Good gun for newb

[pdonlin]

I've only ever fired a few guns in my life just doing target practice in the middle of nowhere into big sand piles, so I would consider myself having no experience. I want to get a gun for personal/home protection and to go practice with frequently. Chances are that I wouldn't buy many more than this one, but I'm sure once you really get into the hobby it can be easy to buy more and upgrade.

What I have been looking at is the Glock 17, and now the Glock 31 (I did see some recommendations towards a .357 over a 9mm but I don't remember why that was). I am leaning towards the 9mm right now, but would either of these make a good choice for someone who is new with guns? I have heard that Glock is a great choice because they require the least amount of maintenance. This also does not mean I am stuck on Glock... if anyone has a recommendation for some reason towards another manuf then please speak up.

After purchasing the gun I plan to get alot of practice with it and take the required course to get a CCW. One thing I have not factored in yet is ammunition costs. What type of ammo is the most economic for target shooting? Would it be impractical to use a certain pistol for this? I'm primarily talking live ammunition because alot of the practice will be shooting at targets on a friends property. They have a good enough setup on their 15 acres where his brother used to come practice with his hunting rifles.

 

[Black Dog]

Personally I think the G17 or G19 would be an excellent choice considering your needs and experience. Glocks are extremely reliable and go bang every time you pull the trigger. The 9mm models are the most time proven since they were the first caliber Glock made. The next most popular is the .40 caliber. Some PD's have been having some issues with them but if I'm following it correctly it's mostly when used in conjunction with non-Glock tactical lights.
9mm is by far the most economical round to practice with. You can pick up 100rd value boxes of FMJ at Walmart for around $11.
I think Glocks in general are well suited to folks newer to shooting. Not only for their reliablility but also for their simplicity. They are quite simple to break down for cleaning. Some people scream about their lack of an external safety (forgetting that revolvers never had them) but to me that's a plus. In the stress of a self defense situation you will really feel silly when you try to pull the trigger on a custom 1911 .45 and nothing happens because you forgot to thumb the safety off. You may only get one chance. I've seen it happen in training classes even after the instructor warned people about it. Whenever it did, he pulled them off the line, saying "you're dead".
Whether you decide on a Glock or not, just make sure you spend the extra duckets to get a good quality holster that completely covers the trigger guard and keep the gun in the holster. Negligent discharges are almost always caused by something (finger or otherwise) engaging the trigger.
I always recommend that people take a safety course from a certified NRA instructor. And practice. A lot.

 

[N2Advnture]

I would recommend two things:

1.) Go to a gun range near you and rent a few different guns to see what fits you best.

2.) If you can't wait...get a revolver for a first gun. The Ruger SP101 is sweet in stainless and can be chambered in .357 & .38

3.) Take a NRA certified training course

Blast away!

~M

 

[N2Advnture]

...I always recommend that people take a safety course from a certified NRA instructor. And practice. A lot.

...great minds, right? :grinFU:

~M

 

[Black Dog]

Addendum:
I wouldn't get too caught up in the "9mm vs .40 vs .45 vs .357 caliber wars". All of them are sufficient for your needs. The 9mm has a little less recoil and muzzle flip which I think makes it ideal for new shooters. If you use a good jacketed hollow point for your defensive ammo it has more than enough stopping power. I know that some won't agree with that but if you could ask any of the many who are looking at the wrong side of the pine as a result of being hit with it, I think they'd tell you it has enough stopping power.
That being said, I use 124gr Gold Dot +P for defensive ammo.

 

[jaxstraww]

Like Mark said, get a revolver for the home. If you need to fire more than six shots your in trouble.

 

[Boppa-Wasch]

Like Mark said, get a revolver for the home. If you need to fire more than six shots your in trouble.

357 is more than enough to either knock down or loud enough to scare the bejeeesis out of someone. 38 Specials are a little cheaper for practice. IMO

 

[Fox]

It is hard for me to disagree with anything said here. There are pros and cons for a revolver and semi automatic. The beauty of a revolver is that it goes bang every time. It is simple, has no safety and is a breeze to field strip for a beginner. A revolver is also extremely reliable for newbies in high stress situations should they ever occur. Depending upon your level of commitment and practice, a revolver is usually the best choice for a beginner. The SP101 is a fine carry piece, but with full-house .357 loads it can be difficult to manage without practice. The drawback of the SP101 is that they are 5-shot only, unless they have remodeled them in recent years. The GP100 series is a superb revolver, but larger and heavier and would be tough for most people to conceal. In either case, you can shoot .357 or .38 Special as long as both are originally chambered for .357. The S&W model 66 is another excellent choice. It can be had with various lengths of barrel.

If you prefer to go with an automatic, then there are a lot of options. Glocks are superb, but I am one of those people that do not care for them. They are utterly reliable, but they just do not feel right in my hand. I prefer the Sig pistols; 228 or 229 are both excellent choices in 9mm and for concealed carry. You need to decide if a safety is important to you in the early stages. Neither the Glock or Sig have safety levers, although the Sig has a decocking lever. As someone said, your best option is to go to a range and try a few. My local range rents a number of different pistol types in various calibers. Renting will allow you to sample various pistols for accuracy, recoil, comfort and reliability.

As noted, do not worry about the caliber size, although I would not go lower than a 9mm. I carry a .45 and sometimes a 9mm. If you get the chance, try 9mm, .40 S&W, .357 and .45 ACP. Choose what is right for you, then commit to practice, practice and more practice.

 

[joshua]

My uncle has a few handguns and I fired off a beretta 9mm and a glock 9mm
& 357 (If I recall correctly). The beretta seemed a bit more accurate and easier to handle, but the glock looks and feels badass.

 

[Black Dog]

I would also agree with what has been said about revolvers. It's the simplest design with the least amount of moving parts. There ain't much that can go wrong with them.
However, there are some drawbacks. As has been mentioned, if you go with a revolver for self defense, you'd want to go with .357 Magnum. In a short barreled revolver this round packs one hell of a punch, not only on the receiving end but on the shooters end as well. I've never fired an SP101 but I understand that it's fairly heavy and has a very strong frame so that helps with the recoil. Some short barrel .357's can be downright painful to shoot. If you find it uncomfortable you may not find yourself practicing as much. Practice ammo will also probably cost twice as much as 9mm. Of course, as has also been mentioned, you can shoot .38 Special which is cheaper and easier on the hand. The only problem with that is that .38 Special is a far cry different than a .357 Mag defensive round than a 9mm 115gr JHP is from a 124gr or better 9mm defensive round. I prefer to practice with something closer to what I'd actually be using for defense. As far as capacity goes, I'd rather err on the side of too many rounds rather than not enough. While most encounters are over in 3 shots or less, who knows? The latest trend in burglaries is armed home invasions by 4-5 armed thugs. If I have a 5-shot handgun can I make every one count? Can I reload a revolver quickly with shaking hands while possibly being fired at?
In short, if I think someone is going to buy a gun and a box of ammo and put them in the nightstand in case they ever need it then I'd recommend a revolver.
If I think they are going to take the time to go to the range and practice and learn all about their weapon, then I'll recommend an auto. Some of the others that have been suggested, like the Sig, would also be an excellent choice.

 

[indyrob]

If you have big hands like me, get what feels right. I did a lot of shopping and ended up with a CZ75. Middle of the road price tag, but it's all steel and pretty heavy.

 

[Fox]

If you have big hands like me, get what feels right. I did a lot of shopping and ended up with a CZ75. Middle of the road price tag, but it's all steel and pretty heavy.

Another excellent choice; not as well known and occasionally a bit harder to find than the others, but a superb pistol.

 

[Jwrussell]

Well, I got to this late. Everything that needs to be said has pretty much been said. If you truly plan to dedicate the time to practice then go with which ever you feel more comfortable with after having tried them out. So there's the first point, like Mark said, DEFINATELY go find some local ranges with a good selection of rentals. Find out what fits your hand. Believe it or not, you can fall in love with a pistol looking at it on line or even in a case, only to find out it doesn't feel right or the controls aren't where you like them once you handle it.
Second, WHATEVER you go with, you need to be willing to practice and that goes double if you are going with a semi-auto pistol. They really aren't all THAT hard to master, but you still need to be willing to practice. In short, pretty much exactly what Brian said above, lol.

As has been said, don't get caught up with the "ammo wars" In Semi, anything 9mm and above will be fine. Go with what you are comfortable with shooting. I went with .40 for my first pistol because I simply liked how the round "felt" when fired better. Sounds stupid, I know, but I could handle the recoil and was comfortable with the size of the round. I knew I didn't really care for the recoil of the .45 even in full sized pistols so I knew I wouldn't care for it in a compact. And that information came from multiple trips to the range with rentals and friends handguns. I just really can't stress that point enough: go out and try things out.

Some semis to look for if you go that route, with no info on budget restraints:
Sig P229
HK USP Compact
Springfield XD
Glock (as you already mentioned)

Can't go wrong with any of the guns in the above lines. I don't care for the Glock or XD form, but you can't argue with their function.

Good luck, and welcome to yet another new hobby! lol

 

[pdonlin]

This is alot of great information, thanks. I'll do some research on the other guns mentioned here. If/when I make my purchase I will try to remember this post and report back what I decided on.

 

[pdonlin]

After doing some online research on these guns it looks like the ones I am most likely to pick between would be the Glock 17 and the Sig P228.

Have the P228's been discontinued? I do not see a mention of them anywhere on Sig's website, but every mention of the 228 always points out that it is a smaller version of the P226.

 

[Fox]

Patrick, the 228 has been discontinued. They can be had used, but I would not recommend a used firearm unless you have a lot of experience with arms in general and know what to look for. The 229 and 229R, are the replacements. If you decide you like a Sig, I would suggest the "R" version. The only difference is the rail system machined underneath the front of the frame. The rails allow you to mount small lights, such as the Surefire, or a laser sight. A bright light is nice to have for home defense, but it does not have to be mounted if you learn how to use it freehand. The reason I suggest the "R" model is that it will give you more options for the future.

 

[pdonlin]

Thats what it looked like to me Fox, thanks for confirming it.

I have a friend who helps run a local gun club / shooting range and is a certified NRA instructor. He is going to get me going and let me try some of his revolvers so I can find one I like and buy a used one to learn on.

Like some here, he strongly recommended a revolver to learn on because they teach gun control and fire every time. I will probably get a Ruger GP100 from the sounds of it. He also recommended the sig over a glock. His favorite is the .45 but he did say for learning 9mm is the best bet because its the cheapest to shoot.

 

[Jwrussell]

One more comment on this. YOu mention CCW in your original post. Be sure to strap on what you are looking at if you are able to. Be sure you are comfortable wearing the gun as well as handling/shooting. Revolvers have their upsides, but their downsides as well. Brian already went over some of them. Another side is that they aren't the best for concealed carry. It can be done, without a doubt, but they do have a slight handicap over pistols. If you go the Sig route and are looking to carry, be sure to check out the SAS version of the 229. I know it can be had in .40 and .45, would assume it could also be had in 9. It's DA only and all the edges have been "melted" to help with snags on drawing from the holster and from concealment.

 

[PetersCreek]

I'll echo the recommendation to strap 'em on if you can, before you buy. The best gun for self-defense is the one you have with you...and can shoot effectively.

My main carry piece is a Kimber full-size, stainless steel 1911. It has thousands of rounds through it, eats anything I feed it, and takes no more maintenance than a Glock...or any other firearm that receives the prudent care due a weapon to which you entrust the defense of life.

Yes, it has an external, manual safety. However, I'm of the opinion that if flicking it off isn't second nature, even in a training scenario, you haven't spent nearly enough time at the range. If that's true, what other important skills (presentation, trigger control, 2+1, etc.) won't be up to par when you really need them?

For those occasions that I need a smaller, lighter, more easily concealed firearm, my alternate is the Kahr PM9. Unlike the 1911, it sports no external safeties...not even a trigger safety like the Glock. It just has a long-but-smooth, revolver-like trigger pull. Besides being an effective small pistol, with its extremely light weight it's a whole handful of fun on the range.

I also have an H&K USP 45 Compact that I've liked a lot but lately, I find myself wanting to trade it in on a compact 1911.

 

[Jwrussell]

I also have an H&K USP 45 Compact that I've liked a lot but lately, I find myself wanting to trade it in on a compact 1911.

BLASPHEMY I SAY! BLASPHEMY! :rofl:

I love my UPSC in .40, but like you, I've been eyeing a compact 45 as I think more and more on getting my Concealed Lisence. I haven't strapped one on, and I really need to shoot one again to be sure the recoil isn't a problem for me (yeah, I know, I'm a wuss), but when I go Concealed I'd like to be able to wear IWB and with my waist, I want that damn pistol as slim as possible! :rofl: