I want to buy my 1st handgun...

[SleeperC5]

I'll sell you mine.... .40 Cal, 1911-A1

[grandkodiak]

ps recoil in semiauto pistols is bs... recoild doesnty become an isssue for a semiauto until it breaks the 1000ft/lb mark. 9,357,40,45 all feel relitively the same,far from handloaded 300+ grain rounds... and the 22 feels like a bb gun. 45 imo its a very outdated round, both the 357sig and 40sw out perform the slow round, 45's only popular because the springfield 1911 is a fabulous pistol that every exmilitary has learned to shoot, and its a bigger bore. its slow and subsonic which means it can be silenced wel, but its not a very accurate, nor powerful round. a 44mag feels like 3 45acp's at the same time, and put out nearly twice the energy. the only handgun that shoots recoil prone 44mags and 50ae's is that stupid fuckin dessert eagle thats in all the movies. its a gas operated isrealy pos thats weight balance is all off, has a very low cap and is purely for show and bragging rights.

[grandkodiak]

ps god 1911's are sexy... i cant wait to be able to afford the guncrafter industries model 1 1911 in .50gi

[tpilews]

S&W 5906



I've fired Berettas and glocks too. I like the feel of the smith the most.

It's a personal thing. Everyone likes something different. You have to get out there and fire some different guns and find the one that fits you.

[Spaz]

anyone like rugars?

[SeVeReDiStOrTiOn]

I have a smith and wesson M&P .40 and beretta 96....don't get a 9mm if you want to use the weapon for home defense or exposed/concealed carry. IMO 9mm's are only good for cheap target shooting.

If you want a 9mm because of the higher velocity of the rounds..you can buy Corbon ammo in a bigger caliber instead. I carry .40 135 gr JHP and it has a 1325 fps velocity...just as fast as most 9mm rounds but has more ft lbs of energy. Or get a .357 and get even more velocity and knock down.

[grandkodiak]

357 sig is the ultimate semiauto round. (stress the period there!)

[camaross0002]

Personally I had a p95 ruger in 9mm I like the gun for the fact it was relatively cheap to buy new and I put almost 10k rounds down the barrel without a single problem. I bought the gun for 325 new and sold it for 300 with 10k down the barrel.

The only thing i can say is go to a gun shop that has rentals because every gun has a different feel, balance, recoil, and options. I would get what you want, I would start out with the 9mm because it is cheap to plink and to buy.
I regret selling my ruger but furlough from job caused it. I was going to get a glock but I have large hands and with the grips of a glock I just didn't feel right. I bought a kimber tleII with nightsights extended magwell and a few other goods in a 45 acp but it can get expensive to shoot.

All I can say is choose what you want.

[shadegray]

Get a Glock 31 in .357 Sig. Its a 9mm in a 10mm case, and uses the same EVERYTHING otehr then barrel as the 40sw, so for $100 or less you can swap in a 40sw barrel... and they make a .22lr kit for it, so buy 1 gun and you have 3 ammo options. 357 for penetration, 40 for knock down 22 to save money. Ammo is about $15-25 for 50 depending on load/company, but with the 22lr its about $2.50 for the same amount... shoooot ALL day and work on your trigger work. any idiot can aim weapon sights, accuracy and ability is ALL in the trigger pull.

i'm in long branch, ever want to go to shoreshot (exit 88 on aprkway) lemme know, show ya around the different guns.

glocks are cheap, extremly reliable, easy to clean, retain value, no exposed hammer, trigger is exactly the same EVERY pull, no da/sa trigger pulls to get used to, rediculously short trigger reset for even more accurate shots or rapid fire like a full auto... i could go on and on. get a glock.

No it's not. It's a necked down .40 S&W. And .357 sig sucks ass. It tries to duplicate the magnum but can't match its power. It's more expensive than .40. It's weaker than the 10. The ammo is hard to find. It's got a lot of muzzle blast. Just get a .38 super if high speed small diameter autoloaders is what you're into.

You're wrong about the .45 and .44 mag too. The .44 mag puts out well over twice the energy of the .45, coming up to 3 times the energy. The .45 is plenty accurate. A ton of match shooters use the .45. It's not around because of the 1911. The 1911 can be had in a bunch of calibers. The guy way up there posted a pic of his in .40. The 1911 is around because of tradition. It's not extremely reliable since it was designed to function with military ball, low capacity, and heavy.

[grandkodiak]

its flatter shooting, offers best expansion and/or penetration and is harder hitting then standard and some hot 9mm, 40sws and 45acps, and its capacity is high, and cost is the same as the 40? dunno where you are shoppin. judge it on what it is, not what it was supposed to be... it does come close to a 357 mag, in a smaller package and in a SEMIAUTO! muzzleflash worries are b/s unless you are a navy seal btw. even on compensated models its been shown that the magnitude and pulse (brightness duration) isnt enough to make the eyes give up thier night site... and the chances of you needing nightsite and not giving your position away means YOU shouldnt be shooting your weapon, its probably manslaughter at that point.

[shadegray]

Costs more than .40 around here. And every website I see too. .38 super will do all that and hit harder. .40 will do it cheaper. There's no problems with .40 expanding. Since the case for the sig is a necked down .40, it doesn't have any more capacity than those or the 10s. The .40 makes the same power as the sig and the .45 makes more power than the sig. The mag makes over 800 ft-lbs with the hot factory loads, 125 grains at 17xx fps and no sig can touch that. Only the 10mm is a match in an auto platform. Muzzle blast matters at night for home defense and with new shooters. It's a compromise of everything that doesn't do anything the best. Was it hard to get guns in NJ?

[nhraformula]

i personally am a fan of the 40.
its the best of both worlds, fps of a 9mm and hits just about as hard as a 45.

[Frankthetank]

45 cal all the way.......u can go bigger but nothing is proven like a 1911 45......
There are much better versions of it now but still nothing is proven like the 45....

I know people that have shot muj fuckers in fallujah with a 9mm and didnt do shit to em.....
Hell there is a vid on cops where a guy shot his wife 3 times poiunt black and she still ran off

[nhraformula]

for everyone saying this gun is better or that one, look at the dept. of justice stats.
the 357 mag is the best at putting people down.
66% or so that got shot with a 357 are no more.
it surprised the hell out of me when i read that stat.

[grandkodiak]

45 ACP is a weak round and is slow and fails to expand rather ofen because of this. It only averages around 365-375 ft/lbs of delevered energy for the normal 165-230 grain rounds at 850-1050 ft/sec. 9mm's are just shy of this at 325-360 ft/lbs for 115-150 grain at 1000-1190 ft/sec. 357 sig on the other hand boots out 465-625 ft/lbs in 115-150 grains and is in the range of 1300-1600 fps.

Comparitive damage done is by wound size and depth/length of channel. I say comparitive because terminal ballistics in terms of put down power is based on many factors... a .500sw mag could potentiall make a nice .5 hole stright through the body cavity and the guy could easily survive. And at the same time a .177 could bounce between a rib and strike an artery causing an near instant bleedout and knockdown. Hydrostatic shock and all that bull will never happen with a .177 all the way up to a 454 casull, you need rifle velocities and ft/lbs of over 3,000 to benefit from it, so really, having a larger caliber in a handgun will only benefit you by having a bigger wound diameter and alittle penetration depend on the bullet shape. Where if you take a lighter bullet and shoot it faster to compensate, it will penetrate just as deep or more (remember penetration is allll about PSI, smaller area means higher psi for the same force applied!) and throw in the deforming ability of high velocity ammo means that that .355 (9mm) or .357 hp nearly doubles in wound diameter... double or more of that of an unexpanded or fmj 45acp or 50gi.

big heavy rounds are only better if substantially more powder is used to project the bullet. hence 45acp fails in comparison to other catridges of similiar weight and diameter... and why a 357 sig, offering alot more powder per weight of projectile means it bosts the greatest impact force. energy is 2/3's velocity, 1/3 mass. increasing velocity increases energy at a much faster rate then just mass.

still love the 1911, but i'd never service the 45 acp in the field in anything other then a backup... p.s. metallic penetration is almost nonexistant with it too! its allll about velocity.

[ARRFormula]

2 guns I would suggest, a Glock 21 and a Springfield 1911 milspec. Both are .45 acp guns.

I will say a .357 sig is a hand cannon, very powerfull and has a nice "boom", but like said it is not a popular round for whatever reason. With that, 9 mm and .45acp are the way to go IMO.

[DarknessLS1]

i wouldnt recommend a first handgun for you but ill recommend the last...glock 36 .45 slimline. the ultimate carry weapon. inside the pants holster is the only way.

[nhraformula]

2 guns I would suggest, a Glock 21 and a Springfield 1911 milspec. Both are .45 acp guns.

I will say a .357 sig is a hand cannon, very powerfull and has a nice "boom", but like said it is not a popular round for whatever reason. With that, 9 mm and .45acp are the way to go IMO.

i disagree. alot of gun owners i know have 357 mags. wheel guns are not as popular as they once were, but plenty of people still buy them.
a wheel gun is truthfully the best home protection in a handgun, it will never jam and its easy to use, just pull the trigger.

[shadegray]

45 ACP is a weak round and is slow and fails to expand rather ofen because of this. It only averages around 365-375 ft/lbs of delevered energy for the normal 165-230 grain rounds at 850-1050 ft/sec. 9mm's are just shy of this at 325-360 ft/lbs for 115-150 grain at 1000-1190 ft/sec. 357 sig on the other hand boots out 465-625 ft/lbs in 115-150 grains and is in the range of 1300-1600 fps.

Comparitive damage done is by wound size and depth/length of channel. I say comparitive because terminal ballistics in terms of put down power is based on many factors... a .500sw mag could potentiall make a nice .5 hole stright through the body cavity and the guy could easily survive. And at the same time a .177 could bounce between a rib and strike an artery causing an near instant bleedout and knockdown. Hydrostatic shock and all that bull will never happen with a .177 all the way up to a 454 casull, you need rifle velocities and ft/lbs of over 3,000 to benefit from it, so really, having a larger caliber in a handgun will only benefit you by having a bigger wound diameter and alittle penetration depend on the bullet shape. Where if you take a lighter bullet and shoot it faster to compensate, it will penetrate just as deep or more (remember penetration is allll about PSI, smaller area means higher psi for the same force applied!) and throw in the deforming ability of high velocity ammo means that that .355 (9mm) or .357 hp nearly doubles in wound diameter... double or more of that of an unexpanded or fmj 45acp or 50gi.

big heavy rounds are only better if substantially more powder is used to project the bullet. hence 45acp fails in comparison to other catridges of similiar weight and diameter... and why a 357 sig, offering alot more powder per weight of projectile means it bosts the greatest impact force. energy is 2/3's velocity, 1/3 mass. increasing velocity increases energy at a much faster rate then just mass.

still love the 1911, but i'd never service the 45 acp in the field in anything other then a backup... p.s. metallic penetration is almost nonexistant with it too! its allll about velocity.

.45 acp gets over 640 ft lbs with factory ammo. http://www.doubletapammo.com/php/cat...roducts_id=146
Where do you see sig at 625? The .45acp does not typically make mid 300 some ft lbs. Over 400 usually. .45acp is more powerful than the sig, period. It's more readily available than the sig. The 10mm is significantly more powerful than sig, it's the equal of the .357 magnum. Slightly more rare.

double tap 9mm +p makes over 500 ft lbs, 115 grains at 1415. Thats more than most .357 sig. And you can get 9mm cheaper than any other centerfire round, meaning lots more practice time. .40 is a happy medium.

the sig is a marketing scheme to try to capitalize on the popularity and reputation of the magnum. It doesn't do anything especially well and costs more than most.

I'm not trying to offend you, but you don't own any guns in any of these calibers yourself, or maybe an underage teenager right? You're really off on ammo prices and everything.

[94z28l]

Dirty Harry used a .44 magnum. Some have claimed that the actual gun shown in the movie was a .41 magnum but the guns are identical so no one knows for sure.

typo i was tired lol