I want to buy a hand gun

[DonP]

I personally only use a 1911 .45......screw round capacity.....I am dead on target every time I draw so it makes no difference to me.

See, I'm pretty much a newbie. Little experience firing guns. I need something to practice getting to this level. Should I go for a laser?

[rdamaral]

Don't get a laser. It will not help you shoot, it will hinder you. The point is to learn how to shoot. What happens when the battery dies? Then you're a retard looking for the red dot. They have their purpose, but skip it for now.

Go to the gun show and pick up a NICE 1911, glock, XD, M&P. Decide which one fits your hand and eyes better. Sight it in, and try to see which is the easiest for you to sight in properly.

Then buy said gun, and shoot the shit out of it. The more you shoot, the more confortable you will get with it, and the more accurate you will get.

Be safe and have fun.

[tonemonster]

I agree skip the laser. I still think the call gauge is the best line of home defense. But if you want to have a pistol or revolver for your nightstand I guess I would recommend a revolver for home defense in respect that revolvers are easier to deal with in the middle of the night in the dark revolvers don't jam if you have a misfire you can just pull the trigger again and it will go bang. I have autos that I carry but I just feel more comfortable with the 357 magnum in my nightstand just because it's easier to operate when you're half asleep in the middle of the night rather than deal with a automatic if you have a failed round. Look into a rufer or smith. 38 or 357 revolver. If you truly want a automatic pistol then look into 9 mm I recommend looking at glock, Springfield Armory XD,and sig sauer. Depending on what you want to spend you should find something you like with those three brands for my money I like the Springfield Armory XD you can buy them for around 500 bucks in their damn good guns

[Jayster]

There's definitely a lot of good advice in this thread. The absolute best thing IMHO, is (if available to you) go to a rental range with a fist full of dollars and try everything you're considering. Maybe even break it into a couple of sessions to get a better feel for the one's that you're narrowing it down too.

Ultimately each persons preferences are based on that person, so have fun - shoot everything!!!!! Then you'll be able to make a clear headed decision about what works best for you.

Side note ~ Caliber can be a pissing contest! If you have control and are comfortable with a 9mm, get one. Stopping power only matters when you hit the target....

[xenophobe]

I meant the "new thing" in guns today. Everyone seems to want single stack carry guns now

I haven't really seen any new trend. Perhaps that's with new gun owners coming to their senses. I was in the business for a long time and single stack semi's have always been popular. Two of my biggest seller to police for personal duty have been Kahr and the KelTec. Sig P228 to some extent, though many also like to carry the Glock 26 or one of it's variants. The XD became a popular choice as well. Air-weight Smiths have been popular too.

[Razor]

I'm a big fan of 45ACP, and a 1911 of some type is my daily concealed carry choice. I'd much rather have the stopping power of my 7+1 1911 in 45ACP than my 15+1 Glock 19 in 9x19. The Glock is the nightstand gun because of it's simplicity in use especially if I wouldn't be home and the wife would have to use it. She doesn't have to worry about cocking it, thumbing off the safety or anything. All she would have to do is pull the trigger.

I had a Colt Trooper 357 Mag that I traded off for another 1911, and if I had my preference of another round the 357Mag would be it. One of these days I'd like to pick up another wheel gun, but then again I'm more apt to pick up another 1911. I'm at four and counting so far...

In my honest opinion you can't select a better handgun than a 1911. For a starter 1911 the Rock Island Armory's (from $459 to $495 around here) get good ratings for out of the box shootability and I hear their customer service is good. I have yet to find customer service as good as Springfield Armory. They've tuned and serviced three of my 1911's (one Springfield, one Colt and one Dan Wesson), and have stood well behind their work. I prefer Commander (4") and Officers (3 1/2") size 1911's for daily carry, but I have two full size (5") 1911's too.

[DonP]

I've gone to the gun range for rentals. I used a Ruger 1911, a S&W 9mm (didn't remember the model but it was a Glock copy). They don't have the greatest selection on rentals. Certainly not a Sig 226. Also went to a friends how and tried his Kimber 1911.

One of the best booths at the last gun show was this large bench set up with at least 100 guns on cables. You could check out anything you wanted without having to ask over and over again.

Is the idea of single stack for conceal purposes (thinner)?

[rdamaral]

Yes the idea behind single stack is a thinner frame, making it easier to conceal. It hurts the mag capacity, but if you need 19 shots in a shoot out, you have other issues at hand.

[LouSiffer]

Thats it DonP. However, the 1911 frame is big and it is a single stack as you know. Again, I refer back to find the gun that sits perfectly in your hands that when you pull up, you are on target and not having to fish the sights in. I believe this is the most important factor, arguably, as much as the quality/reliability of the gun. What happens during and after the trigger pull is also very important. Forget about caliber size as accuracy and controllability are much more important. -Lou

[DonP]

Ok, the is show over and the verdict is in.

I bought a Beretta M9 and a Colt 1911-22.

The Beretta was on sale $579 down from $699. I still liked the Sig and all the other guns but the M9 seemed like the best value. I liked the feel of it, I like the action. The clips seem easy to find ($25 for 3).

The Colt seemed like a good buy for $359 and will be cheap on ammo.

[xenophobe]

Grats! I loved my Beretta, had an old 92FS, basically the same gun without the upgrades required by the US Army. It was a little big for my hands, but it was always reliable and accurate and I could hit a paper plate at 100 yards with about 80% success rate. Great gun, I'm sure you'll love it!

[DonP]

Tell me, what is the difference between the commercial and the US Army version? Somewhere I read the spring pin is metal in the Army version (vs. plastic). Just trying to figure what the differences are.

Looks like missionguitars1 (last post on page 1) won the "guess what he's going to buy" game LOL!

Still a big nod to the 1911 crowd. It might be a .22 now, but I believe I'll get a real 1911 someday. I really like them a lot.

And a nod to the Springfield XD. That seemed like a nice gun as well.

There were some used Browning hi-powers there that were tempting, but I didn't want to take a guess on a used gun for a first.

For my first serious handgun, I just wanted to play it safe with something that is very popular, very common and has a great reputation.

[xenophobe]

I'm not sure there is any real difference between the new 92FS and the new M9's. If any, they're minor. I'm sure someone has listed all the differences online somewhere.

[DonP]

Went shooting the two new guns and the Marlin 60 (.22 semi-auto rifle). Both new guns performed excellent, at least to a gun newbie. My boys (17 and 13) had no issues handling the Beretta. The only issue is we went thru all the ammo too fast. Stopped by Walmart and restocked. Just got done cleaning guns. Aaahhh, family time

[Whoopu2]

Just as a side note, don't avoid a 9mm simply because of all this talk about "stopping power". Just get hollow point rounds, which are really what you want for personal defense anyway.