Looking for Suggestions for my First Handgun

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Rebes

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Hi everyone!

I am quite new to shooting... I took Hunters Safety back in 1993, but I have never owned a firearm. My shooting experience comes from firing my dad's .22 bolt action when I was a teen, as well as various pellet guns.

I've recently gotten into shooting at the pistol club here, and I really enjoy it! I've been to the club 4 times, shooting the .22 handguns, CZ 75, and Ruger SR9.

I have also now taken the CFSC for the PAL, and will be taking CRFSC next weekend for the RPAL. Once I'm done that I will be sending in the forms for he licenses.

In the meantime, I am doing as much research as possible, trying to decide what my first handgun will be, when I finally get my license several months from now. (I will likely also get into rifles and shotguns, maybe for hunting, but I'm not investigating those yet)

I am interested in opinions on what would make a good starter handgun, also bearing in mind that I am left handed, so a left hand friendly gun would be nice! I would use it for target shooting of course, and maybe try to get into some competitive shooting. I am leaning towards 9mm, and also interested in eventually getting into reloading.

I have been considering the following firearms:

CZ 75 - Not really left hand friendly, but it felt good in the hand, heavy enough, and I shot it pretty good (8 inch grouping at 20yds)

Ruger SR9 - Much more left hand friendly, but I found it to be a lot lighter, with more recoil. I was not really accurate with it... I found I was hitting to the right consistently, even though I felt like I was aiming dead center. Maybe the sights were a bit out...

Bersa Thunder 9 Pro - I haven't shot this one yet, but reviews online rank it very high, and it's fully left hand friendly. It's a nice looking handgun too! I'm hoping to try it out at the range tomorrow.

Beretta 92FS - haven't tried yet... Has ambi safety, but otherwise not left hand friendly... Hoping to try this one next week.

Beretta PX4 Storm - haven't tried it, but it seems to be fully ambidextrous...

S&W M&P 9 - haven't tried it, but seems fully ambidextrous.

I'm thinking something in the $600 to $800 range price wise.

Any thoughts? So far the Bersa seems like good value, but I'm open to suggestions and critiques!
 
I'm a lefty, I ended up with 3 on my final list when I was deciding on my first handgun.

M&P9
Cz85
Walther ppq

I ended up buying the M&P9 range kit, although the Cz was nicer out of the box for me to shoot. If you like the cz75, the cz85 or the 85 combat would be a good choice. It's basically an ambi version of the 75, the 85combat has adjustable sights as well.

Both the Cz and m&p felt good in my hands and shot nicely, I picked the m&p as it wasn't as easy to shoot acurately in the beginning, I wanted a good reliable gun that I could learn the fundamentals on. Not something I could shoot acurately and not have to work on shooting properly if you get what I mean, once your shooting technique improves your able to apply what you've learned to other handguns.

I've found my trigger control and sight alignment drills have transferred over to my rifle shooting as well, which has been nice. The pistol shooting instructor that taught our class was saying if you take a rifle shooter and teach them good solid pistol skills they would notice their rifle shooting improve, I'd have to say in my case it's been true.
 
i'm also new to pistols.you have clearly thought out what to look at .i've just been buying what i think are cool guns i've always wanted.so far a 1911 .45 ,a peacemaker 38/357,this weekend i'm buying a beretta or a girsan,all in the last 30 days,and then i'm on the hunt for a big ass .44 dirty harry special and down the road a .40 with a laser.maybe one of those baby eagles.one day i will actually go out and fire them. finding anything left hand friendly is a royal pain.i'm not a lefty but i'm left eye dominant so i shoot all my rifles left,even my shotguns.i'm going to try shooting the handguns right hand though.good luck with the hunt.
 
Protege said:
FNS-L9. Fully ambi out of the box.
Click to expand...

That's a pretty sweet gun... I'll have to see if they have one to try at the range.

I've also considered the Sig p226...

There's so many good options! I have a feeling I will end up with several eventually...

Thanks for some great recommendations... Keep them coming! I've been watching lots of videos. Can't wait till I can buy my own!
 
Keep trying options and find one that fits well.

You'll find polymer pistols generally have more felt recoil. The extra weight of a metal frame helps soak up some of the kick.

As mentioned, CZ are great, as is the Sig 226. The 92FS is beefy, and usually doesn't fit smaller hands well. I love my PPQ and Glock 17, but I'm not sure how they'd run for a lefty.

The Bersa looks great, but I've not got my hands on one (yet)...

My brother just bought a M and P 9. I've bashed them in the past for their triggers (which DO feel like sand was poured in them). To my surprise I was able to consistently shoot ragged one hole groups from 7 meters, almost equaling my PPQ and p226 Extreme. The range kit fits in your price range, while most options don't.

Keep trying; you'll find the right one!!
 
I tried the Bersa Thunder 9 tonight, and I have to say I'm impressed! Felt good in the hand, I liked the ambi controls, and the trigger felt great! Not to mention, I shot pretty good with it... This is my 5th target, of 5... 10 shots on target...

http://imgur.com/j8TvQs9

Edit: I feel like 20 yards is a LONG way for a pistol target! What do most people target shoot at?? Unfortunately this range doesn't have anything but 20yds...
 
Don't forget revolvers, ambidextrous, super fun, love mine. Shoot my .357's the most but like my .44 and .460 for the big boom. As far as semi-auto, CZ 75 SP01 is a super accurate, low recoil, quality piece. Actually like them all, some I just shoot better such as I shoot my CZ, 1936 Luger and Glock 17 very well, but not my Sig 226, or my M&P, go figure.
 
New to shooting as well. Left handed, but right eye dominant. My 2 cents would be a 22 lr pistol. Not too much to buy. Cheap to shoot. Many options available. After that you'll get an idea as to what sights, grips, operation ie: double/single action etc. some competitions require left, right, and two hand shooting as does the fbi. Not that is applicable.

Learn cheap before dropping serious coin.

Hope this helps
 
If you like the cz 75.. why not consider the cz85 combat? A friend of mine who's left handed got that as his first and loves it.
It's ambi.
 
At the risk of being boring.... Ask yourself what is your end goal? If it is to plink 20-30 rounds on Sunday mornings at 7-10 yards - starting with a centre fire pistol is probably a good move. If you want to become a skilled shooter, you must be prepared to shoot 1000s of rounds and learn and practice great technique (and also bear in mind - if you pick up bad habits early, they take a lot of effort to defeat them later).

So, (at the risk of being boring), if you want to become skilled, look for a solid 22 to start (ammo is cheaper and the lower recoil will help you concentrate on technique) - your gung ho mates may snort a bit but you are playing a long game - Then pick up a centre fire and a reloading press. Of course, as you are gaining experience, you will be learning what works for you as you start to shoot centre fire. The satisfaction will be yours in a year or two as you start beating them.
 
based on your Budget, mp9 range kit. best value considering all the accessories that come with it. if you could find a 9mm conversión barrel, I would suggest mp40 range kit which is the same Price, but give you two calibers in one gun. that's what I did and still very happy after a year. once you are familiar with the basic, you have the option to upgrade the trigger to ápex flat faced trigger. very sweet.

Rebes said:
Hi everyone!

I am quite new to shooting... I took Hunters Safety back in 1993, but I have never owned a firearm. My shooting experience comes from firing my dad's .22 bolt action when I was a teen, as well as various pellet guns.

I've recently gotten into shooting at the pistol club here, and I really enjoy it! I've been to the club 4 times, shooting the .22 handguns, CZ 75, and Ruger SR9.

I have also now taken the CFSC for the PAL, and will be taking CRFSC next weekend for the RPAL. Once I'm done that I will be sending in the forms for he licenses.

In the meantime, I am doing as much research as possible, trying to decide what my first handgun will be, when I finally get my license several months from now. (I will likely also get into rifles and shotguns, maybe for hunting, but I'm not investigating those yet)

I am interested in opinions on what would make a good starter handgun, also bearing in mind that I am left handed, so a left hand friendly gun would be nice! I would use it for target shooting of course, and maybe try to get into some competitive shooting. I am leaning towards 9mm, and also interested in eventually getting into reloading.

I have been considering the following firearms:

CZ 75 - Not really left hand friendly, but it felt good in the hand, heavy enough, and I shot it pretty good (8 inch grouping at 20yds)

Ruger SR9 - Much more left hand friendly, but I found it to be a lot lighter, with more recoil. I was not really accurate with it... I found I was hitting to the right consistently, even though I felt like I was aiming dead center. Maybe the sights were a bit out...

Bersa Thunder 9 Pro - I haven't shot this one yet, but reviews online rank it very high, and it's fully left hand friendly. It's a nice looking handgun too! I'm hoping to try it out at the range tomorrow.

Beretta 92FS - haven't tried yet... Has ambi safety, but otherwise not left hand friendly... Hoping to try this one next week.

Beretta PX4 Storm - haven't tried it, but it seems to be fully ambidextrous...

S&W M&P 9 - haven't tried it, but seems fully ambidextrous.

I'm thinking something in the $600 to $800 range price wise.

Any thoughts? So far the Bersa seems like good value, but I'm open to suggestions and critiques!
Click to expand...
 
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