What to buy?

[Katigroszek]

I'm going to buy my very first gun and I want an selfloading pistol. What should I buy? Rimfire or centerfire? What brand? I have some theoretical knowledge (quite a lot) but I've very little practice. I've shot .22 lr pistol with good results, but I like centerfire pistols much more, especially the ones that can be used in IDPA and IPSC. What do I do? Oh - the caliber of the gun must be of no more than 9mm or .38.

 

[possum]

Welcome to THR!
First we need somemore info. How much do you want to spend? What is the weapon gonna function as? a home defense/ self defemse weapon, ccw, competition, or just a range/practice gun? you gotta give us a little more intel. we will be glad to help you.
There are alot of great brands out there, and there alot of which that would serve you well, but we need to know what function(s) the handgun is gonna serve.
The following makers just to name a few make weapons that meet almost anyones requirements. From snub nose .38 to competition grade pistols, great size ccw weapons, and hd/sd. check these out, you will probally find something that tickles your fancy,until we get more info, i will leave it at that.

glock
springfield armory
taurus
s&w

 

[Katigroszek]

what I like

not a revolver, autopistols only
price - not much more than a glock 17 (so nothing exotic like Korriphila for example, which I like but cannot afford)

For IDPA/IPSC but suitable for defense (hence the caliber of no more than 9mm/.38 - only that is legal in my country)

I'm taking into account cheap classics for the common caliber ammunition too, like the russian TT (used ones in the good and very good condition are not more than a $100 in my country and the 7,62x25 are common this side of the world)

Glock - OK
Taurus - much like an old beretta. I dont like pistols with alloy frames
springfield - 1911 is quite expensive, and I would like a DA gun
S&W - costly option, but good trigger, I heard

Ruger .22 lr?
polish MAG 95? (You probably didn't even hear about it)
Walther P 88 ? (old one with ambidextrous decocker/slide release latch)
CZ 75 BD?

 

[.41Dave]

OK, Given that this is your first handgun and that you said that you have "some theoretical knowledge" but "very little practice", this is my advice, worth what you paid for it.

1. Buy a good quality .22 pistol. I personally would go for a Ruger 22/45, but you should get whatever you like that fits your hand well.

2. Along with the gun, buy 10 bricks (5000 rounds) of .22 ammo.

3. If they have them in your country, find a basic handgun class in your area and take it.

4. Shoot a lot. Try to improve your marksmanship and general gun handling skills.

5. After you have used up the 10 bricks, go rent different 9mm pistols (you specified 9mm as max). Whichever pistol you shoot best with, go buy one like it. My personal preference would be the new S&W M&P. YMMV.

6. Keep shooting the .22 even after you have a centerfire pistol, they are great cheap practice, and lots of fun.

 

[Ala Dan]

I usually recommend a .22 LR handgun for beginner's. With that said, either
a good used Ruger MK-II (or III) and a Browning Buckmark seem to be the
best bets out there. Both are very accurate, and if kept clean highly
accurate.

In centerfire calibers (with price restrictions), looks like the Ruger's and
CZ's are good too go~!

 

[possum]

Glock - OK
Taurus - much like an old beretta. I dont like pistols with alloy frames
springfield - 1911 is quite expensive, and I would like a DA gun
S&W - costly option, but good trigger, I heard

Taurus has all kinds of options from ccw to 1911's now, and many others.
springfield makes the xd which is dao.the 1911's ain't all they got.

You know what? I would go into more detail, but I suggest that you do a little homework on your own.I don't mind helping at all but I can't do all the work for you. just go to the makers web sites they will have pics and info on every single weapon they produce. or go to google and type in the maker and it will bring up all kinds of info. or use the search function on this site. We can play round robin with you all day long, but personally i think that gets old quick. so this dosen't get any worse i am gonna put the links on the bottom, take some initiative and do some looking yourself. it will make everything a lot less painfull.

http://www.glock.com/products.htm
http://www.taurususa.com/main/index.cfm?CFID=3133892&CFTOKEN=21669183
http://www.springfield-armory.com/index.shtml
http://www.smith-wesson.com/webapp/...1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&content=11001

 

[f4t9r]

since you like centerfire much more , let me suggest the XD9 or the CZ in
9mm , in 1911 (my fav) the Rock Island in 38 super is very nice.
like they said in other replies above their is lots of options. Good Luck

 

[Katigroszek]

thanks

Thank You very much!

Of course I did look around for myself first. Therefore I've listed only the guns that visually appealed to me and are within price range. Some of the guns You point at are hard or impossible to obtain here, some have the price tags that include all of the taxes You can only dream of and are far out of my reach, though You may think they are not too expensive (in the US for example).

I did not include guns I liked but I've heard exprienced shooters say bad things of. And there's another thing - in my country thare's sometimes easier to have a license for two guns at the very beggining, than to get a license for an additional gun later. So perhaps I'll borrow some money and buy two.

And what guns do I buy? I think a Ruger Mk III 5 1/2 bull barrel (stainless preerably) and Glock 17 or a CZ 75 DB (I'll shoot both first).

The wrong choice You think?

 

[Bruce333]

Some of the guns You point at are hard or impossible to obtain here ... (hence the caliber of no more than 9mm/.38 - only that is legal in my country)

It would help to know what Country you are in.

 

[Bridger]

Buying two is a good choice, the .22 for overall practice and training and the 9mm for more serious training. Your choices are very good and you will be happy with any of those three, good luck!

 

[possum]

It would help to know what Country you are in.

Maybe just a little!:banghead:

 

[10-Ring]

First guns, I usually recommend mastering a 22lr DA wheelgun. Since it looks like wheelguns aren't on your list, I'd recommend a 22lr semi auto. Tough to beat all the inexpensive trigger time! Once you master that, get what ever your heart desires

 

[P97]

I agree with .41Dave. IMHO a .22 is the place to start. I shoot a .45 but still go back to the .22 a lot. You sure can tell if you flinch any when shooting the .22.

 

[Katigroszek]

Country?

I'm from Poland.

Thanks for Your help.

One more thing: I've never shot a striker fired pistol before and heard that Glock triggers are not good for a sport precision shooting at all. And that's what I mostly do now with the club's .22. Is it a good thing to buy a G 17 and try to reach the bul's eye? (I've shot owner-tuned CZ copy made by Norinco that had a better trigger than my .22 and the results were... well not bad but not too good either. Will it be much worse with a glock?

 

[RON in PA]

Too bad you can't get a Polish Radom (P-35), a most excellent semi-auto and all steel. I suspect that the easiest pistol for you to get and one that has a good following in the USA is a CZ-75 or one of its variations.

Regarding your concern about the Glock's trigger, it's different and takes a bit to learn, but it can be done with practice. One advantage of the Glock 9mm pistols is their ruggedness and longevity.

I don't know if Rugers are available to you,but the P-95 is an excellent and very reasonably priced gun.

I would have to agree with the others that suggested a .22 as a first gun. Learn your basics and hopefully good training is available to you.

 

[jlh26oo]

Is it much worse with a Glock?

Hey, some shooters (including myself) love the GLOCK trigger. Especially w/the 3.5# connecter, ala the practical/tactical 34 9mm. Which btw is my official recommendation, unless you want to save some cash and go for the original, in the 17. It's all win-win. All of your stated priorities are belong to GLOCK:

-Cheap range time with 9mm, as a 17/34 will happily eat all the cheap stuff without prejudice
-Plenty accurate for IDPA/IPSC; moreso, one of the better performing platforms in many types of game.
-Ideal pistol for home/self defense. 17's even great for carry, hell maybe even the 34, depending on your size. Both are rock solid reliable, high in capacity, light yet tough, with a simple and safe point&click interface. Best bang for buck north of a Ruger*.

The .22lr, while the ultimate in cheap plinking, fills neither of these last two capacities. Would require two guns to cover all your bases if you go .22lr. And as you said, you like centerfire pistols "much more" anyways (as do I). If you pick up a descent .22, and skimp on your 9mm because of it, you might regret it when you discover the latter is what you shoot most (I did and do, and ended up buying and selling a few before realizing the G34 is where it's at for ME)*. (ETA- wait, so you already have a .22? NM then.)


If you get both, my official answer is Ruger kmk678gc and GLOCK 17. If one (or if you already have a .22), and especially if you are not going to carry---> GLOCK34.


*AAYMFMMV, WDIKHTTYMFTS?

 

[Katigroszek]

Almost convinced

I'm not to big (178cm, 67kg), so long slide glock is out of question - it would be bigger than myself (and the price tag probably bigger than my wallet). But now I realised, that if I want to shoot some .22's I'm always able to use club's sport guns (they have Margolins and Iż mostly, the latter pretty good pistols with wooden anatomical grips wraping around the palm). So good and rugged centerfire pistol is what I need then!!! Glock You say? Heard it can survive an incredible amount of shots without breakage. True? Some of my friends say HK USP better. No feeding problems and more precise, SA/DA trigger helps precise shooting. More expensive (did not do any research on my own yet)?.

 

[XavierBreath]

What you should buy depends on what you want to do.

If you want to learn marksmanship buy a .22 pistol and shoot it a lot.

If marksmanship does not matter so much, buy whatever suits your fancy. All these guns, HK, Sig, Glocks, 1911s, etc have devout followers who will help you spread the BS thick when talking about the incredible durability and accuracy of your gun.

If you want to learn how to shoot though.............

 

[Katigroszek]

Shooting a lot

Shooting a lot - that is what I'm doing these days!!! But that I can do with borrowed .22. If I want bigger caliber I have to ask senior members of the club to let me soot their guns (they usually agree, but they give me those looks - I'm sure You know what I mean).
As for the longevity I've read that all steel pistols withstand some 5 to 10000 rds in good condition, alloy frame generally less than that, and some - including glocks - several times more. False?

As to caliber - does it make any sense to buy .357 SIG instead of 9x19?

 

[jlh26oo]

So good and rugged centerfire pistol is what I need then!!! Glock You say? Heard it can survive an incredible amount of shots without breakage. True? Some of my friends say HK USP better.

Well your friends may be right, as the USP is top notch. For my money, I like GLOCK:
http://www.theprepared.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=90&Item (regarding: "an incredible amount of shots without breakage", and be sure to look for the USP's cameo appearance about half way through the torture test).

 

[Katigroszek]

Ron in PA! Actually I CAN buy a used VIS wz. 1935 and cheap at that! Additionally I can tell You that Radom factory (Fabryka Broni w Radomiu Sp. z o.o.) several years ago (some 8-9 if I'm not mistaken) offered new VIS-35 made to the exacting standards of the pre WWII guns. Blued only, 9x19, in a wooden case with a spare magazine and a bore cleaning rod. Price was high, but so was the standard. Production numbers were very small and the guns were often presented to different officials by the factory representatives (for example at Kielce gun expo in some 1998-1999 - my home city, the expo this year have just finished, but it is far too small an event for the citizens of the world to hear about --> http://www.targikielce.pl/targi/index.php?language=_en&module=targi&targ_id=171).

 

[possum]

Well your friends may be right, as the USP is top notch. For my money, I like GLOCK:
http://www.theprepared.com/index.php...iew&id=90&Item (regarding: "an incredible amount of shots without breakage", and be sure to look for the USP's cameo appearance about half way through the torture test).

Yoou know a torture test is one thing but that is outrageous, i can't believe that someone would take it to that level with what I consider a great handgun, and no glocks aren't expensive by no means, and to some of you they are mere pocket change but come on. Pushing them to the point that they are rusted like that and have pit damage. That makes me feel bad and i think i am goona take the rest of the day off and clean all my guns, and baby them a little!

But it is better him doing it with his own money and guns then mine!

 

[jeepmor]

If you like the CZ's, but their price is high for you

Go with Tanfoglio, good CZ copies based on the CZ design for less money.

Is 10mm too big for Poland? Hard to find ammo, but a hoot to shoot w/ 357 mag power level in an autoloader.

I'd stick with a 9mm since it's in your accepted range and a very common round. Or that 7.62x25 if prevalent in your area. If you want CCW, fixed sights are fine, if you want to shoot flies off fenceposts, be sure to get an adjustable sight equipped pistol.

good luck, happy plinking,

jeepmor

 

[Katigroszek]

9 mm / .38 max

I can buy any gun up to .45 (bigger is considered the equivalent of the US "destructive device") but if I ever get concealed carry permit I will be able to use only 9mm/.38 max guns, 'cause it's the upper limit for self defence (polish government carry for the poor burglars and so not to get hurt too much) so if I will have more-than-9mm gun on hand I won't be able to carry it. Hence the caliber.

As for the tanfoglio - I really don't like someone copying someone elses ideas and making a living out of it. The same goes for sphinx pistols, although they're really very very pretty.

I felt strange myself when I watched people wrecking a nice gun, but... Property. They own it, they can sell it or desert it or even destroy it. I'm a lawyer, I can understand - does not mean I'll do the same with my own piece. Some people do things only because they can... But think - they must have done it to the hundreds of guns before in the factory, to be certain they are safe, reliable and rugged. And the military do it all the time!!!