Just went shooting for the first time! Now what to get?

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theCloud

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So I had no experience in shooting and took a basic course. I was interested, well curious but not so sure if this basic course would extend to making this into a hobby or not.

Well after I fired off 5 rounds, I'm hooked! I got to shoot a Sig Sauer Mosquito, a Glock 23, a Glock 19, and a .38 revolver.

Not a big fan of the revolvers. I love the simplicity of them, but that's about it.

I think I've narrowed it down to either a .22 or a 9mm. The Mosquito had some failure to eject and load issues, but I'd say it fired about 98% of the time without issue But then again I was using Federal Bulk and read that it works best on CCI mini mags. And the gun was a rental- so I'm sure it wasn't the cleanest gun. I don't know if it was because it was the first gun I shot, or what but I liked the Mosquito. But I am concerned about all the negative reviews on it on the internet.

In terms of 9mm, I've got it down to a Glock 17/19 or a Sig Sauer 226/229.

I really, really want to get a Glock. I liked how those shot, they are very simple in terms of maintenance, and I already know of a few armorers around town. But the big thing is the controversy of the Gen 4 spring/ejector/whatever issues I've been reading about. I could see myself getting a 19 or 17. But for now, as a beginner, I'd rather get something that works well out of the box. The Sigs are nice, but expensive.

Right now I want to limit the gun collection to 2 max, Ideally 1 for now. Something for going to the range to improve my shooting skills and something for home defense. No CCW. I would consider CCW only after I pick up more experience and feel more confident in my skills.
 
Welcome to the community! We are glad to have you here.

Unfortunately, the Mosquito is widely regarded as junk. The amount of success you had with one astonishes me.

I would like to humbly recommend a two-gun collection to you, consisting of either a Ruger Mark III or a Browning Buckmark, and a Glock 19.

The Ruger and Browning are two very highly regarded .22LR pistols. Avoid the Walther P22 and Sig Mosquito. The Beretta Neos may be worth considering if you liked the Mosquito a lot,

The G19 is probably the most popular Glock ever. Works great as a range or duty gun, but also conceals easy if you ever want to do that. The Gen4 issues have been largely resolved.

Again, welcome to the community. Enjoy the addiction!
 
Hey another junkie. You can't go wrong with a Glock 19. Why not just get a Gen3 if you can find one? Too bad you crossed off the 226. It's a keeper for me.
 
Welcome to the forum and the shooting community. In reality you will probably forget about your '2 max' after a while. THere are too many good guns out there. Every time I buy a new gun, I swear that it's the last one I need. But I always buy more, even if it means selling one to get one.

Anyway, there are a lot of fine semi-autos out there. Enjoy the hunt.
 
Welcome to the forums! One more vote for the 9mm Glock of your choice. Very simple and reliable gun. Not very pretty, but I did not get one to hand on the wall.

One or two guns huh? :) Good luck with that! Unless you are immune to the addiction, you will probable 'need' a shotgun. And a semi-auto rifle. Oh, and a bolt action gun. And then there is always the 1911...
 
I am a SIG guy myself but also own a Glock 19. The Glock 19 is a very fine pistol also and if it works well for you then by all means get one.

I am not a Glock expert but my understanding is if you get a current model Glock 19 Gen 4 you should be good to go as the latest ones have the "upgraded" spring assembly and extractor. Maybe some one else can post how to identify the latest ones by some marking or a serial number.
 
Someone already recommended them but I will second the recommendation on getting either the Ruger MKII .22 or a Browning Buckmark. These will give you many years of of low cost range shooting and will promote good shooting habits. I own both 22's. For home and possible concealed carry you will never go wrong with the G19, what the heck, G17 too. I own a G23 and a G27 which are 40 cals. I also have a Lone Wolf 9mm drop in barrel that converts my 40's to 9mm with 9mm magazines. The barrel work flawlessly in both my pistols.
 
Someone already recommended them but I will second the recommendation on getting either the Ruger MKII .22 or a Browning Buckmark.
Click to expand...

And I will third that recommendation. Get the .22 and learn to shoot well, then think about the next step based on your own experiences.
 
If you only want 1 gun at this time for both shooting and defense, then go with the 9MM. In time you can get a nice 22 that will let you shoot alot more for a fraction of the cost. Glock and Sig are both good pistols.
 
docnyt said:
Too bad you crossed off the 226. It's a keeper for me.
Click to expand...

Oh, I didn't mean that- the Sig is definitely on the list, I was just saying that it was expensive. Work is slowing down during the holidays and you know Christmas isn't cheap. I could get the Glock now but it would be a bit of a stretch and the Sig, well I'd have to save up for that.

I am kind of leaning toward the 9mm vs. the .22.
 
second hand

One thing about getting the Glock is that if you make a good second hand purchase you can always get your monies back when you get ready for Sig.
 
Shooting a centerfire pistol is fun, but you mentioned that money is an issue.

Consider this: 550 rounds of .22LR is a bit under $15 (Federal bulk pack at Wal-Mart). That same 550 rounds of 9mm will cost you about $110 (11 boxes of 50 each, $10 per box). It is easy to go through 150 rounds each trip--less than $5 worth of ammo for the .22, but about $30 worth for the 9mm. How frequently will you be able to afford to shoot at that rate?

If shooting enough to attain and maintain proficiency is your goal, it is hard to beat a .22. And you will not "outgrow" it. I still take a .22 to the range every trip, and generally start with 100 rounds of .22 before moving to a centerfire round.

Someone also mentioned the .22 conversion for the Glock. Providing it works well, that is a viable option, if you can afford both the Glock and the .22 conversion (last I knew, they go about $250).

I would second the recommendation to buy a used Gen 3.
 
If you really, really want a Glock, go ahead and get that Glock 19. I can't see any reason why you shouldn't.

I don't know a thing about Glocks. If there is some ejector/spring/whatever issue, surely it's a problem with a solution that works.

Once again, I don't know Glocks. It's always worth remembering, though, that some things are problems only on the internet. Fiber optic (FO) sights break all the time on the internet. In real life, there are some that you won't break with a direct hit from an 8 pound sledgehammer.

Had an interesting conversation with a business that does CCW classes yesterday. Seems they charge $140 for the class. You shoot their handgun with their ammo included in the $140. They use that Glock 19 that you're talking about. Six shooters at a time. That wouldn't interest me, just because. They sounded like they do everything by the numbers. I think they have a fear of being shot, otherwise.

I'm not a "start out with a .22" kind of guy. Is a Glock 19 a 9 mil? There's certainly nothing hard about that.

.
 
I would go with the 22 cheap as hell to shoot. I wish that I would have gone that way just so I would be able to go to the range without spending $200 at a time

Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk
 
1. Gen 3 Glock 19 2. Browning BuckMark .22 Hands down for the money you can't do any better.

Just wait until you shoot a good 1911, you'll be ruined for sure.
 
Don't cross off the Sig just yet. There are several police trade ins on Gunbroker for under $400, and Sig will do a rework for you for only about $130. So you can get a factory refurbed Sig 226 for just over $500.

The Glock is a great gun, and you will be happy with it, but the Sig is within your reach too if you want it.
 
You can shoot a 22 a lot cheaper than a center fire. The Ruger MKIII is a fine gun as well as the Buckmark. Most ranges that rent guns have them. Try one or two of each. There are several models of the MKIII.

The Sig's are good guns so don't mark them off your list as CPO are a great value.
 
Ruger MK III 22/45 is a joy to shoot and cheap to feed. I paid 275 NIB, OTD. If you can , try a Springfield XD 9mm or Ruger SR9c--greater shooters. Unless SD/HD is the top priority, I'd start with a .22LR. (and a .22LR is generally better then no firearm).
 
I'll take a look at the Ruger P89 and the Springfield XD, thanks for the heads up! Too many choices.

With the Sigs, I've seen that they have the flashlight/laser attachment. But does anybody sell just a laser that slides onto the rail?

This is a slight aside, but can anybody point me to a book, a website, anything, about things I can to do improve my shooting stance, technique, etc? I already got one of those grip masters to start working out my forearm & hand strength too.
 
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