bushhogg

hey newguy, i like people who see quality firearms when they see em, been a gunsmith over 15 yrs. now. and kimbers firearms are some of the finest i ever owned. dont have to do nothing to em, but shoot em. great pistol you have there!

T/C fan!

I'm also a big fan of 1911's, but you saying "you almost know nothing about pistols", so I'd suggest staying away from autos. I'd suggest a revolver in 357mag. A revolver is a very simple design and very user friendly to a rookie. Like others have said, you can plink with .38 special loads without breaking the bank and then use full power 357mag loads for "doing some damage".

Briman

9mms are the cheapest centerfire pistol to shoot. I buy winchester value pack of 100 rds for $10 at Wallyworld.
There are a lot of good 9mms out there- Berettas, Highpowers, Glocks, XD-9s.

.45 pistols are more expensive to buy and more expensive to shoot. They can be made real cheap to shoot if you reload. It costs me about $.05 per round or less to shoot mine- $.02 for a primer, $.015 for 5.5 gr of w231, bullets cast from wheelweights that I get for free, brass that you will lose long before you wear it out.

If you just want something cheap and powerful and have a little bit of a WTF (is that)? factor try one of these:

http://aimsurplus.com/acatalog/CZ52_7_62x25_Pistol.html

and buy a 1200 rd case of ammo for $120


Makarovs are also good cheap guns that shoot cheap ammo.