What's the best 9mm for a newbie?

The pistol that fits his/her hand best. Yes, a .22 is better, but there's nothing that says one of 'em must be the first pistol. Said pistol absolutely must fit the hand though. If you can't easily reach the trigger, you'll never shoot that pistol well.
 
For polymers - M&P 9MM range kit is your best bet. The gun fits well in your hand (has 3 palmswell selections to size) and is very balanced. The range kit offers some extras as well that makes it worth it. Glocks are always popular (I personally don't like them as much as people rave about) and I give it the analogy of a Honda: very reliable, plain styling, lots of aftermarket parts (M&P also has a good aftermarket selection as well) and easy to maintain.

For steel - The 92fs is a great gun that has stood the test of time. My really good buddy has one and loves it. I prefer the SIG 226 myself as it feels like a good piece of "hardware" in your hand and shoots well.

What you need to do is go to your local store and feel them all and ask yourself a few questions: does it feel "right" in your hands, is it in your budget, do you like polymer or steel, are you planning on accessorizing it and do you like the way it looks.

Hope this helps :)
 
The best 9mm pistol is like: do you prefer blond or brunette???"

Everybody have their own opinion. Personally I really like Glock17, but that's my opinion. 92fs, P226, MP, CZ shadow, 1911 are all fine pistols. Choose the one that fit your hands.
 
M & P 9mm Range Kit

Easily the best bang for the buck - everything you need for $700.

I have no doubt you will gravitate to something else (my personal favs are my P226 TACOPS or my CZ Shadow) - but for a first pistol, tough to beat the range kit.

Abby
 
I just found myself in this position as I'm taking baby-steps into CQB as a past time, and I was looking between various Glocks, Sigs and the M&P. The price for the Glocks and Sigs was higher then I had hoped, but the price point for the M&P 9 range & carry kit was a big part of the decision. What clinched was discussing it with friends who CQB or have friends who do security work or are in the military, and the M&P was well thought of.
 
I am a fan of the CZ Shadow or a Tanfoglio Stock III. Great guns to learn on and if you want to get into some different types of shooting like IPSC you have a good gun for it. Gen 4 Glock 17 would be my second choice, ergos are nice and a good ipsc gun as well.
 
Depends what you want to do. IDPA, IPSC, Home defence, Target shooting, etc. My first 9mm was a Glock 17, and it was a great choice as the G17 is such a common pistol - many inexpensive accessories such as sights, barrels, holsters, etc are available. Also digests all types of ammo. I've put approx 5000 rounds thu mine of various ammo and have not had one problem (caused by the ammo - I've screwed up with magazine insertions, etc.) And to top it off it is an inexpensive gun.

That being said, I have a sig P226 (in .40) and a CZ 75b. I shoot the glock competitively so it is my 'go to' gun but I have to say my CZ 75b is an amazing firearm. The Sig is great as well - All are different and have their strengths.

So - Figure out your shooting goals and budget and enjoy!
 
abbynormal said:
M & P 9mm Range Kit

Easily the best bang for the buck - everything you need for $700.

I have no doubt you will gravitate to something else (my personal favs are my P226 TACOPS or my CZ Shadow) - but for a first pistol, tough to beat the range kit.

Abby
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x2 on the M&P 9 Carry & Range kit. Best deal out there.
 
I have two buddies who bought the range kits. I am so glad I bought the 75B Shadowline. One of them wishes he would have bought the Cz. The other won't admit it to me, but he did to the other guy.
 
mp range kit....
after all the money you have to spend to make the mp decent, you are close to any of the other makes.
Choose the gun that fits your hand not your wallet, you will regret it.
 
"Buy the one that fits your hand"....I read this a lot. Sure makes sense but if I only followed this rule I wouldn't have such a variety of HG's! (Bearcat, Sigs, Glocks, Ruger and Smith SA & DA revolvers, BHP, 1911's, etc., etc.
Get what turns your crank and go enjoy it. If it doesn't work out there's the EE. Been there...done that.
 
klepper62 said:
Some excellent suggestions, but what about the Beretta 92 FS?
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Fired all the mentioned firearms. If you have big hands, the Beretta is fine. Simple tried and true da/sa system, simple field strip, reliable as anything as long as it is lubed, ok accuracy, minimum recoil due to size...did I mention size? It's a big gun!! I prefer Glock, Browning HP, SIG 226 ( although that has a pretty big grip too but boy, does it point well!) then CZ. For price point, S&W M&P is great too.
 
Speaking fron experiance the problem is that a newb really can't tell right away if a gun fits the hand or not. I had no idea what that even ment, every gun I've grabbed did fit inside of my hand lol. It wasn't until I owned a couple guns and got to handle them extensively that I started to notice subtle differences. My advise is get any one of the ones mentioned here, one that looks the coolest to you. You are gonna end up owning most of them at one point or another any ways lol, so don't overthink it.
 
Correct answer is get the one that fits your hand. In reality you won't know till you have tried many different ones with lots of lead down the range. Simple answer is get whatever appeases your eyes and hand.
 
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