So...buying my first hand gun

[jtmaze]

I am not from your area so can't recommend where to shop I have experienced shooting the taurus millinneum as well as the bersa thunder .380 The millinneum was in .40 s&w. My in-laws both carry the taurus as a personal protection weapon in detroit. The taurus retails for about $329 and the bersa for about $299. I personally open carry a Springfeild xd-40 that I am very happy with. I am looking at a taurus pt740 slim just as a concealmeny weapon.

[JAB]

You can get plenty of gun for a price in the neighborhood of $300. My carry rotation includes a Ruger P95 in 9mm Luger ($299 +tax used was on the price tag but I swapped even for a Kel Tec P11 I had, price of TICS was included in the deal - would IMO make a great first handgun), a Kel Tec P3AT in .380 (was a good bit less than $300 NIB but I bought mine several years ago - probably not the best choice as a first handgun), a CZ82 in 9mm Makarov (great condition for $199 and would, IMO, not be a bad choice for a first handgun but ammo isn't quite as easy to find as 9mm Luger, especially in JHP) and a S&W 642 in .38+P (great little revolver but again, not a gun I would recommend as a first handgun.) NIB at $399 + tax and TICS makes the S&W the only handgun in my main carry rotation with a before tax sticker price of more than $300 and I never find anything like the great deals some guys on here and other forums find. I don't hesitate to trust any of my carry guns to defend the lives of myself and my wife. In fact, I like the P95 well enough that I have two. The first (which was the third handgun I owned and the second in a 'serious' caliber) was something of a wedding present from my grandfather in law. I didn't want to carry it so I got another with no 'sentimental' attachment for carry when I decided that the P11 wasn't for me.

As to HiPoint pistols, at one point the only gun my mom had for HD was a jam prone .22 rifle. I wanted to get her into some type of handgun (her physical condition is making shotguns increasingly difficult for her to shoot well.) She has lifelong experience with firearms but most of her previous handgun experience was with little semiautos chambered in minor calibers (.22, .25 mostly.) I am still a revolver guy at heart but she prefers the way semiautos fit her hand, etc. so I hoped to get her in to something in a 9mm. Not knowing if she would like the caliber or not, I decided to get her a HiPoint 9mm as a 'starter' handgun. I figured that she could trade it for something 'better' if she liked the 9mm. She ended up loving the pistol and qualified for her HCP with it because she shot it better than the S&W 22A I offered to let her use for that purpose. It really is a good, reliable and reasonably accurate pistol. Personally I wouldn't choose it for carry as long as I had other options because of the bulk, etc. and the fact that I don't like striker fired guns for carry (just a personal preference.) In fact, she doesn't carry hers and prefers a little Kel Tec P32 for that. That said, I would feel just fine with one lying on a nightstand for HD.

Having a .22 handgun for practice and just plain fun is a good idea. That said, I am going to go against the grain here and say that (in my very much non-expert, nonprofessional opinion) if I could only budget to have one handgun for some period of time I'd probably go for a 9mm. The reasons I say this:

1. 9mm ammo is the least expensive of the common, centerfire handgun calibers. It isn't as inexpensive as .22LR by a long shot but you probably aren't going to break the bank shooting it, either.

2. 9mm (IMO) is plenty serviceable as a defensive pistol, especially when loaded with good, modern SD ammo.

3. In a reasonably sized handgun (as in not a flyweight supercompact) 9mm recoil is controllable and generally not punishing to the shooter.

My first handgun was a very small Titan .25 acp. It was actually a fun little gun to shoot and was surprisingly reliable. Maybe it kind of filled the role of 'learning with a .22' for me but I never shot it all that much so I don't think that is the case. After that, I owned a 4-inch barreled Colt Police Positive in .38 Special (a 4-inch .38 Special revolver is also a good learning platform, IMO but .38 Special ammo costs a few bucks more per box than 9mm these days) a Ruger P95 and a Kel Tec P3AT before I finally broke down and bought the 22A just so I could get less expensive trigger time. I don't claim to be a crack shot - I consider my shooting to be 'serviceable' - but I don't feel that I 'missed out' on anything by not having a .22 handgun first.

Edited September 6, 2011 by JAB

[JimmyMac483]

Someone just told me they have a bernardelli .25 caliber pistol for sale and it shoots .22 ammo.

If the pistol is a .25 acp caliber, then it will not shoot .22's. Don't even try it. At best it could mess up the gun, at worst you could get hurt.

Sent from my HTC EVO using tapatalk

[byoung]

I have a bersa firestorm 40 cal love it shoots great. never had miss fire or jam.

[Adamant]

I have a Smith and Wesson Sigma 9mm. It was my first handgun and I probably will never get rid of it. I bought it over 4 years ago for $315 and now they can be had at academy on the right week for $279(before taxs and background). A lot of people dog it or make fun of it but it is a fun little gun. Yea you could spend twice as much and buy a Sig and have a really nice trigger pull, but to just target shot, the Sigma is great. My wife loves to shoot it. I shoot really cheap tulammo from walmart for $9.49 for a box of 50. Academy runs specials on Monarch steel 9mm rounds for $7.99 and my Sigma eats them all day. I have had at least 1000 rounds of mostly dirty ammo through my sigma and it runs like a champ. Clean it well and it will serve you good. I shoot at Prentice Cooper most of the time. If you are around I wouldn't mind letting you shoot it.

Sportsmans Warehouse on 153 has more guns than just about any store around. They run a little higher though. Academy has a decent selection but the people behind the counter are dicks sometimes. Shooters Depot is good place to go, they really know their guns, the last time I was in there though, the guy realllllllllllly pushed Glocks on me even when I told him that I was NOT interested. I would buy a gun from them and they could probably come close to the prices at academy so I would recommend supporting them over the 'big box gun stores'. Hope that helps

[Diragono]

I've actually got plans to hit Shooters depot this weekend to see that they have...I'm also making plans Friday to go to Frontier Firearms in Roan to use their indoor pistol range, as they have handguns for rent. Going to rent a few and try them out. I ended up buying the little .25 today because $75 was hard to pass up, and from what I've read they don't make this model anymore.

As many have stated it is quite hard to aim with it being so small, but I unloaded about 4 mags and had a blast. I was also able to shoot my friends Hi Point today and also enjoyed it quite a bit. The 9mm's recoil isn't bad at all. The guy with the Taurus 380 is going with me to Frontier and I'm gonna shoot it to see how I like it. I'm just gonna try as many as I can to really see what I like.

Hopefully, Frontier doesn't have something amazing that I just can't leave without having...the wife might be upset if I drop $900 on a S&W or Colt =/

[Jonnin]

I've actually got plans to hit Shooters depot this weekend to see that they have...I'm also making plans Friday to go to Frontier Firearms in Roan to use their indoor pistol range, as they have handguns for rent. Going to rent a few and try them out. I ended up buying the little .25 today because $75 was hard to pass up, and from what I've read they don't make this model anymore.

As many have stated it is quite hard to aim with it being so small, but I unloaded about 4 mags and had a blast. I was also able to shoot my friends Hi Point today and also enjoyed it quite a bit. The 9mm's recoil isn't bad at all. The guy with the Taurus 380 is going with me to Frontier and I'm gonna shoot it to see how I like it. I'm just gonna try as many as I can to really see what I like.

Hopefully, Frontier doesn't have something amazing that I just can't leave without having...the wife might be upset if I drop $900 on a S&W or Colt =/

You are welcome to try anything I have, I shoot at shooter's 2-3 times a week, so its no biggie to meet up one day and I can haul along whatever, up to a point lol Im not hauling the whole safe over. They will rent used guns but not new ones to try out.

[gregintenn]

I'd suggest you peruse the local pawn shops and gun store shelves for a used Model 10 Smith and Wesson 38 Special revolver. It would be a very high quality handgun that would fit your budget. It would be easy to shoot well, and work as a self defense gun as well as for target shooting. The 38 Special round is widely available, and is among the cheapest of the centerfire handgun cartridges. Best of all, as long as you take care of it, it'll appreciate in value.

[JAB]

The 38 Special round is widely available, and is among the cheapest of the centerfire handgun cartridges.

As I said earlier, I also consider a 4 inch .38 Special a great candidate for a first gun. Problem is that .38 ammo has been slowly climbing, lately. All ammo has gone up in price but .38 seems to have especially increased. In the last year or two I have seen it go from around fourteen bucks a box to sixteen bucks a box and now even some Walmart locations around here have the Winchester White Box and Remington UMC FMJ target stuff up to around $18 a box. That is still not bad compared to some ammo prices but Federal 9mm 115 grain FMJ is around eleven bucks a box and the cheapo TulAmmo is less than that. Based on that, it seems that someone could almost buy 100 rounds of 9mm for what 50 rounds of .38 would cost. I still prefer revolvers to semiautos but I haven't been shooting my .38s as much, lately. I've really got to get set up for reloading even if I only ever reload .38s and maybe .44s.

[Guest Aces&8s]

Bud's has S&W model 10, 4", .38sp police trade-ins right now for $269, free shipping. Add on transfer and TICS and you are right at $300. Buying used sight unseen is always a toss of the dice, but I know a few guys who have bought these in the past who have been happy with them.

Smith and Wesson Model 10 38sp SQUARE BUTT $269.00 SHIPS FREE

[Guest ArmaDeFuego]

Hi Points are good guns for what they are. They are good for shooting at the range & keeping around the house for self defense situations. I got about 500 rds through my Hi Point .45 & havent had any problems with it yet. I sure as hell wouldnt want to carry that thing though. It would be like having TWO bricks in your holster.

Obviously a Hi Point wont last as many rounds as a Glock will, but thats what the lifetime guarantee is for. Once you've put some rounds through it & the metal warps or it wont fire anymore, just send it back to them & they'll fix it with no questions asked.

I dont really see why people dont like Hi Points. I love mine. Its not a Glock, but then again its not supposed to be...... (& from my limited experience with Glocks, my Hi Point actually shoots BETTER than the Glock I tried. I've not had one FTF or FTE with my Hi Point, which is more than I can say about a Glock....)

[Diragono]

Yea, I fired my friends c9 again today, I've shot about 50 rounds through it the last two days and I actually like it, and hadn't had any problems with it jamming. We've been shooting winchester ammo from Walmart.

However, today I purchased a Kel-Tec P-11 9mm online, It shipped today supposed to be at my FFL around Tuesday. I know I probably should have maybe held one first, but I've read some pretty good reviews, and this one has a chrome finish which I really like. Total cost was $319.45 that is including shipping and ffl fee's.

[Guest Big-A]

In your neck of the woods Fugate's firearm's is a good place to find really good deal's .

[Jonnin]

Yea, I fired my friends c9 again today, I've shot about 50 rounds through it the last two days and I actually like it, and hadn't had any problems with it jamming. We've been shooting winchester ammo from Walmart.

However, today I purchased a Kel-Tec P-11 9mm online, It shipped today supposed to be at my FFL around Tuesday. I know I probably should have maybe held one first, but I've read some pretty good reviews, and this one has a chrome finish which I really like. Total cost was $319.45 that is including shipping and ffl fee's.

I hope you like it. They are decent guns, small, lightweight, and dependable once you break them in good, with a lifetime warranty. If you are ok with that trigger pull, the rest of the package is pretty sweet. I never did like the trigger and eventually sold mine.

[LCPfraTN]

I would recommend a HiPoint as a first gun to anyone, at least those with an open mind.

+1 on that. For the money, they can't be beat.

[Guest Victor9er]

+1 for Shooter's Depot... good selection, decent prices, friendly service, nice indoor range... Shallowford Rd. at Hwy 153 in Chattanooga.

[JAB]

Yea, I fired my friends c9 again today, I've shot about 50 rounds through it the last two days and I actually like it, and hadn't had any problems with it jamming. We've been shooting winchester ammo from Walmart.

However, today I purchased a Kel-Tec P-11 9mm online, It shipped today supposed to be at my FFL around Tuesday. I know I probably should have maybe held one first, but I've read some pretty good reviews, and this one has a chrome finish which I really like. Total cost was $319.45 that is including shipping and ffl fee's.

I bought a used P11 and eventually got to the point that I could shoot it pretty well. Mine worked well and I liked it once I got used to it and learned how to shoot it (by the time I bought the P11, I already owned three semiauto pistols - including a Kel Tec P3AT - and two revolvers and shooting the P11 wasn't like any of them.) Mine eventually started having some problems (probably age/wear related.) That was before Kel Tec's recent decision to actually follow their stated policy and only honor the warranty for the original owner so it got sent back. I ended up with a brand new gun for a replacement which was different enough from my original that I never got used to it. Even using the 'tricks' I had learned with my first one I could never shoot it well and ended up trading it for a Ruger P95.

I say that not to scare you off from the P11 - I do think they are good guns - but simply to let you know a little of what to expect. The trigger on them is long and pretty heavy. In fact, the first time I let my brother in law (who has plenty of firearms experience but had no experience with a P11) shoot mine, he tried to pull the trigger then stopped and started looking for a manual safety. The P11 has no manual safety but the trigger is so stiff that he thought there was one and that it was engaged. To me, the P11 trigger is longer/heavier than the majority of double-action revolvers I have fired.

One thing that might help if you are having trouble hitting your target when you first start out with the P11 is to try using a 'triangle' sight picture in which the front sight is aligned in the center of but slightly above the rear sights rather than completely centered as you would normally expect. That is what I finally learned to do with mine and have read of other P11 owners who have success with the same (I did mention that shooting mine wasn't like shooting any other handgun I own or have owned, right?) Of course, at close range you'd probably be doing more point shooting or front sight shooting than carefully sighted shooting and the P11 works just fine for that.

Some people have a good bit of trouble with limpwristing when it comes to the P11. That was one problem I never had with mine but some folks do. In fact, Kel Tec used to produce a .40 caliber version of the same gun and supposedly the reason they stopped was that it was costing them too much time/money/effort because so many guns that weren't 'broken' were being sent in for repair because shooters were limpwristing them.

Again, I am not trying to make you regret your purchase and I really do think that they are good guns for shooters that they 'fit'. Many, many folks on the Kel Tec forum to which I belong seem to love theirs. Once I gained familiarity with it, I really liked my first one and carried it a lot until it started having troubles. If I had been able to get used to the second one the way I did the first one (and there really was that much difference between the two) then I'd still have it and carry it. I don't even think that there was anything 'wrong' with the second one, I just didn't think I'd ever be able to shoot that, particular pistol very well.

Oh, and in case you didn't know, the P11 usually comes with a 10 round magazine but Kel-Tec offers a 12 round, flush-fit 'factory' mag (made by MecGar - the same company that makes the ten rounders.) Also, there are some series of Smith and Wesson 15 round mags that work in the P11. Those mags protrude from the mag well and Kel Tec offers a 'spacer' that fills in the space between the grip and bottom of the mag, extending the grip. The problem with that (as a carry mag), however, is that it makes the grip so long that it pretty well defeats the purpose of carrying a compact pistol in the first place. I had one of those S&W 15 rounders (I wish I could remember which series work for the P11 but I don't, right now) and it made a pretty good backup mag as well as making the P11 more fun for shooting paper. I did replace the factory floorplate on one or two of my flush-fit mags with the 'pinky hook' grip extender and liked that a good bit. I also put a Hogue Handall slip-on grip sleeve on mine and liked that, too, but YMMV.

The 115 grain Winchester White Box FMJ from Walmart (which I assume is the same ammo you have been shooting in that HiPoint) worked well with both of my P11s. The Remington UMC 115 grain JHP that Walmart sells (or at least used to sell) worked well in it, too, and was actually what I mostly used for carry ammo (I'm now using PDX1 +P in my Ruger but didn't want to use +P in the P11.) In fact, I don't remember trying any ammo that didn't at least function except when my first one started having issues. Just keep in mind that Kel Tec says that use of +P ammo in the P11 should be 'limited' (although they don't give a number range to say what 'limited' means) and that steel or aluminum cased ammo shouldn't be used in their products.

Edited September 8, 2011 by JAB

[Diragono]

Well, sadly there was an error with my order on the p11. I received an email saying it had shipped, but later on that day I got an apology letter from the dealer saying there was a mixup with inventory and he actually didn't have anymore of the P11's right now, so he offered a full refund.

However, today I made my way up to Frontier Firearms in Kingston and went ahead and purchased the Hi Point C9. Walked out the door with the pistol and a box of 9mm ammo for $189, not bad! The employees at Frontier are super nice, and they have some cats which roam the store which my wife loved. While waiting for the background check she played with the cats the whole time, lol. Would highly recommend those guys for anything you need. I even picked out my next purchase and my wife found a pink .38 special she liked.

[JAB]

Well, then, congrats on the new gun you actually got. My favorite LGS is Farnsworth's in Vonore but I have been to Frontier a few times. Mostly I've bought ammo/accessories from them (in their old store, for the most part - I've only been to their new location twice) but Frontier is where my P3AT came from, years ago. My mom bought a CZ82 there.

Oh, for a cheap 'range holster', I've heard (as in I have no direct, personal experience) that the nylon Crosman holster that Walmart sells (made for Crosman air pistols) is just about a perfect fit for the C9. IIRC, those actually have a retention strap so they might not be bad for range use or for carry around the yard, depending on how securely it holds.

Edited September 8, 2011 by JAB

[EastHipster]

Buy a pack of Snap Caps.

Dry Fire practice a LOT.

Look at your sights and keep them TOTALLY STILL while pulling the trigger.

Practice raising the gun up and finding a sight picture.

People go to gun ranges and blow ammo and don't know how to see the sights or pull the trigger

[Guest ArmaDeFuego]

However, today I made my way up to Frontier Firearms in Kingston and went ahead and purchased the Hi Point C9. Walked out the door with the pistol and a box of 9mm ammo for $189, not bad!

Congrats on the purchase! Let us know how you like it.

[Diragono]

Took the new Hi Point to Spring Creek yesterday, other then a blister on my thumb from loading the magazine over and over(that spring is pretty stiff!) the pistol shot flawless. Put around 150 rounds through it and not a single FTE or FTF. I was very impressed with how it shot. The sights were a little low, so I just aimed a little high at the range and when I got home I adjusted them. Overall, very impressed with the gun, and for the price, can't be beat. I was also surprised at the low recoil.

[TNWNGR]

In the end all that really matter's is that you are pleased with your purchase and take the time to learn to use the pistol in a safe and effective manner. HiPoint pistol's are a good, cost effective handgun for someone to buy.

[sam]

frontier firearms being nice to someone what a change everytime i or anbody i know go in there *******s

[Guest bkelm18]

Took the new Hi Point to Spring Creek yesterday, other then a blister on my thumb from loading the magazine over and over(that spring is pretty stiff!) the pistol shot flawless.

MagLula is your friend.

maglula, Ltd. > Pistol Mag Loaders > UpLULA