First handgun

[jworl]

Should be purchasing a firearm either this weekend or sometime the following week. I'll be going to the range with some friends and family to get a feel for what I want.

Two guns I'm particularly looking forward to firing are the Baby Eagle and Springfield XD.

Obviously, I won't be able to shoot every hand gun, but I think I can get a good idea of what I want. Another specific pistol I'm looking at is a Sig P226 Blackwater Edition since a friend/acquaintence is selling it.

Just looking for any thoughts or suggestions. Anything I should do while inspecting a firearm before purchase? Anything to look for?

Thanks for helping out a newb.

[jmw_LS2]

What are you using this handgun for? Carry? Range? Home defense?

[jworl]

Range and home defense.

[SICKS.OH]

CZ, and EAA Witness is basicly the same pistol as the Baby eagle. which is also basicly a browning Hi Power.

i would lean more towards the CZ with a rail.
http://www.cz-usa.com/products_handguns.php

[skanktyme]

Five-seveN.

The XD's are great I love mine. But I shot the FN the other day and I am in love.

[Napalm]

CZ, and EAA Witness is basicly the same pistol as the Baby eagle. which is also basicly a browning Hi Power.

i would lean more towards the CZ with a rail.
http://www.cz-usa.com/products_handguns.php

The Baby Eagle (the real one not the knockoff) is not basicaly a browning HI power. Look closer. and yes EAA makes a version that looks like a Baby eagle.

to the OP I noticed you have the sig 226 on your short list. I have one, orginal verison. Not familiar with the blackwater version. I basicaly added a HOGUE grip to mine and it came with the sig nite sites. I have loved it every since. Only thing I would change, is I want a new model with the recurve outside the trigger guard so I would have even better control.

[Napalm]

I also like the walther p99 and the new Beretta PX4 line. I also like the Smith M&P.

[tiretread]

All nice pistols. I used to carry a P226 and I really could shoot well with it. I like the springfields XDs though. Love to get one eventually.

[bear]

I have an XD and love it!

[jworl]

Five-seveN.

The XD's are great I love mine. But I shot the FN the other day and I am in love.
I've held one, but never fired one.

My concern with the Five-seveN is actually the round itself. Price, availability, and effectiveness are all concerns. Not to mention, dropping 1k on something that fires a round I'm weary of is a little disheartening.

The Baby Eagle (the real one not the knockoff) is not basicaly a browning HI power. Look closer. and yes EAA makes a version that looks like a Baby eagle.

to the OP I noticed you have the sig 226 on your short list. I have one, orginal verison. Not familiar with the blackwater version. I basicaly added a HOGUE grip to mine and it came with the sig nite sites. I have loved it every since. Only thing I would change, is I want a new model with the recurve outside the trigger guard so I would have even better control.
http://www.sigsauer.com/Products/ShowCatalogProduc tDetails.aspx?categoryid=7&productid=78
^that's it, pretty much. Comes with night sights, five clips, wood grips, etc.. as listed on the site, of course.

A friend of mine kind of got me thinking about the old 9mm vs 45acp debate, so that's one thing I'm weary of. Also, the asking price of the Sig BlackWater is $800, I believe.

Not really sure on the value of used guns. I know he paid over a $1k for it new and put less than 500 rounds through it. Does that seem like a fair price?

To all the suggestions everyone else mentioned, thanks. I'll definitely be sure to look at them when I visit the gun shop. :)

[skanktyme]

I've held one, but never fired one.

My concern with the Five-seveN is actually the round itself. Price, availability, and effectiveness are all concerns. Not to mention, dropping 1k on something that fires a round I'm weary of is a little disheartening.


That is all true. It's actually why I never got a DE even though I really wanted one after shooting them. $1400 for a base model and about $1.50 per shot for the .50AE turned me off.


Yeah every pistol I have fires .45ACP, every rifle fires .223 and every shotgun fires 12 ga. Keeps everything nice and simple.

[GTO THUNDER]

The five seven round is amazing.

[bear]

I've held one, but never fired one.

My concern with the Five-seveN is actually the round itself. Price, availability, and effectiveness are all concerns. Not to mention, dropping 1k on something that fires a round I'm weary of is a little disheartening.


http://www.sigsauer.com/Products/ShowCatalogProduc tDetails.aspx?categoryid=7&productid=78
^that's it, pretty much. Comes with night sights, five clips, wood grips, etc.. as listed on the site, of course.

A friend of mine kind of got me thinking about the old 9mm vs 45acp debate, so that's one thing I'm weary of. Also, the asking price of the Sig BlackWater is $800, I believe.

Not really sure on the value of used guns. I know he paid over a $1k for it new and put less than 500 rounds through it. Does that seem like a fair price?

To all the suggestions everyone else mentioned, thanks. I'll definitely be sure to look at them when I visit the gun shop. :)

The 5.7 is a very good round IMO


Ialso think that is a fair price for the sig. I have not shot one but everyone seems to like them a lot. I say go to the range and shoot the sig and an XD and see which you like better

[GTOsarge]

Home defense. First handgun. Get a nice 38 special or 357 revolver. I have several autos but to keep them loaded for months on end will eventually weaken the spring in the clip. I keep a 38 specail 5 shot loaded with 1 ball and 4 hollow points for home defense and a nice 12 guage backup.

[RokX]

I've held one, but never fired one.

My concern with the Five-seveN is actually the round itself. Price, availability, and effectiveness are all concerns. Not to mention, dropping 1k on something that fires a round I'm weary of is a little disheartening.

I own one, and that said, I would never use it for carry or home defense. It is a fun range pistol though. I also have the PS90, so it's one of the reasons I got it. They both fire the same 5.7mm round. The price for 5.7mm ammo isn't TOO insane right now, running just a tad higher at .50 a round. Not much higher than 5.56mm right now.

Pros:
1. Very fun to shoot
2. Awesome accuracy and range. I've hit targets outwards of 100-150+ meters with it.
3. Very light
4. Low recoil

Cons:
1. INSANELY loud! Out of the over two dozen firearms I own, it is definitely the loudest. I would rather fire my Barrett M82A1 .50 cal without hearing protection than the Five-seveN. If you were to use it in a defense situation you would be completely deaf before your assailant was down.
2. High velocity round at 1900-2300 fps. While there are some pros to this, it will easily overpenetrate some surfaces like you would have in a home, also I've heard a few times, that the wound cavity created by the 5.7mm is significantly smaller than other pistol rounds. Meaning it's a good thing you have a 20 round mag, you'll have to use a few of them to put the individual down.
3. NOT "armor-piercing" as some think. The SS190 round is armor-piercing, however it is a restricted round. The two available for civilian sale, SS195LF and SS197SR, do not have armor piercing ability. I've even tried this out on a piece of kevlar, and these two rounds do about as much damage as a 9mm.

There are MUCH better options for a first handgun choice out there. My first pistol on my 21st birthday was a HK USP .45 and I love that pistol. Don't get me wrong, the Five-seveN is very fun to shoot, at the range only. OP, if you can find one, look at the HK P30. I picked one up last week and it is probably the best feeling pistol I own. The ergonomics are amazing IMO. Out of all my pistols, it would be the top for a good balance between range and defense.

[jmw_LS2]

I have a few Smith and Wesson M&P's and they are excellent guns. My 357 SIG is small enough to carry,but big enough to pistol whip a bitch.

[jworl]

Home defense. First handgun. Get a nice 38 special or 357 revolver. I have several autos but to keep them loaded for months on end will eventually weaken the spring in the clip. I keep a 38 specail 5 shot loaded with 1 ball and 4 hollow points for home defense and a nice 12 guage backup.
Any specific suggestions? Haven't researched too much on revolvers as I have autoloaders. A buddy of mine has a Taurus Judge though. It seems fairly nice and didn't seem too terribly expensive.

I own one, and that said, I would never use it for carry or home defense. It is a fun range pistol though. I also have the PS90, so it's one of the reasons I got it. They both fire the same 5.7mm round. The price for 5.7mm ammo isn't TOO insane right now, running just a tad higher at .50 a round. Not much higher than 5.56mm right now.

Pros:
1. Very fun to shoot
2. Awesome accuracy and range. I've hit targets outwards of 100-150+ meters with it.
3. Very light
4. Low recoil

Cons:
1. INSANELY loud! Out of the over two dozen firearms I own, it is definitely the loudest. I would rather fire my Barrett M82A1 .50 cal without hearing protection than the Five-seveN. If you were to use it in a defense situation you would be completely deaf before your assailant was down.
2. High velocity round at 1900-2300 fps. While there are some pros to this, it will easily overpenetrate some surfaces like you would have in a home, also I've heard a few times, that the wound cavity created by the 5.7mm is significantly smaller than other pistol rounds. Meaning it's a good thing you have a 20 round mag, you'll have to use a few of them to put the individual down.
3. NOT "armor-piercing" as some think. The SS190 round is armor-piercing, however it is a restricted round. The two available for civilian sale, SS195LF and SS197SR, do not have armor piercing ability. I've even tried this out on a piece of kevlar, and these two rounds do about as much damage as a 9mm.

There are MUCH better options for a first handgun choice out there. My first pistol on my 21st birthday was a HK USP .45 and I love that pistol. Don't get me wrong, the Five-seveN is very fun to shoot, at the range only. OP, if you can find one, look at the HK P30. I picked one up last week and it is probably the best feeling pistol I own. The ergonomics are amazing IMO. Out of all my pistols, it would be the top for a good balance between range and defense.
Nice! Thanks for the info. My local gun shop does have many HKs in stock, so I'll definitely give them a look.

I have a few Smith and Wesson M&P's and they are excellent guns. My 357 SIG is small enough to carry,but big enough to pistol whip a bitch.
Not sure how the M&Ps compare to the Sigma's, but I've shot a Sigma, and I didn't like the trigger pull. I was told that it's like that due to a safety-mechanism built into the trigger.

[nzballer05]

Five-seveN.

Five-SeveN's are weak. FN makes very nice guns but the 5.7x28 round is nothing more than a .22 on steroids. Its pretty cool to say that you fire a "rifle cartridge" out of your handgun but that is about it. I would definatly not trust that round in a robbery situation. Its stoping powers are minimal at best. That round would definatly be more fun shooting it out of a rifle.

[Napalm]

^that's it, pretty much. Comes with night sights, five clips, wood grips, etc.. as listed on the site, of course.

A friend of mine kind of got me thinking about the old 9mm vs 45acp debate, so that's one thing I'm weary of. Also, the asking price of the Sig BlackWater is $800, I believe.

Not really sure on the value of used guns. I know he paid over a $1k for it new and put less than 500 rounds through it. Does that seem like a fair price?

To all the suggestions everyone else mentioned, thanks. I'll definitely be sure to look at them when I visit the gun shop. :)

You might want to check the value around on the internet. But I bought a Sig Certified used gun. IE it was used by some LE group, cleaned, re finnished and they replaced all springs and checked the barrel tolerances. I have 4 clips (2 are 12 rd) and its great.

On the 9vs 45 vs X vs Y debate. I choose 40 cal. Its relatevly cheap the SS uses it, some police groups use it. The Army is re-evaluating it. Most of the speed of the 9, most of the weight of the 45. At the time I could get 12 rds of 40 and only 8 rds of 45 in a semi auto. I hate the 1911, it was good for its day but mechanics and machineing have come a long way.

The five seven round is amazingly expensive.

Fixed it for you. Yes its a rifle round in a pistol frame, yes its damn fast. Doesn't have much mass, and will fragment inside the body. problem is doesn't have much mass, I don't see the 5.7 round stopping a crack head, unless it punches through the brain stem.

OH and my god they are spendy to find, I'm not sure about reloading.

[jworl]

Thanks for all the feedback.

Loved the IWI Baby Eagle my friend had. Seemed a bit heavy though, and I've decided to go for my CCW.... I definitely didn't feel like I'd be comfortable carrying it around. Also shot a Smith and Wesson 357 revolver. The Taurus Judge.... well... sort of "broke" while we were out there. The ejector rod came out multiple times and wouldn't thread back in. It's getting sent in to be fixed. There were a few other odds and ends that i won't mention.

Anyways.

My gun budget got cut for a couple reasons, but I decided to look around anyways. The Sig BW was out of range, unfortunately :( Of all the guns I held, the FNP-9 just felt right in my hand. Not to mention, it didn't break the bank and fit into my budget. I'll be picking my new baby up on Thursday. :)

Not to mention, 9mm range ammo is pretty cheap at Wal-Mart. Blazer Brass for $8.95 a box! I went ahead and picked some up for this weekend.

[SANman1911]

You will LOVE the FNP-9. It get very high reviews for a good reason. I made the mistake of letting my wife shoot it, now it is "hers". Oh well, just have to buy another one...DARN!

[wildey475mag]

lots of good suggestions here and i also have the FN ps90 and love it but the ammo availability could be a concern so if you want simplicity stick to a very mainstream cartridge.....9mm 45 40 38 357 etc etc
what i usually tell people is that a 40 cal is the best choice in most cases, not only can you have a decent amount of capacity in a given weapon but the recoil is easily managed by men and women plus it has some decent ballistics......my personal carry gun is a 45 either a para ordinance lda hi-cap or here lately a m&p im considering having a custom hi-cap in 10mm built for carry use sinc ei just love that round.......
lastly the noise of firing a gun without protection is plain stupid but dont let the louder guns scare you away from choosing them because i can tell you from first hand experience if your in a armed confrontation and fire your weapon auditory exclusion kicks in and you will rarely hear your shots........i fired 7 rounds at my attacker from my para ordinance with corbon +p hollowpoints and my ears didnt ring once and i never heard my shots and when the dust settled my hearing was fine no ringing or any adverse effects from it........my attacker spent a few weeks in the hospital then off to the big house for 11 years.....

[thehkp7m13]

Probably outnumbered here, but there is nothing wrong with a 9mm. I would rather score multiple hits with a 9mm then miss with a .45 ACP. I have shot for decades and it still makes me lugh then someone completely green to guns wants a .45 ACP or some sort of manly caliber only to be afraid of the the kick and not hit the target.

???? how much are you scoring the Sig P226 Blackwater Edition for???? And if you lose interst in it let me know. I am always willing to add another 9mm to my collection.


oh and remember folks:

http://i263.photobucket.com/albums/ii153/ArrmySold iersSister/AmericanChickenFootprint-PeaceSign.jpg

[wildey475mag]

i dont know about everyone elses reasons for the choice of a bigger caliber but personally i choose a bigger caliber because of 2 reasons.......first for some odd reason i shoot better with larger powerfull rounds.......im decent with a 9mm but with a 10mm and a 45 im more accurate.......have no clue why even my cop friends cant figure out why and secondly i can pull up pages upon pages of specific shootings involving 9mm's that a assailant took over 10 rounds with that particular caliber and kept coming.......one of the most widely documented cases of it was the miami fbi shooting where if memory serves 6 agents were killed and 3 or 4 were wounded by 2 assailants firing on them with a mini-14 rifle and were jacked up on nothing but adrenaline, when they were finally killed each one had in excess of 15 9mm hollowpoints in their body, so i like the idea of putting a larger chunk of lead into a attacker and i have to say when i had to use my gun the 4 rounds i fired at my assailant put him down right on the spot........but you have to use what suits your hands best, smaller people will more than likely be more comfy with a 9mm but its all what each person feels works best for them because i agree that no matter how big or powerfull the weapon is your firing if you cant hit the broad side of a barn with it what good is it?

[GTO THUNDER]

FNH FNP 40 is a good looking gun. 14 or 15 round double stack mags. The gun comes with three mags. I have personally never shot one but I hear that they are great. I saw one at the local gun show for $500