First Handgun, Advice?

Jeffdepartie

Jeffdepartie

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Hi all.

I am very new to all of this, I will be doing my PAL and RPAL midway through April of this year so I figured I should start looking towards purchasing my first firearm.

I have only shot a SA 1911, Smith and Wesson .357, Glock 19 and a SIG P220.

I found the SIG and Glock to be most comfortable, nice fit and my favorite to shoot thus far.

I would love any kind of advice/tips/tricks on picking out a first firearm.

Thank you!
 
First Handgun

Hi Jeff and welcome.

You will get lots of advice here and kudos for you for starting early. Read everything you can, watch some videos and get out and try different guns.
My own thoughts, and they are just that, are that you can't go wrong starting with a .22. Personal preference will determine whether it's an revolver or semi automatic. I started with a .22 revolver and it's still one of the guns I shoot most. You will have to find out what works best for you. Try as many as you can and go with what works best for you, not what someone else thinks is best. Where are you located? If you're close enough, you can come to my club and try out anything from .22 revolvers to .44 mag and .32 to .45 semis. Again, heed the advice you get here, good and some not so much, you can learn from everyone. Start smaller and work your way up. It will avoid bad habits and save a bit of money by getting what you want instead of buying all kinds of stuff only to find out you really want something else. Having said that, you can always sell something you don't want. Someone else will want it.
Good luck and let us know what you decide.
Cheers, Will
 
An exciting time, to be sure!
Have you narrowed it down to caliber?
9mm is most peoples first choice, inexpensive to shoot (relatively), comfortable.
Price on glock 19 will end up costing nearly a grand, whereas if you select a glock 17 instead (fullsize 9), you'll have enough cash for your first 1000 rounds for that same thousand bucks.
Consider also
S&W M&P9, Ruger SR9, XD9, and go the gun shop and handle all of them - it has to fit your hand well ;)
 
Best advice is to shoot as many as you can get your hands on. But if you like the feel of the Glock, go with that as its much cheaper than the Sig and always a good choice. Any of the above are excellent choices but I would stick with 9mm for your first to learn the basics
 
Where did you get to shoot those guns already? If it was at a rental range go back and try some others. Or do you live within a reasonable half day or so drive from one of Canada's rare gun rental ranges? If so make a day trip out of it and go there and try a bunch.

The two you like already are fine choices. But then there's many fine handguns as well. The key is to find one which you like and which seems to fit you the most naturally.

In my case I found that the somewhat heavier all metal guns suited me the best. That plus I found I much preffered hammer fired guns to striker fired. As a result I currently shoot a couple of CZ's and a Beretta 92fs. For me they fit my hands and shoot really well with good fast recovery from the recoil during my match shooting. But this is what worked for ME. You need to find what works well for YOU.

Good luck and have fun with the new obsession.... :D
 
Im in the same boat. Sigs are amazing, but they are unfortunately out of my price range, thats why I think im going to go with the M&P as my first hand gun as i've heard great things about it. I've also been looking at the Steyr M9-A1 but i have been hearing good and bad things about it.

I think the M&P will do.
 
I was looking around earlier today and came across the Ruger 22/45. Not overly expensive and as fmb said a .22 is a good firearm for beginners and it is also built in relatively the same fashion as a 1911 .45 ACP (or so I am led to believe). Does anyone have any experience with Ruger .22 pistols?
 
Ruger is a very good pistol to start with, nothing in common with 1911 though, except for model 22/45 that has similar layout in terms of controls. However that's how far the similarities go. If You can find older model Mk2 You probably would prefer that over the current offerings. If You are going to start with the centre fire gun, You will never spend so much quality time at the range as with your trusted 22. After few months of plinking and improving You can buy yourself a decent 9mm pistol. I've seen Israeli made guns priced at $699 NIB - those are very good guns. Good luck!
 
If you're looking at a 9mm and want what seems like a pretty good kit, I'd go with the Smith and Wesson M&P Range Kit. Comes with 2 extra magazines, a mag holder, a holster, earplugs and a speed loader. That's probably gonna be my first handgun.
 
Nestor said:
I've seen Israeli made guns priced at $699 NIB - those are very good guns. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Spend an extra $100 and get a M&P 9 or Glock 17.

I started with a S&W M&P9 Pro (lovin' it) and I'm currently looking for a .22 (Ruger Mark/Browning Buck Mark) because they're soooo much fun to shoot and cheap on ammo. Those .22's are tack drivers, 10 rounds, 1 hole in the paper, lol.
 
Here is a picture of my first handgun (the one on the right) a Uberti 1851 Navy .36 cal. cap and ball,you can shoot all day for $5.00.

RangeOct242011006.jpg
 
I really appreciate everything everyone has said, thank you very much for the advice.

im definately looking towards trying a Ruger mk 2 or mk 3 depending on what is available, SIG most likely a P220 or 1911, Glock and an S&W as these all come highly recomended.

and also depending on what is available in my area (Durham Region Ontario, anyone from around here?)
 
Jeffdepartie said:
I really appreciate everything everyone has said, thank you very much for the advice.

im definately looking towards trying a Ruger mk 2 or mk 3 depending on what is available, SIG most likely a P220 or 1911, Glock and an S&W as these all come highly recomended.

and also depending on what is available in my area (Durham Region Ontario, anyone from around here?)
Click to expand...

Some good retailers are Wholesale Sports and Ellwood Epps. Al Flaherty's located in Toronto but they mark their stuff up a bit. Ellwood and Al Flaherty's can order anything (legal) you want.

Just one? Get a .22 (Soo much fun) but if you got the coin pick up a 9mm too. Get a Glock or S&W M&P (My preference and opinion, bias of course). You might get the urge to shoot something a little stronger shortly after plinking the .22 after a while. The 9mm cartridge is a great round, especially on the wallet.
 
Skinny 1950 said:
Here is a picture of my first handgun (the one on the right) a Uberti 1851 Navy .36 cal. cap and ball,you can shoot all day for $5.00.

RangeOct242011006.jpg
Click to expand...

DUDE Where do you get supplies for that thing? I've had one as a paper weight forever, thought of it more as a novelty to have. Would love to shoot it!
 
Truly a nice .22 is a great way to start out. And a Ruger is one of the better first gun options.

Jeff, I've often suggested to folks that if a nice .22 isn't their first handgun it should darn well be their second. But some folks just can't get over that it feels too much like a pellet gun. And that's a shame for them. A nice .22 allows you to get a ton of good practice for cheap. And if like most of us you develop a flinch at some points while shooting center fire guns some .22 time is a great way to focus on the basics and work toward killing that flinch issue.
 
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