First Handgun Advice

1300_stainless

1300_stainless

Regular
Rating - 100%
87   0   0
Location
Nova Scotia, Canada
I will soon be purhasing my first handgun. I am fond of the 1911 style semi auto .45. I wont be doing a great deal of shooting to start but I'd like something of reasonable quality, and aftermarket parts avalability. I was considering a Norinco but I am wondering if prehaps I should spend the money on a used pistol by a more known brandname. Can anyone with some experiance on this issue give me some advice. It would be appreciated. Thanks.
 
do yourself a favor and spend the money for something decent,if you buy cheap you will end up spending more money to make it into a better shooter and cause yourself a lot of extra grief !
 
eh class said:
do yourself a favor and spend the money for something decent,if you buy cheap you will end up spending more money to make it into a better shooter and cause yourself a lot of extra grief !
Click to expand...

+1.

Nobody's first gun should be a Norinco. Spend money on a nice 9mm so you don't go broke buying ammo.

I.E. Glock 17 on the EE or used elsewhere for around $600.
 
1300_stainless said:
I was considering a Norinco but I am wondering if prehaps I should spend the money on a used pistol by a more known brandname. Can anyone with some experiance on this issue give me some advice. It would be appreciated. Thanks.
Click to expand...
You are definitely on the right track as far as going with a used quality gun instead of a Norinco. However, I would not recommend .45ACP gun to anyone on a budget due to the cost of ammo. You'd be better off with a 9mm gun. For around $600, you can get a new CZ-75B or S&W M&P which is what I would buy if I wanted a cheap first gun.
 
if i were to start all over again, i'd go with a ruger gp100 and then "graduate" to an auto after i got good with a revolver- my first auto( 30 + yrears ago) was a colt m1911a1 in 38 super, ( basically, it's a "hot" 9) -you're going to have to learn to police your brass, get extra mags, then a holster, and mag pouches- plus the sights on the norc are minimal at best( as they are on any issue 1911) and you'll probably spend as much customizing it as when you originally spent on it- now as to 9mm vs 45, if you reload, well it's about 4 bucks more /1000 from my experience
it breaks down as this-
brass is roughly the same,- shop around, and if you can get the small primered stuff- nobody wants it, and it's an easy primer change- besides, it's good brass- the majority of the players in 45acp don't want to be bothered changing to the small primer
your primers are the same price as they're both small primers- your large primers are a fuew bucks more
your bullets run about 5/1000 more, but it's a heavier slug( 200 vs 124 typical lead)
your powder - i run 6 grains in the 45, 5 in the 9mm- minimal difference
of course, all this goes out the window if you insist on buying factory
go for the revolver, and there's no extra mags to buy, no policing of brass, and you can shoot a 38 special as cheap/cheaper than 9mm- it's quality you want rather than quantity
 
Well, in the "if I were to start again" category,

I would not have bought my Norinco 1911 in 9mm. Spent too much money trying to fiddle with it by adding more quality parts. What I should have done is save up and go for a STI Trojan or Kimber (I ended up buying the STI Trojan in 9mm - best gun period;))

Depending on what you are doing a CZ 85 is a good start up gun. Accurate and well put together.

For now steer clear of 45 caliber if you intend on shooting a lot. 9mm is cheaper but still fun to shoot.

Anyway, it's not like it's going to be your last gun, right! If you get the bug like all of us, you're in for a great ride shooting, selling and bying more guns !
 
Norincos are more for experienced shooter who know how to modifly their guns and do some sample tuning. I personal like 45 more and feel .45 is something exciting to shoot. Some suggested Glock and CZ and they are very good choice.

Trigun
 
I recently purchased a Smith & Wesson M&P 9mm (first handgun). It's accurate, reliable, and relatively inexpensive. Also, the ammo you can get at a decent price. The M&P also comes in other calibers, but as other have said stick with 9mm to start.

There are many sites out there with reviews of this gun. Check out google and search for it.

Even though you don't know anything about reloading just yet, be sure when you get your gun that after firing your rounds you keep your shells, because it will save you money in the future.
 
The Smith M&P really is a terrific gun, and the price is excellent. Also they have some of the best fixed sights on any handgun, and the grip can be adjusted to fit your hand properly. Actually the only 'drawback' is that there's really nothing to tinker with or fix, they just work. An excellent first pistol. Especially in 9mm.
 
Allright doing more research and for the type of shooting Ill be doing (to start off with hanguns) a 22 might be a more cost efficent choice. Im also fond of single action 22 revolvers. Maybe that would be a better first choice and then when finances are better I could get my 1911. Any opinions on these firearms?
 
22 is a great way to start, my first handgun was a Ruger mk II. I believe theres a few single action 22's to choose from, probably hard to go wrong there. For semi auto 22's Ruger, Browning & Beretta are all good to go.
 
Single action revolvers are a PITA at shooting ranges. Slow to load and unload, hard for range officers to see if they are unloaded. Why go back to the 1880's when you don't have to? If you like revolvers go double action, better .22 is probably a good semi like a Browning Medalist or Ruger, unless you want to spend more money. I have both a Colt Officer's model and a Medalist, but the Medalist is far more accurate.
 
Some good advice that I read at some point in one of the various threads is that it would be best to spring for a more expensive gun (rather than a norc)...while learning, you want to know that you're the one who's off, not the gun.
 
I second the idea of starting with .22's. Cheap to shoot, no recoil etc. Same reasons you start with shooting .22 rifles and continue to practice with them. Once you have good form, trigger manipulation etc. Then get a hand cannon that you can blast away with and not develop bad habits with all of the noise, recoil and way higher cost to boot. A handful of brown bills will get you a nice target .22 with good sights and a nice trigger.
 
Well actualy I started with a pistol grip pump 12 gauge, but I think I did it ass backwards lol. Dose anyone have any experiance with the SIG Mosquito? It looks like a rather nice gun in the 22 semi category.
 
If I were to start over again, I would probably have joined the U.S. Marine Corps! ;)

People are suggesting a lot of stuff to you here, but I can only advise you to find the handgun that "does it" for you and start with that. I work as a RO at a range out here and have noticed some people do really well with the 1911 frames and some do well with Glocks and even revolvers. Your most important step is to find the gun that fits best in your hand, feels best to operate and is most accurrate for you. A 9x19mm is a good first step, but when I got back into it after finishing my Infantry service was .45ACP. You find your thing and go from there.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom