First, my opinion on "first handgun" is that anything other than a .22 for a first handgun is a lousy choice, just as it is for rifle. There is simply no substitute for being able to do a LOT of practice with inexpensive ammunition that also happens to have very mild recoil. If you don't practice a lot, you'll never move beyond "plinking fun" level. Even buying surplus and/or remanufactured ammunition, reloading, etc, you will never be able to shoot for anywhere near the cost of .22 ammunition. And even though there's about a dozen handguns in the safe, when accuracy starts going out the window, I go to one of the .22's to start figuring out what the problem is.Morgayne said:
As to the Browning High Power for your first centerfire handgun, absolutely. I've owned more than a few, and my current BHP is a .40 S&W, for both CCW (have a home in Montana, spend a lot of time there, and have a CCW permit) and fun n' games. This is the first one that has been a poor performer: abysmal accuracy, keyholing bullets, oversize bore, etc. However, Browning guarantees 4" at 50 yards with the BHP, so I'm sure when it comes back it will be as accurate as all the previous ones have been. I tried to buy the last 9mm I sold back, but the current owner wants more than I'm prepared to pay.
I have small hands, my wife has hands about the same size, and neither of us have any problem with pistol dimensions, even with the double stack design. The design, in fact, has a reputation of fitting even those with smaller hands. If you want to go smaller than stock, a pair of Craig Speigel, Navidrex, etc grips will make the grip smaller yet. Nothing to worry about; many people do the same thing with revolvers to get a smaller grip, even S&W K frames.
The magazine disconnect does not need to be removed either to improve the trigger pull (although it will, but brings other unwelcome results) or to keep a range officer happy at a competition. Even with small hands I simply put a finger in the magazine well, press on the magazine disconnect, and pull the trigger. No problem. If you don't like the trigger or the trigger reset... pay for a trigger job by somebody who actually knows what they are doing. Again, no problem. If you want a Bullseye grade trigger right out of the box, this is not your pistol.
Recoil is pretty ho-humm... this is not a lightweight pistol, and as a result even with defense ammunition like Cor-Bons (which you DON'T want to be buying for recreational shooting unless you have deep pockets), neither the 9mm or the .40 S&W should cause anyone any grief.
I really like them, even with the annoyance of the warranty problems with my latest High Power, and if I had to choose just one handgun to keep out of everything in the gun safe, the BHP would be my choice.
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