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Thread: Newish shooter training and gun selection

  1. #1
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    Newish shooter training and gun selection

    Alright, looking for some feedback. Not sure if this is the right section or not. I have been shooting very casually for about 5 years. Haven’t taken any formal classes yet but have a series of trainings coming up next month. With that said, I have two guns - a 509m and a Gen5 19. I am going to sell one of them to pay for classes and ammo. I can shoot the 509m noticeably easier and more accurately than the 19 but I want to like and keep the 19 but the Easyness of the 509m sways my decision. With that said, I need training and may be able to shoot the 19 as well as the 509 after I get the quality training and practice more. Thoughts from tbt group? Could I naturally be better with the 509 and should stick with what I’m most comfortable with.

  2. #2
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    You are going to have to make yourself happy. Selling one, particularly used, will cover part of the tuition for a weekend class with a quality trainer, and not much more. I have no experience with the gen 5 Glocks, but several here think highly of them.

    I like to recommend Glocks, not because I think they are the shiznits, but because they are easily customizable and easy and cheap to repair. Accessories, magazines and holsters are much easier to find. SIRT pistols and Blade-Tech barrels are excellent training tools, and are easy to find for a Glock. Also, Glocks have the Gadget available, and the 509 does not.

    Many here will tell you to duplicate whatever you decide on so you can have a high mileage training gun and a low mileage carry piece. If that is not in the cards for you I would suggest that you are in the poor person's sweet spot. Get a quality holster for each, and sufficient magazines for each and work with both until you have a basis of experience to commit to a particular system. Years, likely. While not ideal the pistols will not be so different that one ruins you for the other. For years I carried a five shot revolver to back up a Sig, and more recently a Kel-tec P11 along with or alternating with a 1911, and now I carry a S&W M&P at work and go home and carry a G-17.4.

    I would purchase several cases of ammo, and think about starting a relationship with Hardwired Tactical. I tried getting a link for you, but I keep getting redirected to a site offering me viagra. Anyway Hardwired is on the Book of Faces, and its principals are participating members here. Hardwired is in the DFW area, too. I would avoid gun shop or firing range based classes: while they are better than nothing I have been underwhelmed with most quality of instruction. While I have never trained with Daryl and Wayne people I know have, putting them on my list of gotta attend, I can confidently say that your dollar will be better spent with them than with most gun shop or range trainers.

    This is not an easy or cheap thing to get good at. It will cost cases and cases of ammo, accessories, time, and money. It is fun, though, and you will meet good people.

    pat

  3. #3
    I think you'll find (as you have already figured out for yourself) that taking classes/getting training is about 100,000x more important than the gun you shoot.

    Long term, it will be easier to run the platform that most other people do, i.e. the Glock. Short term, it really doesn't matter.

    At most of the advanced classes I take, the G17 platform is by far the most popular, at least 50% in some classes, 75% in others. It's a bit easier to shoot than a G19; longer sight radius and more grip area available to control the gun.

    But for now, I'd say make life easier on yourself. Keep the FN and go into the class with a bit more confidence.

  4. #4
    Hammertime
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    Short answer:

    Sell FN.

    Buy ammo, Glock mags, and training.

    Especially if you are short on funds.

    Despite my user name, I am not a fanboy and wish I listened to my own advice more.

  5. #5
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    Appreciate the answers guys. In the past 5 years that I’ve been into this, I’ve bought and sold lots of guns trying to get to the one that I “shoot best” but haven’t invested in quality training - which I’m ready to now. I will mention that my Gen5 still has the factory sights and the 509 has blacked out rears and high biz front. I am thinking I am going to go the way of the Glock, buy some factory bolds or some hackathorns and just take my class that’s on 7/1. I want to be proficient with the Glock and build around that platform.

  6. #6
    Chasing the Horizon RJ's Avatar
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    Jan 2014
    Quote Originally Posted by Brianjkeene View Post
    Appreciate the answers guys. In the past 5 years that I’ve been into this, I’ve bought and sold lots of guns trying to get to the one that I “shoot best” but haven’t invested in quality training - which I’m ready to now. I will mention that my Gen5 still has the factory sights and the 509 has blacked out rears and high biz front. I am thinking I am going to go the way of the Glock, buy some factory bolds or some hackathorns and just take my class that’s on 7/1. I want to be proficient with the Glock and build around that platform.
    I'd say you are on the right track here.

  7. #7
    Site Supporter JohnO's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brianjkeene View Post
    Appreciate the answers guys. In the past 5 years that I’ve been into this, I’ve bought and sold lots of guns trying to get to the one that I “shoot best” but haven’t invested in quality training - which I’m ready to now. I will mention that my Gen5 still has the factory sights and the 509 has blacked out rears and high biz front. I am thinking I am going to go the way of the Glock, buy some factory bolds or some hackathorns and just take my class that’s on 7/1. I want to be proficient with the Glock and build around that platform.
    Glock factory sights are place holders for something decent. Get good sights, make sure they are regulated properly and learn how to shoot the Glock well. Stop searching for the perfect pistol that you "shoot best". Doing that is a never ending quest focused on the wrong outcome. Improve your skill set such that the equipment does not matter. It's the shooter not the gun!

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Brianjkeene View Post
    Appreciate the answers guys. In the past 5 years that I’ve been into this, I’ve bought and sold lots of guns trying to get to the one that I “shoot best” but haven’t invested in quality training - which I’m ready to now. I will mention that my Gen5 still has the factory sights and the 509 has blacked out rears and high biz front. I am thinking I am going to go the way of the Glock, buy some factory bolds or some hackathorns and just take my class that’s on 7/1. I want to be proficient with the Glock and build around that platform.
    Honestly I’d recommend you do exactly that. I have no experience with the 509 and I’m sure it’s a great gun, but many of us here have tried really hard to get away from Glock and many of us keep coming back.

    Sell the 509. Keep the Glock. Put some real sights on it and go get training and ammo. Then become a GSSF member and go shoot that to dip your toe into the competition side of things and get a discount on your future Glocks while you’re at it.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  9. #9
    Site Supporter farscott's Avatar
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    I am going to differ a bit from my fellow forum members and suggest you sell neither pistol. At least right now. The current pistol market is very much a buyer's market, and the FN 509 is not popular enough to provide much in the way of funds. Gunprime is selling new ones for $465 shipped to a FFL per https://gunprime.com/product/fn-509-...oly-66-100002/ and $430 per https://gunprime.com/product/fn-509-...k-66-100005-b/ . So a used one is likely to bring less than $300. Rather than take a loss right now, I suggest putting it in your safe and starting your formal training.

    In my mind, most recent pistol designs are good enough for most uses. The things that differentiate the offerings for me are manufacturer support and aftermarket support. For those reasons, Glock makes a lot of sense as a platform and FN does not. But choosing one platform for carry need not mean abandoning the other. There is value in a pistol you feel you shoot well even if it lacks in popularity. If you can afford to keep it, I would do so. In the end, pistols are cheap. Shooting them well is expensive.
    Last edited by farscott; 06-15-2019 at 02:16 PM.

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by farscott View Post
    I am going to differ a bit from my fellow forum members and suggest you sell neither pistol. At least right now. The current pistol market is very much a buyer's market, and the FN 509 is not popular enough to provide much in the way of funds. Gunprime is selling new ones for $465 shipped to a FFL per https://gunprime.com/product/fn-509-...oly-66-100002/ and $430 per https://gunprime.com/product/fn-509-...k-66-100005-b/ . So a used one is likely to bring less than $300. Rather than take a loss right now, I suggest putting it in your safe and starting your formal training.

    In my mind, most recent pistol designs are good enough for most uses. The things that differentiate the offerings for me are manufacturer support and aftermarket support. For those reasons, Glock makes a lot of sense as a platform and FN does not. But choosing one platform for carry need not mean abandoning the other. There is value in a pistol you feel you shoot well even if it lacks in popularity. If you can afford to keep it, I would do so. In the end, pistols are cheap. Shooting them well is expensive.


    I have the means of keeping both pistols and have already paid for my first round of training. I’m trying to convince myself to stick with one platform and just focus on training. But also to determine if my lack of training is just shown more on the Glock vs 509 platform...grip I’m assuming. I’m dry fire, I can keep the front sight rock solid on both pistols.

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