Alright,
I'm in the market, well not really since it's a gift (birthday present), for my first handgun. I'm turning 20 at the beginning of April and have been begging for a handgun after competing in my first IDPA match a few weeks ago. I'm your typical constantly broke college student but If I can get the gun I can divide up my change jar between uh... weekend entertainment *cough* and ammunition.
So anyway I'm asking the old man for a pistol as my one and only gift, and after going to the range and trying out all the popular models I've narrowed it down to two (well two models, but four configurations or whatever).
Right now i'm asking for a a Sig Sauer P226 Enhanced Elite, a Plain Jane P226, a 4.5" Springfield XD-M, or a 5" Springfield XD Tactical in that order of preference and price. Now I know this is what I want because I spent all day at the range shooting all kinds of pistols and these are the ones that fit me the best (i'm now an official Glock hater )
So now the real issue is the constant shadow lurking in the back of the forums that is the debate between 9mm and .40 S&W...
Hopefully this won't cause too much flaming here on the thread but i was just basically hoping I could get a little bit of a public opinion survey from all you forum members. Originally I wanted .40 but I've had the least experience shooting it and while I remember it's popularity growing over the past several years it seems that now people are switching back to 9mm and using +P rounds if they really need the extra power. I can understand that 9mm offers higher mag capacity, slightly cheaper ammo, less recoil, and only slightly less performance. So while originally I thought of the 9mm as a little baby round I've come to realize that the performance differences have little real-world bearing. If I ever have to defend myself 5 center-mass shots of 9mm will do about the same thing as 5 shots of .40 (hopefully I won't ever have to find out)
So anyway based on what you use should I give the .40 a shot or just stay with tried and true 9mm. Oh and for the XD's i'm just going to get .45 ACP. I know this is my first gun but honestly I felt the most comfortable shooting .45's and achieved the best results with them. My whole problem is that the p226 isn't offered in .45 and I'm pretty sure i don't want a p220.
Sorry for the long post that basically is concerned with a much hated topic but I need info quick (hopefully by tomorrow) about what you actual shooters think, and i figured it would be better to talk to some real people versus looking at blocks of ballistic gelatin or reading articles by professional tactical shooters that I can barely understand.
Thanks!
I'm in the market, well not really since it's a gift (birthday present), for my first handgun. I'm turning 20 at the beginning of April and have been begging for a handgun after competing in my first IDPA match a few weeks ago. I'm your typical constantly broke college student but If I can get the gun I can divide up my change jar between uh... weekend entertainment *cough* and ammunition.
So anyway I'm asking the old man for a pistol as my one and only gift, and after going to the range and trying out all the popular models I've narrowed it down to two (well two models, but four configurations or whatever).
Right now i'm asking for a a Sig Sauer P226 Enhanced Elite, a Plain Jane P226, a 4.5" Springfield XD-M, or a 5" Springfield XD Tactical in that order of preference and price. Now I know this is what I want because I spent all day at the range shooting all kinds of pistols and these are the ones that fit me the best (i'm now an official Glock hater )
So now the real issue is the constant shadow lurking in the back of the forums that is the debate between 9mm and .40 S&W...
Hopefully this won't cause too much flaming here on the thread but i was just basically hoping I could get a little bit of a public opinion survey from all you forum members. Originally I wanted .40 but I've had the least experience shooting it and while I remember it's popularity growing over the past several years it seems that now people are switching back to 9mm and using +P rounds if they really need the extra power. I can understand that 9mm offers higher mag capacity, slightly cheaper ammo, less recoil, and only slightly less performance. So while originally I thought of the 9mm as a little baby round I've come to realize that the performance differences have little real-world bearing. If I ever have to defend myself 5 center-mass shots of 9mm will do about the same thing as 5 shots of .40 (hopefully I won't ever have to find out)
So anyway based on what you use should I give the .40 a shot or just stay with tried and true 9mm. Oh and for the XD's i'm just going to get .45 ACP. I know this is my first gun but honestly I felt the most comfortable shooting .45's and achieved the best results with them. My whole problem is that the p226 isn't offered in .45 and I'm pretty sure i don't want a p220.
Sorry for the long post that basically is concerned with a much hated topic but I need info quick (hopefully by tomorrow) about what you actual shooters think, and i figured it would be better to talk to some real people versus looking at blocks of ballistic gelatin or reading articles by professional tactical shooters that I can barely understand.
Thanks!