First Gun.

[KenpoTex]

Glock 19, accept no substitutes.

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[mikeprekopa]

im noticing a lot of love for the glocks... though i kinda changed what i want one for... i had talked to a friend who has done a lot of shooting and he said it was 18 to buy a pistol, 19 to conceal... so i had gone by that, only to find out its 21 to conceal. to me that means 2 years of range time. so... with that being said, do any of the suggestions change ?

im starting to lean towards glock. they are cheaper than the p99, and everything is available for them, from replacements to after market stuff.

[lgreen]

I don't think there is anything wrong with still choosing the gun based on a ccw motive, even if you can't cc for a couple more years.

Effectively shooting your ccw will require plenty of practice (range time) anyway, so I say get the gun you plan to carry, and by the time you're able to carry, you should be pretty experienced in shooting it.

Again, here is what I think you should check out:

-Glock 19
-Springfield XD9
-Walther P99
-Beretta Px4 (9mm)
-SW M&P (9mm)

These imo are all great starter guns because they are fairly simple to operate. Out of the group, I think the glock 19 is probably the most simple to operate.

But again, don't buy a glock just because everyone is telling you to. If you buy a glock, buy it because you are confident handling it (both in terms of how it feels and how it shoots). If you are more confident with an XD9 or P99, then go for it.

I would avoid guns w/ excess safeties or hammers, such as HK and Sig, for a gun to learn on.

[thebees]

I bought a G-17 for ISDP because I already had a G-19 for concealed carry. Figured the 17 would keep me sharp for the 19 which was the case.

I would have gone with the XD for ISDP otherwise.

If I go shooting and will have a hip holster I like my Browning P-35 and my .38 Super Gold Cup.

I have a CZ75 alloy compact 9mm that I really like and will carry sometimes but the grip is really thick and it may be relegated to a truck gun. Ordered a Kahr CW9 today.

Two things I rarely see mentioned, for the Glocks there are a lot of accessories available. My 19 had had grip extensions added to the
mags. Just a little piece to give my pinkie somewhere to hold. Another thing is the safety block for the trigger. Cheap and foolproof and easy to use.
Another item is a grip extension for the Glock 26 sub compact. It's a piece made of same stuff a s the gun that fastens to a Glock 19 mag then you put it in a g-26 and you have a little bitty gun with nearly a full size grip. I've just never had a 26 to use it.

[JTKarp]

I've owned a Glock 23 for about 4 months (same frame as the G-19) and just purchased a G-26 a few weeks ago. I find myself carrying the G26 more often because it's summer and I can pocket-holster it in my cargo shorts. I like them both and shoot about equally well with either one. I've put about 1600 rounds through the G23 and a few hundred through the G-26.

Nice thing about Glocks is that they're very well known for their reliability.

PS...I traded in a XD-9 compact for the G26 - because I didn't like the levers on the side (found my rt thumb depressing the slide lock lever; so the slide was closing after firing the last round. Also, didn't like my left thumb pressing against the forward, breakdown lever either).....I had a handful of f2f's because (I believe) I hadn't had the grip safety sufficiently depressed - which I didn't like because my grip was not that far off.

But those are just my personal fit issues.....I've heard almost nothing but good things about XD's everywhere else.