man! Telling someone not to buy a Hi-Power but instead buy a Ruger P series is like telling someone not to buy a Four wheeler but instead get a Rascale!

TScott I' ll go along with you there.That was funny. I love Ruger' s but you can' t compare a Ruger auto to a Browning HiPower.I guess the lack of experience shows from time to time.
Ruger Redhawk

What are you going to use it for? If its just for plinking, I would recommend a Ruger MKII .22- these will shoot as well as accurately as any production handgun made and is cheap to shoot. Its easier to learn on a handgun that shoots flawlessly and has minimal recoil until you get your fundamentals down. Any 9mm, .40, .45 handgun on a large frame handgun isn' t going to give you any kind of recoil that is in any way uncomfortable, but a .22 is much easier to control if somewhat rapidly fired.
If you' re just buying it for the ' coolness factor' (this has accounted for several guns I' ve bought over the years) I would get the 9mm as you can get surplus ammo for very cheap, and over the counter ammo is quite a bit cheaper than the .40 and .45 also, and in a good handgun, it will be just as accurate if not more so than the other 2 calibers.
For home defense, a .40 wouldn' t be the worst choice, though a .45 and 9mm would work as well.

TS & RR,
The Hi-power is a great firearm. It is, however, not my first choice for a first handgun. I personally do not care for the Hi-power because of caliber choices and the magazine safety that is incorporated into the design.
The Ruger I suggested is built for a lifetime of hassle-free ownership. Won' t rust, easy to clean and maintain and extremely reliable.
The Hi-power has a legacy as being the rest of the free worlds #1 choice for military and law enforcement. Mostly in the .9mm configuration. Great. So what?
I am not denying that the Hi-power has not earned a great reputation as a good weapon, all I am trying to say is that there are less expensive option out there.
As a first time handgun owner, why would you pay hundreds of dollars more for a weapon when they both have the same aggregate accuracy out-of-the-box? 3.25 " @25yds.
Can anyone account for the fact that police department in this country use Ruger.45' s and do not use Hi-powers?
Why do our elite law enforcement and military STILL want top quality .45' s over anything else?
I am really attempting to build a case for the round more than the delivery system.
The long and short of it is simple...There are a vast array of hand guns to choose from, and with them are even more opinions attached to each one. Wether those opinions are based on emotion, conjecture, facts or real life encounters doesen' t matter. The truth is that no one can truly select a firearem for you. You have to decide on several things like: intended purpose, fit, feel, ergonomics, etc.
The .22 is a great training aid. It is probably the best choice for a " first hangun" ,
for the reasons that Briman and Nomercy have already stated.
The truth is that a couple of well placed .22' s to the cranium will everything that the 9mm, .40S&W or the .45acp will do with half the recoil or muzzle flash. The problem is trying to do that under a stressful situation.
The Hi-power IS a great gun, it is just not a great gun for ME.
It could be, if they made it in .45 and removed the magazine safety.
Now if we start talking Kimber,Wilson Combat, Les Baer, Caspian....These are truly<to me> great weapons.

My choices or suggestions are certainly NOT based on lack of experience!
You have your choices and I have mine. I' m sure neither are based on a lack of experience.

Mlaubner,You are correct that everybody has different opinions on different makes and models. That goes for everything from automobiles,guns,furniture etc.That' s what makes the world go around.It would be a boring world if everybody liked the same thing. Maybe lack of experience wasn' t the right choice of words.I' ve been a die hard Ruger fan for 30 years . I still can' t bring myself to get or recommend a Ruger P series over a Browning Hi Power.Somethings are hard to beat and the Browning Hi Power is one of them.
Ruger Redhawk

Hey R-RHK, I agree that the Hi-power is a bit better quality than the P-series guns especially out of the box. I' m just keeping in mind the way things feel, the P-series guns feel a lot better to me, they fill my hand very well (but aren' t oversized) and they point extremely naturally for me, always have. There' s nothing terribly wrong with their functionality, and around here at least they' d save a kid a benny franklin or two to buy the Ruger over the Browning, giving you a faster option at a second gun. I didn' t mean to say I felt it was a superior arm, but as far as I' m concerned, they' re better beginners guns.

I was just picking guys, but the thought did strike me as kind of funny. My first hand gun that I bought was a Hi-Power, granted this was after carrying a 1911 for 8 years in the Sea Bees. I also agree that any single action semi-auto is proably not a great starter pistol for someone with no experience with pistols. But since he asked about the Hi-Power I figured he must know something about handguns As for the police and P series/Hi-Power comment... you will be hard pressed to find a regular officer carrying any single action pistol. (liablity reasons) BUT I do know a couple that carry them for duty weapons. My former Cpt. for one, who is know a Cheif so he gets to carry what ever he wants. Now for police guns, GLOCK wins, think it' s around 70%. Myself included, Glock 22.

My vote for the Ruger is based on price / reliability. The Ruger 40 was the first pistol bigger than a 22 that I bought. No regrets. I' ve got a souped up Colt 1911 series 70 that is very finicky (yeah I know it' s ' cause of the modifications). Fact is (to me) if you ever NEED a good reliable pistol, the Ruger P series will serve you well. Besides that, I was able to afford ammo for it when I bought it. I' ve never shot the Browning but I only hear good things about it. I own several high dollar firearms now (not bragging), but I still respect my Ruger.

Furthermore, I appreciate differences in opinion.

Besides being unrefined, can anyone say anything bad about a P series. (Looks don' t count for me ' cause I like the way they look)

Jake

I' ve had a P91 now for about 10 years. Only jammed once out of over 3,000 rounds and that was because of a bad casing. I' ve only shot a Hi Power once and was very impressed. You couldn' t give me a Glock. I' ve shot 4 different ones and never got a 10 round group less than 10" at 20 yards. I' m not an expert by any stretch of the imagination but can consistantly shoot 5" groups at 20 yards with my Ruger. I' ve shot 9mm' s, 40' s, and 45' s but still prefer the 40 best. My Ruger goes everywhere I do and when I carry concealed it' s my Taurus PT938 in .380ACP. Like I said, I' m no expert and only shoot 300 to 500 rounds a year but the P91 feels great, points well, and has been flawless.

The Browning may not be a Ferrari, but it is at least a Corvette!!