First handgun ...

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Borcagu

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I did some research on my own and got myself more confused than I was before.

My intent is to learn to properly shoot, do it on recreational basis and maybe later get into IPCS.Getting involved would be more likely on part time basis than being serious about competitive shooting.

I purchased a Glock 17 two years ago but it did not fit my hands and was tough to align sights so I sold it.
In the last couple of weeks I have tried few pistols and the best ones to fit my hand were:
1. S&W M&P - nice fit and easy to align sights
2. S&W 1911 - good fit and the best to align sights
3.Taurus 1911 - good fit but a problem to align sights

I am looking (for something in 9 mm caliber) to spend somewhere around $500 to $1200 for pistol plus mags,belt etc ...
Please consider the possibility to enter into competitive shuting (IPCS).


Thank you all for your advise.
 
I have a S&W M&P40.
Took it for a training course last summer at SigSauer Academy in NH.
Shot 600 rounds over two days in CQB exercises. Functioned flawlessly. It is NOT designed for Olympic target shooting, but for self defence it is a definite winner.
 
Borcagu said:
....
Please consider the possibility to enter into competitive shooting (IPSC).
Click to expand...

For IPSC you're better off to go with a DA/SA style pistol and stay away from the 1911's. Being single action only shooting a 1911 automatically puts you into the more competitive Standard class where to be up to speed you'd need a double stack style gun, magwell and a snazzy super light trigger job done to your gun. Far better to stick to the Production class for at least the first couple of seasons.

Belt, holster, mag pouches and mags for IPSC will total to around $450 to $600 just for all that stuff. Mostly depending on what the mags for your gun cost. That leaves precious little for the gun itself.

If you're serious about sticking to the budget then the M&P 9mm is a pretty nice choice. Others that will serve you well and make you grin a lot are the CZ Shadow or even just the basic 75B, a Beretta 92fs, STI GP6 or even the lowly Ruger SR9 with a little trigger work. I've found that all of these options fit my hand much more comfortably than the Glock brick shaped grip. And all are priced at or under $900.

EDIT- I just saw that you're in Surrey. Your very first priority is to head on over to DVC Ventures in PoCo (www.indoorshootingcentre.com) and try out all the rental guns they have there. Nothing at all works as well as actually trying the guns. And yes I know it's costly to shoot rental guns but look at the money you'll save and the trust you'll have in your decision when you pick out a gun knowing that you tried a heap of then and that the one you paid for is THE one that you liked the best and shot the best for you.
 
Glock 17 or 34! Easiest to find parts and accessories for, and a cheap reliable option. Easy to clean and even do a full takedown. As a first pistol it would be my choice. The mp is nice but its just not a glock. Some like em for that reason but why buy the gun trying to be like a glock when you can have the glock for the same price? Just my opinion I don't wanna start the debate and hijack the guys thread!
 
Two pistols one should consider

are the CZ-75 Shadow

CZ75_0020_SP01_0020_Shadow_0020_Groot.jpg


and the STI GP6

GP6_08_Main.jpg


Try (for feel) before you buy.
 
Apparently you didn't notice the part where he said he owned a Glock and didn't like it. Or as a faithful Glock owner perhaps that part just didn't register in the cortex due to denial.... :D
 
x2 BCRider ..."that part just didn't register in the cortex due to denial..."
some people think "one way only" when it's about polymer choices available on our hangun market
 
you dont need to start in production and move to standard. in standard all you need is a 1911 style gun that is reliable, and you need to be able to shoot it. You are put into class with like shooters and you just have fun. If you like 1911's, shot Standard Division. If you like glocks or whatever, shoot production. Open class is where things get silly $ wise, but its only hardcore at the top classes. I out shoot guys all the time in open class with my std class.

why a 9mm? I think a 40 would suit you better.

the s&w 1911 I have heard great things about.

agree with the member who advised to go STI.

if you will one day end up in std division, why waste the money getting holstered up and geared up for production, only to buy a std division next year
 
Let me say up front that I am not an IPSC shooter, but I am a pistol enthusiast, and it perplexes me the direction pistol technology has taken us. A SA pistol that has the controls in the right place, with sights that can be seen, and a trigger that can be managed is a gigantic step ahead of the pack.

Consider the one element that stands out to make good rifle shooting easy . . . the trigger. If a manufacturer made a rifle trigger as difficult as the new breed of pistol triggers, no one would buy it, because hitting anything would be extremely difficult, and the purpose of shooting is hitting, even when shooting a 10 minute pistol. Why is it then that manufacturers consider a long, heavy, difficult trigger to be such a technological improvement to a defensive pistol? The very nature of the pistol, it's lack of shoulder support, short sight radius, and comparatively poor accuracy, already make shooting it effectively far more difficult than a typical rifle, so they add the most difficult trigger they can design!!??

To my way of thinking, the DA feature on an auto pistol serves no purpose what so ever, and the recently widely adopted versions of the Glock style safety triggers are even worse. It appears that technological improvements to auto pistols ended prior to the Second World War. If you can't manage a trigger blocking safety and a 4 pound trigger with minimal travel, as found on good examples of the 1911, P-35, and the SA version of the CZ-75, making the problem more difficult is unlikely going to help you.
 
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Boomer said:
Let me say up front that I am not an IPSC shooter, but I am a pistol enthusiast, and it perplexes me the direction pistol technology has taken us. A SA pistol that has the controls in the right place, with sights that can be seen, and a trigger that can be managed is a gigantic step ahead of the pack.

Consider the one element that stands out to make good rifle shooting easy . . . the trigger. If a manufacturer made a rifle trigger as difficult as the new breed of pistol triggers, no one would buy it, because hitting anything would be extremely difficult, and the purpose of shooting is hitting, even when shooting a 10 minute pistol. Why is it then that manufacturers consider a long, heavy, difficult trigger to be such a technological improvement to a defensive pistol? The very nature of the pistol, it's lack of shoulder support, short sight radius, and comparatively poor accuracy, already make shooting it effectively far more difficult than a typical rifle, so they add the most difficult trigger they can design!!??

To my way of thinking, the DA feature on an auto pistol serves no purpose what so ever, and the recently widely adopted versions of the Glock style safety triggers are even worse. It appears that technological improvements to auto pistols ended prior to the Second World War. If you can't manage a trigger blocking safety and a 4 pound trigger with minimal travel, as found on good examples of the 1911, P-35, and the SA version of the CZ-75, making the problem more difficult is unlikely going to help you.
Click to expand...

The trigger on the Glock and the M&P is almost totally analogous to a 2 stage military rifle trigger, properly shot they are no impediment.
 
i'm not an IPSC shooter (yet), or even a shooter. hell, i'm just a beginner. but GOD DAMN IT i hate the Glock trigger! as a beginner, it feels like i'm squeezing a bag of springs and not a trigger that is supposed to release a bullet into the target. only the G34 feels decent, and even then it's still quite "springy". not only the trigger, but the whole handgun feels like a bowl of jello when a round is fired.

i can totally see what Boomer is talking about.
 
The Glock was designed as a sidearm, not a target pistol. It's intended for putting lead on target, at short range, in the shortest amount of time possible.
 
Shadow would be the best in my opinion for IPSC Production. You can shoot it in IDPA with Walnut grips and plastic rod to make weight.
For IPSC Standard, you need .40s&w and a variant of 1911 like Bull, CZ TS, Tanfoglio or whatever works for you in SA only gun.
 
enefgee said:
The trigger on the Glock and the M&P is almost totally analogous to a 2 stage military rifle trigger, properly shot they are no impediment.
Click to expand...

I've owned quite a few rifles with 2 stage military triggers, but I have yet to see a 2 stage military trigger that changes from a long pull to a short one after the initial shot. These triggers are miserable, and in a fight I for one wouldn't want to put up with a trigger that had anything other than a single release position. I guess if a Glock is all that you've used you can get used to anything, but it certainly isn't an optimum arrangement, particularly an examples with very heavy initial pull weight. I've said it before and I'll say it again, if I was mandated to carry a Glock, I would work with it until I developed some measure of comfort with it, but I would not carry one by choice.
 
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Thank you guys for your help.

Today I went and handled CZ 75 Shadow and that was that.I did put down payment on one and will pick it up in couple of weeks.

The only thing that concerned me a bit was thickness of handle grips,a bit too thick for my liking. Are there any after market thiner rubber grips and also does the CZ Kadet 22 cal conversion kit fits the Shadow?

The rest of the pistol felt perfect.Heavy enough,points well,long handle and at the right angle for me, all steel construction and trigger was good.

I handled again few other polymer handguns ( after I have handled CZ Shadow ) and all of them this time around felt way too light with springy triggers.

I think I got a right pistol for me and my needs.

One more time thank you all for your input.
 
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Glad you found one you like. As BCRider pointed out, try as many guns as you can before buying one. Some guns just do not feel right in your hand and you will probably never shoot them well. A cheap Norinco can do just as good in IPSC as a pricey Kimber and everything in between.
 
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