Best Beginner Pistol (Opinions)

I also would recommend a .22 to start. I don't like conversion kits myself--I like a consistent shooting experience for each gun..the same recoil and "feel" each time. When I pick up a gun I like being familiar with how it will feel when I shoot it, and I feel that having conversion kits works against building that "in the hand" familiarity you need to shoot a gun well. There are so many good inexpensive .22 pistols available now, too.

If you're set on a centrefire as your first pistol I don't think that a Glock is a good choice, much as I like them. Their light weight and unusual trigger pull make them easy for an inexperienced shooter to shoot poorly. As others have said upthread, one of the CZ 9mms would be a good choice.
 
I have owned over 25 handguns and still own a dozen. The advice about the 22 is always valid but I have seen too many buy them only to become a safe queen shortly after. I would buy what you really want to shoot and get help at the range as soon as you can. I have avoided the glock because of the related lead bullet discussions. And if you are going to shoot a lot the economy of lead bullets will become an issue when you star reloading. I have put over 30,000 rounds of lead through my shadow, no issues.

I have influenced many shooters by letting them try my sp 01 shadow, app 15 new shooters bought them after trying mine. For a reasonable amount of money you can have a reliable, proven forearm that can take you to any level of competition you would like to go to. If you can find a list of competitors firearms at national or international IPsc shoots check how many cz firearms are used. That may help with the decision.

That's my two cents and we know what happened to pennies.
 
If you lean towards Glocks already, just buy a 9mm Glock. They work well and have massive aftermarket support.

I find 22 pistols boring enough that I never shoot them, personally, and I don't feel I get much more out of them than I do from dry fire. I have an AA kit that collects dust in my safe, despite having something like half a dozen glocks in 9mm alone. I could easily leave the kit on one of my spares, I just can't be bothered with it.

I also think "fit" is meaningless. You take someone who's used to one pistol, have them burn a few thousand rounds through something else, then give them their old gun back, and the old one will now feel strange. You can train anyone to shoot pretty much any normal pistol very well, and "fit" is virtually never the deciding factor in performance or skill acquisition.
 
misanthropist said:
If you lean towards Glocks already, just buy a 9mm Glock. They work well and have massive aftermarket support.

I also think "fit" is meaningless. You take someone who's used to one pistol, have them burn a few thousand rounds through something else, then give them their old gun back, and the old one will now feel strange. You can train anyone to shoot pretty much any normal pistol very well, and "fit" is virtually never the deciding factor in performance or skill acquisition.
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I agree with the first statement. Glocks seem to be a love/hate affair, but being new you should have no bias. They're reliable, as accurate as you need short of bullseye shooting, and parts are plentiful. I'm a recent glock convert and happy about the choice.

The second statement I have to partially disagree with. While you may become comfortable with any weapon, given enough trigger time, some things will always feel better than others. Whenever I pick up a BHP my hand is immediately happy, though I shoot it worse than both the SIG 225 and 226.

I would buy the glock and make misanthropist an offer on his AA kit that collects dust.
 
Agreed. Would love to try a worked on HP, but can't justify the cost. On that note, to the OP, if youre willing to spend a princely sum an Heirloom Precision, Cylinder & Slide, Novak, or Garthwaite High Power is likely a great choice!
 
TT1900 said:
The second statement I have to partially disagree with. While you may become comfortable with any weapon, given enough trigger time, some things will always feel better than others. Whenever I pick up a BHP my hand is immediately happy, though I shoot it worse than both the SIG 225 and 226.

I would buy the glock and make misanthropist an offer on his AA kit that collects dust.
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And that's why I say fit is meaningless.
 
I've had most pistols out there and although .22 is best to start with I never used mine with any consistency. I'd say go 9mm.
Now questions are either polymer/metal, hammer or striker fired, etc
I think a nice used polymer 9mm for $400-$600 off the Exchange (M&P over Glock) would be my choice, if the budgets higher than a metal 9mm like the CZ Shadow or Tanfoglio Stock 3
 
Master-G said:
Agreed. As long as you can reach all the controls properly it's how well you can shoot a handgun that really counts.
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While this is partially true there is a limit. If you have small hands you need to make sure that the grip is not too large for you. While for lower capacity rounds like the 9mm and 22 this is not a major issue but as the power goes up it can severely affect the grip and the gun is more prone to slip in your hands under recoil. Not good for accuracy. Guns with high capacity double stack mags tend to have more of an issue in this area than single stack mags. Also as a general rule the larger the bullet calibre the bigger the grip. Conversely if you have large hands a gun with a small grip can cause problems with crowding of the fingers and may interfere with the trigger finger. You can adjust to most grips, grip angle for example is not a big issue, but extremes of size can cause problems. I have guns with steep grip angle and shallow angles and I shoot them about the same. Swapping from one to another may cause some initial issues but you quickly adjust.
 
jkipp said:
Good call, do you know how to do that? I couldn't find it in settings or under my profile but maybe I'm missing something.
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You have to go to the moderators and ask to change your user name. Or since your new just quit and rejoin. If you had feedback from EE you would lose that.
 
Lots of options regarding first "beginner" pistols. It mostly depends on budget and objectives. If you have the budget to have multiple pistols then a .22 is a great starting point but you will quickly get used to it and want more "bang". Nevertheless, starting with a 22 reduces the likely hood of developing recoil/blast induced bad habits like flinching and makes it easier to diagnose grip/sight alignment/trigger issues. An M&P 22, Walter PPQ 22, Sig 22 or the CZ 75 / Kadet will get you started on the right track and gets you ready to transition to 9mm in the same family of firearms. Some of these like the Sig and CZ allow you to just replace the slide and mags to get to 9mm. I went with the Sig 22 conversion and 226 9mm route as it was the cheaper of the options. I have a CZ Sp-01 but the Kadet was just too much money for the slide. If your budget only allows for one pistol purchase then I'd say stick to one of the most common 9mm models and choose the one that "feels" the best and looks the coolest to you.

As others have stated, trying out the firearms is important to get the initial feel and identify major issues but without experience and trigger time, it might not tell you much. Barring any major issues with your hand size/grip, most people will be able to shoot the most common M&P, Glock, Sig, CZ models with equal initial performance. The more you train with a firearm the better you'll get.
As you get more experienced, the differences in the pistol grip, weight, balance, sights and trigger will more immediately make themselves apparent. Most new shooters I take to the range will shoot better with the CZ SP-01 Shadow but I shoot my Sig 226 better because I've shot it twice as much as the CZ.
 
Buy whatever you are drawn to. As long as you are buying a gun from a reputable manufacturer, it's mostly a matter of personal preference (especially for use on a one-way range). The general rule of thumb is that guns that are made/designed in Western Europe are usually of high quality. American brands are more hit and miss. Chinese, Philippine, Turkish brands...I'm not going to go there to avoid offending anyone.
 
misanthropist said:
I also think "fit" is meaningless. You take someone who's used to one pistol, have them burn a few thousand rounds through something else, then give them their old gun back, and the old one will now feel strange. You can train anyone to shoot pretty much any normal pistol very well, and "fit" is virtually never the deciding factor in performance or skill acquisition.
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If you got small hands a Beretta wont feel good. I found them big and bulky. I thought a compact would fit my hands better and was the same. I cannot shoot Sig in DA mode. I need to change my grip in order to fully pull the trigger. HK USP were up there for big guns. Why I say fit is important for at lease your first.
 
My wife has pretty small hands for a girl, and she can run a beretta fine and she's faster and more accurate than the overwhelming majority of shooters with her old, pre-E2, folded steel slide, West German 226.

Performance does not correlate with "fit" unless you're WAY outside normal parameters, either in terms of hand size, or you're at a skill level so high that you need to carefully tailor every aspect of your guns to get the last hundredth of a second on every run.
 
There's nothing wrong with a ruger mark 2 / buckmark etc in a. 22 to start with.
However a steel frame 9mm doesn't have that much "kick" and is quite pleasant to shoot really. I've had to deal with flinches due to shooting big magnum rifles but i can't imagine i could get one from a steel 9mm.
If i were you i would look for a norinco np29 or nz85 on the EE.
Lots more fun to shoot than a 22 but aboyt the same cost.
Just watch a few YouTube videos first on how to hold etc. Jerry miculek has a good one on that.
You can upgrade to fancier stuff later. Often you can try other guns at the range if you get to chatting etc.
I found it quite helpful to go to wild west in the west Edmonton mall and try a bunch of 9mms. Turns out i really liked the cz75 the most.
 
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jkipp said:
Hello all,

I am new to the scene and looking to make my first restricted purchase fairly soon. I am definitely leaning towards 9mm but other than that I don't know where to start. I am drawn towards Glocks and Berettas but everything about the two are different. Should I start with a striker fired Glock? Or a da/sa Beretta? Are there other suggestions you have for me, or anything important to consider as a beginner?

Any input is greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance,
jkipp
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I faced the same decisions a few months ago. I chose two... the M&P 9 and the M&P 22. Both are very reliable, ambidextrous and feel somewhat similar in the hand so I figured the 22 would be good practice for the 9mm. Accessories such as extra mags and holsters are plentiful. Plus the M&P 9's range kit was a bargain. I was also considering the Walthers PPX range kit but went with the S&W's for the above reasons. Before buying I did try the guns at a rental site to make sure they felt good to me. I love setting up alone at the range, starting with the 22, going through a routine with that gun, switching to the 9mm for a while then, before packing up, finishing off with the 22. It's often the most peaceful couple of hours in my day!
 
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