Took the plunge and bought a 9mm pistol

[Nathans_Dad]

After about 2 years of thinking and shooting and talking to people who shoot I finally bought my first 9mm handgun.

I have a good friend who is a, shall we say gun enthusiast? He has so many pistols I have lost count. He has multiple copies of certain models as well. He has been kind enough to take me out shooting 3-4 times and will bring 4 different models to try each time. So, I've shot about 10 different guns over the course of my search.

I narrowed my selection down to S&W M&P, Glock 17 and Beretta PX4 Storm. I knew the caliber would be 9mm or .40. I had been looking for a while but was waiting for prices to come down some more, I didn't want to spend more than $500.

The gun will be used for home defense and some target shooting.

My friend called me a couple weeks ago and said he had decided to pare down his handgun collection and sell off some of the guns he didn't shoot as much anymore to fund the purchase of some more expensive handguns. He said he had a gun he thought would meet my criteria.

He loaned me the gun to try out and shoot at the range and if I liked it he said he would give me a good deal on it.

The gun is a Beretta 8000 Cougar. This is a 1995 model so it was made by Beretta, I think the Cougar is now made by a Hungarian maker. My friend said he had put a few hundred rounds through it, the gun has been very well kept and looks nearly new.

We took it to the range today and it shot very nicely, pretty tight groups at 5 and 10 yards. I was able to reliably hit the silhouette with the target at 15 yards which is pretty good for me as I am a very new shooter.

Anyhow, here is a pic:



The gun came with the original case, manual and all paperwork, two 10 round clips and three 15 round clips. Also included was a small gun safe box, a holster and 100 rounds of 114 gr ammo. My buddy said he would take $400 for all of it which is a steal from what I can tell.

[Nathans_Dad]

Oh, I forgot to ask, anyone have any suggestions on ammo to buy for target practice? Any good deals out there right now on ammo? I found a couple places that had 124 gr 9mm ammo for $16 for a box of 50 rounds, can't find anything less than that though.

[Nathans_Dad]

Here's our targets from today:

This one is my wife's target. These are shots from 5 and 10 yards just to get her used to the gun. She had never shot a gun before!



Here is our target at 15 yards, the center mass shots are my wife's, I took the head shots.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by Nathans_Dad

Oh, I forgot to ask, anyone have any suggestions on ammo to buy for target practice? Any good deals out there right now on ammo? I found a couple places that had 124 gr 9mm ammo for $16 for a box of 50 rounds, can't find anything less than that though.

I suspect you will not find much cheaper than that.

[krystar]

walmart has federal (red box) and winchester white box (wwb's) for about $30 for 100 rounds. less plastic packaging. just straight cardboard box. unless u buy online in 500/1000 bulk, you're not going to find it much cheaper.

practice practice practice.

[Rick V]

Welcome to the dark side

[PushingMyLuck]

What's better for home defense? Pistol or shotgun?
Did you need to get a permit for the pistol?

[Nathans_Dad]

I own a shotgun as well, to my mind a shotgun would be hard to swing around in tight quarters which is why I went with the pistol.

As far as permits go, my understanding is that here in Texas the only license required is a CHL if you intend to carry. I will be getting my CHL just for educational purposes.

[on2wheels52]

I've never had one come through the shop, thought you had a 'stub nose' 92 for a minute but I see it is an altogether different action (rotating bolt).
I think you got a kin folk deal on the package, perhaps you can do a favor for your buddy in the future.
Jim

[Joe Bob]

Excellent deal.....

[Nathans_Dad]

Oh yes, he gave me a heck of a deal.

[Nostril Cheese]

I almost bought that very same pistol but went with the S&W M+P . Nice choice.

[Steve Carlton]

I have the 8045 Cougar and really like it. The barrel rotates on recoil vs tipping up, supposedly to increase accuracy. I find it very accurate, but mostly I like the look of it and the way it fits in my hand. I'm partial to Berettas because my uncle had them when I was an impressionable youth. I was told when I got it that it was standard issue for the FBI Swat team, but that may have been BS.

[Nathans_Dad]

I did notice that the recoil was less than what I remember with some of the other pistols I have shot.

The least recoil of any is the H&K P7 PSP which I looked for but could not find for less than $750. This one is a close second though and I like the decocker/safety feature.

Plus Berettas have a nicer line to my eye, they aren't as blocky as some of the guns. I know it's just aesthetics but I don't care for the Glock look.

[cashflyer]

Originally Posted by Rick V

Welcome to the dark side

Rick... I posted something on the other site that you may be interested in.

[targa911S]

Originally Posted by on2wheels52

I've never had one come through the shop, thought you had a 'stub nose' 92 for a minute but I see it is an altogether different action (rotating bolt).
I think you got a kin folk deal on the package, perhaps you can do a favor for your buddy in the future.
Jim

I'm with Jim on this. Nice gun at a great price. Target loads..FMJ have fun ..

[targa911S]

Originally Posted by Nathans_Dad

I did notice that the recoil was less than what I remember with some of the other pistols I have shot.

The least recoil of any is the H&K P7 PSP which I looked for but could not find for less than $750. This one is a close second though and I like the decocker/safety feature.

Plus Berettas have a nicer line to my eye, they aren't as blocky as some of the guns. I know it's just aesthetics but I don't care for the Glock look.

All the new guns look like squirt guns to me. Yours is less of that look than others for sure.

[Mericet]

Nice!

[djmcmath]

Excellent, and congratulations! Welcome to the fold.

[Buckterrier]

Originally Posted by Nathans_Dad

I own a shotgun as well, to my mind a shotgun would be hard to swing around in tight quarters which is why I went with the pistol.

Have David make you a coach side by side, 19" barrels. They are easy to swing around!!

Nice spoon & great price.