First handgun advice

moshow9 said:
Btw, can anybody recommend a good gun safe and range bag. I have to admit I haven't looked at gun safes yet, but would be looking for something with enough size to hold 1 or 2 guns, a few magazines and ammo. For range bags, does anybody have any experience with the following: MidwayUSA Competition Range Bag, US PeaceKeeper Medium Range Bag, Bulldog X-Large Deluxe Black Range Bag, or Uncle Mike's Deluxe Range Bag?
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I use a MidwayUSA range bag. They have a few different sizes. I have the smaller one which is plenty big to transport two firearms, ammo, two pairs of eye protection, ear plugs, misc replacement parts, several magazines, etc. The MidwayUSA bags are a great value for the dollar and pretty high quality to boot. It's basically the poor man's version of a Maxpedition bag. Bulldog is great too if you're transporting only one firearm. I have the single size pistol case from Bulldog that has the zipper.

When it comes to safes, you want to find something that you can bolt down, ideally. Otherwise a burglar may just take the whole safe with them if it's small enough. I would prefer something that has a fingerprint/handprint reader and key/combination versus just something with a combination or key. Whatever you buy, get some desiccant packs. They come in cans or little packets that you can recharge in the oven. You may not really need them if you're like me and end up going shooting on a weekly basis.
 
For $40 you can't beat the Midway Competition bag. The size seems big at first but by the time you throw in a pistol or two, a couple boxes of ammo, mags, muffs, etc. it fills up pretty fast. The pockets are great for glasses, binoculars, tools, etc.

I had a Dillon range bag which is about the same size as the Midway compact competition bag. It's a good bag but borderline too small... ...the good thing about a small bag is that it doesn't get too heavy. You'll tend to fill up your bag however big it is so the big bags can get heavy.

Sounds like a good time at the range, 22s can be a blast to shoot. The 22/45 is a great gun, perfect to learn on. I'll bet a good cleaning and a Volquartsen extractor ($10 part) would take care of the jams.
 
(I just bought a range bag from Midway...and a few more things. Before I knew it my total was $115 :foot:)
 
Also, I prefer earplugs. I buy them from amazon. They are Howard Leight by Sperian. They have a noise reduction rating of 33 decibels which is a lot higher than many ear muffs. You must remember that decibels fall under a logarithmic scale, so even comparing 32 dB to 33 dB is a big difference. I tend to think they're more sanitary too. I just use the ear plugs once and toss them since I get 200 pairs per box. One thing that is not so readily noticeable is that with many ear muffs, it becomes next to impossible to get any cheek weld on a rifle stock. With earplugs, you have nothing in the way.
 
a comment about range etiquette if it wasn't covered in your class....if the range foolishly supplys a bench behind the firing line, don't unbag your pistol there, and sweep the firing line moving to the firing point... take your range bag to the firing point, mark your bag somehow, and always load your pistol muzzle in that direction, so you can safely bag, and unbag with the muzzle down range...

as far a range bags... I'm into practical pistol and 3gun competition, and typically travel to a couple of large matches a year... a tip from a converstaion with Robby Leatham many years ago ... carry your pistol in a gun rug inside in a common tool box... it's not as cool as one of the cordura bags, its crush proof and you can stack equipment on top without worry you knocked you sights loose...its lockable, especially something like a Sears metal box...it offers some camouflage if you should travel by air, and it precedes you to the baggage carousel (try to call ahead and have your airline hold it in their security area if it makes another adjoining flight like mine did once)... its water resistant, and if needed you can sit on it...my current box is a plastic pent roof box, that with a lacing of small bungee straps in the top, additionally holds all my AR mags, elastic shotshell carriers, plenty of space for an assembled T handled chamber brush, holster, rifle and pistol pouches (TecLoc attached)..can of brake cleaner....ammo always exceeds the weight limit anyway

you should be able to carry your ammunition, stapler w/staples, targets, safety glasses, ear muffs and plugs, chamber flags, timer, note book... small boo boo bandaids (I carry an Israeli compression dressing)... mag brush, sight black... and they are a whole lot easier to clean out than a Cordura bag.... just not as sexy
 
What Les said is a great alternative to a shooting bag. As I don't compete nor travel by air much, I don't really get bothered by being less conspicuous, so the Midwayusa range bag serves me fine. It's not crush proof, but I do place my firearms in these soft padded gun cases before they go in the range bag. http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/default.aspx?productNumber=939165008
Actually, I put the firearm in a silicone gun sock and put that in the padded gun case before it goes in the range bag.
 
A bit of an update as it has almost been a year since I first posted my request.

Glock 19: First gun purchase. Felt good in hand (I thought) and I was sure this was what I wanted from research. In hindsight, it was not for me. Grip never felt right at range, as a result my accuracy suffered. Traded in for a Gen 4 Glock 26 locally.

Glock 26: Took and shot at range for the 1st time this evening, it was like night and day compared to the Glock 19. The 26 fits my hand better and is more comfortable for me to shoot. I shot some tight groups with it. It's a keeper.

Beretta Nano: Picked up locally. Shot it fairly well but I wasn't happy enough to keep it. Traded it on another forum for a Kahr CM9 (It had just been broken in by the previous owner).

Kahr CM9: I shot it this evening for the first time as well and was really surprised by it. I was shooting tighter groups with it than I did the Glock. It's a keeper.

Kimber Ultra Carry II: The price was good when I picked it up here on the Exchange. It's a fun pistol to shoot and the jump from 9mm to 45acp wasn't as intimidating I thought it would be. It's a keeper.

Sig P238: Fun pistol to shoot, I'm accurate with it. The cheap Pro-Mag Magazines for the P238, however, suck and are junk. I'll stick to stock Sig mags despite their high price. It's a keeper.

Sig P938: I wanted to pick up the older brother to the P238. Shot it for the first time this evening like with the G26 and CM9. It left me a bit disappointed. My shot placement with it is not what I had hoped for, too much of a spread for my liking. I may need to adjust to a different grip with it. Time and future range trips will determine whether I stay with it or sell/trade it.

I will be going for my CHL within the next few weeks. This is later than I had planned but better late than never. While I have had success/luck with the Glock 26, Kahr CM9, Kimber UC II, and Sig P238, I would recommend to others (what has been recommended to me in this thread) looking for their 1st firearm: Try out different firearms first and see what you shoot well with. What you shoot well with and what catches your eye might not be the same thing. And you might save yourself from some headaches too. ;)
 
moshow9 said:
I may need to adjust to a different grip with it. Time and future range trips will determine whether I stay with it or sell/trade it.
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Great range report after a year.

Regarding hand grips, you have to learn what's right for every handgun you own. Generally, you'll use a similar grip on each, but because all guns are shaped differently, your thumb placement, for example, may be slightly different going from gun to gun. I use what is called the thumbs forward grip. While my thumbs are always pointing forward, depending on which hand gun I shoot, they may ride higher or lower on the frame. On my HK45, my weakhand thumb rides a lot lower than on a previous gun I owned. On a Glock...holy cow, awkward grip for me, but very high thumb placement. Speaking of Glocks, which I hate because of how they feel in my hand, I am convinced that because of the awkward grip angle causing my hand to be at a cant, the muzzle climb is minimized, since the cant cause causes my grip to effectively push the muzzle downwards just to get it lined up with my target. If I hold a Glock in a neutral grip, the muzzle would be angled upwards.
 
I'm not sure if mec-gar (Italian made) makes mags for the p238, but if they do I would highly recommend them, they're about $15 cheaper than the Sig brand mags, my german made sig came with mecgar mags actually I guess the american made ones don't though.
 
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