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?

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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![:-]