Price of First Handgun

J

Jacket67

New member
Hey TFL,

I have a quick question regarding how much money I should expect to put into my first handgun purchase. I have a few options I am considering with one being the glock 19. I like the track record of it, but I don't like the idea of paying ~$500, just to spend ~$200 more on sights and an extended slide stop lever. Would I be better off buying a different gun that has better stock accessories, or is the glock worth the extra cost? I'm curious because I'll also be spending money on a ccw license, holster, ammo, classes, etc.

Thanks.
 
Price may depend on your location.

I'd also suggest that if you are looking at a firearm that can be upgraded with the things you mention later on, consider buying as much gun as you can up front, and decking it out with things later on.
 
I think the Glock 19 would be the perfect first handgun. And honestly, you don't need to spend money on accessories like an extended slide stop right now. The gun with a holster and ammo are all the accessories you need for now. Change items out as you learn what you like and don't like about it.

There are other cheaper options out there though. Like the FNS9, FNS9c, CZ P07, Ruger SR9/SR9C, M&P9/9c. All are good options. Get your hands on as many as possible
 
Depends what you like.

My CZ P-01 was just a touch over $500 with shipping and FFL fees. Sure, I would like to replace the sights and upgrade the trigger, but it has been a dead reliable gun and I shoot plenty well with stock sights and trigger. So I haven't upgraded it. A Glock 19 is a plenty good gun without $200 of upgrades later. I don't see anything wrong with simply tugging on the slide to release it versus using the slide stop (which is not considered a slide release on the Glock anyways).

Get a good, reliable gun that you can afford and a lot of ammo and training time. There are plenty of reliable guns on the market for $500 or less, and you can get some fancier guns on up from there. Some time training will tell you what you need your gun to do.
 
I have a G19 with the factory night sights. I'm not sure what they regularly run, but I'd guess about $100. I actually like them better than some Trijicons I have on another pistol; the dots are larger. (If anyone knows better about the price than I, please correct me. I'd rather be wrong than give out bad info.) I'd suggest looking into them. As far as other accessories, I'd suggest spending that $200 on ammo and shooting that up first. Then you can decide if you really need new doodads.

I love my G19, so I tend to think they're worth the extra $$$, but I also have to admit that there are lots of very good competitors to the G19. M&P, P10c, SR9, XDsomethings, and the list goes on and on. I'm not going to tell you those are bad guns, because they're not. I haven't shot all of them, but I'm sure they're perfectly dandy pistols. The ones that I have shot, have run just fine. Had I chosen one of them instead of the G19, I'm convinced it would have served me well.

A couple of things about a Glock, though:

Aftermarket support -- AFAIK, all of the above-named pistols have good aftermarket support. It may even be as good as that for a G19. I'd be very surprised, though, if it were better. If someone makes a widget for any reason, they make that widget for Glocks. I don't buy a lot of widgets, but I do look at a lot of widgets. Every widget manufacturer makes G19 widgets.

Resale -- If you hate the G19, you probably won't have any trouble reselling it. TBH, that was one of the reasons I picked the G19. As it turns out, I don't hate it. (That crow tasted a little icky, I can assure you.)
 
Hey TFL,

I have a quick question regarding how much money I should expect to put into my first handgun purchase. I have a few options I am considering with one being the glock 19. I like the track record of it, but I don't like the idea of paying ~$500, just to spend ~$200 more on sights and an extended slide stop lever. Would I be better off buying a different gun that has better stock accessories, or is the glock worth the extra cost? I'm curious because I'll also be spending money on a ccw license, holster, ammo, classes, etc.

Thanks.
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Does the Glock fit your hands? Does it point and feel natural? If it does get it and shoot it. There is no need to modify it right out of the box.

Don't take this the wrong way but if this is your first handgun how do you know you need different sights & an extended slide stop lever? Until you have extensive time on the platform I am talking about a few thousand rounds why would you need to change anything? How would you have the right frame of reference and the knowledge to know what changes are going to benefit you vs the stock configuration.

Get the Glock 19 and shoot the crap out of it stock. After 2,000 + rounds, you CCW class, some training etc.... then look to make changes. Get a decent holster and a decent gun belt take your classes and shoot the gun. Don't over think it.
 
I would forgo the accessories unless they are needed for s very particular reason. Sights are of debatable importance in a carry gun and the make marking paints that will serve the purpose. The 1000 rounds of practice ammo that money will buy you is of far more value.
 
Woah, thanks for the quick input! I have shot the glock 19 and shot it very well. It felt super comfortable as well and I love the size. I guess I could put off the sights and such for a while like you all mentioned. It just seems like a major theme I've seen with every glock review out there.
 
Woah, thanks for the quick input! I have shot the glock 19 and shot it very well. It felt super comfortable as well and I love the size. I guess I could put off the sights and such for a while like you all mentioned. It just seems like a major theme I've seen with every glock review out there.
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People knock the plastic Glock sights but they work IMHO. Are you setting the gun up for CCW and home defense?

What sights do you want to put on it? Have you thought about used?
 
I have a quick question regarding how much money I should expect to put into my first handgun purchase. I have a few options I am considering with one being the glock 19. I like the track record of it, but I don't like the idea of paying ~$500, just to spend ~$200 more on sights and an extended slide stop lever. Would I be better off buying a different gun that has better stock accessories, or is the glock worth the extra cost? I'm curious because I'll also be spending money on a ccw license, holster, ammo, classes, etc.
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You do not need to buy extra parts for the Glock. Shoot it a bunch before you do anything.
 
I generally replace the sights on Glocks. But I generally replace the sights on most pistols. There are a lot of good options for around $100 and it's not critical to have it right away.


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I have had my Gen Glock 19 since I bought it new in the early 90s and have yet to change anything on it.

Sounds like you really like the Glock 19 OP after shooting it, so IMO it would be a great pistol for you.
 
Don't forget about a holster or two (the odds are that you won't like the first holster) and a couple hundred rounds of ammo.

I won't hit you with more gun options as you're sure to get a few dozen more before this thread is through, and most of these guys will have a better opinion than me. I will give you a couple tidbits of info however.

I picked up a Glock 19 gen 4 a few months back and overall I like it. A word about the stock sights: I never planned on getting any aftermarket sights for my G19, however after just a couple months the front sight decided to lean a little to the left. Apparently this is a common occurrence as they are made of something very like toy gun plastic. So you should probably plan on replacing the stock sights sometime in the next year or so.

Also, it's not much fun reloading the mags for these things, so you may want to include an extra mag or in your projected budget. just so you don't spend so much time reloading mags at the range. And maybe an Uplula reloading device.

As for the stock trigger, while I dislike Glock triggers and striker-fire triggers in general, the G19 trigger is serviceable. It's good enough that in spite of my dislike for safe-action triggers, I have no plans to ever change out the stock trigger. Unless it turns out to be no more durable than the sights, in which case when it breaks, I'll have to get a new one, at which point I'll probably upgrade to something a little better.
 
It just seems like a major theme I've seen with every glock review out there.
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There's no money or views anymore in reviewing a standard Glock 19 unless you're doing an insane, over-the-top torture test (I've seen them dropped out of planes loaded and frozen in a block of ice which was then shot with a shotgun). Put some more parts on your gun and review them, and you carve out a niche to get more clicks and views and maybe you can get a kickback from the manufacturer of the aftermarket accessories or have a chance to get T&E equipment if you're popular enough.

Don't read too much into that kind of thing in reviews. Shoot the gun and decide what works best for you.
 
Don't mod or change anything on your handgun, especially your first, until you get a chance to know it.

Realize as well that the G19 is a fine weapon, but there's nothing magical about it. Several other designs, such as the S&W M&P, Springfield XD, Walther PPQ (my personal favorite of the group), FN FNS, Sig P320 (you know, the pistol the Army just selected to replace the Beretta as their standard issue sidearm), H&K VP9, etc. are all fine designs that don't give up anything to the G19.

Look at a few of them, but know you aren't going to go wrong with any of them and in the end they are all going to do the same thing just as reliably and accurately as the other. What it will come down to is personal preference, but they are all service grade polymer framed striker fired handguns.
 
And, don't buy into everything you read online (including on this forum) regarding "must have" mods to your pistol. There's a lot of internet commandos out there who claim you need the latest do-dad when, in the end, it's sometimes just an excuse to buy more stuff. Don't get me wrong, there are many good reasons to modify your firearm and good aftermarket parts out there (my 1911s are all modified.... but I know exactly what I want in a 1911 at this point), but don't start doing that until you live with your pistol for awhile.
 
This gun would be set up for home defense and ccw.

I'd never planned to touch the trigger. I agree it's not the best in the world, but it works and I'm fine with it. But I definitely would plan on getting new sights at some point.

Lately I've looked a lot at the springfield xdm 3.8 compact. It is a very versatile package given the short 13 round mag and the full size 19 round mag it comes with. SA also has an awesome deal going until the end of June where if you buy a new pistol, you can get 4 free mags sent to you.

.....but even given that, I keep going back to the glock because of its track record and parts availability. I also could see myself getting a full size glock later on, but I don't see myself buying a larger xd series if I bought the compact first...
 
Jacket67 said:
Hey TFL,



I have a quick question regarding how much money I should expect to put into my first handgun purchase. I have a few options I am considering with one being the glock 19. I like the track record of it, but I don't like the idea of paying ~$500, just to spend ~$200 more on sights and an extended slide stop lever. Would I be better off buying a different gun that has better stock accessories, or is the glock worth the extra cost? I'm curious because I'll also be spending money on a ccw license, holster, ammo, classes, etc.



Thanks.
Click to expand...



The budget you have set for yourself is what you need to spend, first and foremost.

Get a gun that feels comfortable and fits your hand. The sighting system is crucial, as it is what gives you your sight picture and in turn consistency/confidence. The trigger is your interface and very important for accuracy.

All the other costs are up to you to decide what is best.

Sights aren't $200 more unless your talking about a 19 MOS and a red dot. Night sights/Tritium is around $100-$130.

Spare magazines are important.

Spending time becoming proficient is also key.


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