Looking to buy my first.

[nfolsom13]

im looking to own my fist hand gun. was wondering what would be a good but cost effective hand gun for the first time owner.

 

[Fordtough25]

Depends on if you want a semi auto or revolver. If you just want to practice shooting and getting used to a pistol I suggest a Heritage Rough Rider 22/22 Mag revolver. Lots of fun and cheap if shooting 22!! Then step up to 22 mag and tear some cans up. If you want a semi auto the price of entry goes up but deals can be found.

 

[geronimojoe85]

What the heck is a fist hand gun? Is it like maga-man?

 

[geronimojoe85]

I think a little more info is needed. What would you be using it for? What do you have already? What experience do you have?

 

[malern28us]

im looking to own my fist hand gun. was wondering what would be a good but cost effective hand gun for the first time owner.

1. Caliber?
2. Cost?
3. Iwb or owb carry? Doesn't do any good if you don't take it along.

 

[GoDawgs]

It all comes down to preference. Lots of people will recommend a .22lr caliber since it is very cheap and has low recoil, making it easy to learn the basics of marksmanship and safety. Others will mention a full sized revolver since it is mechanically simple. Those are valid suggestions, but I found something different.

My first (earlier this year) was a mid price range, full sized, high capacity 9mm. I wanted a 'first' handgun that was relaible, safe, not too expensive, and suited for a home defense role. Here's how I made the decision:
- I rented a number of handguns at Pop's and Applied Ballistics to get an understanding of how different firearms operate and feel to me personally.
- I liked how a modern semi-auto has a high capacity and it is easy to reload via magazines
- I liked that the 9mm is one of the less expensive calibers that is also used extensively by police and military, which makes it enough of a 'man stopper' for me.
- I liked that the semi-auto I choose had safety features (external safety, da/sa) that made both me and my fiancée more comfortable with owning a defensive handgun
- the handgun I choose not only feels great in my hand, but I like how mine looks too, ha

Everybody will have a different opinion on your first. You will have to try to handle as many as possible, consider what role your first handgun will serve, and make the best decision you can. At the very least, guns don't depreciate as fast as cars do, so you won't necessarily lose a ton of money if you get rid of your first after you find something else you like.

 

[trinitrotoluene85]

It all comes down to preference. Lots of people will recommend a .22lr caliber since it is very cheap and has low recoil, making it easy to learn the basics of marksmanship and safety. Others will mention a full sized revolver since it is mechanically simple. Those are valid suggestions, but I found something different.

My first (earlier this year) was a mid price range, full sized, high capacity 9mm. I wanted a 'first' handgun that was relaible, safe, not too expensive, and suited for a home defense role. Here's how I made the decision:
- I rented a number of handguns at Pop's and Applied Ballistics to get an understanding of how different firearms operate and feel to me personally.
- I liked how a modern semi-auto has a high capacity and it is easy to reload via magazines
- I liked that the 9mm is one of the less expensive calibers that is also used extensively by police and military, which makes it enough of a 'man stopper' for me.
- I liked that the semi-auto I choose had safety features (external safety, da/sa) that made both me and my fiancée more comfortable with owning a defensive handgun
- the handgun I choose not only feels great in my hand, but I like how mine looks too, ha

Everybody will have a different opinion on your first. You will have to try to handle as many as possible, consider what role your first handgun will serve, and make the best decision you can. At the very least, guns don't depreciate as fast as cars do, so you won't necessarily lose a ton of money if you get rid of your first after you find something else you like.

+1 great advice.

To really be any more helpful than GoDawgs, we would need to know more information like has been stated earlier.

Do you have any idea what you're looking for (revolver/auto)?
What's the price range?
What do you intend to do with it?

Even the term "cost effective" is kind of vague. How much is your life worth?

.22 long rifle handguns are an awesome place to start to learn the basics like GoDawg said. Cheap ammo, inexpensive starting price on the gun itself, manageable recoil for just about anyone. If you're just looking to go to the range, and do some "plinking" then .22lr's are fantastic.

If you're looking to compete with it, then you'll want to look at what kind of competitions. They have rimfire competitions where .22's are pretty much the only thing shot, but high-level competitive handguns cost more.

If you're looking to use the gun as home defense, then most people would recommend a full size with calibers along the lines of what the police use (usually 9mm, .45ACP, .40 S&W, or .357 for autos, .357, .38, or .44 for revolver). Cost of handguns in this range very greatly. As little as $350 or $400 all they way up into the thousands.

If you're looking to carry, then you probably want to make up your mind whether or not you'll open carry, or conceal carry. And if you decide to conceal carry, are you going to do it inside the waistband, or outside? These things will factor into the size of the gun you're going to carry, and the caliber to use.

Lots and lots of questions.

Last bit of advice is to pick up a Guns & Ammo magazine, and/or American Handgunner magazine to simply start your research. It will have some reviews and lots of ads for gun makers so you can go to their sites and look around.

Good Luck!

 

[U.S. Patriot]

First question I would ask is this. Are you looking for a revolver, or a pistol? If you are looking for a pistol, do you want a striker fired platform, or do you want a hammer fired platform. If I where you, I would fondle as many handguns as you can. Also, find a place that rents, or find members that will let you shoot theirs.

A revolver is a good choice for a first handgun. The main reason being, is there are less moving parts. You do not have to worry about magazines, etc. The downside being as most of them are 6 shot, and you have to practice reloading more to be proficient.

Also, I would invest is some training. It does not matter what you pay for a gun, or what caliber you carry. None of it matters, if you do not know proper technique.

My

 

[SEIndSAM]

Regardless of the type, I'd say get either a .22 or a 9mm. Why, the ammo is cheaper than other types. Get a decent 9mm and take it to the range often until you have supreme confidence that you can hit your target.

Right after the first of the year, both myself and my brother in law had around $1000 to spend. I bought a new MP9 for $500 and have run at least two 1000 round cases through it and have gotten pretty good.

Brother in law went out and bought a new colt 1911 .45, but can't afford to shoot it. He has had it to the range maybe twice since the first of the year and hasn't run more than 100 rounds through it. He could hit something up close, but I wouldn't trust him for anything but in the house defense.

Or get a .22 with ammo at $19 a brick at Wallyworld. Whatever you get, get comfortable and familiar with it.

 

[huzyerdaddy]

Start with a Sig Sauer P226 9mm and then do all that other stuff, 'you don't even know enough to know what you don't know' my Dad used to tell me- and it applied to me when I got into guns a few years ago, all the above advice is all correct, but in the meantime- start shooting targets at a range like Atlanta Conservation Club

Have fun and be safe...

 

[tyler_durden]

I would say if it's going to be an all purpose first or "fist" handgun, go with something in 9mm. Good for HD but still cheaper to shoot plus lower recoil for beginning shooters. Next thing is how much do you want to spend? If you're willing to spend around 500 you can get a great 9mm from glock, Springfield or S&W that will last forever. Good luck!

 

[grizman]

My simple guidelines to picking a handgun

My are as follows.
Best "bang for the buck" in handguns are, in no special order, XD/XDM, Glocks and S&W M&P's. You can pay more for sure, but you won't gain anything but a name. 1911's, can't argue with 100 years of knocking them down and dead history. 1911's can be just as reliable as the "top 3" ,but do not expect a $500 1911 to perform as reliable out of the box though, with premium SD ammo.

What I like or carry in no way means "that" is the correct pistol for you. First thing is to handle a bunch of different handguns and narrow the field down to those that are comfortable in your hand. Then of those narrow it further to the ones that naturally point on target well when thrust them into a shooting position. Once you get to this point go to a rental range and try those pistols out. If you follow these suggestions you will end up with a pistol you will enjoy shooting and that will make you a better shot. Using a pistol for defense is all about shot placement when under stress. The more you practice the more the entire process becomes instinctive. See where I am going with this.

Now comes the caliber debate, again my is to pick the largest caliber you can shoot fast and accurate with, if that is a 9mm fine, if it is a 10mm fine or anywhere in between go with what you shoot the best.

lastly one has to consider ease of maintenance, availability of replacement parts as well as track record in the field when choosing a sidearm.

You will hear a lot of "if you can afford it buy a ______" opinions that lead will attempt to lead you to believe certain brands are way better due to their price. Unless those brands pass the selection steps I laid out before don't let the brand snob's sway your selection.

Follow these basic guidelines and you will end up with the "right" handgun for you!

 

[squirrelhntr]

This is a good place to start. You will get a lot of good advice from this site. Go out and shoot some with some of your friends see what you like. Take a safety coarse. Try not to buy something real cheap it might come back and haunt ya.

 

[bullet]

If you going to carry it, don't get a full size. I think that's the biggest mistake made by first time handgun owners that plan to carry.

Big guns are hard to carry IMO.

 

[grizman]

If you going to carry it, don't get a full size. I think that's the biggest mistake made by first time handgun owners that plan to carry.

Big guns are hard to carry IMO.

Catch 22 here, yes full size guns are harder to conceal, but compact guns are harder to learn to shoot effectively. Which lessens ones confidence in their ability with the weapon hence making some less comfortable carrying it for self defense. My advise remains unchanged, I will add, pick the gun then adjust your clothing to conceal do not pick a weapon just because it conceals in the clothing you wear now.

 

[mikefraz]

The OP still hasn't said we his criteria is yet...

 

[nfolsom13]

sorry it took so long lost the post! lol

but i def want a semi auto other than that im open to any thing for the right price

 

[Milkshakeed]

A lot of good posts. @GoDawgs was a great post. Research research research!!! Shoot different guns to see what you are comfortable with (if you have freinds with guns see if they will let you try them out, buy the ammo and take them to the range, they'll love it) (or you can rent and try them out). But with whatever you decide on, practice practice practice!!! I've seen guys shoot better with crap cause they practice with it then I have from guys that have a $5k gun that they never take out of the box.

 

[GoDawgs]

another thing I would recommend is taking a 'beginners pistol' class. This is something I regret not doing before i bought my first. The classes are usually pretty cheap as far as training is concerned, (100-150ish) and when you are going to spend 3-10+ times that amount on a handgun, I consider that way worth it.

You may or may not have the base marksmanship and safety knowledge already, but 1) it's always good to have a refresher and have someone pick apart your shooting mechanics and double check your safety knowledge. 2) more importantly, most of those types of classes (ACT's BP100, for example), don't require you to bring firearms - they might show you a revolver, a .22, a couple 9mm semi-autos and then maybe let you shoot a .40 or .45 just to get an idea of what bigger rounds feel like. Therefore, not only do you work on your basic skills, but you get a feel for what you are comfortable shooting.

 

[NovemberKilo]

Lorcin, naturally.

All kidding aside, my top two choices for a general-purpose, "entry-level" semi-auto are:

Glock
S&W M&P

If you're into the 1911 platform, my top two choices are:

RIA 1911
Springfield Armory Mil-Spec 1911

Again, these are all "entry-level" firearms, but they are also firearms that you will find yourself using for a long time. If you own any of the above, and then you go out and buy $3,000 semi-custom pistols, you will probably still find yourself shooting these.

My .02.