Recommended 1st Time Gun: The Results

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BKP

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How cool, to see all these suggestions!
For cost, I had around $500 in mind for gun / clips / rounds / etc.
Well, so far for -accuracy, reliability, price You-All said:
Glock x4
M&P x3
XD x2
S&W x2
1911 x2
Berrtta x1
Ruger P90 x1

Does anyone recommend a favorite factory load for any of the above guns in 9, 40 or 45? This load should be good for home defense, accuracy & recoil.
Please let me know!

PS, I really like the look of the Springfield XD9 dual tone! Any 1st hand knowledge of this gun?
 
I think that the BEST first time pistol is a Browning HiPower in 9x19. That way you'll have something to go back to after you finish playing with all the other range toys and want a real fightin' pistol. ;)

For a cheap beginner pistol, you can still get the FEG (Hungarian BHP copy) for around three bills on GunBroker. I have several of these, and they are fine pistols.
 
I think that the BEST first time pistol is a Browning HiPower in 9x19. That way you'll have something to go back to after you finish playing with all the other range toys and want a real fightin' pistol.
Click to expand...
Damn you get me hot with all that range toy talk. Please tell my your hands were defiantly on your hips and your hair blew in the wind as you wrote those words.
 
How'd you get a list like that without at least a couple of votes for the CZ75b?

I call 'shens! ! ! !

9mm is the least costly of the lot so you're going to be more inclined to shoot more. And when you're new to this stuff shooting more will count for more than shooting less with more expensive ammo.

But there's another little glitch. I thought I was learning to get pretty good groups. They were getting down to a nice size.

Then I tried a S&W model 19 and a box of .38Special. My first time ever with a revolver..... and my groups were about 1/2 to 2/3 the size of my best to that time semi groups. And they got even smaller as I worked my way through the 50 rounds..... Maybe I'm just a revolver guy or maybe there really is something magical and more controlled about shooting a revolver.

Is there no commercial ranges in your area where you can go and buy ammo and use it in their guns? If there is then despite the sticker shock at the prices a hundred or two spent in there shooting various options and taking notes about each would be money really, really well spent. Like you I have a lot of respect for the opinions here but we are not you. And as you can see from all the replies there's LOTS of room for variation in which is the best for each person. Only YOU are YOU and only YOU will know when you find the right gun(s) for YOU. Do whatever it takes to try out a bunch before YOU decide.
 
It's the crisp SA trigger - which the BHP can come dang close to duplicating.

Seriously.

:D
 
For the past year, I mostly shoot 9mm (and lots of .22lr). For general range duty, I usually stick with Winchester White Box 115gr. The only brand name stuff that I tend to steer clear of is the bulk UMC (250 round yellow boxes) after buying a box that had a poorly insterted primer and a couple of weak rounds.

For self defense, I'd pick a round that has a good reputation (hydrashocks, gold dots, Hornady TAP, etc), run a hundred rounds through it to check for reliability, and then buy enough to last you a while. Defensive ammo is expensive, so when I find one that works, I just stick with it.

As far as a first pistol, very few of the name brand pistols are inherently bad any more. pick one that fits your hand and needs and go with it. Glocks, Springfield XD's, and M&P's generally get the most recommendations because they generally work 100%, are readily available, reasonably priced, and fit most people needs. There aren't many bad pistols around anymore though since, thanks to the internet and so many good ones out there, the word gets out quickly and people won't buy them.

Just go out and buy something you feel comfortable shooting, buy it, and start shooting. The longer you deliberate, the longer you do without. One last bit of advice, see if your local range, community college, etc offers introductory courses. I took a First Steps course at my local junior college with my (new to shooting) wife. The course will give you a good basic grounding in safety, legal issues, function, and marksmanship. I'd been shooting for years and learned a few things I didn't know. My wife got the benefit of having someone who wouldn't assume she knew something give her all the basics at one shot.
 
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I'm on the Browning side of this vote. I don't have it (waaaaaait...) - I have a FEG P9R which look and feels a lot like the HP. I had a slide and rail honing done, trigger job and the mag safety removed and I *can't* jam that gun. Now, given, it's a sloppy fitting gun and the g'smith said that there was only so much that he could do because the internals were so coarsely machined. He was able to reduce the trigger pull by half and he said that the design was very similar to the HP. It's reliable, as accurated as I make it and it was in the $200 range when I bought it 5 or so years ago. I wouldn't be afraid to count on that gun and if it's so reliable the 'parent' model should be even better. I guess the latter statement doesn't actually hold a lot of water, does it!? With todays bullet designs there's a lot that can be done with the 9mm that couldn't happen just 10 years ago. It's good to see that you're having fun. Incidentally, my second favorite is a S&W Airweight, 38 spl +P!
 
Interesting list of guns. Loads for them range from soup to nuts. Gold Dots are top performing loads across the caliber spread. If you can find them, the Winchester Ranger LE loads are great also.

Also, don't overlook Hornady customs. From my .40, the 180 Hornady's easily beat everything else for accuracy.
 
The best "first handgun" out there for my money is the Ruger Mark I, II, III pistols in 22lr. The whole idea for first timers is to get in some range time and learn what is right and wrong to do without spending themselves out of the hobby. The economical 22lr round performs this task flawlessly and prepares the shooter for stronger pistol rounds when he or she is ready. I have seen a few shooters start out with a short compact .45acp and develop some really bad hard to break habits like flinching, closing their eyes, etc. The 22lr rounds allow some learning before the first time shooter gets the shock from the larger rounds. There is always a place to shoot a 22lr for teaching others or plinking. A 22lr is best for first gun purposes IMHO. Use the cheapest bulk rounds (500 for $9) you can buy at WalMart and move up from there.
 
PS, I really like the look of the Springfield XD9 dual tone! Any 1st hand knowledge of this gun?
Click to expand...

Yes. I know 1st hand that the XD is manufactured in the city of Karlovac, Croatia by HS Produkt and marketed in the US by Springfield. I also know that sales of the HS2000 (Hrvatski Samokres (Croatian Pistol)), or XD (X-Treme Duty) did not take off until Springfield put marketing money behind them.

Is that what you wanted to know?
 
Hold and shoot the XD before you buy it if that is the route you want to go. I shot one in .40 and really didn't like it. It didn't fit my hand very well and was really uncomfortable to shoot more than just a few mags through. It went bang every time, no failures of ANY type but I wasn't a fan of the safety on the back of the grip or the actual shape of the grip at all... had some sharp edges in the center of the frame where it came out of the mold...
 
I recently bought an XDM in .40 (actually on election day!) :) and my experience has been different from Hippie's. It fits my hand really well, almost points of its own accord, and I'm REALLY straight with it. Maybe Hippie got a bad one or something (no sharp edges on my gun that I can see) but I agree with him that you should feel comfortable with whatever you shoot. But my XDM is definitely a winner...I love it. And so far, I've fed it WWB, Blazer, handloads and Ranger and it's not had any issues whatsoever.

I'll also second Milkmaster's comment about a .22 being a great first gun. I've got a Ruger Mark II with a bull barrel and I can drive nails with the thing. It's easy to shoot, helps to build skills, inexpensive, fun, etc. Is it an ideal self-defense gun? Of course not, but it would serve in a pinch I think, and hopefully the SD scenario is a low probability one. Bottom line to me is you want to get a gun you can afford to shoot on a regular basis...that's my two cents anyway.
 
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Ditto on the .22 to start with. Practice with service pistols is pricey, and it takes alot to get proficient. A .22 will pay for itself in a couple of years.

Any of those pistols in your list will be reliable and last forever with basic maintenence. 9mm is the cheapest to feed and works fine for self defense. Once you've gotten good with the .22, the best way to find your service pistol is to go to a rental range and shoot a few to see what works for you.
 
A Ruger Mark series .22lr is an excellent suggestion. You can shoot thousands of round without breaking the bank. When it is time to step up to centerfire, it is hard to beat an XD. I have owned and shot every caliber and my current favorite is a XD-M in .40. I have owned most of the others mentioned and I prefer the XDs. Ruger P series are reliable but they are like carrying around a block of steel. I do not personally like the ergonomics of a Glock.
I currently also own 1 1911 and I love it. I do not consider it an either/or option for me. They have a different feel and purpose in my book. Everyone should own a 1911, but it is nice to shoot and carry a high-cap auto also. For slow fire at the range, my 1911 dominates my others. The only reason I do not still have a compact 1911 is that I wanted something else more at the time.
 
In regard to ammunition, I'd recommend Federal HST. I've tested it in 9mm and .45 and carry the 9mm 147gr. +P load, as well as the 230gr. +P load for the .45.

I've really gotta try out a BHP... :scrutiny:
 
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