Which pistol for a beginner?

Of the four, which would you recommend most to a beginner?

  • Norinco 1911A1 in .45APC from Marstar

    Votes: 27 22.3%

  • Chaparal Arms 1873 in .357 with the 5.5" barrel (Marstar)

    Votes: 5 4.1%

  • P1 in 9mm from Tradex

    Votes: 5 4.1%

  • Ruger Mark III target

    Votes: 84 69.4%
  • Total voters
    121
SoBored

SoBored

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I am planning my first handgun purchase and I was wondering which handgun would be best as a first.

I reload so ammo cost isn't as much as a deal as it would be and I have been shooting airgun pistol for a little while so I am leaning more away from a rimfire than towards.

Of the four guns I've narrowed it down to, which would you suggest would be best for a beginner.
 
have you considered actually listing the guns? just a thought............
 
how about none of the above- the ruger can be a b*tch to put back together unless you know a few tricks, the 45 will eat you out of house and home, - what do i recommend?- ruger gp100- built like a tank, you put nice lght loads through it, and you can learn about reloading when you're ready- leave the autos for when you're more used to shooting- and i'm coming up on 40 years of shooting- the chapparal is an off-brand that might be hard to get parts for as well as being darned slow to reload- as are all single actions
 
SoBored said:
Hunting must be hell for you if you can't wait 120 seconds! :D
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i can't even be bothered to wait for a pop-tart, let alone something that has to go through the living-dying process. heck, i think chickens should be born skinless and boneless.
 
t-star said:
how about none of the above- the ruger can be a b*tch to put back together unless you know a few tricks, the 45 will eat you out of house and home, - what do i recommend?- ruger gp100- built like a tank, you put nice lght loads through it, and you can learn about reloading when you're ready- leave the autos for when you're more used to shooting- and i'm coming up on 40 years of shooting- the chapparal is an off-brand that might be hard to get parts for as well as being darned slow to reload- as are all single actions
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not ALL single actions are slow to reload...
 
A nice little .22 target pistol like the Ruger would be my first choice for obvious reasons, ammo cost, accuracy, trigger control.
 
Nors are fun guns, to play with and ad after market parts to, good to learn on and great shooters, not like buying a high end gun, playing it by adding parts and messing it up,
 
t-star said:
how about none of the above- the ruger can be a b*tch to put back together unless you know a few tricks, the 45 will eat you out of house and home, - what do i recommend?- ruger gp100- built like a tank, you put nice lght loads through it, and you can learn about reloading when you're ready- leave the autos for when you're more used to shooting- and i'm coming up on 40 years of shooting- the chapparal is an off-brand that might be hard to get parts for as well as being darned slow to reload- as are all single actions
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Actually, thats a hell of a suggestion Tstar. I'm a smith man, but you get a ton of gun for your money with a GP100. This would have been my first pick too if it had been up there, and if he doesn't want a 22.

For a auto, maybe a g17/xd/m&P in 9. but loading 38 is cheaper (slightly)
 
Out of your poll choices and because you are leaning away from 22 LR, the only handgun I'd recommend to you is the Norkie 1911. I say that because you mentioned you will reload for it, although ammo cost will still be more expensive than the P1 or the 357/38.

I am not a fan of the P38/P1 or SA revolvers. If a GP100 was listed instead of the Chaparral, that would have been my recommendation over the Norkie 1911. 38 spl is cheap to reload and while range brass is relatively rare compared to 9mm or 40, you can buy 38 spl brass cheap.

45 acp brass is hard to come by even if you are willing to pay for it. Worse if you are cheap and are like me and refuse to buy something I can get for free with some patience.
 
t-star said:
unless you can swing that cylinder out of the frame and use a speedloader, they're slow- remember we're talking revolvers here , not automatics- i have both
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X2 unless i can wheel it open, drop my moon clip in and get back on target my A.D.D. kicks in and I forget what i'm doing. If i try to shoot a SAA, i get 5 rounds off, then wander off looking for a coffee............:D
 
Thanks for the replies so far.

I was hoping to spend $300-$500, it's too bad the rimfire is the most expensive of the four listed. Another knock against the rimfire is the low recoil. I don't want to spend $600 one something that has the felt recoil of a blowback BB gun. But I do like the Ruger Mark III, if not my first, it will likely be my second handgun.

I listed the Chaparal because it is my wife's favourite and I'd like to get her interested in shooting. Also, my club does cowboy action shooting so I thought I might look into that. Plus I am planning on getting an NEF handi rifle in .357 so I'd get the dies, powder etc for .38 and or .357.

The Norinco I listed because it's just such a good value and the 1911 is to me the epitome of an autoloader. Mags are cheap and ammo can be bought for about 34 cents a round in bulk which doesn't seem that bad to a rifle shooter.

The P1 I listed because it's a $299 autoloader. :D Also a military style and 9 mm is $207.99 for 1K in RN lead.

Still far from making up my mind, maybe I'll have all but the P1 by the end of the year, after all they're cheap guns. With it getting harder and harder to find long range rifle ranges, I can't see spending a whole lot on rifles.
 
my personal is a redhawk, but that's NOT a gun for a beginner- 5.5 inch barrel- since we're talking first timer, i took a gret deal of factors into account before i recommended the gp- and a lot of it is PRICE- your smith is usually at least 100 bucks or more expensive, and a beginner won't appreciate the finesse of the trigger- relaibility is the name of the game- as for me , my first was a 45, then a 22, and a 9mm- the i got TIRED of policing my brass and got the redhawk- had i to do over again, i'd get a gp100 or a redhawk right out of the gate-
my 22 is a beretta neos( yes, i know duck dodgers) but it was 475 compared to 600 for the ruger and does the same job with better balance-and it doesn't have the disassembly "feature" the ruger has- you just drop the mag, push in a button, and turn a wheel, and the barrel comes off- just like all berettas, it's a whiz to clean
 
My first pistol was a Norc 1911C, it was the best $349 I've ever spent. If you're planning on reloading anyway, my vote is the .45. It's a classic!
 
If you are worried about the couple hundred dollar cost difference between the Norc and Ruger, then you should definitely go for the Ruger.

Ammo costs FAR exceed the cost of the gun in a very short time. $200 in reloading for 45 ACP doesn't go that far anymore, you might get around 1k for that amount.

If you do get the Norc, then budget on buying a 22 pretty soon afterwards.
 
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