Best handgun for a newbie

22 or 9mm

I have a Ruger SR22 and love it. Also shoot a Springfield XD 9mm at targets for a little more umpth and fun. But can't go wrong with a 22 at the range.
 
This summer I was a new shooter, but I suspect everyone is different. I had never shot, never really touched a gun before, am female, and "senior." Won't go into my reasons for deciding to do this at such an advanced age.

Fortunately for me, I have a friend who is really into guns who let me try all of hers. What I remember - .22 revolver; .38 European Arms revolver; several Glocks, a 19 and 34 among them; a Bodyguard .380; a Sig P238; and a Sig P938; a .45 semi-automatic.

I had trouble with both recoil and muzzle blast. Both were intimidating. IMO the .22 had such a light trigger, it would be dangerous in such a newbie's hands. You'd have to pay me to shoot either the Bodyguard or the .45 again. I found the Glock 34 less off-putting than the 19, but didn't much like either. Same for pretty much all the others. Out of all of them, the P238 was the one that made me say, "I could live with that," and so I bought a P238 for my first gun. And I love it.

Since then I bought a Ruger SP101 (4", .357 but I only shoot .38 special), which from research, I thought would be the best gun for me. But I didn't shoot it first. I'm still struggling with it. Hogue grips, 10# trigger spring, but the long, heavy trigger pull and weight of the gun itself may prove too much no matter what I do. Will keep it and practice with it through the winter and decide.

Since then my friend bought a Baby Desert Eagle 9 mm, and if I had shot that before buying the revolver - well, things would be different.

So my best advice is don't buy anything you haven't tried, and I know that can be hard for many people and that am fortunate to know someone who could give me such a wide range of experience without my spending as much as a gun costs in rental fees.
 
Do you have a price range or a preference of .22 over center fire? If not, my for suggestion is the Beretta 92fs. It's nice shooting an a great range gun (might be the nicest shooting gun there is IMO). The S&W 5906 is a really nice shooter too and can be found used (police trade ins) for a good price. You'll find shooting 9mm from a full size gun a pretty nice experience I think.

If you want softer or quieter, then .22lr is lots of fun and the number of choices of good starter guns is way up there. The Ruger Mark III are really good but I prefer the Beretta Neos with the 4.5" barrel. The venerable Smith & Wesson 22A is a great gun and a real bargain. I have run many thousands of rounds through mine without a problem. My favorite .22 to shoot though is the Sig 1911-22 ... a 1911 chambered in .22lr. This thing is a blast to shoot, especially with something like the Super-x SS ammo. I also like the M&P 22 but haven't had a chance to try one yet.
 
Ruger SR22, lots of fun at the range. I tag a tennis ball on a string at 10 yrds all day long. Moving targets beat the stationary paper one any day.
 
I'm fairly new to shooting. The one handgun I've shot was a baby Glock .45. I didn't really like it. I'd like to get something not quite a power that is fun to shoot. I'm not necessarily looking for a home defense weapon, just something to enjoy shooting at the range.

Any suggestions on guns I should test next time I am at the range?
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.22 autoloader, a Ruger mark II or III, or 22/44, or the equivalent from Browning or one of the other makers. Cheap, easy to shoot, accurate. And did I mention fun?
 
My vote would be a GSG 1911/22. Inexpensive , cheap to shoot, lots of fun and preps you for the The functions of the 45acp
 
I was a new shooter less than a year ago. Maybe its because I started with a Glock G22 (.40cal) and then a heavy .45cal 1911, but I don't find .22LR fun to shoot. There is almost no recoil, which makes it seem wimpy. I got a Beretta 92FS which I really like, but my favorite is definitely my matte stainless CZ-75B. Its got a great feel and is a super accurate 9mm semi, I highly suggest you try one.
 
Kirby why did you choose Glock 22.
The first gun I ever fired in my life and that was just recently was a beretta 92fs and out of 8 shots 1 hit the paper target, other hit the the side of the paper and rest of 6 hit nothing, don't know where they hit! And I thought beretta 92fs was just made for me! I was so WRONG. Reality BIT ME HARD.
 
I picked the G22 as the first gun as I wanted something that was good for HD and the .40cal seemed like the perfect option. It has great stopping power and the G22 holds 15+1 rounds plus Glocks almost never have any failures of any sort. It am very pleased with it. The 40s&w round can be kind of snappy, and in a light polymer frame can be difficult for some people to handle. I had tried a G17 and G19 and G23 and did not find it much harder than the 9mm and liked the full size frame better. Since CCW is not an option in the people's republic of NJ I went with the full size.


Not sure why you had such problems with the 92FS, perhaps it is your grip. You don't indicate at what distance you were shooting, but the 92FS is a very accurate gun, so I am guessing it is your technique. What sort of training have you had?

Not trying to pick on you here, but for most people there is more than just picking it up and pulling the trigger.
 
charlesc,
It may not be that the Beretta 92 was not made for you.
Being that it was your first time shooting, I would guess that the problem is more with training (knowing and executing well the fundamentals of shooting) than gun/user fit.
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When I teach first timers to shoot, I often joke that as long as the bullets go downrange, it is all good. The main thing is to have fun, learn safety and some of the fundamentals (does not have to be all on the first day).
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Let it be known that I have blamed the wind, the sun, and the noise at the range for my bad groups and will continue to do so:D.
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Range rental and see if you can find some 22LR to shoot.

Ammo is so cheap you won't hesitate to put a lot of lead down range and work on technique, aim, etc etc

22LR firearms tend to be a lot cheaper so the price of entry is pretty minimal. Plus as you step up in caliber size, it will be fun feeling the difference.
 
Forget the revolver. The double action trigger is difficult to master. A new shooter will see better results, faster, with a gun like the Ruger 22/45 or Ruger MK III, Browning Buckmark or similar.
 
Thinking that I should start simple, and with proven hardware, my first handgun was a Ruger MKIII 22/45 (4" slab sided bull barrel, fixed sites). Also chosen for its 1911 grip angle, thinking that I may "graduate" to a 1911 someday. I still have it, and even though I have a SA XD9 & a SA XDs .45, I still shoot that 22/45 all the time. I use it to work on trigger control, sight picture, breathing, grip, and just plain fun affordably. Used it to teach my 3 daughters & my wife how to shoot a handgun. 1000's of rounds down the pipe and never had a single, non-ammo related, problem.
 
Ruger 22/45 and the Glock 19. They are both cheap, well made, extremely accurate, easy to shoot and will last forever. You can't go wrong with either one.
 
The .22's have been more than covered already but I will mention one more thing. If going with Ruger MK or Buck Mark try and shoot both. If you can not at least hold them both. I like both but the Buck Mark fits my hand better and has been great for my daughter to learn with.

If or when you step up to 9mm I would try the Beretta 92FS. They are not for everyone but seam to work right out of the box for most people and it is the fastest and easiest to strip down of any pistol I have ever had. Two hands is more than enough, unlike some that almost need three hands to take down.
 
which 22LR gun to buy, one that is easy to disassemble/clean?
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Nope, not necessarily. I've known people that have never cleaned their Mk II and the things just run fine.

That being said a revolver doesn't need to be disassembled in order to clean it. It is a bit more time consuming because of the 6 or more cylinders.

Most semi-autos are fairly easy to field strip and clean. The Ruger does have a steep learning curve, but once learned it's no more difficult than others.

A much more important consideration is how the gun fits and feels to you.
 
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