Need help choosing a pistol
- Thread starter CoolBreeze35
- Start date
crasheralex
Regular
- Location
- Cambridge, On
I'm in your same boat. I found someone who was willing to take me shooting and try a little bit of everything. Then I went in to a gun store and handle about 20 other pistols. My favourite was a m&p9. It just felt great and now I'm saving up for it. It also comes in .22 so that'll be cheep to shoot and practice. Or try and find a range that will rent guns out for you to shoot and try different things.
I just got my first pistol , M&P 9 . I put about 300 rnds through on Sunday without a failure. I'm glad I didn't start with the .22. Also it has the trigger upgrade but I can't comment anything on that as I've never used a stock trigger. The only complaint I have , are the sights, I believe they're more suited to tactical shooting more so than precision. ( white dot sights)
Choose something simple. My choice would be a striker fired pistol. A very affordable choice is the Ruger SR9. In 9mm for ease of use and affordability of ammo. And they go for around $550. Great first pistol, imho.
Edit: and no, I don't own one.
Edit: and no, I don't own one.
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I think I've read somewhere that you can upgrade the sights. And I agree with the .22 part, as I want some power coming from the gun as I sqeeze the trigger.
Yes , it's actually my first pistol but I did get my first handgun a couple of months ago, a .45 LC revolver
. Both are no prob to shoot. I'm not to concerned with the sights , I can still hit what I aim at . I got a used M&P 9 off the EE, there's a couple on there for 5 or 6 hundred.
I have numerous types of pistols and revolvers of all calibers. and still really enjoy shooting my Browning 1911-22 as much as any other gun or caliber. You might want to consider a P226 in 22 with a 9mm conversion kit, which should fall in your price range. Best of both worlds. If you shoot 300 rounds per range trip, the 9mm with cost you about $150.00, while the 22 will only cost you $30 to $40.00.
sillymike
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
What are your interest?
If you are an accuracy freak, your budget will get you a nicely used TOZ35
Want something to rock-n-roll a little more... A Redhawk in 44mag is a solid platform to learn on.
You're a history buff... How about Tokarev TT33 with a few cases of ammo
If you are an accuracy freak, your budget will get you a nicely used TOZ35
Want something to rock-n-roll a little more... A Redhawk in 44mag is a solid platform to learn on.
You're a history buff... How about Tokarev TT33 with a few cases of ammo
- Location
- Aaaaaadmontin AB
Best of the polymer service guns out there. Mine is an HK 45 USP Tactical. Great accuracy, a little over-priced. My only beef with it is the polygonal rifling - cast lead is not recommended and I live by that. There are any number of knowledgeable cool kids that will contradict me (and HK) on that, and they have fired thousands upon thousands (upon thousands) of cast lead rounds through their guns with no ill effect...but there have been a significant number of 'ka-booms' so I stick to jacketed bullets. The chamber on mine's a little tight, I taper crimp to about .467".
I have been trying to summon up the gumption to throw mine on the EE...but breaking up with an HK is proving harder than I thought.
You're right about the sights on the M&P. They are designed for quick target acquisition, not slow-firing accuracy. The M&P, as I understand, actually stands for "Military and Police" as that was the idea/intended market behind its design. Glocks are the same, so is my Ruger SR9.
While it will never be a "target" pistol likely, don't be afraid to adjust the sights so your groups are going where you want them. If you get some silhouette and/or tactical targets you'll see your shots in a different light.... bulls eye targets will make you feel like the worst shot ever, lol.
As for the OP, with that budget you have lots of very quality choices. Personally I'd go 9mm, you can learn to shoot decent with that round, lots of people have and do. High quality guns like Glocks, S&W, Ruger, Sig, Beretta's will last generations if they are treated right so don't be afraid to check out the used market, you could score an awesome price and have lots of money left over for whatever else you might want to buy (cleaning supplies, ammo, holster, belt, extra mags, targets, sight upgrades, etc, etc.).
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That's a nice budget to have. Something to consider is the price of magazines, for a Beretta 92 or Equivalent they are $69-100 here now. Whereas for a 1911 they can be had for as little as $29 at Cabela's. Depends on the gun. Of course with a revolver you do not need to worry about this. I had to do a lot of research but found a holster to fit my Compact Girsan (Beretta 92) so that's another consideration. I too love the Baby Eagle Jericho, that and the CZ P-07, or was it P-08, to me are the 2 most comfortable naturally pointing pistols I have ever held, but everyone has their own preferences and different size hands. I would say check around and hold many different ones before making a final decision
. Something to consider is the price of magazines, for a Beretta 92 or Equivalent they are $69-100 here now. Whereas for a 1911 they can be had for as little as $29 at Cabela's. Depends on the gun. Of course with a revolver you do not need to worry about this. I had to do a lot of research but found a holster to fit my Compact Girsan (Beretta 92) so that's another consideration. I too love the Baby Eagle Jericho, that and the CZ P-07, or was it P-08, to me are the 2 most comfortable naturally pointing pistols I have ever held, but everyone has their own preferences and different size hands. I would say check around and hold many different ones before making a final decisionNice, that was one of my 3 choices last month when I bought my new pistol. I actually liked the gritty feel to the Stock trigger because after all, it is a combat pistol and not a target shooting piece and I think the stock trigger might have smoothed out after a while.
