Posted: 2/6/2003 6:57:21 PM EDT
| I am looking to get my First pistol. I am looking for a semi-auto and need some help. I started out looking at a Glock 17 and thought that would be a good choice. Then I heard about KB's and a bunch of other people bad mouthing the Glock in general. Then I started looking at a Sig 226 in 9mm and that had a lot of things going for it, good reputation, cheap high caps, cheap ammo, but I cant afford close to $800 right now. Then I started looking at a Kimber Classic II for $600 and almost bought that. Then I came home and did a little research and found out that even people on the 1911 fourm.com were badmouthing most 1911's saying if you're going to get one you have to ger a Les Baer. I know opinions are like assholes, everyone has one. But could someone please point me in a general direstion for a good reliable, semi-auto pistol? Thanks in advance. |
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Wipeout, I don't know whether you plan to carry the pistol for self-defense or if it will be more of a nightstand dweller with periodic trips to the range. For a good reliable semi-auto I cannot recommend the Beretta 92FS highly enough. 9mm so same caliber as your Glock. In my neighborhood they go for about $550 blued. Another option is the Taurus's version, the PT92. I don't have a price for one of those. I had one and it was extremely reliable, too. If you want a semi-auto that's double-action only (same trigger pull pressure for each shot is the advantage) a lot of people recommend Kahrs. Rugers are also a fine value for the money, but to me they are as ugly as sin so I have always passed. 1911's are much better out of the box now than they were even a decade ago. For out of the box performance the Kimbers seem to be leading the class. I have had no problems with my Colt. My Springfield had a few minor glitches, but once addressed it was superb. My Norinco worked great right up until the moment the frame cracked by the slidestop pin. Most 1911 hiccups can be cured by either fixing the magazines, tweaking the extractor, or polishing the feedramp and throating the breech. All semi-autos can be finicky about the type of bullet shape you are trying to utilize. IMHO a Glock is a lousy pistol for a first time buyer. My reservations are about the user, not the handgun. Glocks are extremely easy to shoot and demand you keep your finger off the trigger until you're ready to shoot. (I don't know your experience with handguns, so bear with me.) I love my Glock 23. It's accurate, it's ultra-reliable, and it's as durable as an anvil but at a much lighter weight. All guns are mechanical devices. They need lubrication and maintenance. And yes, every manufacturer has that lemon that gets out the door. The Glock KB's are more tied to poor cleaning habits (gun, not user), shooting hot-rodded home reloads, shooting lead not jacketed bullets, or a combo of all three. Enjoy your search. hinking.gif |
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I carry almost exclusively Glock pistols. In my opinion, for whatever it's worth, most kabooms are due to use of lead in the pistol and hot loaded ammo. Besides I always hear of the kabooms in 40, if there is a problem I suspect they are a lot less common in the 9mm as it is not as hot a round and less likely to blow out the unsupported chamber. If you are looking for concealed carry gun, I'd get the 19 over the 17. Watch out for the "E" series Glocks as some have frame rails that can break. E being the first letter in the serial number. Another good, reliable pistol is the Beretta 92. The magazines are much cheaper than the Glock and in my experience is a rock solid reliable pistol. It's pretty big for concealed carry, but they are nice shooting pistols. I have no personal experience with the Springfield XD line, but I have heard enough good stuff here to buy one. The 40 caliber mags hold 15 rounds of 9mm so you will not only get new gun for about $ 100 less than a glock AND you won't have to pay for expensive mags, a definite consideration no matter what your budget. There are also CZs and Browning Hi-Power clones that are very reasonably priced, but I have never personally owned one so I can't recommend them one way or the other. |
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Well, you're starting off correctly by trying to get information. For a first semi-automatic, 9mm is a great choice, so that's one step out of the way. next, hold as many different pistols as you can. One thing you want to check is how naturally they point for you. What points well for someone else may be entirely different for you. Don't discount used handguns. In many cases you can find very good guns at way less than what a new one costs. In particular, LE trade-ins can be great buys, sometimes pretty ratty looking cause they get carried lots, but mechanically great because they get shot little. There are several different firing methods, DA/SA, DAo, SA and the newer striker fired systems like the GLOCK and Sprinfield XD. Each style has its own strengths and weaknesses. See if you can try at least one model of each. Throw out about 99.999999999% of the opinions that you hear about how bad a certain gun is. Most of that is simply Crap. This is particularly true when it comes to opinions on the different 1911s. Since you say this is your first pistol, I'd suggest getting something fairly inexpensive and using a big chunk of your budget on getting some lessons. Remeber, this is just your FIRST pistol. It certainly won't be your last. You might even want to start off with something really inexpensive like a Makarov. That's a great, reliable pistol that you can get for about $150.00 or less. Then use the rest of your budget for those lessons and practice and I think you'll find yourself really improving quickly. Good luck and keep us posted. |
| Thanks all for the great replies. I will not be using the pistol for CCW and it would be mainly a around the house self defence pistol and for shooting at the range, as flinterfan stated. This weekend I plan on heading to a few local gunshops and looking around some more. I would really love to find a nice sig for around $500 but that probably will not happen around these parts. Thanks again. |
| Ilike the ergonomics of an XD grip over a Glock's. You can get an XD9 for about $400 or so. You can then buy XD40 mags, bend the lips slightly, and have 15 round hi-caps for your 9. Just something extra to consider. (We (the denizens of the HS2000/XD talk forum) call the XD's the Croatian Sensation for a damn good reason. |
Wipeout If it's a SiG that you want, and at $500.00 or under, then no problem. First, go to SiGForum and check in their classifieds. Next, check places like KY Imports and SOG. I know that SOG had a bunch of European LE Trade-in 225s that they were selling for about $300.00 and some Euro 9mm 220's as well recently. Look around. You'll find just what you want. |