first pistol?

[Rockport24]

thanks. this will be a range and home defense gun, not planning on carrying anytime soon, would want to have a lot more training for that and mass laws are just ridiculous..
I hear this about the trigger a lot as well, can you explain what you mean by that? Does that mean the trigger pull is long, meaning you have to pull for a while before it fires? By reset I assume that means it just doesn't snap back to firing positing quickly enough to be comfortable?

[TheSpecialist]

Originally Posted by redlite

Next to fishing guns, mainly pistols, r my second passion
Every gun has its purpose wether it be range, target, carry, or paper weight. Then u have revolver vs semi auto and then caliber and then brand and then budget as guns r not cheap
As others have stated ammo is expensive and hard to get. Reloading is another science that is expensive to get started with ( press, dyes, tumbler,etc) but for an experienced shooter that is shooting a lot ( when i was competeing idpa i was pushin over 1000 rds of 45 a week so was worth it)
I own different brands glock, sig, colt, ruger, berretta and mostly smiths. I used to compete .45. Carry .40sw mostly shoot .22. And the 9mms dont get much use
For first gun i would pass on my dads advice and go with a 4 inch barreled .357 mag revolver. Reason being with a revolver u r not blasting through ammo amd spending a ton of time reloading mags. If reloading dont have to scrounge of brass. Advantage of .357 mag is u can shoot much milder .38 special rds out of it yet have capabilty to fire out hotter .357 rounds if so desired. Any revolver make sure it has adjustable sites. I prefer smith revolvers
As far as semis go u need to decide if it is strictly range gun, carry gun, or one that sort of fits both roles. Carrying a gun is the most awesome responsibilty there is.
For range with out getting into competion target guns sig makes excellent accurate comfortable to shoot guns as they r heavy so easier to control recoil 229 in any caliber is excellent choice. As stated the 220 in .45 is nice. I still prefer 1911 style .45s though. The sig 1911 style 45s that just got approved in mass are dissappointing junk in my opinion
I really do not like my polymer rugers very much
If they were to come and take all my guns and leave me with only 1 it would be my glock 23 which is.40 sw. Small enough to carry yet big enough that u can go put 200 rds thru it at the range and not have your hand feel like someone smashed it with a sledgehammer if u prefer the milder 9mm the glock 19 is the same as the 23 but in 9mm.
If just want a fun inexpesive shooter get either a .22 lr revolver or semi. Smith model 41 is the nuts. Either that the ruger bull marks r pretty decent.
My recommendations r decide what u r gonna primarily use it for,then decide on budget. Used guns and especially goin to gun shows r the way to go. I think i have only bought 3 brand NIB guns in my life. Big savings
Whatever u r leaning towards take advantage of the offers from those of us on here that r willing to let u test drive them before u buy
I either own or have access to pretty much any hand gun that u can try
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Go with this advice and get a S&W 686, like Mike says you will not burn through ammo, another thing is if you shoot it double action only and take your time, your shooting will improve dramatically. You can also dry fire this gun, thus work on trigger control.

I have owned alot of different guns, my carry gun is an HK USP .40c They don't have the best triggers in the world but the gun is a beast and can shoot anything, never had a failure with this gun ever. Once you get used to the trigger they are an awesome gun, you just need to find the trigger reset.

I have a couple of Para-Ordinance .45's they are 1911's, one is a single stack, and the other a double stack. I have never had an issue with them, but I know how to shoot. I've had a couple of friends and family shoot them , and they would fail to load or stove pipe. The biggest cause of this is "limp wristing" the gun. Once they were shown proper technique they were off to the races

[tysdad115]

Exactly, a MA compliant trigger is supposed to be 10# to pull, I think most of them are more between 11-13# ,the "length" of pull is terrible in my opinion from factory. I was ready to use my M&P .45 as a door stop, until I read up on it. Apex (there are other companies also) makes a trigger kit, that reduces trigger pull to around 5# and reduces trigger reset which is exactly as you wrote, return forward trigger travel in order to fire another round. There are a few gunsmiths up your way that can do the work also. It makes night and day difference.

[Raven]

Originally Posted by nightfighter

Nope. But they are proven performers.
There is a P226 that has over a million rounds through it,
with no malfunctions, stovepipes, failure to feed, etc.

that's one hell of an endorsement NF
great TIP

[redlite]

Originally Posted by tysdad115

Exactly, a MA compliant trigger is supposed to be 10# to pull, I think most of them are more between 11-13# ,the "length" of pull is terrible in my opinion from factory. I was ready to use my M&P .45 as a door stop, until I read up on it. Apex (there are other companies also) makes a trigger kit, that reduces trigger pull to around 5# and reduces trigger reset which is exactly as you wrote, return forward trigger travel in order to fire another round. There are a few gunsmiths up your way that can do the work also. It makes night and day difference.

I have the full size M&P in .40. Hate it. Now i know what to do with it. Use it as a door stopper
The triggers on them suck. I tried to explain to my dad about how the recoil transfer through the trigger felt like someone smashed my finger with a hammer everytime i pulled the trigger. He thought i was smokin crack till he tried it and went ouchie. Answer is glock
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[tysdad115]

I'm still very much a novice shooter and the stock trigger really magnified my "trigger flinch" it's better now but still not great. I'm a member of Old Colony in Pembroke if anyone wants to put some rounds down range, now to find ammo..never enough.
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[Rockport24]

hey guys, Follow up: after shooting pretty much anything I could get my hands on (including all of the 9mm you guys mentioned here and then some more) I ended up going with the M&P. Just fit the best in my hand. I've put a couple hundred rounds through it and even with the bad stock trigger (which I'll get fixed), it feels good.

Honestly, I liked the gen 4 glock the best, but thanks to the Commenwealth I couldn't find one at even close to a good price (say, like under $900!) and the prices are just absurd for the older ones. Heartbreaking that if I was in any other state, I could have a brand new one for under 5 bills. Oh well at least I like to fish here!

Thanks again for all the help guys.

[tysdad115]

Nice choice, a gun you can afford and shoot. The trigger job will be a huge improvement once you get that done. After that you'll be ready for one of these. A Guncrafter Industries "No Name" 1911 ..it can be all yours for a measley $2800.00 . If I had that kind of $$ for a gun, this would be the one.

[Rockport24]

Damn, can that really be that much better than a S&W one at about half the price?

[tysdad115]

No idea, I'm told those are the cats ass of guns..and that one is used.
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