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Thread: Help Picking Out First Pistol

  1. #1

    Help Picking Out First Pistol

    Trying this again, didn't post for some reason.

    I'm looking to buy my first pistol and I've done alot of research but alot of these guns have same features and that makes it hard to choose one. The only thing I know for sure is I DO NOT WANT A GLOCK. I know they are reliable guns but everyone and their mother has one and I just want something different.

    Here is a list of the guns I'm interested in and I'm hoping for input from owners.

    CANIK TPSF
    BERETTA APX
    FN FNX-9
    FN FNS-9
    FN 509
    STEYR L9A1
    STEYR M9A1
    SIG SP2022

    What are your thoughts?

  2. #2
    Of what you posted, my choice would be the APX. Otherwise, I'd look at the M&P 2.0 if I were you.
    #RESIST

  3. #3
    I would suggest to add to your list:

    HK VP9
    Walther PPQ
    S&W MP 2.0

  4. #4
    Site Supporter
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    Midwest
    I wrote this for a lawyer in my office years ago, I still stand by it. He was a complete novice so my post below reflect that a bit.


    If it was me, and knowing everything I know now having first started shooting in 1991, I would :

    1.Buy a S & W 9mm M&P or a Glock 9mm (Model 19 or 17) and six magazines per gun. The M&P can be had with a frame mounted safety lever. The Glock has a longer track record and is the number one pistol in the world for Mil/LEO/GOVT use. It is also a bit easier to get holsters and accessories for a Glock. It really is a bit of Ford v. Chevy/Nike v. Adidas
    2. Buy a Blade Tech Kydex Injection Molded OWB (outside the waistband) holster/mag pouch set as my unconcealed range/training holster set. These holsters are made of a stiff plastic like material that make wearing, drawing and re-holstering much easier and safer. A holster is to a pistol what a sling is to a hunting rifle carried in the field.
    3. Make sure the gun had night sights. This type of sight glows in the dark without having to be recharged by light v. a watch dial.
    4. Buy a 1.5 inch 5 stitch Wilderness Brand Instructors belt. A quality, purpose designed gun belt is key to supporting the weight of the gun, extra magazines etc. The buckle of these belts makes the belt infinitely adjustable
    5. Buy some electronic hearing protection. These allow you to here your coach, training partner and sounds around you but block the report of gunfire and other loud noises.
    6. Buy some quality eye protection i.e. Oakley, Rudy Project, ESS, Smith Optics, Tactical Division or Revision Eyewear.
    7 Buy 3000 rounds of 9mm ammo.
    8. Take a good 2 day class and start shooting some IPSC in a tactically sound manner (which means you will never come close to "winning" anything) to become consciously competent with the gun.
    9. After that, I would buy a quality IWB (Inside the Waistband) holster.
    10. Finish off my 3000 rounds doing what I was taught to do in the first class.
    11. Buy 3000 rounds more of 9mm.
    12. Take another class or perhaps even the same class again, this time running concealed.
    13. Apply what I learned in both classes and start shooting some IDPA in a tactically sound manner ( same caveat re "winning") until I was unconsciously competent with the platform.
    14. Buy a second gun just like the first one and six magazines, shoot it about 500 rounds to make sure it was reliable and then make it my dedicated carry pistol and my first gun with the 6k thru it would be my dedicated training pistol.

    If someone had outlined this for me above, I would be a better shooter now, I would have become a better shooter, faster and I would have saved a ton of time, talent and treasure.
    I would repeat the process if I wanted to change/add a platform i.e. 1911.

  5. #5
    I had a whole post but ^^^^this really says it much better then I did. I'd personally take a hard look at an M&P 2.0 full size or compact if I wasn't going to use the glock platform. That said, the fact that everyone and their brother uses a glock is what they call a clue in police work...
    Last edited by VT1032; 04-11-2018 at 01:09 PM.

  6. #6
    Site Supporter
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
    Location
    Texas
    Quote Originally Posted by JKHolley View Post
    Trying this again, didn't post for some reason.

    I'm looking to buy my first pistol and I've done alot of research but alot of these guns have same features and that makes it hard to choose one. The only thing I know for sure is I DO NOT WANT A GLOCK. I know they are reliable guns but everyone and their mother has one and I just want something different.

    Here is a list of the guns I'm interested in and I'm hoping for input from owners.

    CANIK TPSF
    BERETTA APX
    FN FNX-9
    FN FNS-9
    FN 509
    STEYR L9A1
    STEYR M9A1
    SIG SP2022

    What are your thoughts?

    I understand the desire to be different , trust me. That said, to dismiss Glock for that reason is not a good one in my opinion. How do I know? I've been guilty of it as well. As someone on the forum has wrote before, "Uncommon guns are uncommon for a reason".

    Of those listed, I would pick the SP2022.

    The suggestion of an M&P is a good one as well.

    Whatever you do , get a good holster (meaning NOT Fobus/Blackhawk Serpa/universial holsters) and a good training class.

  7. #7
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    Feb 2011
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    Texas
    I should have waited to post, @vcdgrips said it best.

  8. #8
    Modding this sack of shit BehindBlueI's's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2015
    Location
    Midwest
    What's the use for the pistol going to be?
    Sorta around sometimes for some of your shitty mod needs.

  9. #9
    The R in F.A.R.T RevolverRob's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Gotham Adjacent
    A lot depends on the ultimate purpose of your handgun. Given the list of of guns you provided, my sense is this is to be a defensive/concealed carry firearm.

    Of the guns on your list the Sig SP2022 is the gun I would purchase. It's usually available at a lower price than the other guns on your list. It has a proven track record of being reliable and accessories are generally available. Buy 4-6 spare magazines, a good belt holster, 2.5 cases of 9mm ammo (2000 rounds of 124 or 147-grain practice ammo, and 500 rounds of a quality JHP, Federal HST in the same weight as your practice ammo would be my choice). And then go sign up for a basic and then advanced handgun shooting class, followed by a defensive shooting class.

    That'll keep you going for a good 4-6 months. After that, start making decisions about holsters, sights, etc.

    No matter your best efforts, you will never get it "right" the first time you buy a gun. Every person has a different learning curve, set of preferences, and set of requirements. The reason folks often recommend Glocks out of the gate, has as much to do with the ubiquity as it does anything else. I've never found Glocks to shoot appreciably better or different from anything else. The G19 size gun does conceal better than most double-stack 9mm handguns out there, but that's about the only real advantage, beyond ubiquity, that comes with Glock.

  10. #10
    Member
    Join Date
    Apr 2016
    Location
    Santa Fe, NM
    if everyone is eating soup with a large spoon, does it make sense to be different and grab a fork?

    popular pistols are popular because lots of people have them.

    Beretta 92 here.

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