Help With My First Handgun

This is one of those "Buy a Glock 19 and don't look back" moments. :thumbup:
 
my first pistol was a S&W .22lr stainless revolver when i was about 8 or 9, when I saw my dad shooting his dirty harry .44 mag, i was nervous about the recoil at first, but the .22 was a good gun to learn on and I still have it, great pistol, good advice Trevor
 
XDM!!Lock the slide back. Turn the receiver latch forward slowly let barrel
slide forward, then your ready to clean the innards!! Assembly that easy!!
In the 9mm they are holding 19 plus one!!
Love mine. Wife has the Glock 26 but she likes the xd-m shooting wise!!
 
I really love my Ruger SR9...w/ green laser :)
When I was deciding it was between that and the Springfield XDM.
The Ruger won because of the lack of grip safety which I dislike.
I've got a few thousand rounds through it with no complaints when switching between ball and HP ammo- it feeds everything.

I don't like the ergonomics of or the look of Glocks.

Some one else made a great point on ammo and availability/ usefulness with a first pistol.

My first handgun was a Ruger GP100 in 357 with 6" barrel.
That meant I could also shoot cheaper 38 specials at the range, and because of the 6" barrel use it for deer hunting in WI when loaded with 357.
and 38's are plenty for home protection as well.
 
Last edited:
If you are willing to forgo the attractions of a semi-auto 9mm (your stated intention in the original post), here are two alternatives that I recommend:

A quality .22 LR semi-auto like the Browning Buckmark or Ruger Mark family (I prefer the II to the III, but the IIIs are easier to find). Cheap and easy to shoot. Lots of fun. Good for practicing the art of shooting without a lot of banging and thumping.

rugeraxe.jpg


A 4" .357 Magnum revolver from Colt, Ruger, or S&W. This is the quintessential all-purpose handgun. Load light wadcutters for target shooting and small game. Light JHPs for self-defense. Heavy hitters for medium game up to and including whitetail deer (although a 6" barrel would be better for this).

sjvand357.jpg


Okay, that's a 3.5" barrel but the concept still applies.

Rick
 
Just wanted to say thanks for all the help with my first firearm! There were some really helpful recommendations and leads. I "pulled the trigger" on a Glock 19. Serious customizations to follow. Stay tuned for pictures! Thanks again gentlemen.
 
You have chosen...

...wisely.

The three best modifications for the Glock 19 are night sights (I prefer AmeriGlo GL-115 ones), a smooth trigger assembly (this is referring to the face of the trigger; compact and subcompact Glocks have a serrated trigger face only to gain enough ATF points to be imported, but the full size Glocks have smooth trigger faces, which is intended; all you need is a Glock 17 trigger assembly, which will have the smooth trigger face, and will drop in), and a 4.5lb connector.
 
Oh, and please keep us posted on how you like the Glock 19, and how it performs for you.

Glock19ToMankind.jpg
 
lunde said:
You have chosen...

...wisely.

The three best modifications for the Glock 19 are night sights (I prefer AmeriGlo GL-115 ones), a smooth trigger assembly (this is referring to the face of the trigger; compact and subcompact Glocks have a serrated trigger face only to gain enough ATF points to be imported, but the full size Glocks have smooth trigger faces, which is intended; all you need is a Glock 17 trigger assembly, which will have the smooth trigger face, and will drop in), and a 4.5lb connector.
Click to expand...
+1 on the Glock 19. I bought my glock 19 about a 1yr and I just can't believe how accurate it shoots. As Ken said these mods will work great for you. I would like to include two other I personally have tried.

1.Talon Grip, if you want a better grip this is the way to go.
http://talongungrips.com/

2. Recoil Reducer
http://www.dpmsystems.com/en/products/
This I have personally tried out and it really makes follow up shots a breeze. Now being a 9mm there isn't much recoil already, but this makes it that much better. I highly recommend this procduct. I have shot a 1000 rds through it with out one failure.

Glock 19 all the way.......
 
Excellent recommendations; many thanks! The talon grip certainly looks like a mandatory addition. Is a laser practical, or completely useless? Once again...my primary usage will be recreational until zombies arrive.
 
snwbrdr202, you wrote:
The talon grip certainly looks like a mandatory addition.
Click to expand...
I would claim that it should be considered if you find that the grip is not to your liking.
Is a laser practical, or completely useless?
Click to expand...
The latter. It is a wasted of money, and will do absolutely nothing to improve your shooting skills. Instead, it may degrade them.
 
lunde said:
snwbrdr202, you wrote:I would claim that it should be considered if you find that the grip is not to your liking.
The latter. It is a wasted of money, and will do absolutely nothing to improve your shooting skills. Instead, it may degrade them.
Click to expand...

STRONGLY disagree regarding lasers. They most certainly do have a value for learning and provide multiple advantages in a self defense situation. Of course you also need to learn to shoot without one/not rely on one but they are a valuable tool. Of course all lasers are not created equal and some are complete junk. I'm a huge fan of Crimson Trace products.

Some of the self-defense gurus were against lasers initially, but most have come around. I've found that most people who don't like them have never tried/trained with them and most who have love them.
 
lunde said:
snwbrdr202, you wrote:I would claim that it should be considered if you find that the grip is not to your liking.
The latter. It is a wasted of money, and will do absolutely nothing to improve your shooting skills. Instead, it may degrade them.
Click to expand...

You can say that, but for low light shooting (Which most self defense shooting is) lasers are a very good asset. I'm an "expert" with a handgun, well self proclaimed expert, but about 15 tactical firearm courses later, I consider myself to be relatively proficient with one. Fast target acquisition is key, on the range it's easy to maintain focus, now get shot at and see how your focus holds. You'll see everything goes out the window when things are going bang back at you and those COM shots aren't nearly as easy. This is where the last comes in handy.

Personally, my choice is a weapon light first, laser second, but on smaller framed guns like an airweight jframe, laser grips are very nice.
 
eljugador said:
STRONGLY disagree regarding lasers. They most certainly do have a value for learning and provide multiple advantages in a self defense situation. Of course you also need to learn to shoot without one/not rely on one but they are a valuable tool. Of course all lasers are not created equal and some are complete junk. I'm a huge fan of Crimson Trace products.

Some of the self-defense gurus were against lasers initially, but most have come around. I've found that most people who don't like them have never tried/trained with them and most who have love them.
Click to expand...

I have to disagree with your point of view regarding lasers. Lasers can be expensive (think i paid 300ish for the lasermax in my Glock 23) and I really don't feel that they assist the shooter in many (or ANY!) respects.

The only time I can see a laser actually being useful, would be for acquiring targets in low light. But the trade-off is that you are highlighting your own position in doing so.

People become dependent on their lasers; In many cases they STOP applying proper aiming and sight alignment, and start looking for the the laser when shooting. Watching for that laser takes just as long and usually longer than it does to use the irons.

Lasers have been a debate for a long time, please think it over carefully before dropping the money for one. Especially since thats your first pistol, I really think your doing yourself more harm than good.
 
Your requirements could have been written by Glock's marketing department:D

If the Glock fits your hand and with the new grip design I'd guess you will be able to find one of the included back straps to make it fit, you will love it.

Price of a new Glock 17 Gen 4 is well within your target.

Link to Glock's PDF describing the Gen 4

http://www.glock.com/downloads/GLOCK_Gen4_en.pdf

A large number of after-market products that will allow you to "tune" it to meet your exact requirements or needs.

Magazines are inexpensive and plentiful.
 
SwampVoodoo said:
I have to disagree with your point of view regarding lasers. Lasers can be expensive (think i paid 300ish for the lasermax in my Glock 23) and I really don't feel that they assist the shooter in many (or ANY!) respects.

The only time I can see a laser actually being useful, would be for acquiring targets in low light. But the trade-off is that you are highlighting your own position in doing so.
Click to expand...

Again, I think most people who have actually trained with a laser (and by train I mean in a dynamic, realistic training scenario where you are drawing from concealment, shooting in low or no light situations, shooting while moving, shooting at moving targets, shooting from cover, shooting using strong and weak hand, etc.) are able to fully understand when and how they are beneficial. Most detractors haven't used them in those conditions.

Among the many benefits:

- They allow you to focus on the threat rather than your sights (which we are all prone to do whether we want to or not or whether we think we will or not)
- They allow most shooters to get on target much faster
- Accuracy for shooting while moving or moving while shooting is much improved
- You can get a gun on target without having your head directly behind the gun (shooting from concealment)
- They are helpful for new shooters to understand how to get a correct sight picture
- They are helpful in illuminating poor technique during dry fire practice
- They have the ability to stop a fight before it begins. Some LEOs report people calming right down when they see that little red dot on their chests

There CAN also be drawbacks. They can fail to work. They can introduce bad habits. They can telegraph your position (though the good ones like CT can be activated or not activated based on how you hold the gun).

They are expensive and they are worth every penny.

I train regularly with a group of very committed, very advanced shooters and there is no question in my mind that the above benefits are very real. Over the past 5 years, one by one, nearly all of them have become converts. Sometimes we train with them and sometimes we don't.

I've got a CT sight on most of my carry guns and all of my home defense guns.

All that said, when you are just starting out, you certainly don't need a laser.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top