Best Semi Auto Gun and Caliber for a Newbie
- Thread starter Chris84
- Start date
100% agree. i bought my first 9mm CZ 75b & i love it, still thinking to get myself a .22 pistol for cheaper shooting but worry about get bored quick. i experienced with my first CZ 455 rifle in .22lr, i bought a .270 WSM & don't want to shoot the .22 anymore
I know its different strokes for different folks but how do you get bored with shooting...anything? After 200 rounds of steels with my SIG 220 SAO I love grabbing my 22/45 and doing some fast instinctive shooting at reactive targets. Regardless of how good you are you can always get better. For inspiration I just look at my shooting buddies who are nailing reactives, one handed at 50 yds. When I go shooting I usually take pretty much everything I've got, 12 gauge, 308, 44 mag and make a nice long day out of it. Bored, not in this lifetime.
If you enjoy it that's terrific. I know a guy who's been doing the same job for thirty years and refuses promotions because he loves the specific tasks he does.
Personally that life would result in almost certain suicide for me...but if he's happy, great. I also know a guy who races the same track on his bike over and over and has been doing so for years...he's very good and is always improving. Again, for me that would absolutely bore the death out of me, and I enjoy riding a lot more than shooting. Different strokes indeed.
loopydloop
CGN Regular
- Location
- South of the A/B line
Yup. true dat
Thanks for all the advice everyone lots to think about. I got range member ship yesterday and hope to buy a sig 1911 in the new year, the gun dealer here doesn't carri gsg or gsi wich ever the sig is cloned after so thanks for the help and a 22 rim fire it's going to be. Hope to get a 9mm or a 357 come spring.
RememberTheSomme
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia
quinnjoblow
CGN Regular
- Location
- East of Toronto
My top three choices for a new shooter Smith&Wesson 686 .357magnum(also shoots .38spl)
Glock 17
Ruger Mark2 .22lr
Glock 17
Ruger Mark2 .22lr
Time to be a BIG BOY now. YOU have to make up your own mind on this one.
You've obviously been to the range and tried a few different types and have a preference in your mind already.
The biggest thing you have to decide on first, is if you want a metal or polymer frame. Are you interested in extreme accuracy or a 6 inch group at 25meters? If you want accuracy and a semi auto, rolled into one pistol, be prepared to spend some serious money on the pistol.
Most Model 92 Berrettas are a lot more accurate than the people that own them are capable of shooting them. If you're going to get into any of the action shooting games, buy the pistol that will work for that game. Please stay away from a well used and worn race gun, unless you have someone close, that you can trust and is not a self appointed expert, to appraise the pistol with you. Some of those race guns look great but are truly on their last legs and looking at a complete refit.
Cowboy shooting, requires a different pistol than IPSC or some other combat shooting games.
If you're interested in shooting small groups, that pistol will likely not be suitable for anything else.
If you're interested in military surplus, there are some good deals to be had on very reliable and well made pistols that will shoot relatively cheap surplus ammo into milspec requirements. Tokarev TT33, with 2850 rounds from Tradex and others, for under $600. A good cheap start.
If you want something else, get the best pistol you can afford, preferrably new. That way, you get to break it in and aren't buying someone else's problems. This is something to think about, if you don't know a lot about pistols and what can and does go wrong with them.
As for a 22 rimfire, they may not make as much noise as centerfire but the noise/muzzle flash/recoil, doesn't disturb your concentration either.
It costs $25 for 500 accurate rounds of 22rf and $250 for 500 rounds of center fire. If you keep making the same mistakes, over and over, get lousy accuracy, you will be more likely to practise with the 22 and figure out what you're doing than with a center fire.
I honestly suggest that you get one of each. Preferrably the same model in 22rf and cf. That will make a huge difference very quickly in your capabilities. Find someone knowledgeable and get them to watch you shoot. They will quickly pick up on things like cross eye dominance, blinking when you pull the trigger, wrapping your finger as far around the trigger as you can reach, not hold the pistol tight enough or to loose wristed to allow the slide to operate properly, for starters.
If all you want to do, is spray and pray the targets, well then, follow the wanna be gang bangers advice and just get something that goes bang in the appropriate direction. Maybe even get a bunch of those "Zombie" targets as well. (those are fun by the way)
Really? Why would swapping slides at the range be a problem for you? I have a Kadet Kit for my Shadow and swapping the slide takes me less than a minute at the range. I love having the flexibility of being able to shoot 9mm and then swap back to .22lr for a few magazines, to work on distance or drills and then swap back to 9mm. It was my first semi auto and swapping out the kit was a great way to learn about the gun and become comfortable handling it very quickly. I like shooting .22 as its incredibly cheap, lots of fun and no recoil. 9mm is great too but like 10 times more expensive to shoot, and if your new to shooting can lead to a flinch, which you might not even recognize. If you like the CZ the Jericho is great. I went with the CZ & Kadet kit first but I also like the M&P which a great gun for the money and comes in .22LR and 9mm and the Sig P226 Classic .22LR.
