Buying my first handgun
 

I' m looking at buying my first handgun.

I was looking at a Browning HiPower in 40 S&W. What is everyone' s opinion on the gun and round?

I' m new at this. I don' t want to buy the " Ferrari" of handguns with my first purchase, but I want to invest in something that I' ll be using 20 years from now.

Any suggestions?

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

dodger you are going for a nice gun. The Browning Hi Power has been around for a long time and has been proven.I personally like the 40 S&W. My opinion it' s a much better round then the 9mm.I carry a Glock M-27 which is a 40 S&W and really like it.Granted it doesn' t have the knock down power that a 45 ACP does but it' s more then sufficient for a personal protection gun.On both counts you are making a good choice.
Ruger Redhawk

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

I like 40s as well. I would look at the Ruger P series (I don' t remember which number the 40 is, maybe P91). I' ve got one and have shot thousands of rounds through it. I can' t remember it ever jamming or misfiring. The thing is reliable! It' s accurate enough, although not a target pistol by any means. And affordable.

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

You are considering one of the best handguns in my opion. I love my Hi-Power. Great pointing, feeling and shooting gun and I have had zero problems with it. Mine is in 9mm though. Though I do carry a .40S&W for a duty gun and really like the round. Especially in the Gold Dot 180 grainers.

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

I would encourage anyone buying a first handgun to get a .22 LR If you like autos.....there' s some out there.....I personally recommend a fine revolver with a good trigger job and a red dot scope.....but it' s your money. Shooting a handgun is a difficult skill and it takes a lot of practice.....the .22 LR is truly cheap and a fine way to learn.

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

Good choice, my first handgun was a 9mm Lugar Browning High Power, and it still shoots very well. Good luck.

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

You can,t go wrong with the Hi Power. I would sure go 40 S&W. As someone said above, the Ruger is a hell of a gun for the bucks. They are a little ugly but they are a workhorse. I have had several of the Ruger 45 auto' s and that would be my choice if it is to be used for self defense and target shooting. I once had about 6 or 7 45 auto' s including tricked out 1911' s and A Sig 220. None of them would out shoot that ugly old Ruger. Also the price is a real bargin.

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

The 40 S&W is a great round. I don' t have any experience with the Browning pistol. I really like my H&K USP. I have the full size, not the compact. I' ve got big mitts, the thing fits perfect. Never was a fan of the Glocks, those that I' ve tried had a heavier trigger pull than I' d like.

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

How much experience do you have with handguns? I don' t mean any disrespect, to you or your choice, it' s a great gun, it' s just that the .40' s a bit much to start out with, and Semi-auto' s aren' t usually the best choice for beginners. It could be worse, you could be getting a .45acp, the .40' s not going to be too terribly over powered for a beginner, but it kicks enough that if you don' t know what you' re doing, it wouldn' t be as much fun as a lighter kicking round.

I' m mostly concerned with the fact that it is an auto, sure it' s easy if you think about it, but as far as things go, running' s easy too, but we all walked first. I' ve watched people start with handguns for years and years now, seen them progress, the guys that figure things out faster are the guys that start out on a single action, I' m not really sure why it is, but it' s what I see. Some guys I watch start on single actions have switched over to autos and done better sooner than the guys that started out with autos. They might just be fast learners, and they might have reached that point just as fast if they had started out with autos, we' ll never know, but it' s happened on enough occasions for me to think that there is something to it.

I' d get the Ruger P-94 if it were me, but that' s if it were me, and I' m not you now am I? Try one out though, they have the second best fit of any autos I' ve held, only second to 1911' s/1991' s. The browning doesn' t feel bad, it just doesn' t seem to fit quite right and they don' t point as naturally for me.

If you do go ahead and get it, I' m sure it' ll be fine, it' s one of those things that if you never tried something, you' d never know if it would have helped or not, so you probably won' t ever notice the difference. Good luck with it, it' s a great gun and a great round, just remember to keep your eye on the ball, and:

Keep your thumbs down<---very important for beginners, I' ve seen countless beginners BREAK their thumbs by sticking them up into the slide on the shot accidentally, almost always on the offhand/support hand, but a busted or dislocated thumb isn' t fun whether it keeps you from shooting or not.

Keep your elbow tight, but not locked<--inhibits circulation, you' ll start to shake pretty fast, much moreso than if you just keep your arm firm.

Don' t put your face against the gun to aim either<--really stupid, but I' ve seen it done more than once!!! I' m assuming you are smart enough that you realized that the slide would whallop you, but like I said, I' ve seen it, so I gave up on assuming anything.

Don' t lower your face when shooting, you don' t have a stock to rest on, so your head shouldn' t be cranked down, I always see all of these greenhorns with their necks all sucked down, or crinked over lowering their head to align with the sights, un-natural positions cause tensions in your body, you' ll shoot better by bringing the gun to level with your eye, as opposed to straining your muscles down to it, which will also make you shake rather quickly. If anything, simply tilt your head slightly to the right (for right handed shooters) so that it' s easier to distinguish between your sight picture and your off-eye view <---oh yeah, shoot with both eyes open, forgot to mention that, just remember to keep your dominant eye on the sights, so you don' t sight cross-body, which gives all kinds of problems.

Most of the rest of it comes from normal shooting practices, all the sight allignment and the stance and such. It' d be a good idea to pal in with someone at the range, or take a class or something, just so you don' t teach yourself bad habits.

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

Hi dodger02,
Semi-auto' s are great weapons. There is some sage advice here posted by others, But I wanted you to have my 2 cents.
Almost everything designed by John M. Browning is terrific![:-], Hi-Power, 1911A1 et al.
Having worked in a gun shop for years, owning, shooting and handling just about everything out there...I would suggest a Ruger P-97 in .45acp. This weapon has passed the " military" 10 thousand round torture test. It is made of polymer and stainless steel. It will digest any ammo from hand loads to military surplus. The .45 is a true man-stopper! Designed experssly for that puprose.
On the subjest of recoil...it' s my opinion that the .45 is actually easier to shoot accurately because the recoil is not as " sharp" but more of a " push" I think the 9mm and the .40 S&W both retain this snappy, sharp recoil. Yes the bullet is bigger and heavier in the .45, but it is moving much slower.
If not the P-97, then maybe a decent 1911A1. You can always get a .22 cal replacement slide to swap out so you can shoot .22' s.
You really DO want the Ferrari...remember, you anly need to buy quality ONCE![:-]

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

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! :D

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

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

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

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.

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

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.:D

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.:eek:

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

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

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

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.

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

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 :D 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.

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

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

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

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.

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

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

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

Here' s another vote for the .22. You' ll end up getting one anyways - why not get it first.

It may not have the shock appeal of a larger round - but you' ll shoot a lot more, more accurately and cheaper.

Starting with a .22 will make you a better shooter.

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

Browning makes a great .22lr pistol.
The Browning " Buckmark" .
Several configuration and barrel choices from plinking to serious target models.

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

if going for a 22 pistol ill second the vote for the browning buckmark. by no means is it a target pistol but its a great plinker. though mine doent like HPs but thats ok.

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

first handgun i bought was a super blackhawk, the handguns i learned to shoot with was a p38 and a highpower, i love them both, i own that p38 and am tryin to own the highpower, just buy it, thats what i do. i work 4 jobs for a reason, so i don;t have to second guess myself on buying a gun i want i just do it

RE: Buying my first handgun
 

Sig Sauer......... hands down one of thee, if not the finest makes of firearms in the world.