Buying my first handgun

[malice95 3]

I should be getting my FID card soon and permit.. fingerprints and references done, just on the police to wrap it up.

I'm hoping to have it in a couple weeks.

 

I went to Ready, Aim, Fire in Bristol , PA tonight to try out different guns with some buddies.

A 38 special revolver, a medium size glock 40 cal, a small glock 40 cal, and a full size sig 45.

 

I am really torn at what type of handgun I should buy.

 

Sig 45: I like the weight/size and stopping power of the 45. Downside was a decent recoil. .

I was getting pretty decent at it at 10 yds after 50 rounds. Was able to get all the round within

3-4 inches of center mass. I had trouble loading round 9 into the magazine for some reason.

Was really hard. The gun overall felt beefy and well made.

 

38 special: The 38 was really easy to shoot and It was easy to be accurate. Way less recoil.

Seemed too light and I didnt like it only held 5 rounds. I was making tight groupings the first time

I fired it.

 

The glock 40's: They both were light,I had decent accuracy with these. Probably the worst recoil

of all the guns I tried. I guess due to the lack of weight. They felt cheap.

 

I didn t get to try a 9mm. they were out of 9mm ammo.

 

I know I want a semi auto. I wont be target shooting with this gun.

Just practice to get good. I need something thats reliable and well made. I am leaning

toward the 45 sig.. or another brand. Is that a good choice? This will be a primary home/family defense

gun. Not for the bedside/burglers.. mainly if crazy stuff happens and I need to protect my family.

I plan on getting a pumpaction 12 guage shotgun as well.

 

What other brand full size 45's (similiar weight) should I be looking at? I like the steel/black look

if that makes a difference. I'm hopng to keep the price under $1000.

 

Any other type of handguns I should try based on what you have read so far?

 

What do you think?

[jds560 0]

Look at the cz97b and the Jericho 941/Baby Eagle 45. Ottos in woodland park has the Jericho and its a beauty

[KELEKONA 0]

Check out FNX45, PX4 storm, or a 1911. The 1911 was the easiest for me to shoot accurately with the FNX45 a close second. I ended up buying a PX4 40 S&W, took a little getting used to but I shoot much better with it now.

[Pizza Bob 1,488]

Sig 45: I had trouble loading round 9 into the magazine for some reason.

 

Mmmmm, could be because it was only an 8-round magazine? AFAIK, the P227 isn't out yet and any other Sig .45 would have a std mag capacity of a max 8-rounds. There are 10-rd P220 mags, but they extend well below the grip.

[Spike 7.62 0]

"I wont be target shooting this gun. Just enough to get good"

 

I had to bring that up; you should be target shooting as much as physically possible with your defensive gun. I like to draw a 4cm circle on a paper plate and use that as my bulls eye. Practice with both hands, strong hand, weak hand, double taps, mag dumps and out to the greatest distance possible. There is no "just enough", marksmanship is a perishable skill and you must continually improve or you WILL lose them.

 

I noticed you shot very well with the .38 revolver, but you want an auto for the capacity. In terms of a shoot out you as a civilian would encounter, the fight will be won by hits on target, not rounds sent downrange. Military and certain police situations are entirely different and involve suppressive fire, target rich environments, and possibly prolonged periods between re-supply, which is why they want that 15 round magazine. If you naturally fire well with a revolver, strongly consider it. You won't need 10 or 15 bullets if you can place the first 2 or 3 on your target. The great majority of civlian and police shootings do not go further than that.

 

As far as autos, rent a S&W M&P 9mm and/or .40 caliber. I used to be a Glock fanatic and my choice was the Glock 30. Then I rented a M&P at Shore Shot, sold the G30 for a M&P .40 pro series and never looked back. The trigger, grip and slide serrations are a world ahead of Glock. Of the autos you mentioned, SIG is high quality and I don't have anything bad to say about them. They are costly so shop around before making that investment.

[wink-_-wink 1]

"I wont be target shooting this gun. Just enough to get good"

 

I had to bring that up; you should be target shooting as much as physically possible with your defensive gun. I like to draw a 4cm circle on a paper plate and use that as my bulls eye. Practice with both hands, strong hand, weak hand, double taps, mag dumps and out to the greatest distance possible. There is no "just enough", marksmanship is a perishable skill and you must continually improve or you WILL lose them.

 

I noticed you shot very well with the .38 revolver, but you want an auto for the capacity. In terms of a shoot out you as a civilian would encounter, the fight will be won by hits on target, not rounds sent downrange. Military and certain police situations are entirely different and involve suppressive fire, target rich environments, and possibly prolonged periods between re-supply, which is why they want that 15 round magazine. If you naturally fire well with a revolver, strongly consider it. You won't need 10 or 15 bullets if you can place the first 2 or 3 on your target. The great majority of civlian and police shootings do not go further than that.

 

As far as autos, rent a S&W M&P 9mm and/or .40 caliber. I used to be a Glock fanatic and my choice was the Glock 30. Then I rented a M&P at Shore Shot, sold the G30 for a M&P .40 pro series and never looked back. The trigger, grip and slide serrations are a world ahead of Glock. Of the autos you mentioned, SIG is high quality and I don't have anything bad to say about them. They are costly so shop around before making that investment.

 

I just rented the .40 M&P as well as the .40 xD at sure shot. The xD was MUCH better in my opinion BUT the gun was in severe need of cleaning. I imagine if this was a cleaned and taken care of gun it would have outperformed the M&P. I shot a lot better with the xD but the M&P was a little smoother (again I think it was due to lack of cleaning or constant use. it was DEF used A LOT!

[Old Dog 19]

Mmmmm, could be because it was only an 8-round magazine? AFAIK, the P227 isn't out yet and any other Sig .45 would have a std mag capacity of a max 8-rounds. There are 10-rd P220 mags, but they extend well below the grip.

 

Only 8 rounds as this reply states. First off for your intended use I would suggest an AR-15. A .45 pistol or shotgun just do not hold a lot of rounds and if you ever tried to reload a shotgun with people shooting at you (I have) you will quickly decide that a rifle with a 15 round mag is much better. As for the handgun I personally have a gun for such a use during a tornado or hurricane incident. I rather have my 17 round 9mm semi auto than an 8 round .45. Once again, try facing multiple assailants with a .45 (once again, I have) and you will wish your gun held a lot more rounds. A 9mm with Speer Gold Dot +P ammo has very good street results plus you can get shots off faster with a 9mm than you can with a .45. I do not care if the .45 is the best bullet in the world if I can only get 8 or 10 of them in a mag. All I can say it enter a few competitions with a .45 and a 9mm and see which gives you the faster time. Sure you can practice but with the cost of ammo and range time you are not going to be able to practice enough to get to the point where you can handle a .45 as well as a 9mm. Realistically, most people go less and less to the range after the initial thrill of a new or first gun wears off. Especially after years pass without ever even thinking you needed the gun for any defensive role. Just the way it is. Competition shooters are the exception. Down here we have people who carry concealed guns and either rarely or never go to the range after their initial visits. What we think we are going to do usually is not what we actually do and I can guarantee you that after the novelty of a .45 wears off the reality of the cost of the ammo and recoil will make you shoot it less and less and wish you had a 9mm to feed cheap ammo to and not beat up your hand so much. In the end we all get whatever floats our boat. I would suggest that everyone should have a good high capacity gun, shotgun and rifle in their home. Shotgun can be omitted though due to ammo capacity and the fact that a good semi auto rifle with high capacity mags would prove more useful and just as deadly if not more so. Too many thing a shotgun will mow down anything in its path. Not so plus they have a lot of recoil. Get a 9mm now and a .45 later. We all end up buying guns in different calibers to experience them.

 

BTW, I have used a revolver for home defense for about 42 years and so far it has worked as no one has ever tried to break into my home. I recommend a semi to people because the younger generation was raised on them and I am tired of defending revolvers to people who view them as antiques. My revolvers have never jammed on me, even after storing them for years without use. Cannot say the same for my semi auto. I think especially in emergencies a revolver is a good option/second gun because you can crawl through mud, beat it up and it will shoot. With a semi you will need to bring a cleaning kit with you, lube, cleaner and something to hold all those parts in while you clean it. Revolvers do not have such needs. Rinse and shoot. My .357 mag goes on my hip during an emergency while my 17 round 9mm goes into the holster compartment of my bug out bag with 3 extra mags. For most people who will buy a gun for just in case, a revolver is a great choice because there are no extra magazines to buy, no extra self defense ammo to buy to check for reliability issues, no remembering to re-lube it every so often, no need to clean it once in a while to get all that crud that sticks to the lube/oil after a year in the safe, no need to test to see if it is still reliable, etc.. And as I said, for the overwhelming majority of revolver owners, a revolver has kept danger away so that they never had to use it.

[blksheep 466]

How much did that visit cost?

[wink-_-wink 1]

uhh 10 bucks to rent the 2 guns (stayed within caliber so it was once price, and then about 40 bucks on ammo, i brought my own targets. so an hour or two, two guns, 100 rounds, $50 and a damn good time I wasn't upset.

[wink-_-wink 1]

O you will quickly decide that a rifle with a 30 round mag is much better.

 

you mean 2 mags with 15.... not one of those DEADLY HORRIBLE SCARY HIGH CAP MAGS!

[Old Dog 19]

you mean 2 mags with 15.... not one of those DEADLY HORRIBLE SCARY HIGH CAP MAGS!

 

Oops forget about NJ laws. It was funny when I moved to Florida because I kept asking the guns store employees if this or that were legal. I could not believe that there were no restrictions but Federal on guns and accessories. Even bought my first automatic opening knife which is legal here. Our concealed licenses are for concealed weapons and not just firearms so I can carry a concealed machete if I want. OK, I will amend my response to say an AR14 or even AK, with two 15 round mags attached to each other. No need to buy any special device to do that. In Nam we simply taped them together and if it worked in the jungle it will work anywhere.

[Fatalorian 0]

Were you shooting a Sig P220 or a Sig 1911? If it was the P220, I recommend trying a Sig P226 in 9mm before you make any decisions. AFAIK, the P226 is based on the P220, so the weight/feel/look should be very similar. The P226 was one of the first 9MMs I ever shot and it was my first purchase ~2 weeks ago. The P226 has barrel exchange kits, so I can run .40 S&W, .357 SIG, & .22LR. Best part? The barrel exchange kits do not require pistol purchase permits! So with the P226 (or 229), you're essentially getting 4 handguns out of 1 permit!

 

Even if you choose another platform, I'd highly recommend looking to see if that handgun has a .22LR conversion kit. This is an inexpensive way to practice your fundamentals on the same platform that you'll be shooting centerfire cartridges from.

[buell508 6]

S&W 7 shot 357 mag will also shoot 38

remington r1911 45 acp is well under $1000

[nuclearheli 40]

I am with Fatalorian with one exception, I would check out the P226 in .40. If you liked the .45 but had a little too much recoil you should try the 40. Very nice gun. I have the P226 SS Elite in 40 and the P226 X6 in 9. Love them both but I find the 40 cal to have more availability of ammo. I also reload and I find it easier to reload 40's and find the stuff for 40's over my 9's.

 

Don't discount the revolver if you like 38's. I have a S&W 627 performance center which is 357/38 in 8 shot. Beautiful gun.

[henrym 19]

Smith & Wesson 627 is an 8 shot 357mag cut for moon clips.

 

A great option for those who shoot a revolver better

[verysimple 0]

I was under the same situation a little while ago.

my choices were:

P226 9mm

FN FNX45 (15 .45 acp rounds)

Springfield XD(m) - you pick your caliber.. I like the compact model..

[dman2112 6]

If you want a 45 and don't want to spend a ton of dough the Springfield XD 45 is a great choice. Also the grip angle on these is a clone of the 1911 angle so the ergonomics are similar but with a different grip feel.

[Sludog 0]

I was under the same situation a little while ago.

my choices were:

P226 9mm

FN FNX45 (15 .45 acp rounds)

Springfield XD(m) - you pick your caliber.. I like the compact model..

I was told today at Shore Shots that the only legal Xdm available in NJ is the 45 cal because of mag capacity. Is this true? I could have sworn I saw a 9mm and 40 at Tips hardware a few weeks ago.

[blksheep 466]

They are legal. The magazines they take unless they get pinned are not.

[wink-_-wink 1]

I was told today at Shore Shots that the only legal Xdm available in NJ is the 45 cal because of mag capacity. Is this true? I could have sworn I saw a 9mm and 40 at Tips hardware a few weeks ago.

 

Shore shot has an xD that you can rent in a 9 and a 40....

[Sludog 0]

Shore shot has an xD that you can rent in a 9 and a 40....

LOL what the hell was the guy talking about then? Maybe he meant or was confused that you could not get the XDm via transfer because of the mags?

[wink-_-wink 1]

I dunno but other than needing to be cleaned, the 40 was a TON of fun to shoot!! I am 100% sure that this will be my next buy when my permits come in

[jamesbod 0]

just get a smith 8 shot revolver with 38 +p

that'll take care of business for you

smith 627

smith 327

 

or a glock21 with 13 rounds

[Sludog 0]

I dunno but other than needing to be cleaned, the 40 was a TON of fun to shoot!! I am 100% sure that this will be my next buy when my permits come in

The XDm is a sweet gun and one of the top three on my list to buy. Are there 9mm barrels and conversion kits available for the Xdm 40? Do you need to change the mags as well?

[wink-_-wink 1]

The XDm is a sweet gun and one of the top three on my list to buy. Are there 9mm barrels and conversion kits available for the Xdm 40? Do you need to change the mags as well?

 

From what I read, you have to get the mags pinned to 15 because that one extra round makes it a BIG BAD GUN!!! I am not 100% on the conversion kits but I am sure someone that owns one will be around shortly to comment... but I am with you 100% and will own one here shortly... if my permits EVER come in!!

[7.62fmj 0]

I'm probably a little late to this, but might I suggest a .357magnum? I like the Smiths due to the trigger feel. With a 4" barrel it's small and compact, easily controlled, accurate and powerful. If the .357 is too much that same revolver will handle .38 specials and +p as well as +p+. For a semi I'd reccomend an HK45, pricey, but it'll last forever even if it is a bit beefy. The ergonomics are beautiful and it shoots well, recoil is manageable. Personally not a fan of the XD because I prefer a hammer fired pistol (1911, HK45, Beretta 92f) as opposed to striker fired (XD, Glock, etc.).

[SJ ED 0]

Walk before you run - my first handgun was a 4" barreled K-frame.38 special revolver I bought in 1978. I still have it. You can always trade up or go more sophisticated after you see and shoot other handguns.. Ed.