Help Give Me Some Advice On New Pistol Purchase

[olstyn]

I don't think it's necessary to sell everything.

A fair point, depending on budget. I tend to view things through a somewhat cash-strapped lens, and currently only own two pistols (a compact and a full size of the same platform) and a .22 rifle, so the level of austerity I suggested may not be necessary for the OP.

[plotinus]

It's pretty funny how many of us wrote different variations of this same post. If we don't see a thread soon about the OP's first experience with USPSA and/or IDPA, it surely wasn't for lack of trying on our part.

I appreciate all the encouragement. I guess I just need to dive right in. I don’t quite feel ready, but I’m going to go for it regardless. I’m the past months I’ve spent countless hours at the range, and gone through thousands of rounds, so I suppose at some point I need to take that leap instead of staying in my comfort zone— although I also will be seeking additional instruction in the meantime.

[plotinus]

A fair point, depending on budget. I tend to view things through a somewhat cash-strapped lens, and currently only own two pistols (a compact and a full size of the same platform) and a .22 rifle, so the level of austerity I suggested may not be necessary for the OP.

I am somewhere in the middle. I have a fair budget to allocate to guns, but that’s because I’m unmarried, have a stable job, and am still in my 20’s. At the same time, having a bunch of guns sitting around collecting dust isn’t for me either.

I just sold my P30 for a fantastic price. I have a few other platforms I’m holding on to, but I’m abiding by the consensus and sticking with the VP9, since it works so well for me. Ammo, training, range time, customization of my current guns, etc. can all add up quickly, so it makes sense to focus on a few primary firearms for me. I feel better about this minimalistic approach, I’m just going to concern myself with two variants of the same platform (VP9L and VP9), and go from there.

When I started out I’d go to the range and alternate between three (or sometimes more if I was with friends) different handguns and I quickly realized I wasn’t really improving very much, so this is sort of the logical progression of that realization. I just needed to hear it from people who know what they’re talking about, my real world buddies have been trying to tell me that I’d probably do even better with a “better” gun, etc., but the VP9s will suit me just fine.

[pangloss]

A fair point, depending on budget. I tend to view things through a somewhat cash-strapped lens, and currently only own two pistols (a compact and a full size of the same platform) and a .22 rifle, so the level of austerity I suggested may not be necessary for the OP.

I'm not sure when it became "normal" to have a bunch of guns. When I was a kid, we had three functioning firearms in the house--two that were gifts to my dad when he was growing up and one he bought himself. I only remember one kid whose family was well up in the double digits number of guns. Anyway, I know plenty of people who would be better shooters if they followed your approach, regardless of budgets. An extreme example is a good friend who told me that "if you buy a gun, you have it forever, but if you buy ammo and then shoot it, you're left with nothing." He's an accumulator and not a shooter, and it's very difficult for me to get him to go to the range.

[Duelist]

I'm not sure when it became "normal" to have a bunch of guns. When I was a kid, we had three functioning firearms in the house--two that were gifts to my dad when he was growing up and one he bought himself. I only remember one kid whose family was well up in the double digits number of guns. Anyway, I know plenty of people who would be better shooters if they followed your approach, regardless of budgets. An extreme example is a good friend who told me that "if you buy a gun, you have it forever, but if you buy ammo and then shoot it, you're left with nothing." He's an accumulator and not a shooter, and it's very difficult for me to get him to go to the range.

Or you can Buy Ammo/Use Up/Repeat. And thereby get better at your shooting activity.

[pangloss]

Or you can Buy Ammo/Use Up/Repeat. And thereby get better at your shooting activity.

Amen! The other guy that was present for that conversation and I tried to convince him of that. Over the past couple of years I've started shooting significantly more, and now I notice things about how the gun handles now that I didn't notice when I was shooting ~1,000 rounds per year. Unsurprisingly, I also am a better shooter. I conveyed all of this, but I think it fell on unbelieving ears. Very sad.

[plotinus]

Update: Thanks to the stellar advice on this thread, I’ve made some changes to my approach to shooting. I now own only two pistols, a VP9L and VP9 standard. I sold the P30 and CZ I had, was able to pay for the HK long slide kit, buy a new VP9 frame on which to put the left over standard slide after converting, bought a few thousand rounds to bolster my stockpile, and enrolled in some more advanced classes. I also will be trying my hand at competition, and fully expect to get slaughtered.

[Cookie Monster]

Update: Thanks to the stellar advice on this thread, I’ve made some changes to my approach to shooting. I now own only two pistols, a VP9L and VP9 standard. I sold the P30 and CZ I had, was able to pay for the HK long slide kit, buy a new VP9 frame on which to put the left over standard slide after converting, bought a few thousand rounds to bolster my stockpile, and enrolled in some more advanced classes. I also will be trying my hand at competition, and fully expect to get slaughtered.

I totally got slaughtered when I competed. It was frustrating but it helps to realize its your first time doing something and a lot goes into that.

Get a bunch of time in and then you can figure out if you need to improve your holster/belt etc for what you do. Good luck and let us know your progress.

[RevolverRob]

Don’t forget shooting matches can be about winning against everyone or challenging yourself.

My point being - focusing on getting beat may be the wrong attitude. You want to focus on your performance, your benchmarks, your skills. If you can get into the frameset that you are only trying to beat yourself, you’ll learn more, faster.

[tyrusasmith]

Update: Thanks to the stellar advice on this thread, I’ve made some changes to my approach to shooting. I now own only two pistols, a VP9L and VP9 standard. I sold the P30 and CZ I had, was able to pay for the HK long slide kit, buy a new VP9 frame on which to put the left over standard slide after converting, bought a few thousand rounds to bolster my stockpile, and enrolled in some more advanced classes. I also will be trying my hand at competition, and fully expect to get slaughtered.

I'm in the same boat as you with wanting to get a new gun (mainly one with a slide length in the same category as those commonly found in the top rankings of competition). I know I have room to improve with my software before buying hardware, but I'm taking that into account with my decision. From what I learned listening to every single Firearms Nation Podcast, almost every American Warrior Society podcast, and attending Gabe White's Class; it seems that your biggest initial gains will come from having a detailed plan and goal for live fire range visits, and dry fire training. Consistent focused, goal oriented dry fire practice is the key. After that, a new gun might shoot a little flatter, be quicker in the head box at distance, or make you motivated to put in the effort. I think the effort is where you will see your gains. If the new gun makes you put in more effort, then it is a win-win.

Honestly that is why I want to bite the bullet and get a P226 X-Five. Sig doesn't make anything supposedly better, so I'll never feel like I need better hardware and I can just focus on the software.