I remember warning myself about them....

I forgot all about it when I got home today though...

it's a very nice shooting pistol though, I've was happy with it until this.

Hate to hear about the Kahr. Did you buy it new? About how many rounds do you have through it?

it's got a little over 300 in it now.

yeah, bought new.

Well im bumping this because i will be purchasing some handguns in the near future. I have gotten to shoot a G29 and G26.

And just because everyone likes pictures

lol...I still want a 10.

I need a reloading press before I do that I think...

I am in love with the g29, i will be getting one.

My most recent acquisition:



Along with an LCP and a Browning Buckmark.

Hope to buy a Dan Wesson CBOB next. This hobby's getting expensive.

Hey, a 1903! I have one! Neat little gun.

charlieo wrote:Hey, a 1903! I have one! Neat little gun.

I'm amazed at the accuracy of mine. I guess it's the fine sights. I just put a new recoil spring in it today along with reproduction grip panels.

Alright, Ive been converted. I was one of those anti gun guys but spending time with a good friend who is a gun owner has changed my mind. I didnt realize how ignorant I was about guns.

I'm interested in my first handgun, but I dont know what to look for. I'm not interested in CC. Just something I can learn to handle and build some skills with.

Ive looked at a some websites to get an idea of whats out there and I wandered into a gun shop the other day. But I still dont know what I'm looking for. Any advice or suggestions?

^ If your just getting one to shoot and not cc etc get something in 9mm. Maybe a glock 19?

snwbrdr435 wrote:I am in love with the g29, i will be getting one.

good pistols....nothing wrong with a Glock.

Jordan, when it comes to getting a pistol, the FIRST thing you wanna do is decide the job you'll need it to do. If you're not concerned with CC'ing right now, I'd suggest a pistol with a 4 to 5" barrel as it'll have a longer sight radius and be easier to learn to shoot accurately with.

now, as for shooting accurately, much like a car, you can't get full potential out of a gun unless you're comfortable. Find a pistol that feels good in your hand and feels natural for you when pointing it (this is especially helpful if god forbid you need to use it for defense as it'll be quicker to aim as it's more like pointing your finger).

After you've decided what you want if for and establish it being comfortable, who makes the gun you're holding? Is it a reputable company and a proven design?

Much like buying a new car, buying a gun involves research too. Especially if you're not familiar with the designs or the maker's reputation for reliability, accuracy and quality control.

as for the big names in the handgun market: Glock, Beretta, Heckler and Koch, Smith and Wesson, Ruger, Springfield Armory, CZ-USA and Sig Sauer are the biggest, most popular names with long standing reputations for great products.

next, after you've decided on the make and model, what caliber would you like?

9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP are the big three when it comes to centerfire pistols (autoloaders anyway)

all will work admirably for self defense purposes...

out of these though, there are things you need to factor like: how well can you control the caliber. How often do you wanna shoot and how much do you want to spend on ammo.

9mm is the cheapest. for target ammo, it's almost half the price of .45 and usually a quarter of the price cheaper than .40 S&W.

it's also a soft shooting, inherently accurate round too. It's been doing it's job for over 100 years too.

next up, .40 S&W. This one is a fairly new cartridge. It came about in the 80's from a result of the FBI looking to make a powerful rimless round to use in semiauto pistols. It's bigger brother, the 10mm is the initial attempt at getting .357 MAG power in a reliable design for an automatic pistol (it DID succeed in this, but was deemed too large and too hard for smaller novice shooters to handle proficiently.) Smith and Wesson was one of the first makers for a 10mm pistol and saw a little potential...what the did was shorten it some so it could fit in a smaller frame pistol that orginally chambered 9mm. While it's not as powerful as a 10mm, it does carry more thump than a 9mm, but at a price. It's loaded at higher case pressures which gives it a somewhat sharp and snappy recoil (not unpleasant usually, but it is a little different from what a 9mm or .45 will do). .40 S&W is probably the most poplular law enforcement round out there now. Most of the Federal agencies use a Glock or Sig Sauer pistol chambered in it now.

now, .45 ACP. This one was designed to function in a semiauto pistol and provide ballistics comparable to the .45 Long Colt chambered in revolvers.

It's a heavy, slower moving bullet that'll lay down some good energy. Like the 9mm, this one's been doing it for 100 years too. Recoil, while it's there, isn't too unpleasant if it's in a gun that fits your hand well. It's a lot harder to go through a day of shooting with it as you will get hand fatigue, but honestly, it's expensive to do that anyway.

If I was to give you a lead on what to look for as to what I know you intend to do, I'd suggest a 4" barreled 9mm.

a few to look at that won't break the bank but be good shooters, more accurate than you'll be and reliable (probably between 4-600 dollars brand new) I'd say the Glock 19, Springfield Armory XD9 or XDm9 (this one's usually about 100 bucks more than the normal XD, but it's got a different grip with interchangeable backstraps, a better trigger and a factory match grade barrel, it also holds an extra 4 or 5 rounds) The Beretta 92 or PX4 (the 92 is what the US military calls the M9, the actual M9 has a few little differences for longer service life and the PX4 is a newer design with a neat action) and lastly, what's probably one of the best bangs for the buck, The CZ-USA CZ-75 or CZ SP-01. This is one of the best combat pistols ever made. It's all steel unlike the Glock and Sprinfield XD, some like this as it has a different balance. Very accurate too.

now this is all general information (hell, some might be wrong) and some is influenced by my personal opinion too...

what I really wanna know is how much you'd be willing to spend on a pistol and just exactly do you want it to be capable of.

If at all possible, I'd suggest renting or shooting your friend's guns too. Much like a car, it's a lot better if you can test drive on before you buy.

my personal handguns would be a 4" Sprinfield Armory XD45, a Kahr PM9 (this is a small, slim 9mm pistol), a Ruger SP101 .357 Mag snubnose revolver, a massive Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 Magnum revolver (10.5 barrel, single action like a cowboy's six gun) and a Smith and Wesson model 29 (think Dirty Harry)

Most guys behind a gun shop will be helpful with a new shooter, but don' let them badger you into buying any one kind of gun...this comes down to the comfort issue again.

as for the easiest guns to learn, the Glock and Springfield XD are it. they have no manual safeties and the trigger won't change. By the trigger changing, this gets into the mechanics of the gun's action. when you see DA, SA and DAO these are just acronyms for the gun's action.

DA would be double action. what this means on a semi auto pistol is that, if the hammer isn't cocked back, as the trigger is pulled, it's going to c*** the hammer and release at the end of the trigger stroke. as the pistol fires, the slide should comeback and c*** the hammer automatically as it loads the next round to fire and eject the spent one and putting the trigger into....

Single action mode (SA) now in single action, the trigger only needs to release the hammer when it's pulled so it's not going to be a long or heavy pull. This is a lot easier to shoot accurately.

now, when you see DAO this stands for Double action only. every pull of the trigger is going to c*** the gun's firing mechanism. This will usually result in a heavier, longer trigger pull though there's a few designs that make it as short and light as possible.

The Glock design is known as a Double Action Only. The reason behind this is to prevent an accidental discharge as it takes a little effort to pull the trigger.

I've done a lot of typing.....I'm gonna shut up.

if you have questions, ask, I'll help out to the best of my ability as will anyone else in this thread.

I <3 new shooters. Especially converts

I wish there weren't guns in the world too...but they're here so we gotta get used to them....I like them because I enjoy shooting and they're fascinating machines.

if they weren't here...I'd probably have a nice watch collection.

anyway....what I want to know from you is what you plan using the gun for and how much you wanna spend on one.

give me those two answers and I'll see what I can think of to recommend.

Thanks James! Lotsa info in there to digest.First of all, I thought I wanted a 45ACP, but I'm not prepared to pay that much for ammo, especially when I'm learning. You say 40S&W guns have more recoil than a 9mm and 45ACP? Guess that leaves me with a 9mm cause too much recoil is probably bad for a beginner.

Ive been to the sites of most of those mfg'ers. Never heard of Springfield or CZ-USA til I read this thread. As far as budget goes, I would have said $300-400, but I now see Glocks andSpringfiled 9mm's are around $500 (oops, you did say this...). So I guess thats the best price for a new, recognized brand 9mm. I will not be buying a $800+ Sig or HK for my first gun...

I plan on just target shooting at first. Either at a range or when I visit my buddy's place. I want the gun as a home protection / self defense weapon. I know it will be awhile (if ever) that I feel comfortable CC'ing a gun.

I think I'll start by checking out the Glock 19, XD9, and the CZ you mentioned. Havent checked out CZ's site yet. Also, I wanted a "big" gun as I have big hands. I guess large grip is a better term. I kinda ignored "compact" guns cause I thought they'd be too small. Thoughts on this?

Any big difference between all steel and polymer guns? Would a rookie notice any difference? Balance would be different, but is one more reliable? I dont think I'll understand balance til I hold a few different guns.

Still trying to digest trigger action...

Thanks again!

I wouldn't rule out the CZ's for this price too...they're right there with the Glock and Springfield

some compacts aren't that bad.

I'm partial to the XD compacts because it's just a shortened grip. they come with one flush fit magazine and one that has a grip extenstion that puts the grip the nomal length and feel of the fullsize pistols.

honestly, as for the polymer guns, they'll generally hold up better due to the slight flex under recoil which will help manage the stress from it.

one won't be any more reliable than the other.

between the three you're considering, I'd probably say the CZ feels the best in my hands...the Springfield and Glock will probably be quicker for you to become proficient with as they have single stage triggers.

the Springfield XD is a single action trigger while the Glock is technically a DAO. I say technically because the stryker isn't fully cocked by the cycling of the action. It's kind of semicocked...you can't keep pulling the trigger and getting it to click.

out of the three, the XD probably has the least felt recoil in my opinion.

ammo prices, on average for 50 rounds of 9mm full metal jacket (it'll usually say FMJ on the box) is between 10 and 13 dollars. .40 is around 15-17 and .45 is 18-20.

Now...I'd suggest getting one of the big three calibers and in the future, if you really grow to love shooting, get a nice .22 pistol. You can shoot one all day for 20 bucks. Usually can get a big bulk pack of ammo 500-550 rounds, for around 20.

So, does this thread have info about the .10 cal or am I going to have to look somewhere else for info about it?

it's not the .10 cal.

that'd be tiny.

it's the 10mm

what do you wanna know about it?

do a quick search on "10mm" and you can get a pretty good history on it. If you're a first time gun buyer, don't buy a 10

I gotta mix it up a little here... too many handguns.

cmfireman wrote:My most recent acquisition:

Hey I have a Spanish manufactured 1903 (Bernelli)
Have you had problems with feeding? It's hit or miss when I go shooting with it. Hand loads, multiple factory loads. None seem to consistently cycle. I've heard everything to the magazine spring weakening to being careful to stack the rounds in such a way...

what exactly is it doing?

The cartridge seems to get snagged on the beginning of the feed ramp going into the chamber. First couple of shots are fine...then it jams. Pretty sure it isn't an ammo issue because it happens regardless.
Imma try a new magazine...

My guess would be the mag

might be a weak spring.

remove the base of the magazine and pull the spring out and try stretching it a little. (this MIGHT help it out....I wouldn't rely on that mag if you ever wanna use the gun as a defensive weapon though.

a jam like that though, you can almost count on it being a mag.

about the only other problem would be underpowered ammo/too stiff a recoil spring or a messed up feed ramp.

how many magazines do you have for it?

if it's doing it with more than 1 mag, it might be another issue.

SO i went to a gun show this past weekend and picked up an American-made 1903 mag for $10. Got it home and it wouldn't fit. Which is weird considering they are the same gun. Turns out mine has a completely different magazine release. I shoulda taken the disassembled body to the show to try it out. Now I come to find out that my gun needs a quite rare magazine. I only have the one mag for it.

fun.

try giving the mag spring a little stretch and see if helps at all.

Picked up my new xd45. Michele and I put 50 rounds through it and we both love it. It shoots much easier than the xd40. Also picked up some hollows for home protection.

Hoping to pick up something, probably 9mm, for Michele here shortly.

what kinda hp's did you get?

and did you shoot some through it to make sure they'll feed good?

My XD has fed everything I've put through it..but I've heard about some being difficult at times.

Remington. I can't remember which ones, I'll check when I get home. I haven't put any through it. Hopefully today or tomorrow I can.

word.

my gun loved Federal 230gr Hydrashok.

I shot a sub 3" 5 shot group off hand at 20yds

omg shame on all of you gun owners!!!!


just kidding, ive got a ruger p89 for a sidearm love the 9mm round to shoot nice n cheap!