Can't decide

[dakota954]

I can't decide on my first handgun. I want a 9mm as the ammo is very cheap. My choices are either an m&p9, a springfield XDm or a glock. I want a fullsize that is light enough for carry but accurate enough for target. It has to be reliable too and pretty low cost. The m&p I'm looking at is 600$ so I want something in that range

[Dand]

Seems like every time this subject comes up a whole bunch of really experienced hand gunners will strongly advise starting with a 22lr for truly inexpensive practice learning the fundamentals. Ammo is even cheaper than a 9 and you're more likely to do enough practice. I tend to agree with them.

A 9 is relatively mild but I don't hear of a lot of folks talking about serious target shooting with them.

[dakota954]

I'm not a newbie to handguns. I go out in the field and shoot whenever I'm at my dads(every weekend)and I use his guns I was just more of a rifle shooter but I realized I may need something a bit more close range. The cost of ammo isn't really a factor as I reload and I don't waste ammo. I can normally keep the 357mag in 3in at 20-25yds

[krod47nw]

All are great guns.  The glock is probably the lightest, as well as the least expensive.  You should be able to buy one for between $500 & $550.  The M&P is American made.

Kevin

[Autorim]

For a first handgun, I recommend a revolver -  S&W or Ruger .357 so you can also shoot .38's.

[dakota954]

I was also considering a revolver but I don't like the low round capacity plus the heavy trigger pull of revolvers. I also like being able to customize my guns, you can't really upgrade or customize a revolver. Plus, a 357 or a 38 has more recoil than a 9mm. I figured out that I'll be getting a glock model34 as they're cheap to buy,maintain and repair and I need to spend as little money as I can.

[spruce]

Okay, I didn't respond earlier because I was pretty sure from your original post you had already settled on a 9mm semi-auto - and there's certainly nothing wrong with that if it fits your needs and wants.  All of the three you cited in your OP are well made, quality guns and the Glock you chose should serve you well.

That said, I have to take exception to a couple of things.  If you think revolvers can't be customized you should take a look at a S&W Model 10 before and after it was turned into an all out competition gun for the old PPC course.

As far as recoil goes, if you're talking factory ammo fired in comparably sized guns the recoil of the .357 is the heaviest, most .38 special loads are the lightest, and the 9mm falls somewhere in the area of a "high-range" .38 load.

BTW my recommendation for a first handgun is a quality double action revolver chambered in .22 LR.  Nothing is cheaper to shoot, and if you master both the single action and double action trigger pulls you'll be able to shoot good with whatever action type you choose down the road, whether it's revolver or semi-auto.

 Just my 2 cents.

[dakota954]

I'll see if I can borrow a 22 handgun from my uncle. It'll be a while til I can save up the money for the glock and I have a bunch of 22 ammo just Laying around.

[pneuby]

There are some pluses to the popularity of the Glock. Just one of those is the availability of the Accurate Arms .22LR conversion kit. Even though you reload, you can't load 9mm cheaper than you can shoot .22's.

That said, S&W has a new kid on the block that may be worth a look. It's called the SD, and I'll bet that many gun shops won't even know what it is. My guess is, it's been designed to supercede and replace their Sigma model, eventually. For the time being, it's less expensive than the M&P, but has an overall look and quality trigger just like it.

[KansasPaul]

I'm old school in some ways and I have always been inclined to go with revolvers - and as a handloader it is much easier to salvage brass from the cylinder of a revolver as opposed to walking around to find spent brass from the grass in my back yard.  However, if I were to start all over again I would first buy a Ruger 22/45 (.22 auto) which has the same grip feel as a Model 1911 45acp.  After shooting a bunch of .22 rounds I would use the cash that I saved from shooting the .22s (as opposed to center fire rounds) to purchase a 1911.  I'm sure that this doesn't help you all.....

Paul