Soon to be first time buyer. Looking for suggestions.

If you liked the 1911 (Kimber) then you could get one in 9mm. Springfield makes an excellent one.
Another firearm you should look at is the Springfield XD series. Similar in feel to a 1911 but polymer.
I sound like an marketer for Springfield. This is only because they do build fine firearms. There are other choices. The firearms that you mentioned are also fine firearms.
 
I vote for cz. I haven't shot a better pistol in my life.....period. obviously find a rental range and try them out, but you'll be pleased by the wonderful single-action of the cz. the sig is also nice, but polymer and less of a shooter in my opinion.. I don't like striker-fired pistols, so I don't want a Glock or XD, but that's personal preference. you have chosen all very reliable guns, so it comes down to what you shoot best.
 
Ha, no I plan on waiting until my financials are together to make my first purchase next year (after the video game Im doing audio for makes some scratch) So plenty of time to try out different arms.

The kimber 1911 .45 was the first thing I ever shot (pistol wise) and surprised me how much the recoil was (for a newbie.) The ruger with .38 was cake and I ended up doing pretty well with the target, then my friend threw in the 357. Lets just say EVERYONE decided to lean behind the booth to see what the hell we were shooting.

Anyway I havent actually shot the 9mm yet (and will rent to see how it goes) but I figured for price to go to the range monthly that would be my best bet. And yea the CZ 75b for the weight is my current favorite. I did hold the sig 2022 at the shop but the grip felt too... plasticy?

Anyway thanks for the suggestions. If you have any more please let me know, I plan on finding a range down here in south Florida that does rentals so I can test things out.

As far as "Instruction" goes I have no idea what the costs would be and if its cheap enough I wouldn't mind taking a class... but as a poor college student every dime I can save is a big one.

Cheers,
D
 
Yep, I'd rent a bunch and see what you like. There are endless possibilities. If you like .45s, the HKs have a recoil supression system that is quite noticeable and very nice. Some like striker-fired pistols like Glocks, others can't stand them, YMMV but if your main interest is target shooting at the range (vs. home defense or CC, say) then a .22 is hard to beat. Very little recoil, cheap ammo, and lots of relatively inexpensive and very accurate guns to choose from. I wonder how your hand hurt for a week though, even my little J-frame 357 SW doesn't do that much damage...
 
I wonder how your hand hurt for a week though
Click to expand...
Poor technique is how.
If you can afford range and gun rentals, you can afford instruction to go with it.
Most ranges that rent guns also have instructors.
A basic course should be around $100, and will go a long way to help acquire the skills necessary to choose well.
Kill two birds......
While it's tempting to get free instruction from your friends, most probably either don't really know themselves, or don't know how to teach.
Good instruction is a skill of its own.
Being a student, you know how that is.
 
Those are all good pistols.


I love my CZs.

Not a huge fan of how Glocks feel, but the Gen 4 helps there.

I didn't like the trigger feel of the 2022 personally, but it is a good pistol.


I like the idea of striker fired pistols for new shooters for the simplicity of operation and consistent trigger. But everyone has their preferences, and some like safeties or other features.


The New Sig 320 is nice, the M&P is comfortable, The XD line is good, The Walther PPQ is nice... so many options.

Its why I have to keep buying more guns.


Shoot several and find what you like. Training is good, it helps to learn proper general shooting technique. Makes sure you can give the individual pistols a fair shake.

How a gun feels in the hand at the counter is different than what it feels like during recoil. Some feel great, but are a little slick in the stippling, and can feel a little loose when shooting from lack of secure grip.


Have fun with the process and don't over stress. Most pistols from the big name manufacturers are going to be solid, accurate and reliable. So you can't really go wrong, if its comfortable and you shoot it well.
 
classes are not needed in my opinion, just practice. if you feel the need for instruction, there are lots of reputable internet videos and such. i shoot regularly with lots of people, and none of us have taken a "class", but we do discuss safety and how we handle our firearms when shooting together. the rules are pretty simple, and i would bet that 95% of gun owners have never had a class and 99.99% of gun owners have never shot themselves or someone else by accident. if you want to be a good shooter, that just takes practice.....and lots of it, but that's the fun part
 
Regarding shooting classes. I learned to shoot handguns in my early teens with my uncle. Lots of one-on-one range time with him showing me the ropes. Many years later I had to take a basic NRA shooting course in order to belong to a particular range. I have also had some other shooting courses which drill on defensive techniques when carrying.

At the risk of being shunned by some, I'm going to throw this out there - the basic shooting courses were a complete waste of time for me. Perhaps I was lucky that my uncle and others I shot with as a teen/young man guided me well.

On the other hand, a good defensive handgun training course can be valuable. In my opinion, any such course should be taught by someone who knows a variety of non-gun defensive techniques as well as be highly skilled in teaching others how to deploy and shoot a handgun in a variety of scenarios. Also in my opinion, training should be one-on-one with the instructor, or at least limited to a class size of three. Anything more than that, and you might as well be watching some DVD of a talking head.

Also, in order to really appreciate good training, you already need to be familiar, comfortable, safe and skilled with a variety of handguns and handgun techniques. This is just my opinion. This is also why I also recommend that someone looking to get into shooting handguns buy him/herself a quality firearm capable of firing .38special, 9mm, or .45 and then look for someone who really knows how to shoot who can spend some one-on-one range time teaching him/her the ropes. Then, practice and shoot with other experienced shooters as much as you can before spending the money on a higher level of training. FYI, $100 isn't going to get you squat for training.
 
95% of gun owners have never had a class
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I'll add - never had any kind of training, either, in or out of an organized class.
And boy does it show.
But it all comes down to how good you want to be, and how much you want to know.
If you're lucky enough to have a mentor, all the better.
But for most, a good instructor, no matter the activity, makes all the difference.
It's kind of hard to practice without knowing what and how to practice.

While the internet videos can be pretty good examples of how an expert shoots, they aren't much help in correcting what you might be, (and initially, will be), doing wrong.
And if you're new to all this, how will you know the videos you are watching are with experts or know nothings with a new camera?
'Nuff said, carry on as you see fit.
 
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you will be happy with any of the guns you listed. I would buy which ever one feels the best in your hand. all good choices.
 
Have/use a 45auto for entertainment and use a 9mm for defense. Once your acclimated/proficient with the 45 most other handguns should be acceptable.:)
 
I have the CZ 75 P-07 Duty in 40 S&W its a very good Auto, and CZ I feel has one of the best warranties of any manuf. out there.
You may also want to consider the Walther PPQ one of the best triggers on the market straight out of the box, The Beretta 92 is also a very good auto.
 
You will learn I'm sure that the worse thing a newbie can do is come to a board with this many members and ask for an opinion.:D
You will get them.
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Consider a Glock 23. It is a .40 cal but you can get a 9mm and .357sig barrel for it. It's of the most versatile models out there. It's the same frame size as a Glock 19.

I'll second what he ^^^ said.
In time you will learn a great deal and you will be able to shoot the .45 a.c.p. & .357 without thinking they recoil too much.
I have 7 .45 a.c.p. pistols and to me they are very mild on the hands.
I have a strong suggestion for you.
If there is an indoor range anywhere near where you live that rents various
handguns then by all means go there.
Ask the counter clerk for advice, one on one, then rent what he suggests and shoot various handguns. You will quickly learn by feel what you like.
Best of luck and welcome to the board.
Remember this: Everyone here did something for the first time once.
 
Meh, if changing calibers on the same gun was such a big deal I'd rather buy a sig P226 with in .40. Then you can drop a .357 sig barrel in and get .22lr and 9mm conversion kits all for the same gun. Or buy a 9mm and buy the .22lr and .40 conversion kit later as you get more comfortable. ;)
 
I think the reason that people suggest formal training is that they can not be sure of the skill of the Uncle/brother/friend that may do the teaching otherwise.

One on one training is important for a new shooter, as the person teaching can make corrections before the mistakes become habits.

You can learn on your own, but takes discipline and can require work if you learn bad habits and need to unlearn them. There are many tricks that can help self learning go well, you just need to read and look around.


At some ranges that have a range officer that is on the firing line, you may find that if you talk to the range officer when you arrive, and explain that you are a new shooter... the range officer may help out with a little one on one time. Not a lot, as they have other duties, but they will keep an little extra eye on you and can provide tips. Chatting with others on the line may net a little assistance as well.

Just be aware that not everyone there will be experienced or actually know what they are talking about. Sometimes a look at their targets can tell you if they are or are not knowledgeable... or at least have a good grasp of things.


As always, have fun and practice regularly.
 
As a fellow (relatively) newbie, I'm going to throw a couple of things out from that perspective.

I am also pretty much restricted to shooting at the range. Make sure the range guys know you're new to all this. I, unlike you, am an old guy and I think there were initially some assumptions made that I knew what I was doing. I made it clear I did not and they've been very helpful since. A couple of times when its been very slow one of them has joined me. One proved to me that my gun is extremely accurate and if I miss - it's me. :D

You didn't say what you shot in 357. If it was one of the little ones that was a mistake for a new guy. I did that; one shot and I almost wrote off the 357 forever. Then I shot it in a GP100 and it was a whole different experience. Stick with the 9mm for now, to me that's the sweet spot between fun and accuracy and SD.

I think the 3 you're talking about are all good guns, I've shot two of them. I, however, am going to throw out mine which is the SR9C. You're in FL so it comes with 10 rd and 17 rd magazines - the 10 if you ever want to conceal is good. Honestly, I picked it up snd thought, well this feels good, turned around and went to the range and rented it and after 3 shots went back and bought it.

There's a monster amount of stuff on the internet. I'm going to recommend 2. One is Jerry Miculek's video on how to shoot a pistol. You'll also want to watch his other ones so you can see how what you'll never be able to do is done. He's some kind of mutant. But that one is really good. The other is the Hickok45 videos. He's probably done one on at least one of the guns you're considering. He's a good old boy who really knows his stuff.
 
training and FNS-9

Second the suggestions for training, especially if you are new. Better to learn before you get bad habits that need to be corrected. :)

Also, you may be interested in the FNS-9. Its a quality pistol, reliable and easy to shoot/accutate (IMHO). Cost is pretty favorable too.
 
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