Mine will be a Tok, shortly. Mainly because of the cost and my love for all guns red. It's handy that I reload so I can get in lots of practice with light loads and work up to the max once I become more comfortable with the pistol. I'd have a 22 of some sort sooner or later just for crazy cheap plinking fun.
What would be a good first handgun
- Thread starter Capecrusader
- Start date
- Location
- Cape Breton
I have shot handguns and liked some disliked some, 1911 kicked the crap out of me, the glock in 9mm was nice but out of my range, the GSG 1911 is about the top of my price range and is an interesting ,but what about the Chiappa 1911-22 any body have one?
If you handle the 2 side by side (which I have done) there's no comparison, the Chiappa feels, looks and handles like a rubber gun.
I have been teaching Basic handgun to new shooters at my club for about 3 years now. Its very different from shooting rifle. To learn basic trigger control, breathing control, sight alignment, and supporting the pistol with just your arms is very difficult when using a centerfire. New shooters can get very frustrated when trying to do all of this and deal with recoil and flinching at the same time. Save yourself some grief and start with an accurate .22 pistol to learn the basics then go for a centerfire. Most people at clubs are amazing people and will let you try their pistols so you can see what feels good in your hands.
- Location
- British Canuckistan
take a look at the Browning 1911-22-A1. while it's going to max your budget out, it's about 75% the size of an actual 1911. makes for a very light gun with a lot of recoil (for a .22LR) that's a lot of fun to shoot.
if you want something more mainstream, consider a blued Ruger Mark III target w/bull barrel. they run for about $450, or even cheaper, the Ruger 22/45 Mark III for about $350. the 22/45 is supposed to give you the fit/feel of a 1911 while letting you shoot the much cheaper .22LR. Prophet River has them both I think. If you want to spend a bit more, Sylvestre Sports in Bonnyville, AB, last I heard, had some Voltzquartzen (sp?) marksman class pistols selling out at cost...$750 or something, rather than the $1200 they usually go for. carbon fiber barrel, tuned trigger etc makes for an accurate and light pistol at a steal of a price.
if you want something more mainstream, consider a blued Ruger Mark III target w/bull barrel. they run for about $450, or even cheaper, the Ruger 22/45 Mark III for about $350. the 22/45 is supposed to give you the fit/feel of a 1911 while letting you shoot the much cheaper .22LR. Prophet River has them both I think. If you want to spend a bit more, Sylvestre Sports in Bonnyville, AB, last I heard, had some Voltzquartzen (sp?) marksman class pistols selling out at cost...$750 or something, rather than the $1200 they usually go for. carbon fiber barrel, tuned trigger etc makes for an accurate and light pistol at a steal of a price.
- Location
- Cape Breton
Great info guys, keep it coming, the browning looks like a colt woodsmen which I like.The S&W is why out of my price range ( at least what I can get by the wife ). Oh and she will be shooting it as well and she prefers the glock, but she thinks guns are cheap. I don't know wear she got that that Idea. ( And knowbody is going to tell her any different "right" 
I just bought a Tokarev and 1/2 crate(1260rnds) for $440 to my door. I put 150 rounds through it last week. I have short fingers, so the small grip works for me. The grip is short, so the empty mag hangs up on the heel of my hand and when loading a fresh one you can pinch the heel of your hand if you aren't careful. I found it quite accurate (4"@25yds,often better) although it shoots 3" high unless you put the front sight at the bottom of the rear notch. The price is right, but as a previous poster pointed out shooting handguns well requires a lot more training than most new shooters understand. I have significant training and experience so the price made it a no brainer for me. Otherwise I would have gone with a Glock 34 Gen4.
If your wife likes Glock, why don't you get a Glock 9mm and a .22 conversion kit?
It's cheaper than buying 2 guns and it might get your wife to force you to buy the S&W as she will take full time possession of the Glock when she realizes that she wants to shoot 9mm.
It's cheaper than buying 2 guns and it might get your wife to force you to buy the S&W as she will take full time possession of the Glock when she realizes that she wants to shoot 9mm.
- Location
- Cape Breton
If I could swing it I would but it's a little out of reach right now
- Location
- West Quebec
Great info guys, keep it coming, the browning looks like a colt woodsmen which I like.The S&W is why out of my price range ( at least what I can get by the wife ). Oh and she will be shooting it as well and she prefers the glock, but she thinks guns are cheap. I don't know wear she got that that Idea. ( And knowbody is going to tell her any different "right"
She may change her mind after shooting it.. my wife thought they were nice & light and would be easy to shoot she no longer feels that way and likes a heavier CZ Shadow instead..
Buy a 9mm ammo is cheap, and recoil is low. My first pistol was a 9mm Girsan. My opinon best gun you can get for under $600. Don't bother getting anything bigger than a .45 as ammo starts getting pretty expensive. But from the sound of it your not getting one until July at the earliest.
Great info guys, keep it coming, the browning looks like a colt woodsmen which I like.The S&W is why out of my price range ( at least what I can get by the wife ). Oh and she will be shooting it as well and she prefers the glock, but she thinks guns are cheap. I don't know wear she got that that Idea. ( And knowbody is going to tell her any different "right"
My greatest fear is that I will pass away......and my wife will sell my guns for what I told her I paid for them.....
I am in the same boat as the OP; waiting to make a first purchase and trying to decide if 22 or 9mm is the right place to start. I am confident that I will definitely want to be shooting 9mm 'eventually', as I do plan on trying to get involved in some competitive style. The big dilemma is of course price points, and I am looking at it as a trade off: you can start off with a 22, learn perhaps with more ease and less cost (in gun and ammo outlay), but then you are stuck buying a second handgun once you get some experience.
I too had hoped to only have a single gun myself, but it is looking like this will be a tough proposition. What is the reality for amount of time or rounds of training on average required to get proficient enough that one could move up from 22 to 9mm?
Really appreciate all the great feedback and experience being shared here.
I too had hoped to only have a single gun myself, but it is looking like this will be a tough proposition. What is the reality for amount of time or rounds of training on average required to get proficient enough that one could move up from 22 to 9mm?
Really appreciate all the great feedback and experience being shared here.
- Location
- West Quebec
Just be aware the cost of the gun is a small part of the sport so you might want to buy the gun you like at the start..all things being equal
I have a chiappa. They are ok. The sights are awful. But follow the break in procedure and shoot solid ammo and clean it every 200-300 rounds at first and they function ok. It is ok for the money but if your buying one to keep get the Ruger. For not much more money it is a far better gun
- Location
- Cape Breton
I seen one last weekend, and liked it a lot .
