Purchase advice

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Cyrus2121

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Hey everyone,

Hoping to get some advice regarding purchasing some firearms.
I'm hoping to get into shooting and hopefully some IDPA. Would you guys recommend getting a .22 for practice and save on ammo and a 9mm for IDPA?

Was looking in the range of $500 and wanted at least one of them to be a 1911.

These were the ones I was thinking,

Gsg 1911 .22 $410
Swiss arms 1911 .22 $450

Canuck 1911 9mm $740
Beretta 92a1 9mm $850
Norinco 1911 9mm $358

Or would it be better to get a 9mm pistol like the norinco and a ISSC mk22 $500?

I'm also debating between silver dale or target sports membership, anyone have any experience with either? Specifically silverdale during the winter?

Thanks
 
If you are thinking of using the 22 for practise, look for a 22 that has similar handling and ergonomics to your competition gun.
Chiappa (I think it was) made a 22 version of the Beretta 92 but I havent seen any in stores for a while.
If looking at the norinco 1911 in 9mm,get a 22 1911.
 
Using a 22 for practice depends on your previous experience with firearms. 22's are great for learning sight alignment, breathing, and trigger control. If you are an experienced shooter or a rifle shooter, you already have those skills and I would just focus on a 9mm for IDPA. The Beretta is a solid choice. I personally would not recommend ANY of the 1911's you are looking at as they are low quality guns and they are tough to sell when you want to upgrade. Good choices for 1911's are Springfield Armoury, Colt, Ruger, Para Ordnance, and Kimber. You can always buy them used and save some cash, although 1911's in 9mm are not that common in the used market. Good luck!
 
In my opinion you're wasting your time and money on .22 if your plan is to go idpa or ipsc. For one thing, the cost of a .22 pistol is worth more than a 1000 rounds of 9mm. That's a considerable amount of trigger time right there. As far as target or silverdale goes, i don't think they do idpa at all. You might want to double check. Also i highly recommend you read the idpa rulebook. A 1911 puts you in a completely different division than say a beretta 92fs.
 
Do not buy a .22 to practice for competition. Recoil won't be anywhere close to the same as the 9mm. Practice with what you plan to shoot the competition with. If you want to save money on 9mm ammo, reload. My reloads are down to $150 for 1000 rounds of 9mm (I have lots of 9mm brass).

IDPA really isn't much of a thing in Canada, IPSC is much bigger. I would recommend a striker fired pistol like a Glock 34, 5" PPQ, HK SFP9, M&P Pro, etc. No double action pull to start a stage off with. Don't buy a Norinco.
 
Target does IDPA on Wednesday nights but no experience with the range outside of occassional IDPA nights....I hear it's busy.

For IDPA, not sure I'd recommend any of the guns you listed. I went with an M&P first then switched to a Glock.

Silverdale hosts IPSC matches but is busy busy busy 10 months of the year unless you go weekday mornings.

I'm not an IPSC guy so can't comment too much on firearm selection.
 
A .22 is good for practicing fundamentals and warming up/cooling down during practice, but if you're only going to use .22 during practice and only use 9mm during matches, you're gonna have a bad time.
 
There is an excellent article on the IDPA Canada website on equipment here: www.idpacabada.ca

I would look for a used M&P on the EE. There are some very good deals out there. A range kit was listed for under $600 not long ago and may still be there. You should know that for IDPA the Glock and M&P are the two most popular pistols shot in the sport. The Glock 17 and M&P FS used to be one of the entry level guns for the sport and frankly it is even a bit unfair to call them entry level. I do so only because Glock does make the Model 34 and S&W makes the M&P Pro which are their premium guns for this sport. The Glock 17 and 34 both IMHO have outpriced themselves in Canada due to the low dollar compared to the US. The M&P is a much better "value buy" IMHO. The Springfield XD series is also well liked in the sport but maybe just over your price range.

Moving away from the striker fired guns, another popular gun is the CZ 75B and if you watch you can get a used 75B for $500 - $600. on the EE here. The 75B like the guns listed above are excellent and a 75 B will last you a lifetime and then some. If you go this route install a 13# mainspring in the gun and you will be good to go for a very long time.

You will need a holster (Blade Tech, Com-Tac and Soley Canadian) would be the ones I would look at.

You also will need two mag holders. I use a double mag holder but I really believe two singles are better frankly, The three holster companies should be able to fix you up.

The holsters and mag pouches appear frequently on the EE and good deals can be found there.

Lastly I agree with the poster who said the 22 Pistol route is not a particularly wise purchase. IMHO they serve little purpose. Recoil in non existent with the .22 so you can develop bad habits very quickly. 22 ammunition is not cheap anymore. Ah for the days of 25 cent/50

OK I caution you in that I just bought a Girsan Compact so take the following in that context. I am very impressed with the gun. It has an alloy frame so it is not as heavy as the 75B. It is very accurate and the quality of the build is excellent. I got mine used for $450 and it had hardly been shot. The Girsan also comes in a full size version as well and the full size is likely a better buy for the sport. One of our guys has the Beretta version of the Girsan and he does very well with it. Soley Canadian can fix you up with a holster for either gun. Mag holders for the Beretta mags will work for the identical Girsan mags. IMHO the Gorsan represents the best value new/used right now for a 9MM gun.

I have no interest in any of these products and own all but the Glocks. My opinion is mine alone and offered to you in the hope of saving you from wasting money on a gun or guns that are either not required to get you into the sport and guns that will take most to the top of their skill level without breaking their bank account. I did not recommend a 1911. In 45acp, ammunition is very expensive compared to 9MM and you really should expect to pay over $1K to get a decent gun in either caliber. Some sell for less but often come with less than stellar sights. For a new shooter their are better options.

Take Care

Bob
PS If you do decide to take up IDPA, get yourself a yellow Hawaiian shirt for a cover garment They seem to be the range around the Terrace Rod & Gun Club. Have fun and be safe.
PPS Both clubs offer excellent programs. Target Sports offers an IDPA New Shooters Orientation Course. Get hold of Grant Baverstock. He is an excellent instructor there. His fee is quite reasonable. I believe he will be running courses this fall. Check him out.
 
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Import said:
^^^ this sounds like solid advise...gotta get me a hawiian shirt...:)
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I bought 2 in a Seattle (Blue & Yellowy orange) thrift shop for $2.00 each. The deal is to buy one as cheap as you can for bragging rights. Cheaper is better. You really have to be a fashion statement.
 
Well ...if they're bright enough to double up as hunting orange...I'm in..:) according to the wife I havn't been stylish for 28 years..so I'm not sure she'll notice...
 
Import said:
^^^ this sounds like solid advise...gotta get me a hawiian shirt...:)
Click to expand...

For summer use it's what I rely on. A straw cowboy had and ear plugs completes the image of the gun toting tourist... :D

There's lots of similarities to shooting rifle and handgun. But at the same time there's a lot of significant differences. If you enjoy shooting .22 rifles along with your center fire rifles then you'll enjoy having a .22 handgun as well. If you don't enjoy rimfire rifles then likely you'll feel the same about a rimfire handgun.

If you are OK with rimfire then a .22 handgun can give you a lot of good trigger time where you can work on and maintain your basic skills for cheaper than putting the same amount of ammo through a center fire handgun. It's not only about when you are learning. There is the ongoing need to maintain your skills and maintain your focus on the right methods. And a rimfire gun can do that for cheaper.

As mentioned you'll still want to practice on a regular basis with center fire. But for a lot of us there's still a valid role for the rimfire gun in the safe. Not to mention that they can be a lot of fun in their own right. Even after 9 years of shooting I still shoot equal amounts of rimfire and center fire and enjoy both equally for what they are each best at doing.
 
Get a Walther PPQ M2 with 5" slide in 22lr AND a walther PPQ M2 in 9mm. Same size and weight, reviews are great, accuracy too. 500$ for the .22lr and around 1000$ for 9mm. If you want to pratice with cheaper ammo, getting the same pistol (same ergonomics) is a good idea. You may look for S&W Mp9/Mp22 or maybe a GSG 1911/1911 in 9mm. You could get a conversion kit for most pistol, but having to swap parts at the range is not the best idea. My first pistol was a used beretta 92g (9mm) and i bought a surplus beretta 71 two weeks later (22lr) and im still shooting both of them a lot. Hope its help!
 
For summer use it's what I rely on. A straw cowboy had and ear plugs completes the image of the gun toting tourist... :D

Your painting quite the picture.....never knew idpa was for the image conscious. :)
 
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