Time for my first handgun

[Seanz0rz]

... and no, not a fisher-price model.

after much, much online research, i have decided on the springfield XD-9.

now being the gun nuts i know you guys are (speaking to you fuster!), what do you think of this weapon?

since it is a polymer frame, it gets compared with the glock 19. everyone i have talked to who has fired both has said the XD is far superior, etc etc etc... i am looking for something easy to fire while still being powerful enough for self defense.

my only concern for this weapon is the lack of a thumb activated safety switch. the gun has two safeties, a grip safety and a trigger (new york) safety. how concerned should i be about the lack of a "real" safety?

this is my first hand gun, and indeed the first gun i will own as mine. is this a wise choice? its life will see target practice/recreational shooting, and may travel with me into wilderness areas. it will never be concealed carried, especially not in this state. beyond that, it will likely serve as a home defense weapon, if the need should ever arise.

good decision? any other pointers for a first time gun owner? i have not taken a safety class but between my father who has owned guns for most of his adult life, and my uncle who's livelihood is guns, i have all the basics of safety covered.

[Robinhood4x4]

Neither the glock nor XD are superior to each other in the way they shoot. After extensive research and range time with both, for my wife's first handgun, it comes down to which one feels the best. For me, the glock's grip is fatter than my XD40 subcompact and it just doesn't feel right. Maybe I'm just used to the XD's now, but when I hold the two side by side the XD just feels better.

Regarding the safety, for a defense gun I do not want a safety. That was one criteria I had for my wife who has very little experience with firearms...no safety. She seems to have better taste than me so she's doing to end up with an HK P2000 and not the USPC for just that reason. A safety requires you to put in lots of time practicing at the range and dry firing at home. Clicking off the safety must become second nature so you don't even realize you're doing it. Otherwise in the heat of the moment you're going to forget. I know the new XDs come with a safety, but my year old one, does not.

Having said all that, I do feel more comfortable with the XD's additional grip safety. I also like the single action trigger feel of the XD better than the glocks.

[RunnerUp]

As robinhood says, first feel all the firearms you are interested in, they HAVE to feel right in your hand. For me, GLOCKS just do not do it, they just do not fit my hand the way I feel it should. now don’t get me wrong, GLOCKS are wonderful guns that will last forever, but after exhausting range time with GLOCKS and (at the time) S&W's new MP series, I decided the S&W was for me.

As far as safety's, I do not like them on my handguns, but that is just personal opinion. The only reason I would consider purchasing a handgun with a safety was if I planned to carry, it loaded (1 in the chamber).

Recently I got a new carry weapon, a .38 snub nose S&W revolver that has become my carry firearm. When I wear my ankle holster, no one can see the slightest imprint, and you do not have to worry about an accidental discharge due to the way the holster is designed. I realize you do not plan to carry concealed, but you might like a revolver more than a semi-auto (you can just leave it loaded for months, with semi's you should change between magazines to prevent wearing out the springs)

I would recommend you personally go and get firearm training, just because while you might have spent a lot of time with your elders who know what to do, nothing beats that first hand knowledge you get when you take a class.

Whatever you get, good luck and practice as often as you can so you are proficient with it.

[YotaFun]

Subscribing to thread.
I am on the look out for my first as well.
I am also looking into classes as well.

[xonetruthcrewx]

I have shot a lot of handguns and handled even more. If you made your decision on what to buy based on what you have read, thats simply put, retarded. In order to buy a handgun thats right for you, you need to go check them all out in person and fire them all. Every gun is different. Certain ones will fit your hand much better than others. I hate Glocks. Not a very big fan of the Springfield XD's either. When it comes down to it, I really dont like any polymer framed guns. The H&K USP's arent too bad though. I prefer Sig Sauer, hands down. They are on the expensive side though. The overall quality of them and the way they fit my hand, is simply incredible.

As for your concern with the "lack" of safeties, the only safety that is worth a damn is your finger. All the stupid safeties some of these guns have is retarded. They seem to just get in the way and make things more complicated. I see them as a false sense of security. If you really "need" these safeties, maybe you shouldnt have a gun. No offense, just my opinion.

With all that said I leave you all you need to know, www.sigarms.com.

[YotaFun]

What is everyones thoughts on Beretta?
My mom bought a MOD 70 and has a lot of ammo for it for a home safety thing.
I have held the gun (have yet to fire but will be asking my father to take me to a shooting range either this Thursday) and it feels quite comfortable.
At least I think, I don't know exactly how its suppose to feel, I mean my grip on it feels good, I guess I will find out more when I fire it.

I am also going to find out what kind of fire arms my father posses, I know he has one revolver that was my uncle and I think a semi-auto, again have to check, I was younger when I held that gun and so it was big to me, again have to check now.

Anyway thoughts?

[Robinhood4x4]

By the way Sean, I do like my XD40 a lot, it's a very nice gun. Have you held one, racked the slide and tried the trigger? The springs on the XDs tend to be pretty stiff and it's kinda hard to rack. I could have talked my wife into getting one, but she has a hard time with the slide. The triggers are nice since they are Single Action Only (SAO).

Double Action Only (DAO) are harder to pull, but offer their own safety advantages. Ever wonder why revolvers don't have safeties? Because of the DAO. Then there are SA/DA where if you carried, one would carry with one in the chamber and the hammer down. Pull the trigger like a DA, then the subsequent rounds are SA. Glocks are somewhere in the middle with their own action.

The trigger action may even be more important than how the grip fits your hand. If you don't like the trigger, you won't like the gun.

Glocks are unique in at least 2 other ways. The handle is angled differently than most other guns so that will take a little getting used to. The barrel has a polygonal rifling which can be prone to lead fouling so it's advised not to shoot lead bullets out of them. One should shoot only jacketed bullets to prevent this. The thing that glocks have going for them is the aftermarket is pretty big so you can find just about anything you want for them, including barrels that can shoot lead.

[Seanz0rz]

ive held the glocks enough to know i dont want them.

as for the XD, i rather liked the stiffer slide, and i like the feel of the trigger, i found the angle of the gun was very intuitive and i was able to line up the sights easily the first time.

im looking for ranges where i can test fire before buying.

[Bob98SR5]

like all have said, it comes down to what you feel comfortable with. forget all the hearsay and amateur/expert opinion. i own a glock 19 and found it to be the best feeling/fitting polymer gripped handgun at the time i bought it. im sure there are new guns out there that i might consider buying, but for now, i'm happy with my glock 19. most of all, i like the fact taht it does not have any safeties besides the one in the trigger. i dont get out on the range at all anymore, so my choice back then paid off today

[JnJ85]

I have a S&W .40 M&P- it's a great gun and has the stopping power, if needed.

...John
Somewhere in the Mojave Desert...

[reggie 00]

Some good articles in Combat Handgun this month.

XD .45acp article: looks like Scott Springer does some good stuff for your XD.
http://www.springerprecision.com/

And for those who relish to own a Sig:

http://www.sigsauer.com/Products/ShowCatalogProductDetails.aspx?categoryid=55&productid=201

Certified preowned.

This is my next project, find and secure one of these.
Looks like a great deal.


X2 on the go and try approach. Most gun shops ( at least here) have guns available to shoot in the in house ranges.

I shot a XD at my local shop. Broke the thing after a few shots, hopefully it was because it was a range gun.

If you can see if someone can help you out when you do the check out of possible buys. If you dont or havent shot alot it would be all bad to dismiss a purchase cause of a simple rookie move ie grip stance and what not.

I have had a couple of people next to me have a difficult time with the gun the rented cause they didn't know how to operate it and when they got to the shooting part they didn't do so good simply because they weren't handling the gun properly. Little adjustment in grip and finger placement and things felt alot better.

Good luck

[4x4mike]

I've got an XD9 and I like it. It was a toss up between the G17 and G19. My wife doesn't like to shoot my G21 so I was looking for something that would fit her hand, be cheap to shoot and still be fun. The XD won because it was a compromise between the G17 and G19. The compact was too small and the mid size was a little bigger than I wanted. So far I have about 1500 rounds through the XD-9 and have not had one problem, not even a stove pipe. I've been happy, even since ammo prices have gone up. FWIW I shoot white box Winchester from Wally World.

[amgraham]

What is everyones thoughts on Beretta?
My mom bought a MOD 70 and has a lot of ammo for it for a home safety thing.
I have held the gun (have yet to fire but will be asking my father to take me to a shooting range either this Thursday) and it feels quite comfortable.
At least I think, I don't know exactly how its suppose to feel, I mean my grip on it feels good, I guess I will find out more when I fire it.

I am also going to find out what kind of fire arms my father posses, I know he has one revolver that was my uncle and I think a semi-auto, again have to check, I was younger when I held that gun and so it was big to me, again have to check now.

Anyway thoughts?


Since everyone else ignored you Avy, I'll answer your question :D

I have a Beretta Model 70 in .32 that I don't shoot that often mainly because mine is a rather rare variant and in brand new condition.. It's a shame because it would be a perfect ankle pistol if I wasn't worried about messing it up :( Although, it is one of the few compacts that almost fits my big hands (most just feel uncomfortable to me).

I also have a Beretta 92F and it is great. I've put thousands of rounds through it without a single malfunction. It's also very easy to clean. However, I prefer the .45 to carry so I have a Kimber 1911 Stainless II for that. Also an excellent yet simple weapon. My next will be an HK USP .45 when I can afford it.

Sean, you will not be dissapointed with the XD. A buddy of mine just got the XD45 as his first handgun and he loves it. Very easy to get used to.

[Robinhood4x4]

I just don't have any experience with berettas so I couldn't say anything about them.

[YotaFun]

What is everyones thoughts on Beretta?
My mom bought a MOD 70 and has a lot of ammo for it for a home safety thing.
I have held the gun (have yet to fire but will be asking my father to take me to a shooting range either this Thursday) and it feels quite comfortable.
At least I think, I don't know exactly how its suppose to feel, I mean my grip on it feels good, I guess I will find out more when I fire it.

I am also going to find out what kind of fire arms my father posses, I know he has one revolver that was my uncle and I think a semi-auto, again have to check, I was younger when I held that gun and so it was big to me, again have to check now.

Anyway thoughts?


Since everyone else ignored you Avy, I'll answer your question :D

I have a Beretta Model 70 in .32 that I don't shoot that often mainly because mine is a rather rare variant and in brand new condition.. It's a shame because it would be a perfect ankle pistol if I wasn't worried about messing it up :( Although, it is one of the few compacts that almost fits my big hands (most just feel uncomfortable to me).

I also have a Beretta 92F and it is great. I've put thousands of rounds through it without a single malfunction. It's also very easy to clean. However, I prefer the .45 to carry so I have a Kimber 1911 Stainless II for that. Also an excellent yet simple weapon. My next will be an HK USP .45 when I can afford it.

Sean, you will not be dissapointed with the XD. A buddy of mine just got the XD45 as his first handgun and he loves it. Very easy to get used to.


Thanks Anthony!
I will be talking to my dad today,
maybe next week he can get me to the range.



I just don't have any experience with berettas so I couldn't say anything about them.


Thats what I figured, you gents know a lot about the XDs and the beretta I have is a relic like Anthony said lol

[RunnerUp]

i just noticed we dont have any pictures on this thread... lets fix that, post some pics of your handguns along with a brief description.

Smith and Wesson Military and Police .40
comes with two magazines and three different grips, so most people will find a grip that fits their hand well.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v723/runnerup/MP40/MP40003.jpg

Smith and Wesson Model 637 .38 snub nose (2" barrel) 5 rounds
perfect for pocket or ankle concealed carry

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v723/runnerup/MP40/April023.jpg

[RunnerUp]

and before i get flamed for putting the revolver in the case loaded, it is never in the case (loaded) i just put it in there for the pic before returning it to my truck.