Best spot for Pistol Shopping?

[twistedbrilliance]

So I live in Greely.(outskirts of Ottawa). And am getting ready to do some pistol shopping:
Am I best to do so online?
I have a cottage in Muskoka, so should I order by phone and pick up from Ellwood Epps in person at later date?
Montreal is not too far I could go there and shop around then go back for pick-up at later date if they have good shops?
I heard there is a gun shop in Brockville, is it any good?
I would prefer somewhere that has items in stock so I can get a feel for them before I buy...
I was also thinking since we can only have 10 round mags then i might go for 45acp as appose to 9mm. If we could load more I might say 9mm so I can fit more rounds. Although nothing is stopping me from just getting more mags...hmmm or maybe rest in the middle of the debate with a 40cal.....
decisions, decisions

 

[BP7]

go to a range as a guest and check out who shoots what. some people may let you hold a gun, others might even let you fire a few rounds.

online shopping is nice, but you can never shoot a gun in the store hence the range is a great place IF you can find / meet friendly people. plus you can talk to people who have zero financial gain in telling you how good / bad a certain gun is.

let's face it - ottawa sucks for gun stores. only 2-3 in the area. you can drive to Mtl or TO but a local range is much closer and more interactive.

45 is nice and thumpy but $$$
9 is simple and cheap and commonplace
40 is very close to 9 in $ and only marginally harder to find, but gives a nice punch

commercial reloads are available in all 3 and will save you around 30% from factory stuff

mag capacity is a non-issue. you can't hunt or defend anyways. 10 rounds just makes keeping track of things easier.

 

[Rob125919]

Is there a range nearby where you can tryout some guns or maybe some friends with pistols you can try. I spent too long finding the right pistol for myself because I was buying before trying. Do yourself a favor and atleast go in one day and fondle a bunch of pistols. Other than that, pistols are awesome!!

 

[sallen]

Epps ships as well (as do other sponors), so if you know what you want, and don't want to drive, they can ship it to you for a small fee. I just did this and it was delivered approximately one week after it was ordered.

 

[coldcashandcolderhearts]

I'v bought two pistols here on this sight a .45 and a .22lr for practice. I also bought a M1 Garand off firearmscanada.com's classified page. I personally like online for selection and usually cheaper too.