Hello all, let me first introduce myself before asking my question. I am a 20 year old third year college student at VCU and am majoring in criminal justice. I got interested in firearms through my father whom I went with to gun shows frequently when I was younger. I still go by myself from time to time. My first gun I got from my father when I was young, it was a 20 gauge Remington express 870 youth shotgun. However, my first firearm that I bought and still own is a Mauser M48BO 8mm. I love that rifle, it is dead accurate and I'm just beginner. On a sidenote my father is a member of S.A.S.S. and loves his cowboy action revolvers which I can't seem to shoot to save life, don't quite know how to aim those half-moon sights.
I will be turning 21 in a few months and am looking for a double stack 9mm semiauto, especially since the AWB expired. I have had the pleasure of fondling quite a few of the handguns I'm considering. I haven't fired any of them just held. The two that have the best ergos by a small margin are the Beretta 92fs and Browning Hi-power. I'm only looking for a handgun for range shooting and home defense. Here are my feelings regarding the ones I've handled and the knowledge I've gained about them so far.
Beretta 92fs: Great feel, well-balanced, love the stainless model. All controls within reach of normal firing position except manual safety. Criticisms I've heard are that it has a long DA pull and only has average to good accuracy.
Browning Hi-power: Great ergos, but I'd replace the walnut grips, all controls within reach of normal firing position. I've heard the Mk.3 is rated for +p ammo and hollowpoints. Criticisms I've heard are that it requires a lot of gunsmithing such as ridding the the gun of it's mag safety, replacing extractor, hammer bite. I like the the thin design and it has great pointability. The feel might beat out the Beretta but the jury is still out on that one. Not really sure I want to spend a lot on gunsmithing.
Glock 19: Fits snuggly into my hand, light, good pointability, can reach all controls without having to contort my hand from a normal firing position. I'm excluding the 17 because I feel the grip angle everyone talks about more pronounced and the grip is bigger than what I need. Criticisms I've heard are that the trigger is unnatural, and the grip angle mentioned above. Otherwise I like this pistol.
Walther p99. Ergos are great, don't like the lever mag release much, great pointability. Some people say this gun needs a break-in period and that the TDA trigger is.....well.....you either love it or hate it. Otherwise this gun might beat the glock 19 for ergos by a small margin.
Sig P226/P228: Ergos on both these guns is ok with the p228 only a tad bit better IMHO. I can reach all controls without having to contort my hand from a normal firing position. Haven't heard much complaints about sigs here. I've heard they're very accurate with the best DA pull in an auto. Love the decock as opposed to manual safety and its more reachable than the Walther's. I am afraid if, by chance, I do go with the p228 I might sacrifice accuracy and ballistic performance.
Wesson 5906: Fits well in my hand but some controls hard to reach.
Springfield XD: Grip angle better than that of a glock but the trigger safety and grip safety feel weird. Everything within reach of thumb, except trigger of course.
Ruger P95: Well balanced and fits my hand well, however the mag release cuts into my finger and I can't reach the slide release without contorting my hand.
Ones I've felt and disqualified:
Hk USP: Grips too big. The checkering digs into my hand. Forget about reaching the mag release with my thumb or the DA trigger with my index finger. Forget the compacts still can't reach the mag release with thumb.
CZ 75: DA trigger reach is too far. The Cz-75SA has a trigger that looks weird and unnatural. The P01 doesn't look like it'd be all that much better.
That's all I can think of for right now. I've been meaning to feel that FNP9 it looks pretty good. Would appreciate any info on this gun you could give me. I'm really just looking for people opinions and suggestions on which you think I should choose. I know to go to a range and rent some various 9mm's and plan on going to Dominion Shooting Range in Richmond, VA sooner or later. By the way do you have to be 21 to rent handguns or is that just to purchase?
I will be turning 21 in a few months and am looking for a double stack 9mm semiauto, especially since the AWB expired. I have had the pleasure of fondling quite a few of the handguns I'm considering. I haven't fired any of them just held. The two that have the best ergos by a small margin are the Beretta 92fs and Browning Hi-power. I'm only looking for a handgun for range shooting and home defense. Here are my feelings regarding the ones I've handled and the knowledge I've gained about them so far.
Beretta 92fs: Great feel, well-balanced, love the stainless model. All controls within reach of normal firing position except manual safety. Criticisms I've heard are that it has a long DA pull and only has average to good accuracy.
Browning Hi-power: Great ergos, but I'd replace the walnut grips, all controls within reach of normal firing position. I've heard the Mk.3 is rated for +p ammo and hollowpoints. Criticisms I've heard are that it requires a lot of gunsmithing such as ridding the the gun of it's mag safety, replacing extractor, hammer bite. I like the the thin design and it has great pointability. The feel might beat out the Beretta but the jury is still out on that one. Not really sure I want to spend a lot on gunsmithing.
Glock 19: Fits snuggly into my hand, light, good pointability, can reach all controls without having to contort my hand from a normal firing position. I'm excluding the 17 because I feel the grip angle everyone talks about more pronounced and the grip is bigger than what I need. Criticisms I've heard are that the trigger is unnatural, and the grip angle mentioned above. Otherwise I like this pistol.
Walther p99. Ergos are great, don't like the lever mag release much, great pointability. Some people say this gun needs a break-in period and that the TDA trigger is.....well.....you either love it or hate it. Otherwise this gun might beat the glock 19 for ergos by a small margin.
Sig P226/P228: Ergos on both these guns is ok with the p228 only a tad bit better IMHO. I can reach all controls without having to contort my hand from a normal firing position. Haven't heard much complaints about sigs here. I've heard they're very accurate with the best DA pull in an auto. Love the decock as opposed to manual safety and its more reachable than the Walther's. I am afraid if, by chance, I do go with the p228 I might sacrifice accuracy and ballistic performance.
Wesson 5906: Fits well in my hand but some controls hard to reach.
Springfield XD: Grip angle better than that of a glock but the trigger safety and grip safety feel weird. Everything within reach of thumb, except trigger of course.
Ruger P95: Well balanced and fits my hand well, however the mag release cuts into my finger and I can't reach the slide release without contorting my hand.
Ones I've felt and disqualified:
Hk USP: Grips too big. The checkering digs into my hand. Forget about reaching the mag release with my thumb or the DA trigger with my index finger. Forget the compacts still can't reach the mag release with thumb.
CZ 75: DA trigger reach is too far. The Cz-75SA has a trigger that looks weird and unnatural. The P01 doesn't look like it'd be all that much better.
That's all I can think of for right now. I've been meaning to feel that FNP9 it looks pretty good. Would appreciate any info on this gun you could give me. I'm really just looking for people opinions and suggestions on which you think I should choose. I know to go to a range and rent some various 9mm's and plan on going to Dominion Shooting Range in Richmond, VA sooner or later. By the way do you have to be 21 to rent handguns or is that just to purchase?