howzit guys, i need an opinion, i've never owned a semi auto handgun and was wondering if i were to buy just one, what would be the best choice and in what caliber? i don't really have a price range but i want something i can shoot not just store away because its too valuable to use, so tell me.......

If you only buy one, it should be a .22; a Ruger Mark II comes to mind.  Starting with a centerfire as a first pistol, all you'll learn is how to flinch.

AFTER you learn to shoot with a .22, a Glock 19 (9mm) will do everything a handgun can reasonably be expected to do. 

thanks but i'd like to buy just one gun not two, i've already had experience with revolvers, but so much talk about glocks, sigs, hk's, barettas, springfields ...just don't know

If only 1 gun and a beginner, a 9mm.  Good enough for home defense (jacketed hollow point) and cheap enough for plinking / target practice (cost would be half the price of .45 ammo).  I do not regret doing this for the amount of cheap practice I could do with 9mm ammo.

Now that I did this and if I could do this all over again, I wish I started out with a .45 caliber handgun instead of 9mm.

In my opinion, if cost of ammo is not a big deal, 45 caliber is the best.


.45 ACP vs 9mm knockdown power

If you only buy one, it should be a .22; a Ruger Mark II comes to mind.  Starting with a centerfire as a first pistol, all you'll learn is how to flinch.

AFTER you learn to shoot with a .22, a Glock 19 (9mm) will do everything a handgun can reasonably be expected to do.

What Cat said.

You'll still have to take a handgun safety course before you can get a handgun.  If you DON'T know what you want to get, I suggest looking for a class where there will be a variety of different handguns to try out.  I teach with LIFE, but there are definitely others who have good varieties as well.  What works for me might not work for you.  I prefer the 9mm cartridge, because it's cheap and I shoot it a lot.  My friend prefers the .40 S&W because he feels it's the perfect compromise between 9mm and .45 ACP.  Still, others may prefer revolvers because of their near-perfect reliability (and they look so badass).

This past Sunday, there was a woman who wanted a handgun for home defense.  She seemed pretty stuck on the .40 S&W cartridge, because she felt that was the biggest bullet she could fire while still being able to control the handgun.  I prodded a little deeper and found out she had been firing mostly the polymer handguns.  Since she has no option to carry here in Hawaii, I suggested she try a steel 1911 in .45 ACP.  She discovered they both recoil about the same, and she could control the 1911 quite well.

Then again, the primary use of your handgun might not be self defense, but rather Bullseye competition.  For that, you might want a revolver with a long barrel for a nice, long sight radius, or a long-slide semi auto.

Still, there's action pistol.  It's similar to home defense, but you might want to find a gun which has a good variety of aftermarket and extra parts, such as holsters, spare magazines, barrels (to be used with cheaper lead ammunition), and ability to change sights, among other things.

Do you want to hunt with it?  There are specific requirements for hunting handguns.  There are minimum barrel lengths and minimum cartridges.

Once you get into firearms, you'll find that there's no one perfect handgun for everything.  As Cat said, a .22 handgun will teach you excellent basic skills.  It also allows you to shoot a lot for cheap.

So again, if you already knew which gun you wanted, hell, take the Hunters' Ed course.  If you're not too sure, find out what class gives you the best selection to try out.

Can't go wrong with a Ruger MK II.

that being said now you have me totally confused. i like the idea of 9mm being a cheap round to shoot, that way you're not counting pennies as you're firing away at paper targets but i plan on reloading, i already do so for my rifle rounds. the forty sounds like a good in between round but i'm not sure of cost and availability of both gun and ammo. so what brands and models am i looking at also any suggestions on which class will offer me a variety of toys to play with?

Glock 17(9mm)!  Cheap and lots of parts!

don't know if i prefer a polymer gun over an all metal one

If you can reload .45 caliber, it would definitely make ammo cost cheaper. Be careful of using reloaded ammo on some handguns... Some handgun instruction manuals specifically specify to only use factory ammo (ie Glocks polygonal rifling, etc).

If you don't reload and want cheap ammo, 9mm is a good compromise.

What about a .45 with a .22LR conversion kit?  The price of the conversion kit sometimes is almost the same as buying a whole 22 pistol though.

You start out telling yourself just one 9mm or .40 S&W. But you'll end up with 3+, there's so many different features, styles, aesthetics, etc. Besides, how can you resist cheap 22LR guns and cheap bulk ammo? That being said, start off with what you like and hopefully you can figure that out in the handgun safety class. Everyone has their own preference and only you can figure out what you like. I went with a SIG P226 9mm to start, then got a Beretta U-22 Neos, and now looking at getting a 1911.

howzit guys, i need an opinion, i've never owned a semi auto handgun and was wondering if i were to buy just one, what would be the best choice and in what caliber? i don't really have a price range but i want something i can shoot not just store away because its too valuable to use, so tell me.......

that being said now you have me totally confused. i like the idea of 9mm being a cheap round to shoot, that way you're not counting pennies as you're firing away at paper targets but i plan on reloading, i already do so for my rifle rounds. the forty sounds like a good in between round but i'm not sure of cost and availability of both gun and ammo. so what brands and models am i looking at also any suggestions on which class will offer me a variety of toys to play with?

Don't be confused...few actually read what's being asked.

If you were to only buy ONE semi-automatic pistol, the best choice would be the one that fits YOU. I believe hnl.flyboy touches on that point. You can get 1001 opinions on the topic, with the what's & why's, but all the personal preferences amounts to nothing (as applied to you) in the end. So what should you do? A good start would be to take a class as suggested OR visit every LGS and fondle every handgun they've got. Find one that feels good in your hands, has the features you want and is in your price range...make note of it, then do research (from impartial reviews) and keep looking. When you're ready, make a well informed choice/purchase and whatever you end up with won't be wrong. 

*Don't worry about caliber, reloading, etc. just yet...none of that would matter if you end up with something you don't like and won't shoot.

thanks colt, guess we started getting off the subject and began getting into the age old debate of which caliber is the best, i understand what you're saying and it makes sense, especially like the fondling part, everybody's hands are different. will try what you suggested, but whose class will give me the most opportunity to try different guns, calibers etc 

You want a good semi-auto centerfire pistol? You already reload?
No question in my mind, either an XD in 45 auto or a better quality full size 1911.

The 45 auto cartridge is the most forgiving caliber I load. You can throw almost anything together with gratifying results.
Other calibers...not so easy.

XD= moderate price, good quality construction, conventional rifled barrel.
1911= generally speaking, Springfield, Kimber, Colt... Peferably with some custom features.

Adjustable sights would be nice. Personally, I enjoy hitting what I aim at. Seldom do fixed sight guns hit where you want it to hit.

No question in my mind, either an XD in 45 auto or a better quality full size 1911.

 

"If you were to only buy ONE semi-automatic pistol, the best choice would be the one that fits YOU."

I agree with this statement wholeheartedly.  I tried the glock but didn't care for fit and feel. Ended up getting a XD ( and a XDM ) because I liked the feel much better and it's still reliable.

"XD= moderate price, good quality construction, conventional rifled barrel."

Another consideration is get one pistol and 2 barrels.  There are conversion barrels for both the Glocks and Springfield XDs which convert the gun from .40 cal down to 9mm.  Takes about 10 seconds for the conversion.

That way you can practice with cheap, mild recoiling 9mm ammo but have a .40 cal pistol.

Conversion barrels are available from Bar-Sto, Storm Lake, Lone Wolf etc. Just be sure to get the .40 cal pistol because you can convert down but not up.

Maybe you can look at the S&W M&P .40 full size.
You can then get the 9mm conversion barrel and magazines.
Two calibers, one gun.
I am just using the M&P as an example. There are others that you can switch out as well.

I love my ruger mkii shoot/ plink all day for $20. Acurate, easy to shoot and when u get bored of it you can prob sell it for what u bought it for.  They hold thier value very well

thanks colt, guess we started getting off the subject and began getting into the age old debate of which caliber is the best, i understand what you're saying and it makes sense, especially like the fondling part, everybody's hands are different. will try what you suggested, but whose class will give me the most opportunity to try different guns, calibers etc

You're welcome.  Individual preference always gets in the way what's importantant. In this case, we forget that every shooter is different. Personally, I see guns like gloves and whether you have "ape hands", "baby hands" or something in between...You should always find the one the fits and fits well. As for which class? Well, most offer a selection. The two I've heard are great would be HDF and L.I.F.E..

thanks everyone, lots of good information and points of view. i like the idea of buying extra barrels and shooting another caliber, are there conversion kits for a 45 down to a 9mm or is that too big of a jump. lots of favoritism toward xd's, whats a good price also thanks for the class recommendations will look into it