how to select the right handgun...

M

Mirth

New member
EE Expired
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Location
British Columbia
I'm hoping to get some advice from the experienced ones here since I'm experienced with rifles and totally new to the handgun scene.

I bought a Beretta Neos in .22 just to see if I'd like the pistol format. I did. (the understatement of the day) So did my wife.

We decided to purchase something with a little more bite to it. We decided to start looking at 9mm as our second pistol. Following advice from some friends, I went down to the local indoor range-- ended up buying a membership because it was such a great experience-- and bought a few boxes of their 9mm ammo and then started to test out the various brands and styles. It took a while to find the one that worked well for both of us (it was good times getting there).

We finally decided that the Beretta 92A1 fit well with both of our hands. In fact, it just seemed to fall into place with no effort.

Went to our local gun shops to price compare and see what deals we could find. Ended up putting a deposit down for one to be ordered in for us.

Got my call to come in tonight and pick which one I want. Apparently, they ordered in more than one for stocking. The salesman asked me to pick which one I want so he can start the paperwork and put the others into inventory for sale.

So the questions:

If you have a selection of two or three of the exact same model/brand of handgun, how would you make the selection?

What do you look at to distinguish between them? What makes one 92A1 better than another 92A1?

If it was a rifle, I know what I'd look for. I'm guessing it is the same for pistols, however, I want to hear your thoughts. I very much appreciate any advice you can provide!

Thanks!
 
Mirth said:
So the questions:

If you have a selection of two or three of the exact same model/brand of handgun, how would you make the selection?

What do you look at to distinguish between them? What makes one 92A1 better than another 92A1?
Click to expand...

I look at fit and finish, any scratches, dings, anything from factory that might point to one being made toward the end of the day on a Friday before a long weekend :D

Then I have a thing for serial numbers, if all things are equal, the only difference is the serial number and I would pick the one that I liked the best
 
Slide to frame fit. They all rattle a little but it would be nice to select the one which is the least. Trigger feel as well. Although all of them will smoothen out a lot during the first 500 rounds so really the slide to frame fit would be the big one for me. Oh, along with that I'd look at the barrel play at the end bushing when the slide is moved back just a hair to bring the barrel out of lockup in the slide. Again the least amount of play there will translate to potentially tighter groups due to holding the barrel more consistently in place.

I suppose it's worth looking down the bores as well. But unless you see something really odd handguns don't respond to minor rifling differences the same as a bolt action hunting rifle would do.

Since they are all new and all from a very good name I'd be shocked if any has any outward defects. But perhaps they got a variety of styles in. Such as some with wood grips or plastic vs rubber grips. Or maybe an INOX version vs blued?
 
Excellent responses!

These answers were exactly what I was hoping for, so thank you again!

I'm very eager to get over to the shop to look them over.

Does anyone feel that field stripping them to see the condition of the internals would be of benefit, or is that just going too far? (BCRider's suggestion that Beretta is a fairly good name and the pistols are new so they should be consistent rings true to me too)
 
I think you should treat them as you would a rifle, trust what you know and pick the one that feels right.
 
Mirth said:
Does anyone feel that field stripping them to see the condition of the internals would be of benefit, or is that just going too far? )
Click to expand...

I field strip everything I buy, it's just fun! It doesn't take long, and you're usually talking a $1000 purchase, why not check out the guts in a controlled enviroment? Maybe they'll let you mix and match all three like Tuco:D!
 
I have to say thank you to all that provided suggestions. They had three 92A1 pistols that were new and never opened. I was able to open them for the first time and inspect them. I checked each by stripping them down and poked and examined everything. I was able to see how much play there was in the barrels when the slide was moved slightly out of lock. I was able to examine the mags and how they went into the pistol and how they released. I looked in the barrel to see if there were any obvious issues. I was able to play with them until I was able to pick the nicest one. They didn't like the idea of pulling the trigger to test the pull, but they let me do that too.

In the end, as was suggested, Beretta makes very good pistols that were all very consistent and clean. I picked one that felt better than the others, but I'm betting it had nothing to do with any fact-based reason. The trigger just felt better and the movement of the slide seemed to be smoother (again this was not measurable but more of a personal feel).

I'm now waiting for the "process" that will transfer ownership to me. That is the hardest part.

Friend came with me to the store. After watching me play with the pistols, watching me test everything and look through them all... He ended up buying one of the two remaining. They only have one new one left and the one that is on display.

As a side note: I really like the shop. They were awesome in that they treated me like I was important. The owner came out to say hello and chat with me. It was a great experience. I'll be going back regularly. Not sure if I'm allowed to say which place it was (due to policy here) but I'm very happy with the whole experience.

Thanks to all of you who took the time to provide suggestions for me! Very much appreciated!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom