$650 budget handgun for beginner

I wanted to get everyone's opinion on the subject, and after my own research, I was already leaning towards the Glock 22 in .40 S&W. I like the option of buying a 9mm barrel and dropping it in if I want to shoot cheaper ammo. I believe that you can get a .357 Sig barrel also if you want to go that route. I can get a basic GEN 3 Glock 22 for $550 in town.

Earlier, someone suggested that I make a point of getting my hands on any handgun available in local gun stores to test the feel of the handguns. I plan on doing that. It may or may not affect my choice of handgun.
 
compass said:
Ztunelover, thank you for that detailed analysis. The majority of posters on this thread answered that Glock is the way to go. I intend to be shooting more than 200 rounds a year. Maybe a thousand, but time will tell on that one. Now I have a questions of longevity of polymer guns vs metal. Are polymer guns, like Glocks for example, built for longevity? Will a properly maintained polymer gun such as a Glock truly hold up the test of time so I can use the gun all I want, and then pass it to my children, and so on?

Thanks again everyone.
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Many glocks have surpassed 100k mark, same goes for HK pistols.

I expect my p30l to still go loud long after I have turned into dust. Like I said before it's about trust, I have owned my gun for 6 months now, and in that time frame I have put in 1000 rounds of blazer 115gr, 200 rounds of winchester 115 gr, and 1200 rounds of bdx 124 grain, for a total of 2400 rounds down the tube, it hasn't missed a beat, nor do I expect it to. Oh and that 1k of blazer was done in one day. started in the morning empty by afternoon, gun was hot, ammo box empty. If I were to go to hell and back I wouldn't question my P30L once. Once it goes past 5000 rounds I will probably do a range report. So far 600 rounds was fired the day I bought it, it was cleaned a few days later, then it was the day all the blazers got consumed, 1000 rounds, then one cleaning, 300 rounds then a cleaning, and lastly 500 rounds then a cleaning.

My shooting coach and mentor has a glock 17 with over 40k rounds through that I have shot, in fact IIRC it was the first gun I shot. Gun hasn't missed a beat while I was shooting it.

Here is some data for you to work off.
http://pistol-training.com/archives/category/range-reports
Guy did a test on some pistols the HK45, P30, Gen4 G17, M&P 9mm. These guns will last.

Not sure why you are set on a 40. 9mm is the way to go but, your money your call.


cadgo said:
270k through a gun from 1988. When M&Ps have been around that long there will be ones with that many rounds through them guaranteed.
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You seem have quite a lot of hate for glocks, any particular reason why? M&Ps had their teething issues but I don't disagree eventually we will see 100k+ m&ps out there as well

And while the "improved" ruger sr9 is better than the old one does not mean it's a good gun yet, the trigger sucks, nobody has really done a thorough test on one, the average joe/jane with his/her minimalistic shooting can no longer break it does not mean it is a good gun all of a sudden. Especially since it really isn't that much cheaper than a glock or m&p.

As for it lasting, I doubt it would go past 10k without breaking a spectacular number of components, let alone 100k.

teknition said:
buy an M&P .22 and get proficient with it. then get an M&p 9 range kit. money well spent.
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This is also a solid idea.

I just got my m&p22, so I only have a few hundred rounds through it. So far so good, when I have a few thousand rounds

Another idea I derived from this post is a 22 conversion kit if you go glock.
 
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teknition said:
buy an M&P .22 and get proficient with it. then get an M&p 9 range kit. money well spent.
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This.


I think next year when more info on the M&P's comes out folks will be flocking to buy them ;)

I've transitioned to full M&P 9 series (9, 9C, 9 CORE, 9 Shield) - and while my wife still has her BoreSight Solutions G19 - she is planning on retiring it in favor of a M&P9 (Christmas), she also has a Shield, and a M&P22.
 
ztunelover said:
Not sure why you are set on a 40. 9mm is the way to go but, your money your call.

Another idea I derived from this post is a 22 conversion kit if you go glock.
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I am not necessarily set on a .40, however I seem to be able to get a .40 Glock cheaper than a 9mm Glock. I figure if you go with the bigger caliber, then the cost difference would put me about half way to a new Lone Wolf type replacement 9mm barrel. I like that I could swap barrels on the Glock without trouble and use either caliber that I feel like trying, or that is available at that time. I hear the M&P series can also do that. Definitely a bonus for me. Unfortunately the 22 conversion kit is as expensive as a Browning Buckmark camper, or the M&P 22. At that price, I may as well just buy a separate .22 handgun. The Glock barrel replacements are approximately half the price, if I am not mistaken, which is attractive for a quick 9mm conversion sometime in the future.
 
KevinB said:
This.


I think next year when more info on the M&P's comes out folks will be flocking to buy them ;)

I've transitioned to full M&P 9 series (9, 9C, 9 CORE, 9 Shield) - and while my wife still has her BoreSight Solutions G19 - she is planning on retiring it in favor of a M&P9 (Christmas), she also has a Shield, and a M&P22.
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bingo! best gun for the buck hands down
 
KevinB said:
This.


I think next year when more info on the M&P's comes out folks will be flocking to buy them ;)
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Damn you and your inside information! Friggen tease..... :D

I'm a die hard Glock guy, but damn have they let their civilian customers down.

Where is the Glock PCC (would sell like hotcakes)?
Where is their full size 22lr (would sell like hotcakes)?
Where is their optic ready full size (would sell like hotcakes)?
And then there is their ongoing reliability drama, which the jury is still out if the issues are fixed or not.

S&W has killed them with their offering.
 
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You seem have quite a lot of hate for glocks, any particular reason why? M&Ps had their teething issues but I don't disagree eventually we will see 100k+ m&ps out there as well

And while the "improved" ruger sr9 is better than the old one does not mean it's a good gun yet, the trigger sucks, nobody has really done a thorough test on one, the average joe/jane with his/her minimalistic shooting can no longer break it does not mean it is a good gun all of a sudden. Especially since it really isn't that much cheaper than a glock or m&p.

As for it lasting, I doubt it would go past 10k without breaking a spectacular number of components, let alone 100k.
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No, I don't hate glocks, I have owned one and would buy another but they aren't as amazing as the glock cult makes out. One of the problems I do have with glocks is no safety. I don't feel comfortable carrying a pistol that doesn't have a safety which is why I love the M&P Shield.

Everything you say about the SR9 really makes it clear you have never shot one and know very little about them. They have very nice triggers, there are plenty that have already surpassed 10k rounds (according to owner reports and range rentals) and they are reliable.
 
cadgo said:
No, I don't hate glocks, I have owned one and would buy another but they aren't as amazing as the glock cult makes out. One of the problems I do have with glocks is no safety. I don't feel comfortable carrying a pistol that doesn't have a safety which is why I love the M&P Shield.

Everything you say about the SR9 really makes it clear you have never shot one and know very little about them. They have very nice triggers, there are plenty that have already surpassed 10k rounds (according to owner reports and range rentals) and they are reliable.
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So tell me which mil or le unit runs the sr9 then if it's so great? I have shot one, Haven't done an extensive amount of testing, just a couple hundred rounds, Not much to know, ruger tried to copy glock and failed, if you want to see a successful glock copy please look at a M&P. That is a glock copy done right.

As for manual safety that's a you problem, not the guns. If you don't have the trigger discipline to not induce a negligent discharge that's on you.
 
ztunelover said:
So tell me which mil or le unit runs the sr9 then if it's so great? I have shot one, Haven't done an extensive amount of testing, just a couple hundred rounds, Not much to know, ruger tried to copy glock and failed, if you want to see a successful glock copy please look at a M&P. That is a glock copy done right.

As for manual safety that's a you problem, not the guns. If you don't have the trigger discipline to not induce a negligent discharge that's on you.
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So you would be fine carrying a loaded pistol IWB all day with no safety? There are plenty of people that do but it is not for me.

Anyways, I don't really care. Pistols in Canada are nothing more than range toys so whatever he decides I am sure he will be happy.
 
cadgo said:
So you would be fine carrying a loaded pistol IWB all day with no safety? There are plenty of people that do but it is not for me.

Anyways, I don't really care. Pistols in Canada are nothing more than range toys so whatever he decides I am sure he will be happy.
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Let me give you a hint, my P30L is the LEM model with no manual safety.
 
Anyways, my point about the safety was that it is unfair to judge how you would feel about having a loaded gun in your pants with no safety all day until you have actually done it a few times. It is not for me but there are plenty of guys that do it and some even refuse to buy a pistol with a safety.
 
sewktbk said:
Wrong. If the gun is extremely reliable but can't be held properly and comfortably by the shooter, its no good. Kind of like a really good car in which you can't sit.
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I like how you only say one of side that, and dont mention that you would buy a junker you cannot rely on but BOY IT IS COMFY TO SIT IT! Right? I think both these things are improtant when buying any gun.
 
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compass said:
I wanted to get everyone's opinion on the subject, and after my own research, I was already leaning towards the Glock 22 in .40 S&W. I like the option of buying a 9mm barrel and dropping it in if I want to shoot cheaper ammo. I believe that you can get a .357 Sig barrel also if you want to go that route. I can get a basic GEN 3 Glock 22 for $550 in town.

Earlier, someone suggested that I make a point of getting my hands on any handgun available in local gun stores to test the feel of the handguns. I plan on doing that. It may or may not affect my choice of handgun.
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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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