolver, Ruger makes the GP100 line and you should be in under $400.

The above will PROBABLY not work for most for CCW.

Or, there are a lot of nice Smith snubbies under $300. That should work for everything you listed.
 
I'd suggest a lightly used S&W Model 10, 4" barrel in .38 spl.

Having said that, I'd also opine that having even a .22 lr handgun is better off than what you have on hand now. Not the greatest for home defense, but a whole lot of fun to shoot and cheap to feed.

I know! Get one of each. :D

Once you gain proficiency with your initial purchase, I'd say get some form of 9mm semi auto as ammo is cheaper than most other centerfire ammo and they are fun to shoot.
 
Where are you in Michigan? If you are anywhere close to the Lansing area I can take you to the outdoor range where I have a membership and you can try a whole bunch of different handguns. I got revolvers, I got semi-auto's, I got little guns, I got big guns, I got lotsa guns.

I could also take you to one of the indoor ranges around the Detroit area. (That's actually close to where I live, but my range membership is in Lansing)

Other than that, I like the CZ-75B in 9mm. Get the .22 CZ Kadet conversion kit and you'd have two guns with one. Practice (alot) with the .22 top end and use the 9mm top end for home defense and full power practice. CZ's are good guns at a good price.

A good Smith and Wesson revolver is always a good choice. Stick to steel framed guns for your first gun. Avoid the itsy-bitsy titanium and scadium carry guns.
 
If you go to www.sigarms.com, you can read up on their new program for refurbished and warranteed trade-ins. These are primarily police dept. trade-ins that have been gone over by SigArms, then sent out to distributors for re-sale. They carry the same warranty as any NIB Sig pistol. There's few mass-production pistols of higher quality than Sigs, and with this program they're about $200 less than normal retail. You could probably pick up a nice P226, P228/P229 or P220 for around $500. Hard to beat that deal.
 
I don't think a handgun should be the first choice for home defense for a new gun owner.

It's not my first choice and I've been gunning for 40+ years.
Click to expand...

Agreed, but to meet all of his requirements he’s going to have to compromise. An AR-15 can be hard to carry in one’s pants.
 
You can get a full-size, 15-rd capacity Ruger P95 9mm pistol for about $250.

They are not small, but I've carried one daily for the last 18 months.

They are not the sexiest gun, but they are durable, reliable as heck, and quite accurate.

I more recently got a used Browning Buckmark .22 pistol ($189) for target fun -- and it is great fun!

Best case, 9mm ammo is about $.11 per round (WalMart 100-round Winchester White Box). Clean .22lr ammo is about $.018 per round (Remmington gold-something-or-other 550-round value pack).

If you figure that a typical range session is 200 rounds (which is conservative), the .22 will pay for itself in 10 visits.
 
Little more info would be helpful. Are you leaning revolver or semi-auto? If semi, have any preferance for condition 1 vs condition 2? DA/SA, SA, DAO?

Not sure what these are? Let us know.
 
The best way to see what you like is to find a friend with a few guns and go to the range or rent one at a range. There's a bunch on the east side, Lansing has one, and in Grand Rapids. I would say a 22 long rifle is the cheapest to learn on, and then move up to a 357/38 wheelgun, they are easy to learn on, start with the 38's and then try the 357 in the same gun. An auto is not a good gun to start with, takes a lot of training, and practice. With that, I like metal guns, it seems they last longer, and I think they hold their resale value better. With a auto, try a 9mm, and see how you like it. You can always move up to a 40 or 45, but they have more recoil, and the ammo cost more....My two cents worth...
 
You could pick up a copy of Shotgun News.
There's police trade-in Smith M10s in .38 Special for $189-$198 advertised there lately.

A revolver is a good handgun to start with. They are usually very reliable and easy to use.
 
Fellow Michigander

A small 9mm Glock fits all 3 requirements you're looking for. I carry a 26. But only sometimes. I generally prefer .45 ACP. My home defense gun is an HKUSP45C, and my main CCW is a Kimber Ultra CDP. For my home, the shotgun is not a practical HD weapon. Yours may be the same. Practice, practice, practice is the drill when you decide on the correct handgun.
 
Hey Sawyer711, where do you reside? If you live in the midmichigan area send me an pm and we can go shooting. .22, .25, .32, .38, .357, 9MM, .44 special, .44 mag, .45, handgun-rifle-shotgun, you name it, we'll shoot it. It's the best way to figure out what you want.

If you live by Bay City, Duncan's Gun Shop will rent handguns and has numerous models to choose from.

I'd love to get another newbie started. The last guy I got hooked ended up buying an AK-47, cause he just had to have one after shooting mine................ :D
 
Hey Saywer, If you live where I think you live (AFB?) drop me a line PM, we can go do some shooting, there is a good place real close.

In response to your question, I'd look into a Glock 19.
 
My Pistol that I use that would fit your 3 guidelines is my Sig P-229. I bought it in 357 sig and have since picked up the 40 S&W barrel for it. They also make this weapon in 9mm if you want ammo that is a bit cheaper.

For Home Defense, when the pistol is in my ready safe, I have a mag with 12+1 124 gr. Speer Gold dots handy for it.

At the range, with 357 sig, this pistol is far more accurate than I will ever be. I have hogue grips on mine and it is a fun gun to shoot. The 357 sig does "bark" though so wear good hearing protection.

I carry this pistol as my ccw when weather and clothing allow. It is not light but with a good belt & holster combo it rides just fine. When weather and clothing does not allow me to carry the p229 I usually carry my Kahr PM-9.

The p-229 was my first semi-auto and I have loved it since I bought it.

Find a range that will let you rent some pistols to find what "clicks" for you :)

Be well . . .
 
I'm going to agree with the Glock crowd. Specifically the compact framed Glocks. Those are the mid sized ones. Not full size duty guns, not baby ankle guns, a comfortable medium. You have the Glock 19 (9mm), Glock 23 (.40S&W), and Glock 32 (.357SIG). These guns are large enough to manipulate easily in the dark or under stress, but small enough to carry easily. I carry a Glock 23 every day when I'm back home in MN. Since Glocks have no manual safties or decockers or other levers they are easy to learn and easy to use under stress. They also field strip very nicely and run reliably, whether you take care of them or not. You can find them new or used for very good prices. And there are a ton of accessories (lights, mags, grips, sights, plugs, rods, etc) so you can modify them however you see fit.

My only caveat is this, you need to keep your finger out of the trigger with a Glock! There is not manual saftey that you click on and off (as you probably know) so if you aren't careful and go to reholster with your finger in the trigger guard the gun will go off. That said, I started my handgun shooting with a Glock 23 and have NEVER had a negiligent discharge (knock on wood) in three years of shooting. That's my $2*10^-2...
 
I would recommend a Glock 19 9mm. Compact enough to carry if you're inclined, big enough to shoot well, and they're hard to screw up (point, shoot).

If the Glock trigger scares you, a Ruger P89 or P95 9mm makes a nice range/house gun, though they're a bit big to carry. Rugers run $300 new, Glocks, $500.

CZ makes the CZ75, they run about $300-400 and are excellent quality guns (slimmer than Rugers, they operate about the same).

For revolvers, a new Ruger GP100 .357 Magnum 4" runs about $350, a used S&W or Ruger can be found in the $200-350 range depending on model and condition.
 
Get an XD. Great gun for the range and for carry. The grip and trigger safeties are passive and you won't have to think about them if you need your gun in a high stress situation.
 
Since you are looking for your first handgun, I'll assume you are a newer shooter.

An auto loader is not really a good choice for a new shooter. There are a lot of things that can go wrong, not with the gun mind you, but with a new shooters vigilance.

You would be better served with a revolver.
With a revolver, you can quickly make sure it's loader or not just by looking at it. Not to mention they are easy to shoot, and you don't have to fieldstrip them, to clean it.

They make them in all sizes and shapes, and it would be easy to find one you like.


You may want to look into a Taurus Model 85. You get five shots of .38 specials, and the gun is small enough to fit in your pocket, and do duty as an HD gun.
 
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