$650 budget handgun for beginner

cadgo said:
You say that now til you have to actually conceal it properly and carry that gigantic thing. I even find the shield too big at times.
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I don't disagree that a full size like my usp and my P30L are too big for concealed carry, unless you were running 511 holster undershirt... not that I would know. My arguement is against manual safeties, if you wanted to ask me my choice of ideal conceal carry handgun, my choice would immediately be the p2000sk in 9mm with the lem trigger like my full size... in a free country that is.

My usp is the V1 with the safety which if I kept will promptly will get converted to LEM with no safety as well. I do have a grizzly outdoors iwb leather kydex hybrid holster, I have zero discomfort running a pistol with no manual safety, in fact given the choice that is the only way I would run it, very few top tier sf units run manual safeties on their guns, sigs dont have them, the new seal issue HK45s dont have em, glocks dont have them either. Manual safeties are a mindset thing, for me it's one less thing to worry about when it's not there.
 
I carry my M&P 9mmCORE everywhere IWB *unless its in a duty holster. -- my Shield is a backup gun -- it's a BUG for duty carry in my side job, or a gun for folks who forgot or could not carry gun with me if something goes bad. I dumped my J Frame which was my old BUG, mainly as reloading was a PITA - and it makes common ammo choice for duty 127gr +P+ RangerT

I used to carry a 1911 w/ X300 IWB - size was not an issue, I also carry two spare mags -- I still carry two spares for my 9mm M&P regardless of dress level.
 
KevinB said:
I carry my M&P 9mmCORE everywhere IWB *unless its in a duty holster. -- my Shield is a backup gun -- it's a BUG for duty carry in my side job, or a gun for folks who forgot or could not carry gun with me if something goes bad. I dumped my J Frame which was my old BUG, mainly as reloading was a PITA - and it makes common ammo choice for duty 127gr +P+ RangerT

I used to carry a 1911 w/ X300 IWB - size was not an issue, I also carry two spare mags -- I still carry two spares for my 9mm M&P regardless of dress level.
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Damn that is a lot of weight and bulk. Honestly the shield is biggest gun I will ever carry. Not sure what situation would arise that couldn't be handled with 7 rounds of 40sw but you would definitely be prepared.
 
Clobbersauras said:
I'm a die hard Glock guy, but damn have they let their civilian customers down.

And then there is their ongoing reliability drama, which the jury is still out if the issues are fixed or not.
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Clobbersauras, can you elaborate on the ongoing Glock reliability issues? I have been reading about 9mm gen 4 issues, possibly related to springs.
 
I really like my Glock 17...tried handling most every pistol that I could get my hands on before purchasing, but it just felt the best to me. Put it through its first case of fiocchi and a bunch of various boxes of 9mm from the local GS and have had zero issues....runs like a sewing machine.

Cheers
 
BCshooterFMJ said:
Hey man, there is two side to weight, the more weight, the less felt recoil, the less weight, the more your hand/wrist is going to feel it. You are talking 9mm then I'd suggest getting whatever feels most comfortable in your hand, being at the range all day long would be expensive, but I shoot my CZ 85 combat for very long periods of time and I dont feel to fatigued due to the extra weight of the steel frame. I do not own any plastic guns to compare it to and I dont think I ever will. (Because I like the weight, glocks are no invincible, but they and 1911's are as reliable as they come)

But, with your price range, you can most likely find a great used glock package with 3 mags and all that. All I can tell you, is after owning the cz 9mm for a little while, I am only disappointed with one thing, and very disappointed that I didnt get a .45 acp handgun instead. I shoot in the bush mostly and hit the range every so often, 9mm is a GREAT round, but the biggest draw to 9mm (People will disagree with this, but its the fact of the matter) Is magazine capacity,high capacity mags are a MASSIVE draw towards 9mm, if military and law enforcement only had 10 shots a magazine max, I promise you they would not be using 9mm, generally, for double stack mags, 9 mm will hold 17 to a .45's 10 . I will only buy .45's from here on out lol.(As long as I live in Canada anyway :D)
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The only issue I can see with 45 is that it takes a great amount of very regular practice to maintain a decent level of skill, and with that practice comes a high round count, and high cost.
 
compass said:
Clobbersauras, can you elaborate on the ongoing Glock reliability issues? I have been reading about 9mm gen 4 issues, possibly related to springs.
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Most people seem to think it's the extractor (they think, and maybe some other slide geometry issues - maybe).

It's best to go to other forums for more information....PM sent.
 
compass said:
OK. Is it safe to say that Gen 3 Glocks do not suffer from these issues? What I have seen online was mostly for GEN4.
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AFAIK, yes the newer Gen 3's are affected as well. After a bunch of searching I was able to find some info that "kinda/sorta" pinpoints what serial number ranges are affected, but it took me a while and I didn't bookmark the thread. I purposely bought an older production Glock Gen 3 for that reason and my serial number is good.


I'm no expert on this issue. You can probably find out much more with ten minutes of reading the link I PM'd you.
 
for $650 lets be honest, you wont get a new glock in canada.
you can however grab a new M&P9 for about $500 from irunguns.

yes, gen 4 glocks had a guiderod recall and a ejector redesign because of brass to the face.
my gen 4 was one of the first ones, i did the guiderod recall but it never jammed before it, and i swapped out the ejector because i was getting hit in the face with brass occasionally.
since changing the ejector $10 part no issues.
the grip texture on the glock gen 4 is much better than the gen 3 IMO
 
If you have your heart set on a G22, go and feel one up and see if it 'fits'.

Realistically, any decent handgun that you maintain and train with will give you every one of your points (maybe not price).. It all boils down to what feels good in your hand. I went into a shop dead set on buying G17 but even with a perfect grip it didn't point right for me. Ended up buying a GSG1911 instead which worked perfectly for my needs.
 
ez8 said:
for $650 lets be honest, you wont get a new glock in canada.
you can however grab a new M&P9 for about $500 from irunguns.

yes, gen 4 glocks had a guiderod recall and a ejector redesign because of brass to the face.
my gen 4 was one of the first ones, i did the guiderod recall but it never jammed before it, and i swapped out the ejector because i was getting hit in the face with brass occasionally.
since changing the ejector $10 part no issues.
the grip texture on the glock gen 4 is much better than the gen 3 IMO
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If you're military/law enforcement you can easily get a brand new Glock17 Gen4 with standard sights for under 600$. Mine cost 670$ shipped to my door with factory trijicon sights. Went thru 400rdd on the first range trip with it and no issues at all. They fixed it
 
ez8 said:
yes, gen 4 glocks had a guiderod recall and a ejector redesign because of brass to the face.
my gen 4 was one of the first ones, i did the guiderod recall but it never jammed before it, and i swapped out the ejector because i was getting hit in the face with brass occasionally. since changing the ejector $10 part no issues. the grip texture on the glock gen 4 is much better than the gen 3 IMO
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Was the guiderod recall a hasstle or fairly straightforward? Does Glock or M&P repairs/recalls go well in Canada?
 
DT741 said:
If you're military/law enforcement you can easily get a brand new Glock17 Gen4 with standard sights for under 600$. Mine cost 670$ shipped to my door with factory trijicon sights. Went thru 400rdd on the first range trip with it and no issues at all. They fixed it
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first pistol threads usually arent MIL/LEO, and even used glock gen 4's go for 650+shipping usually...worth it, no but thats how it is.
compass said:
Was the guiderod recall a hasstle or fairly straightforward? Does Glock or M&P repairs/recalls go well in Canada?
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i called glock gave them my s/n and they mailed me a new guiderod. i was suppose to mail back the old one but it would have cost me money so i just threw it somewhere.. no hassle. the ejector i would have had to get a ATT to transport it to police ordanance (or mail it there) then wait a few weeks for them to get to min, swap out the part then pay postage back to me or go pick it up wit another ATT..... so i ordered the part online for $10 and threw it in myself... easier.
as for m&p i have no idea.
 
ez8 said:
i called glock gave them my s/n and they mailed me a new guiderod. i was suppose to mail back the old one but it would have cost me money so i just threw it somewhere.. no hassle. the ejector i would have had to get a ATT to transport it to police ordanance (or mail it there) then wait a few weeks for them to get to min, swap out the part then pay postage back to me or go pick it up wit another ATT..... so i ordered the part online for $10 and threw it in myself... easier.
as for m&p i have no idea.
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enefgee said:
Smith has 2 warranty centers in Canada, one in Ontario and one in BC.
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Ok, sounds good. Everyone, thank you for your input and advice. I will definitely try the feel of the Glock and the M&P, and try to shoot them both if I can find someone local who has any. I'll post what I end up going with.
 
I definitely would not recommend a .40 for a new shooter and I have observed many new shooters frustrated as hell after buying a polymer pistol for there first handgun. Glocks have the cool factor but are not fantastic shooters for most.
 
They can be a fantastic shooter, given that it is operated by a shooter with proper forms and techniques. It is lighter and will show any flaws you have on paper.

Best option is to try some (if you can) and remember that "practice makes perfect" and when you go for a session, don't just go there to blast ammo, maximize training with exercises (groupings, double taps etc)
 
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