Deciding on a 1st handgun

I got a glock 19. Go to a gun range or store though and see how they feel.

I agree with blacksmith101
enjoy the search

Erickat said:

So, I'm about 3 - 4 weeks away from getting my HQL - and have always liked the CZ 75 Shadow (although I've never seen one in person). Now they have the Shadow 2 - which I am interested in - but maybe as a 2nd gun, as the price is well over $1200 - not counting the FFL transfer fee, since nobody in maryland seems to have one.

While taking the HQL training, I was shown several various sizes & models of handguns to "check the fit" - and some were way too large, hard to operate without 2 hands etc.. and then I was shown a Springfield XD-E - which seemed to be just right - slide easy to operate, controls reachable by thumb, way lower priced than the CZ - and for now, it's the top candidate for my 1st handgun - BUT... I haven't seen / handled any others - and had always thought I'd get a Glock - or a Smith & Wesson - or CZ.... Went to a gun show in Bel Air today, but didn't get the same attention as I did with the instructor at his shop - was kind of on my own to browse, hold, no information, pro or con - kind of a waste of time.

Anyway - my plan is to work w/ the guy who gave the training & likely buy the Springfield XDE from him & work with him to understand what other models might be right for me (after 30 days).

Does anyone have an opinion on the XDE, CZ Shadow 2, or other recommendations?

These are some of the recommendations I found online for a 1st 9mm

Glock 19 9mm Semi Automatic Pistol.
1971 Browning Hi Power 3” (CC BY-SA 2.0) by ~Steve Z~
CZ 75B SP-01 Shadow Competition 9mm Handgun.
Smith and Wesson M&P Shield 9mm.
3/365” (CC BY-ND 2.0) by MWE.Daniel.
SIG P226” (CC BY-ND 2.0) by cb_agulto.
P99” (CC BY 2.0) by redirecTed.

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I’ll repeat what some other fellers dun said ‘cuz I feel the same way.

Don’t judge ‘em by looks. Try a bunch of ‘em fer fit. A hogleg that fits ya good is gonna shoot good for ya.

Good luck.

Sling Blade said:

I’ll repeat what some other fellers dun said ‘cuz I feel the same way.

Don’t judge ‘em by looks. Try a bunch of ‘em fer fit. A hogleg that fits ya good is gonna shoot good for ya.

Good luck.

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"Awright, den. Emmm hmmmm".

First gun? Buy used, get a LEO trade in cheap. Spend the rest of the money on ammo an training. then upgrade as you wish.

Good luck an welcome to the sickness!

I had to double check if I already posted this long running thread .

*******\***

Philosophical Digression.

What is concept of "First Handgun " ? ( Skipping for now, having creditable death threat right now, this minute .)

A one & done handgun , with aspirations of level of skill for across the room defensive ?

Entering the world of handguns , with aspirations of being actually good shot ?

For the first , the G17/G19 is the late 20th Century counterpart to the 4in M10 S&W for previous generations.

For the later, the first ( meaning there will be more to follow ) , should be a .22lr . Fits you well , and reasonably accurate, not necessarily Camp Perry accurate , but reasonably accurate .

Unless you are the rare person who can self teach from a book , get at least some instruction and coaching in marksmanship fundamentals. And then practice , a lot . Not mag dumps , or casual plinking , but serious practice.

A cpl of thousands of rounds later you will have a good idea what you want in your next pistol .

Yes , Revolvers are legitimate, viable options .

Only revolvers should be 30mm revolving cannons. Lol.

I kid, I do love revolvers. What I am struggling with. I am finish a G17 build. After that, dunno. My wife is reluctant on the handguns things. That one is sort of under the table from her. I am getting something for an Alaska trip, which she has okayed. I keep going back and forth between a G20 and a 686/GP100. 10 auto or .357. I love me some revolvers, but I also feel like a G20 and G17 look the same for not a gun person.

But if those might be the only two handguns I own for a couple of years, well maybe the revolver to go with the G17. Both cheap to shoot and the 38/357 would be really cheap to handload and easy to reload the brass. Plus revolver fun.

But at the same time I should be getting my C&R license soon as I mailed my paperwork last week (yes I know it is more like a month wait still). I don’t want it to sit for forever and an m57 Tokarev would be pretty cool and I could pick one up with a few spare mags for $300 or under.

And a 22lr would be nice to train with.

Damnit.

The Tok probably is going to get bought in a few months if prices are still reasonable. Easy enough to tick in a pocket of the door of my gun safe and sneak it in to my range bag when headed there. Same that is happening with the G17.

Till she is more open minded/reasonable. I don’t want to piss her off too much. She has okayed buying a handgun (supposedly my first) and taking it to Alaska as well as buying a Garand for my 35th birthday in a few weeks.

More than G17/Alaska handgun and Tok...prorbably really will wait. Unless I come across a good deal on a CZ82. And then.

Damnit. Sigh. Maybe stick it in a box in my safe (only have two zipper pockets on the door that would fit full size handguns zipped in to them. She doesn’t really go in to the gun safe at all, but it isn’t like she NEVER sees in to it when I am getting things out of putting things away).

I don't know how I'd ever feel about owning a CZ but I hear more and more good things about them. I have always liked Sigs and Beretta.
Its funny because I can remember when I hated Glock to death but I really like them now and own 2.

I aspire to buy a couple of HKs in the next year.

Highly recommend the Jericho 941, EAA Witness, and any of the CZ clones. Also you cannot go wrong with Sig Sauer imo.

scjamesm said:

Highly recommend the Jericho 941, EAA Witness, and any of the CZ clones. Also you cannot go wrong with Sig Sauer imo.

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Hell yeah-! I live Sig Sauer

I've seen some nice pics of CZ models but it would depend on how they feel in my hand.