Pistol recommendations for a new PAL holder

A little sarcasm noted. Having seen pics of Glocks posted here, seeing the recoil spring in the warped frame doesn't instill confidence in the product. Not many HP's for sale on the EE, lots of plastic though.

It's because plastic is more popular. It's cheap, it's simply to maintain, it's reliable.
Not many people these days are ready to throw away $1000 for HP that still needs trigger job to come close to Glock trigger.
 
Having fried many pistols, my favourites are Glocks and M1911. I would love to try the SIG P226 in 9mm though. I have small hands but for some reason I can still man-handle the .45 ACP cartridge. Don`t drink the Kool-Aid with that cartridge... The Glock is more reliable in my opinion but the M1911 fits in the hand and is more enjoyable to shoot IMHO. 9mm is cheaper but doesn`t have the kinetic energy that the .45 ACP does. Consider this if this weapon is for home defense or target shooting. Yes I believe in home defense... Holsters for both firearms are easy to come by. Try Blackhawk! Serpa or Safariland drop holsters on a WarBelt at a 3 or 9 o`clock position. Hope this might have helped. - MD
 
OP you'll get probably a dozen different suggestions at least for what gun should be your first. The best advice that people have given you so far is to just keep trying pistols in person and narrow it down from there. You could even take 2 guns at a time that are similar to narrow it down. Choose between a Glock and M&P, then SIG and Beretta. Take the winners and then try those two against each other. You want something that feels almost natural in your hand, to start off you don't want something that's uncomfortable and you won't enjoy (eg some people really hate the grip angle of the Glock). Also decide if you have to have new or can deal with used, because this can open up new choices. For example in the $500-800 range you'll have no problem finding a brand new Glock, but won't find a new SIG, however you could pick up a used SIG. Also decide if you want steel, or "plastic" because that can quickly help narrow down the choices. Just know that for most quality brand name guns if you buy them, decide you don't like them, you can usually recover most of your money if not all of it. Anyway good luck with your choice, and make sure to report back with what you go with.

EDIT- also with regards to holsters, just keep in mind what you would like to do with it (eg. courses, competitions, etc. Some places do not allow the Blackhawk Serpa holster because of "accidents" with it, in reality though it comes down to training. Carried one overseas and never had problems with it.
 
There are lots of "first gun" suggestion threads. It's just that the CGN Search defaults look at posts which are two weeks and NEWER. When you enter "first pistol" or similar in the keywords look down a little farther and change the "And Newer" to "And Older" and you'll get lots of past wisdom to read thru.
 
Regardless of what you buy, keep in mind you'll spend more on ammo in a very short time. Do you want to shoot a lot, to develop your skills, or will a few sessions a year do? If you're going to shoot a lot, 9mm is as expensive as most people can afford. If you get really hooked, you'll be looking at reloading very quickly. Plastic guns tend to be more affordable and more reliable than steel framed guns, a Glock or an M&P will do everything that a steel gun will do, and be easier to learn doing it. DA/SA guns are more challenging to learn than either single action, or "safe" action guns.
 
Regardless of what you buy, keep in mind you'll spend more on ammo in a very short time. Do you want to shoot a lot, to develop your skills, or will a few sessions a year do? If you're going to shoot a lot, 9mm is as expensive as most people can afford. If you get really hooked, you'll be looking at reloading very quickly. Plastic guns tend to be more affordable and more reliable than steel framed guns, a Glock or an M&P will do everything that a steel gun will do, and be easier to learn doing it. DA/SA guns are more challenging to learn than either single action, or "safe" action guns.

Well that's up for debate, plastic guns compared to lesser name brands certainly that statement is true. However a good name brand steel gun is just as reliable if not more so than a plastic one. But then again this is just my opinion, so take that for what it's worth.
 
No one ever recommends a Tokarev TT33 so I will. If you can shoot fmj's in your range go for it. $170 for a surplus Russian or $250 for a NOS Polish model and $370 for 2280 rounds of ammo. You can't go wrong, reliable (mabey not so accurate) and fun as hell.
 
Back
Top Bottom