First handgun- help?

K

keens

New member
My dad has moved on and hasn't had time for this forum anymore, so he has handed over the rights to his account to me, his 18 year old son.

Hope I get to know all of you. This seems like a great place to learn a lot, so I'll be sitting back and listening.

I am about to purchase my first handgun. I have been around them since I can remember and have shot many. I love 1911s, but don't want one right now. I have narrowed my options down to the polymer frame market and am going to decide between SA, glock, Smith and Wesson (m&p...), and HK.
After doing some research, shooting them all, and doing more research.. I have decided that the glock 19 would be my ideal purchase.. main reason being that SA doesn't make an XD or XDm with a compact grip. I am accustomed to the 1911 grip angle which is what the XD line is modeled after.. which pulls me away from the glock.

I can't decide. What should I do?
 
good guns. I like many, go with whatever feels the most comfortable in your hand.

Personally i have a glock 17 which is great. Rugged, true, reliable, and great feel.

I also can speak from experience on the Smith and Wesson M&P .40 I love it. Great gun. Great feel. yadda yadda yadda. I use the medium grip. Very accurate. only one maybe two failures (within first 200) with several thousand few thru it. i use it for HD with the TLR-2 light/laser combo on it. highly recommend this gun.

and welcome:D
 
I routinely carry Glock's M19 and M23.I carried M1911's for years but find I shoot the Glocks as well and have more ammo on board for no more weight.They are a little thicker but no enough to matter to me.
 
There are two basic schools of thought concerning a first handgun purchase. I think they both have merit.

1) Buy a beater. There's a lot more that goes into owning a handgun than just paying the purchase price. I would have hated to damage an expensive handgun when I was first learning to reload my own cartridges, not to mention cleaning them. I've seen a lot of nice guns screwed up by someone who tried to clean them without knowing what they were doing.

2) Buy the gun you really want, because you will save a lot of time, trouble, and money in the long run.

That said, it sounds like you have some practical experience. Your father may not have time for this forum, but I assume he has time to help you out with some of these issues.

It sounds like you have shot all of the models you listed; is this correct?
 
My dad has moved on and hasn't had time for this forum anymore, so he has handed over the rights to his account to me, his 18 year old son.

Hope I get to know all of you. This seems like a great place to learn a lot, so I'll be sitting back and listening.

I am about to purchase my first handgun.
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You do realize that you are going to have to purchase the handgun in a private sale with no FFL involvement (IE: from a same state resident)? You will also have to purchase the ammunition from somebody without a license as well. If you want to stay within the bounds of Federal law.

And there's nothing wrong with you buying a gun from a private party (depending on your state of residence), just wouldn't want your trip to the gun store to end in a disappointment.

If you want to also get into reloading, Glocks have a bad reputation with reloaded ammunition and lead bullets.
 
Glock calls the 19 a compact because it's smaller than the 17. But by most manufacturer's standards its a service pistol. I haven't put a XD9 next to a G19, but I'm betting they're pretty close in barrel and grip length.

My advice to you is to go to a range with a large rental section and shoot through your potential purchase list. Chances are what you like and don't like will surprise you once you've shot it.
 
Ditto kodiakbeer

A .22 is cheap way to learn to shoot --- or to phrase it in a way that is more appropriate for this forum --- you can afford to shoot even more often with a 22.

If you find out you don't really like shooting enough to spend time on it, you won't have wasted big bucks.

If you do enjoy shooting, and we hope you do, a good .22 (Ruger or whatever) will be always be fun for you.
Since you can't wear out a good .22, it will be there to use when you teach your children/grandchildren.
 
BUY THE XD.

That is easy. The glock is to "funky" if you are used to the grip angle of a 1911. For people like me that have been shooting a 1911 grip angle for 20+ yrs, the glock is just not something that I am willing to retrain for.

The gun doesn't give you enough benefit to try to unlearn how you have shot and to re train.

Sorry to pee in the Cheerios of all the glock sickophants here.

I have shot a glock lately and quick shooting the Natural way I have since I was 8, leaves me shooting about a foot high at 10 yrds, because of the unholy, ignorant hump at the back of the grip on the glock.

Switch to a better grip angle = my xd, and my groups magically re align.

Not making a 100% def. statement for everyone that like the glock. But in my experiance, most people that love the glock; shot the glock or was introduced to it early on in their shooting. And since they learn on it, they like it. Not saying that is true about everyone.
 
It sounds like you have shot all of the models you listed; is this correct?
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Yes, shot all of them many times. XD feels better to me, however, the grip is to long. I have been authorized to carry in a privately owned workplace and I would greatly appreciate the shorter grip of the Glock 19.

You do realize that you are going to have to purchase the handgun in a private sale with no FFL involvement (IE: from a same state resident)? You will also have to purchase the ammunition from somebody without a license as well. If you want to stay within the bounds of Federal law.

And there's nothing wrong with you buying a gun from a private party (depending on your state of residence), just wouldn't want your trip to the gun store to end in a disappointment.
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I am totally aware of this. I know plenty of people with plenty to sell.

Buy a .22. Learn to shoot. Then decide on a centerfire handgun.
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Was brought up around guns.. Learned how to shoot a good while back.

After becoming accustomed to shooting a 1911 and my dad's Xd compact .45, I ran about 700 rounds through a glock 17. I felt like I had to "aim down". I was constantly changing by grip position.. but I'm willing to learn and adjust for a perfected and proven product.. like the glock 19. The XD just hasn't been around long enough to grow on me. The grip safety is.. unneeded IMO. Seems like it could prevent you from shooting from the hip if ever necessary.

I was deciding between a 9mm and a .45.. chose the 9mm because you can find ammo anywhere and it's cheaper on my budget. Don't care for the .40 S&W.

Thanks for the replies.
 
You'll get many opinons-
You'll end up doing what you want-
Nothing wrong there :cool:

But FWIW i love my XD but you might want to look at the "new" Ruger line :rolleyes:

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i am also going to buy my 1st

i personally am thinking about a glock,eaa witness or a fnp can i get some feedback on these guns & also whats your thoughts on 9mm vs. .40 s&w
 
If you're looking for a compact grip in polymer go with and M&P or the Ruger compact someone else mentioned. Glocks have polygonal barrels and that strange grip angle and plastic magazines. The HK on your list would be so much better.

In the all steel department there is the CZ75 compact or the CZ P-01. Both are tremendous weapons and either is small enough to fit your general criteria. I've got a pretty big assortment of plastic and all steel handguns and have been carrying a CZ Rami 2075 a bunch lately. http://media.photobucket.com/image/9mm2075rami/mvtech08/CZ_2075_RAMI.jpg Talk about a short grip. It's 10 rounds of 9mm in the magazine and one in the chamber and makes a very easy to conceal SD weapon. The best word to describe the Rami is chunky. Very short barrel but VERY accurate. At least for me.

If capacity is an issue a full size CZ magazine with 16 rounds makes a great backup mag and works perfectly in the Rami grip. That's what I do and it gives me 27 total rounds.
 
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HK says that the grip angle on the HK45 is the same as the 1911.

I'm not entirely sure if it is in fact the same, but I pretty much grew up with 1911's and I find the HK45 to be wonderfully comfortable and a perfectly natural pointer with the medium grip strap installed.

USP's I think do the same thing. in .45 they hold 2 extra rounds over the HK45, and they are a bit cheaper depending on which one you go for.

I'd take the either the HK45 or the USP over the glock. this is because I personally find the glock to have a funny grip angle, and a short stubby trigger. I feel that the HK's have better triggers, and they can always be made even better with a match trigger upgrade(USP only at this time).

The USP has some blockyness, and some aggressive checkering, and the HK45 has some amazing ergonomics. the P30 does too if .45 is not your thing.

I'd recommend a good hard look at the HK's they are superb weapons. USP's may run a few hundred more than glocks, but I feel they are worth the extra cost. HK's are definitely worth some serious consideration.
 
Glock grip

AR15M4: I agree about the "ignorant" grip hump on Glocks. I think the design purpose for the it was to allow access for finger/thumb to remove a magazine that failed to drop out. I have a model 23 that I recontoured the rear of the grip using a hacksaw and body putty. This resulted in a more natural pointing grip angle. Used to point high with a natural wrist/grip hold. "It is not necessary to understand things to argue about them"
 
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