First Pistol (Update)

My 2 cents:
Start by going to a gun store and feel them first (or even better go to a range where you can rent them !!!) DO not buy a pistol that you haven't hold in your hand.

There is no point spending 900$ on something that you won't like, especially for a first pistol

Personnally, I hate Beretta and Ruger (except .22), don't mind Glock and Browning, Love CZs, SIGs and HK. Others are totally opposite
Your best buddy may tell you to get that one because he loves it, you may hate it...

It all personnal, there's the feel, the trigger, the sight.

If you can't test fire, at least feel it, you can always change the trigger and sight after
 
I agree with CZ85Combat 100% most of my friends at our club like different pistols,some don't like my CZ's I hate the Smith and Wesson Sigma love the M&P,don't care for the Beretta and Taurus,can go either way with Glock , while others are nuts over the other guns and shoot them well , you have to handle and if possible shoot something to see if you will like it.
 
Of course you need to handle as many guns as you can (shoot them if possible!)

Beretta likes manly hands ;) but I know peopel with smaller hands that find the 92 comfortable to shoot. Personally I never cared for CZ but others seam to love them (I always wondered if they're as popular due to the price)...
 
IM_Lugger said:
... Personally I never cared for CZ but others seam to love them (I always wondered if they're as popular due to the price)...
Click to expand...

I can tell you they just fit right in your hand and are very accurate.
Price is secondary.

Imagine, what gun would you want if the price was no object?

I'd want something that fits well in my hands is easy to shoot and is accurate.
I'd probably buy SP-01 even if it was $1500-$2000. For me it is a perfect fit.
 
I have a Norinco cz85 clone and with after market grips it is a excellent gun. Never had a problem of any kind with it I highly recommend one. And with the price norc you can get a decent .22 and still be within your budget.
 
Thanks for the opinions all!
There's obviously a general consensus: try 'em all out. I'd love to go out and try all the above listed, but the only problem is there aren't any local shops that sell handguns, and not many people shoot pistols at the range, so my potential handling experience is probably fairly limited.
From my current experience, however:
Glock 17 (edit: I don't think it was a 19 'cause it was fairly full-sized)- I wasn't a big fan; it was fun, but I've never really liked Glocks and shooting one didn't alter that perception.
Smith and Wesson - I'm not sure which model I shot but the one I did shoot was pretty fun, though I remember thinking that if I were to buy a pistol, neither would be high on my priority list.
Ruger - Was a .22 pistol, so I can't really compare it.

From what I've handled: I handled a CZ pistol on my restricted test which felt pretty good, but I also handled a Colt 1911 in .45, and man did that one feel good. From an aesthetic point of view, the 1911 and USP would be the top of my list, but I'm going for function here more so than looks. What are your opinions on a 1911 in 9mm? For some reason it just doesn't feel like it would be...right. Oh also, what are your opinions on Norinco pistols? My experience with my Norinco SKS hasn't exactly been favorable, but then again that rifle cost me $120.
Anyone know of any place in the Nanaimo area that sells pistols?

-Rohann
 
Last edited:
STI make some nice 1911 in 9mm, beautiful piece. HK USP are good guns as well. It is indeed a very tough choice between 1911 and HK, I peronal like 1911 as a lot of stuff that you can learn from 1911, parts are all over the place too. I am sure that our 1911 nuts will shine you more light.

Trigun
 
FWIW, I've reduced the number of 9mm pistols I own to one and it's the Glock 17. The pecking order of the ones sold would be: Baby Eagle, CZ 75, S&W M&P9 and Sig 220. They were very fine pistols and I would've been content keeping any one of them but I kept the one that felt good in my hands, shot most consistently with and availability of spare parts were among the considerations I looked at in deciding which one to keep.
 
IM_Lugger said:
Of course you need to handle as many guns as you can (shoot them if possible!)

Beretta likes manly hands ;) but I know peopel with smaller hands that find the 92 comfortable to shoot. Personally I never cared for CZ but others seam to love them (I always wondered if they're as popular due to the price)...
Click to expand...

If price is the main factor, then I will buy a NZ 85 instead of a CZ, I think price is only a small factor that people buy CZ, I think reliability is the main factor. CZ is just like a diamond covered by the dirt, you have to dig it out to find its beauti. There are only a few gun that always pop out in my head, one is CZ, the other are 92FS and ugly G17. next one will be the or 90 two :D

Trigun
 
I'm a renter still. Can't make up my figgin' mind yet. Narrowed it down to the 226, CZ75, 90-two, Sig pro. Eclectic bunch eh? Shooting them changed my mind on some of 'em as opposed to just handling them in the shop. Shoot 'em if you can, it really helps. (or confuses you more ;) )
 
I think price is only a small factor that people buy CZ, I think reliability is the main factor. CZ is just like a diamond covered by the dirt, you have to dig it out to find its beauti
Click to expand...
I have to say reliability is the reason I'm reluctant to give CZ a shot. At this point only CZ I would consider is the 97B... Just seems like between CZ, Sig, Beretta, Glock, even M&P, CZ seems to have the most issues by far. Seen too many threads about people having to play with springs to make the gun run reliably, which doesn‘t always work... In fact I was just reading a thread on another forum about a guy who bought 3 CZ 75's and none of them run properly. :-/ Just not very reassuring...
 
I have a Norinco cz85 clone and with after market grips it is a excellent gun. Never had a problem of any kind with it I highly recommend one.
Click to expand...

While the Norinco copy of the CZ is supposed to be decent I would only buy it if you can't afford a CZ. Not as a first gun. Just my opinion.

I was tempted to buy the Norinco but I ended up buying a lightly used CZ-85 for the price of a new Norinco.

If you can't try many guns to help you decide then buy what feels good to hold. Assume you will replace it after a while. If in time you find that your first gun was the right choice then great. If not then don't worry about it much.
 
IM_Lugger said:
I have to say reliability is the reason I'm reluctant to give CZ a shot. At this point only CZ I would consider is the 97B... Just seems like between CZ, Sig, Beretta, Glock, even M&P, CZ seems to have the most issues by far. Seen too many threads about people having to play with springs to make the gun run reliably, which doesn‘t always work... In fact I was just reading a thread on another forum about a guy who bought 3 CZ 75's and none of them run properly. :-/ Just not very reassuring...
Click to expand...

You see more about people having issues with CZs because there are so many of them out there. I'm not sure that there is a higher percentage of issue with this gun compared to others.
 
Hey Rohann, you should contact your local pistol club and ask them nicely if you could come on a night when they are shooting pistol(probably better if you know someone or just take out a membership,) I don't think you require a rpal to join a club, that can come later. I was lucky to know someone with a nice battery of pistols and had balls of fun shooting a Colt .38, Ruger MKII .22, a 1911A1 .45 acp(I thought it was fun but had to concentrate quite a bit on some of the shots to avoid flinching,) also got to shoot a 9mm Glock, a CZ75(newer version). It was really nice of the guys to let me shoot their pistols, I didn't mind the Glock but I prefer guns made of steel and hardwood.
 
Have a look at the Tanfoglio L. Freedom Ventures (top of page) shows them in their catalogue for just under $900.00. Lots of gun for the money there.
 
Well there's a pistol club at the F&G club I'm already a part of, so I'm sure that wouldn't be much of a problem. I'll have a look to see when they're shooting and see if I can drop by.
Looking at Freedom Ventures, the Tangfolio "L" looks not that bad, but I have little to no knowledge of them nor have I even heard of them so I'll think I'll stick to something more familiar that I can more easily get info on.
As for STI, their pistols are quite a bit above my pricerange (I did see one for $600 though).
Truthfully I doubt I'm going to get a Beretta or a CZ (that one's still up in the air though; if I can try one out then I'll re-consider).
I think I'd most want a 1911 or a USP out of all the ones that I've seen (unless someone'd strongly recommend something else for good reason), so regarding a 1911 - who makes an accurate, reliable one that's affordable?

Also, as far as parts availability, cost, and actual availability of the firearm go, which comes out on top?

EDIT: Looking at the firingline forums, the USP seems to be thought of fairly highly as far as accuracy, comfort and reliability go.

(The above being if I don't actually get to try many pistols out - I'll try my best though! Hah and I'm sure it'll just confuse me further).

-Rohann
 
Last edited:
If you want info on Tanfoglio pistols, pm me and I'll fill you in. An IPSC competitor with over 22 years experience shooting every platform there is, I'm using exclusively Tanfo guns right now. And for good reason.
 
Looking at Freedom Ventures, the Tangfolio "L" looks not that bad, but I have little to no knowledge of them nor have I even heard of them so I'll think I'll stick to something more familiar that I can more easily get info on.
Click to expand...
Tanfoglio is a CZ design, in the US they are sold under Witness brand and go for $350-400...I'd buy one in 10mm if I could get one here (for a reasonable price.)

EDIT: Looking at the firingline forums, the USP seems to be thought of fairly highly as far as accuracy, comfort and reliability go.

(The above being if I don't actually get to try many pistols out - I'll try my best though! Hah and I'm sure it'll just confuse me further).
Click to expand...
If you don't get to shoot them at least handle the before you buy, for me USP is anything but comfortable...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom