Your thoughts for a friends 1st pistol

[SPIKER]

Count me in for some advice too:


Look at where he lives normally & what he will be doing with it. no particular order things to consider.

Don't think that a NEW GUN OWNER will be carrying it so don't worry much about that aspect yet.

DO look at AMMO costs, 9mm or 22 are perfect first guns and are BOTH low recoil & low cost to shoot vs .380, 40cal or 45acp.

(Personal preference) But I own Browning and Rugar guns for myself, my woman has a Lama 380 for personal protection, (some reason no one messes with me?) I have a pair of Browning Buck Marks 22 LR semi autos REAL FUN to shoot but reloading every 4 seconds gets old but smile never goes away. I have Rugar 10/22 for local varmint removal. Then for 2 legged varmints my Rugar P89 (new models available) very accurate low cost to shoot and to buy. I've shot a good number of the Rugar Revolvers & they are also great first guns for new shooters.

Mark

 

[C4Ranch]

My 1 st handgun and still favorite shooter is my Beretta 92fs. I'm a fan do the double action plus when you see how the safety is configured, it's a great for your first. The safety literally rotates and disconnects the firing pin. When i was 21 and first got it, the confidence in how the safty worked was a great comfort Would also check the military box. 9mm is one of the cheapest pistol rounds around.

In fact, I like the configuratin so well, my carry is a px4. Same DA safety function.

Nothing against striker fire, just a different feel to me.

 

[davrow]

All I can add is that I agree with posts #27 and #28. Don't get him what YOU think is best. Give him a chance to find out what HE likes (within the budget) and get him that.

He might be wrong, but you almost certainly will be.

Great gift idea, by the way. If I crash the wedding, do I get one, too?

 

[forgeblast]

Did have to so some work on the extractor, as the slide would not go fully into battery as stock....

I found that If i took apart the .22 mags and sanded the plastic, then I had a lot less feeding issues.
There was a person making parts to upgrade the spring and to make the last shot hold open the slide
The site is sigpower but Sig Power - SIG Talk pretty much makes me
want to stay away from them.
Modifying the Sig 226 22lr magazine - Handguns - New Jersey Gun Forums is probably the way I will go.

 

[Bird]

First of all, what a great gift and way to say, "thank you," for all that you've done. My main comment is simply to say that buying a pistol can be such a personal thing that I wonder if you would be best served by simply giving him the money for the gift itself. You could do this by making a deposit at the gun shop of your choice in his name or perhaps buying a gift certificate (if they allow either) from the shop or you could take him with you and surprise him when you arrive. I love each of my pistols and remember most of the details surrounding the purchase of each. I almost purchased a pistol for my wife a few years ago and gave a great deal of consideration to the caliber, action, brand, etc etc but was very surprised by her negative reaction when I actually took her to the shop to let her handle it. This could be a very nice experience for the two of you as he picks out his first pistol. Just my $.02.

Sounds like very good advice.

 

[KubotainNH]

My son and I have started getting into handguns in the last year or so. Low budget to get our feet wet and find what we like. There are so many options. We both have 9mm's now so we can share ammo and it's reasonably priced. Both guns were brand new with cases and cheap locks. Both have really good reviews in this price point and seem to be made well, they are listed below. Comfort is a big factor in my opinion. I wonder if you're better off bringing him to try some, give him a card with a picture of a gun.

CZ P07 - Czech made - came with 2 - 17 round mags - just under $500 at a local gun shop. This is the smaller version and is very comfortable for my family's small-ish hands.

SAR B6P - Turkish made (CZ75 copy)- came with 1 - 14 round mag- cost $300 online and another $30 when it arrived at the local gun shop. Also the smaller version and very comfy, my daughter and wife will learn to shoot on this one.

 

[300UGUY]

I'd say that guns are pretty personal. Let him buy his own. I like shooting, have a few guns, but I don't ever shoot the ones my dad gave me, they work alright, and aren't antiques, but I prefer the stuff I bought. And at a young age, a pistol might be a liability, when I was in my early 20's, I moved often, lived in places where we had parties frequently, and no secure place for a gun. My rural lifestyle now lets me have lots of toys!!

 

[bumperm]

When my sons were 16 and 17, I bought them each a stainless steel Ruger .357 single six. They loved them . . . still do.

bumper

 

[sld]

Hard to beat a Beretta Model 92 9mm. Easy to care for and very safe. Very good home defense gun and the ammo is not too expensive.

 

[EddieWalker]

Thank you everyone for your advice and comments. I went to a few stores in town and really liked the Ruger SR40. Price seemed to range from just over $500 to $459 at Academy. It came with an extra clip, lock and a thing to help load the clips. It's in a nice case and we are excited to give it to him in the morning. I'm still not used to being able to buy a gun and take it home the same day!!!!

I also bought him 100 rounds of ammo, so that should get thing started.

https://www.google.com/search?q=rug...rls=com.microsoft:en-US:IE-SearchBox&tbm=isch

Eddie