Time for a new hobby! Firearm enthusiasts please read.

[Mookow]

Originally posted by: boi

Originally posted by: wnied
For starters, I recommend a Colt 1911(any model will do) or a Kimber 1911.

What the hell is a beginner going to do with a colt 1911? That hand cannon is for the moderately experienced shooter. For a first gun I would recommend the Baretta 9mm 92F model. Quick, light, and an easy gun to master.


...heh..a 1911 he says for a first timer. Thats funny.
~wnied~

1911's also come in 9mm.

Who makes those? I dont think you can even call it a 1911, but rather a rechambered clone... if that. Mention "1911" to any person knowledgable of firearms, and the two words they'll immediately think of are "Colt" and "45"

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

9mm is a good caliber if you want one all-purpose pistol, in that it has low recoil, is easy and relatively cheap to shoot, and is a reasonable self-defense caliber if you buy high-quality jacketed hollow-point ammo. The CZ 75-series pistols are by far the best inexpensive 9mm pistols available, IMO - they are sweet-shooting, beautifully-made guns, and very reasonably priced (normally $300-400 new).

There is certainly a strong argument for starting out with a revolver, which is simpler to operate. .357 magnum revolvers are nice in that they can use .38 special ammo for target plinking, and .357 mag is a devastating self-defense round.

I suggest you need to take an introductory pistol-shooting class at a local range - most gun stores with firing ranges have such a course, and they will also let you rent a variety of pistols to see what you like. For my part, I like the reliability and simple operation of Glock pistols, but they can be scary to newcomers in that they have no manual safety and their consistent trigger pull is much lighter than the double-action pull on the first shot that you get with a more typical DA/SA autoloading pistol.

 

[StageLeft]

LOL @ Mookow's points

 

[Zebo]

Since yer loooking to start a hobby and aren't neccessarily<sp?> looking for a protection piece I'd start small. I have a .22LR Berretta (gift for 17th b-day) that is an absolute dream to shoot. Plus .22 ammo is dirt cheap (like 10-15 cents a round) so it's great to practice with. When I go shooting I usually take my .22 and my Walther PP. I'll pull off 50-75 rounds w/the Walther and maybe 150-200 rounds on the .22.

I wouldn't start off w/a large calibur pistol 'cause they have a longer "learning curve", hurt to fire if yer not used the recoil, and there ammo is more expensive. It's kinda like if you wanted to take up racing, you wouldn't hop in an F1 car yer first day out.

Lethal

exactly 22 is the best price/performance.

 

[Mookow]

Originally posted by: LethalWolfe
Since yer loooking to start a hobby and aren't neccessarily<sp?> looking for a protection piece I'd start small. I have a .22LR Berretta (gift for 17th b-day) that is an absolute dream to shoot. Plus .22 ammo is dirt cheap (like 10-15 cents a round) so it's great to practice with. When I go shooting I usually take my .22 and my Walther PP. I'll pull off 50-75 rounds w/the Walther and maybe 150-200 rounds on the .22.

I wouldn't start off w/a large calibur pistol 'cause they have a longer "learning curve", hurt to fire if yer not used the recoil, and there ammo is more expensive. It's kinda like if you wanted to take up racing, you wouldn't hop in an F1 car yer first day out.

Lethal

Where are you buying 22LR ammo that its $.10-.15 per round? You can get a pack of 550 22LR made by Remington for $8 or $9 at Walmart. Thats under $.02 per round, and no effort into getting the best deal. I'm assuming you either meant either 1-1.5 cents per round, or were talking about 9mm ammo.

 

[Mookow]

Originally posted by: Don_Vito
There is certainly a strong argument for starting out with a revolver, which is simpler to operate. .357 magnum revolvers are nice in that they can use .38 special ammo for target plinking, and .357 mag is a devastating self-defense round.

Lol, that reminds me of the second pistol I ever fired. One of my uncles has a 357 (S&W Highway Patrolman, IIRC). The first time I fired it, my uncle loaded it with 38s, which was good, seeing as I was 14 or so. Later on that day, my uncle let me fire it again, only this time he had loaded the 5th round with a 357 cartridge, just to make sure I wasn't getting lax in my stance or grip. I wasnt slacking off, but it still was a hell of a surprise :Q

 

[Yossarian]

Wow I go out for a few hours and this thread takes off Thanks for the info, keep it coming. Links to gun forums would be appreciated too.

 

[Mookow]

Originally posted by: PipBoy
Wow I go out for a few hours and this thread takes off Thanks for the info, keep it coming. Links to gun forums would be appreciated too.

I'm feeling lazy, but I'll give you a bump

 

[LethalWolfe]

Originally posted by: Mookow

Originally posted by: LethalWolfe
Since yer loooking to start a hobby and aren't neccessarily<sp?> looking for a protection piece I'd start small. I have a .22LR Berretta (gift for 17th b-day) that is an absolute dream to shoot. Plus .22 ammo is dirt cheap (like 10-15 cents a round) so it's great to practice with. When I go shooting I usually take my .22 and my Walther PP. I'll pull off 50-75 rounds w/the Walther and maybe 150-200 rounds on the .22.

I wouldn't start off w/a large calibur pistol 'cause they have a longer "learning curve", hurt to fire if yer not used the recoil, and there ammo is more expensive. It's kinda like if you wanted to take up racing, you wouldn't hop in an F1 car yer first day out.

Lethal

Where are you buying 22LR ammo that its $.10-.15 per round? You can get a pack of 550 22LR made by Remington for $8 or $9 at Walmart. Thats under $.02 per round, and no effort into getting the best deal. I'm assuming you either meant either 1-1.5 cents per round, or were talking about 9mm ammo.

Yer right. I just had a brain fade (and I even have a box of 550 22LR Remington I got from Walmart sitting on my desk).

That's what I get for posting past my bedtime.


Lethal

 

[justint]

Originally posted by: LethalWolfe

Originally posted by: Mookow

Originally posted by: LethalWolfe
Since yer loooking to start a hobby and aren't neccessarily<sp?> looking for a protection piece I'd start small. I have a .22LR Berretta (gift for 17th b-day) that is an absolute dream to shoot. Plus .22 ammo is dirt cheap (like 10-15 cents a round) so it's great to practice with. When I go shooting I usually take my .22 and my Walther PP. I'll pull off 50-75 rounds w/the Walther and maybe 150-200 rounds on the .22.

I wouldn't start off w/a large calibur pistol 'cause they have a longer "learning curve", hurt to fire if yer not used the recoil, and there ammo is more expensive. It's kinda like if you wanted to take up racing, you wouldn't hop in an F1 car yer first day out.


Where are you buying 22LR ammo that its $.10-.15 per round? You can get a pack of 550 22LR made by Remington for $8 or $9 at Walmart. Thats under $.02 per round, and no effort into getting the best deal. I'm assuming you either meant either 1-1.5 cents per round, or were talking about 9mm ammo.

A 1911 type frame is probably not the best option for a newbie. .45 ammo is pretty expensive to be shooting all the time. As a new handgun shooter you want to shoot often and put a lot of rounds out. The best all around caliber for a handgun is in my opinion 9mm luger and I second the earlier recommendation for the CZ-75 series. J+G sales has the CZ-75 BD 9mm for $319. That is a huge bargain for a very high quality 9mm. In addition you can get a kadet conversion kit for the CZ that will let you shoot 22lr making for cheap practice with the same gun that you can later load with 9mm.

Whatever you do, get professional instruction and rent whatever you buy first to make sure it works for you.

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

Get a Glock. The best and last handgun you'll ever own.

 

[wQuay]

use the search feature

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Originally posted by: Hamburgerpimp
Get a Glock. The best and last handgun you'll ever own.

Good choice - I LOVE the G21, and if I were buying another gun today it would probably be a G21 (my hands are too big for the compact and subcompact Glocks to be totally comfy). I like my G17 quite a bit. That said, I don't know that most beginners would welcome the Glock, with its lack of manual safeties, and .45 ACP is impractically expensive as a round for regular target shooting IMO. I guess you could buy a G21 with one of those .22 conversion kits, but the kits alone cost more than the venerable Ruger .22 automatic.

 

[MojoJojo]

Originally posted by: Hamburgerpimp
Get a Glock. The best and last handgun you'll ever own.

Agreed!

If you're a first time shooter I would recomend the model 17 or 19.

The ammunition is very cheap with little felt recoil.

Go to a local range and rent some of the guns they have. That way you can "try before you buy".

A local range is also a good place to get some training or find a good traing program in your community.

.22LR is a much cheaper round, but the 9mm will double as a range gun as well as a self defense gun.

Some sites you may want to check out are:



Glocks

General Guns

and

for the 1911 fans

Have fun.

It's a great hobby.

 

[Moemar]

Originally posted by: MojoJojo


Agreed!

If you're a first time shooter I would recomend the model 17 or 19.

The ammunition is very cheap with little felt recoil.

Go to a local range and rent some of the guns they have. That way you can "try before you buy".

A local range is also a good place to get some training or find a good traing program in your community.

Almost exactly what I was going to say.

 

[Yossarian]

You guys rock, thanks. I'll find out the local ranges this week and visit this weekend.

Are the grips on the Glocks symmetrical? I could go either way but prefer left handed.

 

[Mookow]

Originally posted by: PipBoy
You guys rock, thanks. I'll find out the local ranges this week and visit this weekend.

Are the grips on the Glocks symmetrical? I could go either way but prefer left handed.

Do you know which of your eyes is dominant? Some people are right eye dominant but left handed (and vice versa). Most people get much better results by shooting using their dominant eye. To check, hold up both of your hands palm out, fingers together, thumbs out. Put your hands next to each other so that there is an inch wide roughly equilateral triangle, formed by the edge of your index fingers for the left and right sides, and the base formed by your thumbs. Now, hold your hands like that at about 2/3s of arm length away, and find some object (usually a small object at the other end of the room) that you can see through that aperture with both eyes at one time. Now, slowly move your hands towards your face, keeping the object in view. Your hands will naturally end up in front of your dominant eye.

 

[Yossarian]

Originally posted by: Mookow
Do you know which of your eyes is dominant? Some people are right eye dominant but left handed (and vice versa). Most people get much better results by shooting using their dominant eye. To check, hold up both of your hands palm out, fingers together, thumbs out. Put your hands next to each other so that there is an inch wide roughly equilateral triangle, formed by the edge of your index fingers for the left and right sides, and the base formed by your thumbs. Now, hold your hands like that at about 2/3s of arm length away, and find some object (usually a small object at the other end of the room) that you can see through that aperture with both eyes at one time. Now, slowly move your hands towards your face, keeping the object in view. Your hands will naturally end up in front of your dominant eye.

Dude that is crazy! My right eye is dominant I guess. Of course someone just walked by my office and said "Chris wtf are you doing!"

Left handed grip feels more natural though, hmm.

 

[edro]

Get a good Remington Model 700 and a good quality scope (many brands come to mind) and just target shoot.

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Originally posted by: PipBoy

Originally posted by: Mookow
Do you know which of your eyes is dominant? Some people are right eye dominant but left handed (and vice versa). Most people get much better results by shooting using their dominant eye. To check, hold up both of your hands palm out, fingers together, thumbs out. Put your hands next to each other so that there is an inch wide roughly equilateral triangle, formed by the edge of your index fingers for the left and right sides, and the base formed by your thumbs. Now, hold your hands like that at about 2/3s of arm length away, and find some object (usually a small object at the other end of the room) that you can see through that aperture with both eyes at one time. Now, slowly move your hands towards your face, keeping the object in view. Your hands will naturally end up in front of your dominant eye.

Dude that is crazy! My right eye is dominant I guess. Of course someone just walked by my office and said "Chris wtf are you doing!"

Left handed grip feels more natural though, hmm.

a friend of mine is that way..his scores are always better..even if its only one round..

but he is very impressed with my 1st offhand shot that he has trouble duplicating (usually in the 8 ring or better at 15-25ydsmodel 1911 based pistols came in a wide variety of chamberingsRuger .22 autos are nice ..Beretta92F is excellent..revolvers are good as well ...357 caliber rating is good due to effectiveness and versatility of using .38 ammo as well

 

[Tom]

How does the Smith Sigma compare to similar models from other manufacturers ?
I'm also a complete novice as far as handgun info but I'm interested in the reason certain models are more recommended than others.

Smith Sigma 9mm

 

[tcsenter]

Kalifornia is not the best place for this kind of thing due to the political climate, but i would open the phone book and check out the local shooting range for classes etc. Maybe stop a the local gun shop and ask the people there about the same question.

Hell you'd be surprised at the climate here in California once you get a few miles out of the ultra-fruity Bay Area and stay the hell away from places like Los Angeles.

There's a gun shop and indoor shooting range right up the road from me about two miles. I've seen more freaking full-sized 4x4's with off-road equipment, cowboy boots and cowboy hats since moving here than I saw in Michigan.

They do strongly frown on people carrying guns in all counties except for one, the name of which escapes me. Of course, if you have political connections or can make a sizable contribution to your local sheriff, judge, or mayor's campaign fund, you can get a concealed weapons permit no questions asked.

 

[ScrapSilicon]

Originally posted by: Dead Parrot Sketch
How does the Smith Sigma compare to similar models from other manufacturers ?
I'm also a complete novice as far as handgun info but I'm interested in the reason certain models are more recommended than others.

Smith Sigma 9mm

SPECIFICATIONS:
Caliber: 9mm
Action: Double Action Only
Saftey: Compact Polymer
Capacity: 10 Rounds +1
Barrel Length: 4"
Firing System: Striker
Front Sight: White Dot
Rear Sight: Fixed 2-Dot
Grips: Black Polymer
Weight: 24.7 oz.
Overall Length: 7 1/4"
Material: Polymer Frame
Finish: BlackFrame/Black Melonite slide
Its nice..how is the availability of mags/parts/etc. for it tho..? S&W knows their stuff ..this looks like a CC candidate..

 

[Yossarian]

Originally posted by: Dead Parrot Sketch
How does the Smith Sigma compare to similar models from other manufacturers ?
I'm also a complete novice as far as handgun info but I'm interested in the reason certain models are more recommended than others.

Smith Sigma 9mm

Hmm is it legal to sell guns over the internet? It's interesting that they add 3% for paypal, which is a violation of the paypal terms of service.

 

[Tom]

I only supplied the link because it had a description and a photo, noty to encourage anyone to buy it.

I don't know anything about handguns, I'm hoping someone who does has comments about the Smith Sigma compared to CZ and Barreta models of a similar nature.