First Handgun

[pwd72s]

Originally posted by Jeff Higgins
Always start with a .22; end of discussion. Try several before deciding. When you have mastered that, start renting centerfire guns at your local range. You will quickly start to learn your preferences. Don't simply run out and get what anyone else recommends without trying one out for yourself. Like the women in our lives, handguns are a very personal choice.

+1! I have two centerfire handguns. That said, the one handgun I enjoy shooting the most is my rimfire .22. A 1970 made in Belgium Browning "Challenger" model. It's a little sweetheart. 100% pleasure shooting. Ammo cost is zilch, which is a big plus if you shoot a lot. I couldn't guess the number of rounds I've put through it. It's never needed any work.

[tabs]

Originally posted by ael911
Couldn't of said it better myself... Also, you'll quickly see the difference in quality between a $300 gun and a $600 one. Hard to go wrong with Sigs, HKs, and Glocks. Good used Glocks can be had in the upper end of your price range. Good luck.

Where O where are U gona find "Good used Glocks" for $300.. Back in the early 90s they were about $400 Dealer..I bought a mdl 23 used for $395 NIB, along with 2 boxs of Ammo... a box of Hydroshocks and a box of Corbon P+.

[m21sniper]

You can probably get a glock cop trade-in in the mid 300 range can't ya?

I'm no fan of Glocks for new shooters. After the Philly PD adopted them AD(accidental discharges) increased a couple hundred % vs the old service revolvers.

[azasadny]

Originally posted by Boxer_Airhead
I would say the Sig Sauer 239 in 9mm is an extremely reliable and accurate gun. It is used by many law enforcement agencies. I am sure it would be easy to find a great used one, maybe near the high-end of your budget. I put close to 2,000 rounds through this model and it always worked great. The 239 is very easy to take apart and since they are used by law enforcement I would imagine spare parts are readily available.

It also depends on you hand size. The 239 may be to small if you have big hands. I am not sure about the price difference and I have never used it, but the 229 model is larger.

Yep! I bought a Sig P239 used last spring for $500 and it came in the original plastic case with two extra 9mm magazines. Easy and fun to shoot it accurately!!

[nostatic]

I would advise going to a range, taking a class, and first shooting (not buying) a .22. In the class you'll probably get the opportunity to also shoot other calibers. Decide what you like to shoot and go from there. Most ranges have rentals, so that is a cheap way to figure out what you like and don't like. As others have said, .22 is a great way to learn, but it also is like a popgun next to even a 9mm. If you're ok with that, then buying a .22 as a first gun makes sense. But it you are *not* ok with that (ie you are bored, feels like a toy, etc...anything that will make it so you aren't excited to shoot), then don't buy a .22, but instead start renting other makes and calibers. I like 9mm becuase the ammo is cheapest of the centerfire guns, but in bulk .40S&W isn't that much more.

I love my Sigs. I shot Glocks, Rugers, H&K, S&W and Colts before I bought the Sigs. Life is too short for cheap guns...unless you *really* like 'em...

[tabs]

Thursday I went out to the Beinfield Antique and Sporting Arms GS at the Riv here in LV....it was set up day, Ron Peterson of Albequere musta sold 25 guns as he was pulling them outa the gun cases. It was a feeding frenzy.

Anyway $100 to $300 wouldn't even buy U Clawsons Book on the Colt 1911s...those are $699 to $1000 each. The Beinfield had Colt 1911s, SAA, Percussions, Smiths, Winchester Lever Actions and US Military etc
wall to wall. You want a Sharps 1874 Long Range you need $25000 for a decent one, an engraved Remington Hepburn Target Rifle U need $20000, a decent Colt SAA Cavalry try $24,500..One needs Cubic $$$$ Bills to build a collection today.

Over at the Sporting Arms Show one could purchase a lovely Holland and Holland Double Shotgun for $65000, a nice Parker VHE 28 GA for $18500 or a Griffin & Howe on a Mauser in 30/06 for $6000. I even saw the Griffin & Howe in 505 Gibbs that was purchased at a JC Devine Auction early in 2006 for a hammer price of $21,000 plus closing costs...it was POR...to date only 5 have been built.

Ohhh and I did get to see Tom Selleck...

[MRM]

I can't strongly enough agree with the .22 recommendations above. If this is your first handgun, start with the .22, period. It is a great gun, lots of fun, very inexpensive, and you can run through hundreds of rounds without breaking the bank.

The .22 is a great shooter's gun. Use it to learn the fundamentals of handguns and the elements of marksmanship. The Ruger and Smith & Wesson are both great guns. After you get comfortable with them you will be amazed at your accuracy. Then if you want to make noise you can get any big gun you want and you can be confident that you'll be good with it from the word go. Other benefits: you can shoot all day and not have a sore wrist, no recoil makes it easier to hold steady and get a good group, and you won't make the other shooters on the range deaf.

Start with the .22. You'll never regret it.

[tabs]

I wind up asking myself, if I were a begining collector, with the prices being out of sight on so many of the tradtional collector firearms, what would I collect today. I would have to say that a prime example of a relativily rare gun shouldn't cost more than $1500.

Smith & Wesson N Frames..Pinned and Recessed discontinued by Smith around 1982...a coupla years ago they were hard to give away in the $425 range..which was clsoe to what they cost new...now $595...the 4 and 5 screws approach the $1200 to $2000 range and are good values.

Walther WW2 P38s..Steel Frames..for years they were around $350 to $400 in the 90s the market was flooded with them as the German Police traded them in and prices dropped...now WW2 without import marks (imported before 1968) are in the $650 range up..with tons of variations to keep yourself busy for years. I bought a HP variation at auction for $275 in the late 90s...it was even listed in Braxtons book on the subject. Also PPs and PPKs apply...that Nazi stuff sells

High Standard 22 Autos...in the early 60s 95% of all target shooters shot High Standards...only the Smith 41 put a dent in sales. For years U could find HSs for $275 to $375 not anymore...prices are now $475 to $1500 depending on model and rarity...in 2004 a 10X went for $2300 at auction. For the quality of gun the number of variations this represents a prime area of collecting in the futher.

Colt Post War 1911 up to and including Series 70s...hurry as the best are now in the $1000 + range...38 supers, 45 & 38 NMs, Aces and NIB 45s...this is a NO BRAINER...

Winchester Post 85 Mdl 70s.(Classic, with claw extractor, higher the grade the better)..along with the 94/22s...No longer made, and probably will not be made again in America. These are for those who are willing to wait.

Belgium Browning HPs...this is a gut feeling...for years prices were in the $450 range now they are $600 to $900 @...European quality

Rugers..this is a field that hasn't reached maturity, but has become an established collectable..Rugers were always a utilitiarian gun of modest price and good for the money quality. when I started colleting nobody thought much about Rugers except to shoot. I remember that a Hawkeye or Bearcat would bring a premium on resale, and that was it. Today the early 3 screws and non altered guns are collectable...I have a friend down in ole Miss that has bought 65 of them in the past 2 years. Most are less than $1000 each with the exception being over that amount. He told me that one collector paid $1800 for a box alone, and about $1200 for the gun to put in the box.

Winchester MDL 12 Pump shotguns... These guns for the past few years are hard to give away...I paid $400 for a 12 GA in nearly new condition with a Pacmayer Butt Pad in the early 90s in 2005 I could hardly sell it for $475...These guns are FANTASTIC quality for the money..in 1964 Winchester discontinued making them as they were too costly to mfg. This state of affairs has to change sooner or later, the quality of th egun is just too good.

Colt DA Revolvers..Officer Models, Early Troopers, 357 Mags, Pythons, Diamond Backs even Anacondas...I have a thing for prewar Officer Models, these were handfitted guns of superior quality...do U think anyone cares...every Colt collector has a coupla of them as represenatives that they most likely bought cheap along the way, but no one collects them and prices have risen only slightly over the years.$450 to $1100 with the prewar 32 Officers MDl NIB at $1700. By comparison a postwar S&W mdl 16 is at least $2300 NIB and a prewar is in the $15000 range (only 100 made). The exception of course are the Engraved and Special Order guns. Only the Diamond Back and Python show any interest as they have recently been discontinued..with prices now approach the $1000 + range. Talk about the Cadilliacs of Revolvers for a song...I give up trying to tout these guns...

[HardDrive]

.22? Rubbish.

I think we all know that a Desert Eagle is clearly the responsible choice for a new handgunner.

[m21sniper]

If one's objective is to develop a big ole' flinch, absolutely.

Nice firearm for a established shooter though. One of the pilots on my board (an F-117 driver) was 'rumored' to pack a .50AE Desert Eagle on his sorties over downtown Baghdad, just in case.

Can't say i blame him. Getting shot down in I-rag with nothing but an M-9 or M-11 sounds like no fun at all to me...

[tabs]

Yeah I suppose after ya run outa ammo you can use it as a club to

[tabs]

Any 1911 variation would be my choich. 45 ACP gets peoples attention real quick.

[HardDrive]

Originally posted by nostatic
I would advise going to a range, taking a class, and first shooting (not buying) a .22. In the class you'll probably get the opportunity to also shoot other calibers. Decide what you like to shoot and go from there. Most ranges have rentals, so that is a cheap way to figure out what you like and don't like. As others have said, .22 is a great way to learn, but it also is like a popgun next to even a 9mm. If you're ok with that, then buying a .22 as a first gun makes sense. But it you are *not* ok with that (ie you are bored, feels like a toy, etc...anything that will make it so you aren't excited to shoot), then don't buy a .22, but instead start renting other makes and calibers. I like 9mm becuase the ammo is cheapest of the centerfire guns, but in bulk .40S&W isn't that much more.

I love my Sigs. I shot Glocks, Rugers, H&K, S&W and Colts before I bought the Sigs. Life is too short for cheap guns...unless you *really* like 'em...

+1

I dunno. I don' t like the "Its got to be a .22" idea. I get bored *****less shooting a .22.

I think finding a place that rents, and trying out different calibers is a better way to go. I rented for years before ever buying, and I certainly did not end up buying a .22.

.22 does have one HUGE benefit. The ammo is absurdly cheap. You can shoot all day long for peanuts. I have a .40, and its rare to find ammo for less than $12 a box if you don't buy in bulk.

[charleskieffner]

walther/ruger/browning .22 w/suppressor! more giggles than you can stand!

HK anything!

colt/springfield full or micro framed .45's

beretta M-9(most tested pistol EVER)

ruger anything for low end autos or revolver.

all of the above go BANG each and everytime. buy the one that FITS not the gun with GLITZ!

finally after years of being in the biz around the biz, had to sell off all my bastard calibers. now all i have are :

.22's

9mm's

.44's

.45's

what the hell else is there? all the above calibers will do anything ever needed. from COVERT suppressed undercover super secret black ops against gophers to stopping any car/truck on the road dead in its tracks, let alone putting the big whupp ass on some bad guy!

if your ever east of flagstaff. look for exit that says WINONA. take dirt road north about 2 miles. biggest damn praire dog farm you have ever seen. rancher will come out when he hears your shots and state "KILL THEM ALL"!!!

we tried real hard and have continued to try over the years. .22's to .338 win mags! nothing better. set up spotting scopes tables sandbags chairs etc. WHAT A HOOT!

those damn praire dogs are sneaky! they think they are not being watched and hop hole to hole then peek out and the next thing...................WHAMMO! right between the eyes! usually on the 3rd hole they will peek out! and then BOOM BOOM OUT GO THE LIGHTS! PETA LOVES US!

[on2wheels52]

"-Will be used primarily for target practice"

Sounds like you want a .22 to me. If it has to perform other duties....
There's a lot of bases to cover, hard to cover them all with one. I could be happy with five (but not as happy w/40, mine will be a good estate sale to attend).
Of course I advocate buying used, you should save at least 25%. Hard to wear out a quality firearm.
Jim

[ChrisBennet]

One of the Ruger .22's would fit the bill nicely for target shooting. I had a few and I've never had one that didn't shoot well.

-Chris

[artplumber]

Originally posted by legion
I thought I would get the brain trust's opinion on a first handgun.

I have the following requirements:

-Semi-Auto Pistol
-New or used
-Must use a commonly available ammunition (9mm parabellum preferable)
-Ideally priced between $100 and $300
-Will be used primarily for target practice
-Must be able to get spare parts (I don't want to buy something that becomes worthless if it breaks)

If it's about simplicity - does no one buy wheel guns anymore?

[ben parrish]

+1 on the Ruger .22; best gun I have ever owned. Deadly accurate, never jams and cheap to shoot. I am a very good shot and choose this gun over my .9mm of .40cal. If someone was in the house and I had to grab a pistol, it would be the .22 auto with Stinger hollow points.
I also like my Ruger .22 six shooter with interchangeable cylinders. It can shoot shorts, longs, and magnums. A .22 magnum packs a punch for its' projectile size.
Get comfortable shooting the basic gun and then move up.

Ben

[targa911S]

First gun....wheel gun.

[fastpat]

Originally posted by scottmandue
I'm no where the gun expert some of the guys here are but Ruger and Taurus make some reliable handguns in the low price range and with the shear volume they crank out I would guess parts are plentiful.

I bet a donut that by tomorrow afternoon the gun nuts will suggest you double your budget, i. e. they will start recommending $500-$1000 handguns. Not that there is anything wrong with that.

If he were only looking for new, then $500.00 would be the starting point. but he said used as well, so he can look in the $300.00 range for good used handguns.

Here's a Glock model 22, .40 Smith & Wesson (the minimum caliber I'd recommend) http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=63484007 for a starting bid of $325.00, comes with an extra magazine and night sights. There are lots more.