9mm pistol for a newbie

Vickers most likely has a CCW so his choice of pistols will be way different than what we can use them for up here. If I had to do it all over again, I'd go with a CZ Shadow 2 optics ready and never look back. Don't let the mag thing sway you as mags regardless are a wear part. Shadow 2 will be the easiest pistol to shoot accurately and if you decide to pursue IPSC then you will probably have the best Production division pistol on the market.
 
4n2t0 said:
Pretty useless.
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It's just one guy's opinion, like yours, but more credible.

Larry Vickers of Vickers Tactical is a retired US Army 1st SFOD- Delta combat veteran with years of experience in the firearms industry as a combat marksmanship instructor and industry consultant. In recent years he has hosted several tactical firearms related TV shows. Currently Larry presents videos on the Vickers Tactical Youtube channel of which Bravo Company is the presenting sponsor. Larry Vickers special operations background is one of the most unique in the industry today; he has been directly or indirectly involved in the some of the most significant special operations missions of the last quarter century. During Operation Just Cause he participated in Operation Acid Gambit – the rescue of Kurt Muse from Modelo Prison in Panama City, Panama. As a tactics and marksmanship instructor on active duty he helped train special operations personnel that later captured Saddam Hussein and eliminated his sons Uday and Qusay Hussein. In addition, he was directly involved in the design and development of the HK416 for Tier One SOF use, which was used by Naval Special Warfare personnel to kill Osama Bin Laden. Larry Vickers has developed various small arms accessories, with the most notable being his signature sling manufactured by Blue Force Gear, Glock accessories by Tangodown, and 1911 specific products by Wilson Combat. In addition he has maintained strong relationships with premium companies within the firearms industry such as Blue Force Gear, BCM, Aimpoint, CCWSafe, Wilson Combat, and Tangodown. He has developed and offered a line of Vickers Tactical Glock pistols sold exclusively thru Lipseys Inc.. He is also author of the Vickers Guide series of firearm books. Larry Vickers travels the country conducting combat marksmanship classes for law abiding civilians, law enforcement and military.

<https://www.vickerstactical.com/about-larry-vickers.html>
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Like others have said, get into a store and get your hands on them. Feel the grip, work the action and test the trigger and trigger reset. There are great pistols available in the $550 range right now. I grabbed a CZ P10-F for $550 and it’s a fantastic pistol.
 
Vickers is wrong: I’d definitely regret buying a Glock. I swapped my Shadow for a Glock at an IDPA match and quickly found all the little differences between the guns favoured the Shadow in the match. I’d never buy one. Lol!

OP: see if you’d like to do some form of competition after you get the hang of shooting a pistol. Lots of different types of matches out there. Bullseye, speed steel, dynamic like IPSC/USPSA/IDPA (USPSA was in your area: not sure about now), etc. If so, you can make your first gun be a good start for a new sport.
 
Not sure OP mentioned anything about becoming a grand master in IPSC, he wants a cheapish 9mm to get into handguns.
Easiest shooting 9mm IMHO is a 9mm 1911 Commander, don't need a full size GOV for 9mm. Single action trigger, heavy steel frame makes them a joy to shoot accurately even for small hands.
There is a myriad of $500-$600 new 9mm pistols on the market, mostly lighter poly framed striker duty pistol types, a few alloy framed units, not much for all steel unless you want to get something surplus which isn't a bad idea either. The single action Jericho's, BHP's are great pistols if you don't mind a bit of wear, not going to wear them out in your lifetime, and they will be more accurate that most can shoot them.
 
Just a comment on the double stack Glock’s grip.

If I’m gripping it properly, it doesn’t feel like a 2x4.

Most other grips have a rounded front strap that we are all comfortable with. Double stack Glocks have a “flat” front strap that gives it the 2x4 feel. Grip it the way a handgun should, and it will feel “right” in no time at all.

Then all the others feel wrong.
 
chillyrabbit said:
Glock 17/19 9mm. It's quite frankly the most boring generic and common 9mm handgun, which means it also appeals and works for the most amount of people. It has a healthy aftermarket so you can dip your toes into customizing it. It also can be found used for a half decent price as it is the most common 9mm handgun.

Glock double stack 17/19 magazines are also the most common PCC magazine so it does double duty there.

The only other PCC I can think off the top of my head that uses a not-glock magazine is the Chiappa M1-9 that uses Beretta M9 magazines. So I feel like if you want to have a pistol/rifle combo you really have to stick to Glock or Glock clone pistols.
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Agreed, can't go wrong with a Glock.
 
The best advice is to try everything you can get your hands on. Handguns are like shoes - they're not one-size fits all. Just because your buddy / neighbour / guy in the lane next to you likes something doesn't mean you will. The CZ-75 series and it's clones (IWI Jericho for example) seem to fit a lot of people and work fairly well. My very inexpensive $500 (new) CZ P10F is one of my favourites with a very crisp trigger (for a striker) and an amazingly beautiful reset right out of the box. It points very naturally for me. My Beretta 92FS on the other hand, I don't like nearly as much so it doesn't see much range time at all.
 
A_guy said:
The best advice is to try everything you can get your hands on. Handguns are like shoes - they're not one-size fits all. Just because your buddy / neighbour / guy in the lane next to you likes something doesn't mean you will. The CZ-75 series and it's clones (IWI Jericho for example) seem to fit a lot of people and work fairly well. My very inexpensive $500 (new) CZ P10F is one of my favourites with a very crisp trigger (for a striker) and an amazingly beautiful reset right out of the box. It points very naturally for me. My Beretta 92FS on the other hand, I don't like nearly as much so it doesn't see much range time at all.
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I have two CZ clones, and both are excellent. A NZ85B in 9mm and a Jericho in .40. Keeping them both!!
 
chillyrabbit said:
Glock 17/19 9mm. It's quite frankly the most boring generic and common 9mm handgun, which means it also appeals and works for the most amount of people. It has a healthy aftermarket so you can dip your toes into customizing it. It also can be found used for a half decent price as it is the most common 9mm handgun.

Glock double stack 17/19 magazines are also the most common PCC magazine so it does double duty there.

The only other PCC I can think off the top of my head that uses a not-glock magazine is the Chiappa M1-9 that uses Beretta M9 magazines. So I feel like if you want to have a pistol/rifle combo you really have to stick to Glock or Glock clone pistols.
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boring opinion but so honest and true and i ve got into glock for the same reason and because they work ...
 
“Can’t go wrong with a Glock” - actually you can go wrong with a Glock if you have less than large hands. Double stack Glock grips bite you in all the wrong places when you don’t have large hands. It’s the small radius at the grip corners that do it, when you have smaller hands the corners dig into the flats of your digits rather than the crook of your finger joints. It’s pretty uncomfortable.

The exception is the G48, it’s much more comfortable due to it’s reduced grip circumference. It too has the sharp coernerd grips like a double stack, but the corners match up better for people with less than large hands.

If you have trigger reach issues then most single actioned pistols, most striker fired, and SA/DA pistols with regular safeties (think standard CZ) will work well. I’d stay away from SA/DA pistols with decockers like the Sig P series and Beretta 92’s.
 
tudenom,

have you ever seen people with small hands shooting glock. i ve seen a lot in training and it works more than the large hands it is the position you use to shoot with your hands. now they are even coming with larger grips as those with larger hands need them ...
 
Arminhammer said:
For some crazy reason I really want a Bersa TPR9.
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If I was not in the midst of transitioning away from semi-auto pistols to revolvers, I would seriously consider this myself. However, I would make sure it fit my hand before laying down the money. I have read a lot about both the old and newer redesigned pistols, and both do have great ratings. One reviewer described it as an "Improved Sig"; that says a lot.
 
Tudenom said:
“Can’t go wrong with a Glock” - actually you can go wrong with a Glock if you have less than large hands. Double stack Glock grips bite you in all the wrong places when you don’t have large hands. It’s the small radius at the grip corners that do it, when you have smaller hands the corners dig into the flats of your digits rather than the crook of your finger joints. It’s pretty uncomfortable.

The exception is the G48, it’s much more comfortable due to it’s reduced grip circumference. It too has the sharp coernerd grips like a double stack, but the corners match up better for people with less than large hands.

If you have trigger reach issues then most single actioned pistols, most striker fired, and SA/DA pistols with regular safeties (think standard CZ) will work well. I’d stay away from SA/DA pistols with decockers like the Sig P series and Beretta 92’s.
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medvedqc said:
boring opinion but so honest and true and i ve got into glock for the same reason and because they work ...
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Shot a Glock a few weeks back; belongs to a friend. It shot amazingly well for me; very accurate. However the grip was very uncomfortable for me, and if I shot it a lot, would have some very sore spots on my hand; and the lighter, plastic frame, resulted in more felt recoil.

It does not matter how well a gun shoots, if it is uncomfortable, it is no fun.

Regarding decockers... I like them; had a NP58 (SIG clone); really slick feature; my Jericho .40 has a slide mounted one; It's not as slick as the SIG style, but works well, and gives you something to grab on to when racking the slide back... Not a lot to grab onto on a Jericho.
 
Well, I guess all I can say, is that I haven't went wrong with a Glock. I have numerous Glocks, Revolvers, S&W 29, A number of Taurus', A great number of 1911s includiding Para Ordinance, S&W MP40, Browning Hi Powers, Tokarevs and more. Just though my opinion might be of some value. Sorry if it isn't.
 
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