Good 9mm handgun that can "do it all"?

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gregr507

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Hello, I am 21 and am just getting into guns. I went to the range last weekend for the first time and had a great time. I'm looking to purchase my first handgun, but I'm going into my last year of college and will (hopefully) be in medical school for 4 years after that, so money will be pretty tight for a while. So I'm looking for something relatively inexpensive (~500$ range) that can be used for CC, home defense, target practice, etc. Basically something that can do it all.

I've been looking around and I think I have it narrowed down to a few choices. The Glock 19 comes pretty highly recommended, the only thing that worries me is the lack of a grip or manual safety. Obviously I don't plan on doing anything stupid, but I am new and can't rule out that it may happen, and just having the trigger safety on the Glock worries me a bit.

I have also been looking at the xD series, however I'm not really sure what would be the most comparable in size/concealability to the Glock 19. For what it's worth, I shot the Glock 17 and the xd9 sc at the range, and liked the xD a bit more. I think I'd like something in between the two as far as size though. As far as I can tell though, the Glock sounds to be a bit more reliable, which is nice since this will most likely be my only gun for a while.

I am still open to other suggestions, but since I'm trying to narrow down the search I've tried to limit it to these. I am aware that there are tons of xD vs glock threads, and I have read a bunch of them, but is there any 9mm that would best fit my needs as kind of an all purpose gun? Thanks in advance
 
Keep it in the holster unless you are giving it your full sober attention. It won't fire unless the trigger is pulled.
 
Another Glock 19 vote. The 17 is a little bigger, the 26 a little smaller but nothing to get excited about unless you are trying to fit it in a specific size box. The 19 is large enough to shoot easily and small enough to conceal.
 
Glock more reliable?

Where did you hear this?

BOTH the XD and Glock are dependable and fantastic firearms IMO... i own both but to this day the XD fits my hand better than the Glock... and the grip angle on the Glock throws me off a bit but it IS a good gun.

Fact is, I shoot the XD better than i do my glock... and the absolute MOST IMPORTANT part is that it FITS my hand better than the glock.

Neither will let you down... i promise you that. You already admitted that the Xd felt better to you... BUY the Xd NOW and maybe later look into a glock?... there is no reason you can't have both :) hehehehehe..

Now there is a bigger aftermarket support for the Glock... but the XD has the Grip Safety as well as the trigger safety like the glock... so you DO get 1 extra level of safety.

JOe
 
XD, Glock, XD, Glock, nahh.......Highpower.......:D

I am not a Glock fan, I am a XD and Highpower fan. All three excellent guns in there own right. Strawberry, Chocolate, And Vanilla. The big three.
 
I'm a huge CZ fan but I don't carry. The CZ's are great guns but being all metal they are pretty heavy. For the plastic guns my own tastes tend to lean me towards the S&W M&P9. I prefer the overall feel of it to the Glock "brick like" grip. And it seemed to shoot tighter for me than the Ruger SR9. I haven't shot an XD though so I can't offer any comparative thoughts on that one. I can shoot both the Glock and M&P as well as I shoot my own CZ so it's not a case of one being better for accuracy. It's all about the grip and how comfy it is for you.

If you possibly can find a Rent-A-Gun range get yourself to it along with enough money to test out a few options. Alternately buy a couple of boxes of 9mm and head out to the local ranges. When you see someone with an interesting looking 9 engage them in conversation, ask them about their experiences and why they bought their gun over the others and then ask them if it would be alright to shoot some of your ammo through their gun. As a thankyou I'd leave them with a full magazine from your own rounds. Do that a few times and you'll have a few new friends and a far better idea of which guns you like better.

I know this is the semi auto forum but if it was me I'd also buy some .38Spl +P and try out some revolvers the same way. You may well find that you enjoy wheelguns as much.
 
Check out the Beretta PX4 Storm Sub Compact in 9 mm. If you can find one at your local BassPro Shop, they will take $50 off the sale price of $579 if you use their credit card. If you don't have the card, sign up for it and they will take an additional 10% off bringing the price to $476. This excellent deal will last until August 19th.

I bought mine yesterday after carefully reading the reviews and comments for over a year. Good luck!
 
If having a safety is a concern, look no further than a CZ 75B. They can be had with or without a safety and cost under $500. I think they are among the best deals out there.
 
You can get a Glock around your budget, or you could get an XD comfortably below it. Either should work fine. I've never owned a Glock, but there is nothing really wrong with them other than price and looks IMO. I like the XD a lot.

Also, I the fewer safeties, the better IMO. Grip and trigger safeties are fine since they are disengaged when the gun is drawn, but IMO manual/external safeties are redundant on these guns.
 
If I had to grab a gun, right now, sight unseen and history unknown to defend my life in any imaginable situation, just pick it up, function check it, load it and run, it would be a Glock 17 every time. I have found the 19 to be just as reliable, but I am the one in here who is always yelling at people to grab the full-size whenever possible, and I have never needed a compact to carry concealed comfortably.

The XD is great, and I think that it might well be just as good as a Glock, if not better, but it doesn't yet have the history backing it up. If lead is flying, and I see a smattering of guns lying there, an XD and a Glock included, I'll grab the Glock.
 
It's tough to beat a Walther P5, though you may want a higher capacity magazine option. If so, don't overlook the Walther P99, which is every bit the equal of anything mentioned thus far and, IMO, as good as anything on the market at any price. The best thing to do, as with every gun purchase, is to get to a range that rents guns and test-drive the ones that are of interest to you, IMO. You'll eventually determine that one gun best fits your hand and eye, and that's the one you want.
 
I would put the Sig Pro at the top of my list too followed closely by several CZ models and I would even consider a Bersa.
 
Im in the same market as you right now. In the past I have tested both the XD9 service 4" and the PX4 Storm 9mm and they are both fantastic pistols IMO. The trigger on the XD was a little better than the berettas, and it fit my hand a little better, but those are both my personal preferences.

I also stopped in at Cabelas with a buddy yesterday and visited their counter to hold a couple. I was very impressed with the weight and feel of the new CZ P07. Too bad no one has one to test locally. Another thing that caught my eye was the lower price tag than the others. Id also look at the CZ P-01 or 75 Compact. Again, i love the way they feel in my hand (i have kinda short thumbs and these both allow me to release the slight without changing my grip) but no one offers CZ to test around here. Drives me nuts.
 
Thanks for the replies so far everyone. I was wondering if the xD9 4" service model is comparable in size to the glock 19? I shot the 17 and found it kind of large, i actually thought the subcompact xD was easier to shoot for me
 
The XD9 service is very nearly the size of the Glock 17.

I have the XD9 Tactical, which is larger than the Glock 17, and the XD9 subcompact, which is smaller than the Glock 19.
 
Try a CZ P-01.

Not well known, but

Simply kicks the daylights out of

Glocks, Sigs, HK's etcetera etcetera.

UN certified, utterly reliable, incredible ergonomics,

More accurate than I (or you) will ever be.

Light, tight package for CC.

Good price.

isher
 
Any sw 3rd gen. At least I do not worry about losing a body part sticking it in my pocket like I might with a GLOCK.
 
Another vote for the CZ P-01. Fantastic pistol.

It's got a hammer decocker, too, in addition to a standard trigger safety.
 
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