I want to purchase my first handgun, seeking advice

[WilliamCombs]

Hey everyone. I am about to purchase my first handgun. I have experience shooting, although not extensive. I've been around firearms my entire life, with my grandfather and father owning several. Recently, I worked for an outdoors marketing company who had a contract with Smith & Wesson, so I've handled and cleaned almost every firearm S&W makes. My budget is about $350-$400 as I'm currently a law student with a very limited budget. I want to find something reliable for that price that would serve me well at the range consistently.

A friend has directed me to the Smith & Wesson Sigma SW40VE. He owns one and says it's a great gun and he has altered the trigger to reduce the pull weight. My preferred gun is the Springfield XD40, but I think it's out of my price range. Still early in my research. I want to go about this process in a good way to get what's right for me. Any suggestions would be great.

Any suggestions on how to go about shopping would be great too. Online purchase? Store? Gun show? Thanks for any help.

[oscarmayer]

there have been a few post here about the s&w sigma, my advice would be go to a gun range that has rentals, try out a few different guns and go from there. hard to pick a gun for someone else , it's a personal choice. dont rule out a good revolver or something used, in the used market you can save alot of money. now back to the sigma and remmber this is just a opinion they're not highly rated or well thought of, if you must have a plastic gun the springfield or the glock are much better choices

[ARB]

Welcome, WilliamCombs! With that price range, I'd try pawn shops or the paper. The folks here say that the High Points are good shooters. Ugly, as sin though. Cheap. Good luck!

[WilliamCombs]

I've also looked a little at the Hi-Point .45 ACP and S&W .40. Very inexpensive, but I worry that it would be low quality, even though the reviews I read are good.

[oscarmayer]

i'd rather have a hi-point than a sigma

[Helix_FR]

Even though they may seem like low quality you'll fair better than getting a Sigma series. They are just plagued with problems. I've had 2 hi points and never had a problem with them plus if you ever did they have a lifetime warranty and HiPoint is quick to fix. S&W is not and its doubtful it would be fixed right. I'm not pushing Hi-point on ya, I would stick with the used market if you can. I just don't want your first handgun to be a disappointment.
I have a friend that has a Sigma, he never shoots it anymore b/c its so inaccurate and jambs all the time.

[pinecone70]

I agree with all that has been said here. If it is possible, save up for a while and get a good quality gun you won't be disappointed in. I have gone down that road.

[red14]

Originally Posted by WilliamCombs

I've also looked a little at the Hi-Point .45 ACP and S&W .40. Very inexpensive, but I worry that it would be low quality, even though the reviews I read are good.

Have you considered a revolver? Easier to clean, maintain, less dependence on ammunition quirks. Many semi-autos prefer certain ammo. Revolvers just don't care.

JMO, I'm a relatively new shooter. I don't feel confident with a semi-automatic.

[WilliamCombs]

Have you considered a revolver? Easier to clean, maintain, less dependence on ammunition quirks. Many semi-autos prefer certain ammo.

Yes. I've fired a few revolvers but I've always enjoyed semi-autos more.

[WilliamCombs]

Something else for me to consider is that I'm a very big guy (6'3 300 lbs) with big hands. I want to avoid a gun that will be too small for my hands.

[Helix_FR]

Originally Posted by WilliamCombs

Something else for me to consider is that I'm a very big guy (6'3 300 lbs) with big hands. I want to avoid a gun that will be too small for my hands.

The P95 is right up your ally. Beefy frame. Built like a tank. That's a good suggestion John. Never heard any complaints about them except for people with small hands.

[WilliamCombs]

The Ruger P95 may be just what I need. gunbrokerdotcom has them right now for $289. I think I'll go to the range and rent one in the next couple weeks.

[40CalJoe]

Welcome sir, glad to have you part of the group. Summit *** ****** has some of the best prices out there, I will post a link for you to look at.

http://www.summit*** ******r.com/Glock_22.html

Good luck with your search.

[Terry_P]

Can you get any sort of discounts on Smiths? Their M&P in 45 acp is a decent piece as is the Ruger P90 in 45 acp. I'm guessing the recoil of a 45 in the large platforms won't bother you. The suggestions to try a few are good ones.

I own a Ruger P94 in 40 S&W (now the P944) and it has been 100% reliable in the 14 years I have owned and it is accurate and shoots to point of aim at 25 yards with 155 gr bullets. Ruger makes a rugged auto in the P series that are reliable and accurate.

[WilliamCombs]

Can you get any sort of discounts on Smiths?

Actually, I may be able to. The place I used to work does sell some of their stuff when the new lines come out each year. I'm going to contact them.

[WilliamCombs]

In researching the Ruger P95, I have come across the Ruger SR9. This looks like a great gun and affordable too. Thoughts?

[Helix_FR]

there is a love/hate relationship with the SR9 also. For the most part its a fine gun but people have complained about the trigger and some minor feed issues. Its Rugers first attempt at a striker fired semi. Not a bad first design and by far better than the sigmas. I think the p95 is a better built weapon. Its not a first model like the sr9. The p95, p89 and p85 design has been around a long time for ruger. The only difference is the poly frame. Before they were aluminum. The bugs have already been worked out of the mechanics.
In your research don't rule out the beretta 92's and the S&W 39's and late model 59's. These too were very reliable. The berettas will cost you more but they too have a long history of being a fine handgun for the money. Any berettas that you would find in your price range will be well used but still functioning perfectly. I have a 92. I can't speak highly enough of it.

[WilliamCombs]

Anyone have any thoughts on the Sig P226 .40S&W or the Glock 22??

[Vladimir]

Originally Posted by WilliamCombs

Any suggestions on how to go about shopping would be great too. Online purchase? Store? Gun show? Thanks for any help.

Shoot, shoot, shoot, and shoot some more. It might be expensive, it might cut into your budget, but better you make the informed choice and wait a little longer in the end.

I was sold on a Glock, I had been shooting my dad's since I was 13, why would I even bother trying anything else? Ended up renting an XD for fun and instantly fell in love after shooting the XD I didn't understand how anyone could love the Glock, I got much better accuracy, preferred the feel considerably, etc. However, this proved one point- you can't count on anything until you have shot it.

I ended up renting a USP .45, again, only because I wanted to try shooting a .45. Curiously enough I went from being sold on the XD to loving the USP- granted my accuracy was not as great, but I loved the weapon overall- its proven track record, the safety system is simply perfect, etc. I ended up with a 9mm Stainless Steel USP Compact and have never regreted it. It is both a fine carry piece and a fine range toy.

I do hope to pickup a smaller revolver for easier carry in the near future... but still never regretted it.

--

Long story short- get your hands on as many guns as possible. NOTHING replaces experience- guns are a tool, but also a work of art. No one will shoot a gun identically, for me the XD was far superior to the Glock, yet many (including my dad) outperform with the Glock. As corny as it sounds, it is about finding the right gun, for the right shooter, and only you can do that!

[wabryan1]

Why do you care? When you are established in the lawyer business, you can buy them all.

[Hells Toy Master]

Personaly I love glocks...

I have fired revolvers, berettas, stars, Rugers, and Glocks.... dont know about any others but of those that I have fired glocks are the best.

One of my favorite part of glocks is that they are so eseay to take apart and clean in comparison to the others... to me thats important.

[Lost One]

Originally Posted by WilliamCombs

In researching the Ruger P95, I have come across the Ruger SR9. This looks like a great gun and affordable too. Thoughts?

I bought an SR9 about a month ago and LOVE the gun, I also purchased a Springfield XD9 a week ago and like the feel of the grip of the XD9 over the SR9, now with that said I prefer the SR9 over the XD9, the SR9 has a slimmer feel and is more accurate for me than the XD.

Some guns fit some people better than others. I have read a few complaints about the SR9's trigger, I personally dont find anything wrong with it but I use my pistols for defense and not target. Ya I would like to hit the 10 ring but the 9 ring is fine for tactical shooting. I still plan on picking up a Glock 17 and a S&W MP9 before its all over and see what one wins out for my new carry weapon. If you can rent a SR9 and give it a try, I have put a couple hundred rounds out of mine and have had no issues with it at all and it has digested Winchester Black Talon, Federal hydra shok, gold dot, SXT, Remington Golden Saber, FMJ and a few others without a problem and this was before I polished the ramp.

What ever you get make sure that you do a VERY good cleaning on the gun before firing it, if you get a new one get all of the old packing grease and stuff off of it and lube it well and make sure the barrel is cleaned and dry before firing it.

I owned a P89 and took it through a course that we had to fire over 700 rounds and it never failed to fire, even with me not cleaning the gun (I did that on purpose to see if it would jam), The SR9 has steel inserts for the slide to run on the P95 uses the polymer frame or what ever it is they make it out of, there hasn't been any reports of problems with that but I prefer the slide be on metal so I went with the SR9 for that reason.

[zb338]

Whatever you do forget the Sigma. That thing is cheap but it is a dead issue.
It is no longer being made. It was replaced by the S&W M&P. Your first gun
should be a gun like the Ruger MKlll .22 semi-auto. Cheap to shoot, it will last
longer than you will. If you have to have a center fire gun then listen to Red.
Buy yourself a nice .357 revolver. A Smith or a Ruger or one of the better name
guns. You can shoot low powered .38 wadcutters or red hot .357 loads.
Good luck.
Zeke

[Lost One]

Originally Posted by zb338

Whatever you do forget the Sigma. That thing is cheap but it is a dead issue.
It is no longer being made.
Zeke

I dont have a Sigma, but I see that S&W still has them listed on their site, when are they going to stop production of the Sigma? I dont keep up on stuff like this but where did they say they are stopping the Sigma?

[user]

You can get a very nice used S&W model 64 for around four hundred bucks. Six shot K frame in .38, four inch heavy barrel, fixed sights. Reliable, concealable, all purpose revolver. I'd recommend that above any other option you've got right now. Various sizes and textures of grips are available for it, so don't be put off by the small factory standard wood grips - you'll be able to find something that's comfortable fairly easily. Lots of holsters available for 4" K frames, as well, and some very nice ones are available used, and fairly inexpensively. When you can scrape together another two or three hundred bucks, I'd put Crimson Trace LaserGrips on it. Other than that, and a couple of HKS speedloaders, all you need is ammunition.

I do like the Sig 226, but only as a home defense weapon. It's too big and heavy to carry around. And that's going to set you back about a thousand bucks, once you invest in aftermarket options like night sights and high capacity magazines.



I was a law student, once. GMUSL, '89.