Look and ask around for some police trade-in guns. They may look right rough but the far majority are carried a lot and shot very little. Lots of good deals around on S&W 59xx and 39xx series 9mm pistols that are trade-ins. Like I said they may look rough from carry but most are only shot during qualifying once or twice a year.

 

Don't worry about the Makarov, the trigger smooths out with use. S&W autos aren't a bad idea either. The Steyr's are nice, but I question whether factory support (ie. parts) will be good. The Makarov isn't the most powerful of the bunch, but probably the most reliable. I carried one for years and wouldn't doubt its abilities or power inside 50yds.

 

My Mak has the smoothest trigger!!! That is my current sidearm. I can practice tons with ammo being so cheap. Steyr impresses me alot, especially for the price brand new.
Now - I HATE THE SIGMA SERIES FROM S&W.....there, I said it. Just like the glocks, I cant get the trigger to pull with enough consistancy for me to stake my life on it.
I went through this same search. If I were to get a 9mm now.... springfield makes those XD-9's that have all the good parts from a 1911, SIG, and Glock. I put a 200 rounds through one and was VERY impressed. I would take one of those over a taurus or sigma anyday. but yes, they are a blocky gun.
But the greatest honor you can give a gun, is to carry it. In the summer, the Makarov. Winter with a jacket....1911, baby!
BTW - My Mak was a Bulgarian unnissued for $169.
1000 rounds are about $115.
I had $500 to spend.... I got a ton of ammo.
Practice, Practice, Practice....like kinjoey said, the trigger will smooth out.

--Beagle

 

The only one I can comment on is the Taurus PT-111. I had one and I really liked it. It is a very "safe" pistol, I say safe because there is a slide safety, and a locking mechinism that allows you to lock it and you can not pull the trigger or pull the slide back, and it also has a pretty heavy trigger. Now don't go geting nervous because it has a heavy trigger, this is a CCW pistol, not a 50 yrd. target pistol. The reason that I sold it was to buy my Glock 19. The only thing that bothered me was the short grip length, I have some rather large paws and the Glock fits my hand better. My Millennium fired about 400 rounds while I had it, some HP's but mostly JHP and no malfunctions of any kind. Fairly accurate, but like I said, it isn't a target pistol. It's a shame you don't care for a Glock. I was not anti Glock but the grip angle was a little odd for me after shooting my 1911, but I have gotten accustomed to it now. Look at a 19 if you get the chance or if you want something smaller look at a 26. If you hate em, get the Millennium, but you might like em better.

 

You also might want to look into the CZ / witness pistols. My buddy has a witness that is very and the prices on new guns is really reasonable. Also you may want to check out CZ's new P01 model http://www.cz-usa.com/product.detail.php?id=28

My shop that I work at part time is selling these for $390. Not a bad price for a brand new gun. I myself prefer the CZ85 or the Baby Eagle with it's ambi safety since I'm a lefty but definately would go with any of these.

 

Prolly Go With the Mak

Thanks everyone,
My main concern with the mak was based on a PA-63. (I know now that that was not indicative of all maks.) I was worried about the heavy DA first shot. I found out this weekend at the gunshow that I went to that I was actually the D-A for thinking that all maks were like the 63. I picked up a Bulgarian and dry fired it a couple of times with no difficulty. That's probably the way I'll go. I got to hold the smaller of the Steyr pistols, and it felt really good in my hand, but it was pretty thick. As was the Glock 19 and the S&W. The Taurus was better, but still a little large for me to conceal, probably. I'm about 5'-7", and stocky, so the pistol will need to fit slim against my hip.

Oh, and punchie, thanks for the suggestion about the old S&W autos. I considered them for awhile, but in my book they're just about too ugly to take to the range. They look like a 1911 that had it's nose cut off and put on some weight in all the wrong places. I know they have almost twice the capacity of a mak, but this is going to be one of my main pleasure shooting guns, too. And, well, the Smith just isn't a gun that makes you want to take it out of the case, clean it, oil it and stare at it.(My Ruger GP-100 definitely does.)

Drobs, I'll probably look into the CZ guns, but they are a bit too large as well. I'm just not sure i could conceal a second 7" pistol.

Anyways, thanks for all the input. I'll look for a Bulgarian Mak for now, but probably continue to chase my tail for another four months until I actually lay down the cash to purchase.

Let me know if you come up with anything else.

 

The more i shoot my mak, the more i like it. I forgot who told me to look at them, but i was surprised. great little gun. Never had a failure, the trigger is great in my opinion. (not nearly as good as my target guns i paid way too much for) but for a fun gun, it is perfect. i am here to throw in ANOTHER vote for the mak.

 

So many guns .... hmm.

I really like my Makarov and chose it on rep not price and it works as a carry gun. Check out Makarov.com for all the support you might need and some.

Steyr. I like this one too. Not owned one but all I've held are natural pointers. Some do not like the triangle type sights but I think they are the future. Prices are going up and they are being imported under a new distributor as of recently.

SW - I hear you. Never appealed to me. I hate toggle slide safeties except on my Makarov. The Mak is a basic's gun. On a large frame gun I can not see how flipping that toggle could be easy or natural in a fire situation.

Lots of other guns to consider depending on price and your desires.