Looking for 9mm for less than 600 dollars - leaning towards a Glock

[Tallball]

Really, if you go to local gun stores and hold them, you might find that some other similarly priced pistol will fit your hand better and point better for you.

There isn't just one pistol that fits everyone's hands perfectly.

I prefer my S&W M&P, for instance. They're similar pistols at about the same price point. Different strokes for different folks.

 

[cslinger]

I know this is going to be the boring “parental” comment but I always feel the need to stress this to new shooters, hell established ones as well.

Make sure you budget enough to safely secure the weapon when needed. Whether you have kids or live alone or whatever there will always be times you have folks in your house, parties, etc. etc. and you should be able to safely secure your weapon. Something as simple as a document safe from Walmart works. You are not trying to stop an actual thief per say just keeping it from kids, drunks and idjits. There are plenty of inexpensive ways to accomplish this. Ideally I would suggest some kind of quick access pistol safe but those can get expensive.

I will show my boring responsible gun owner self out now and return you to the fun part.

 

[Alllen Bundy]

Also keep in mind that any firearm that you leave in your home when you leave your home should NOT have a round in the chamber. If there is a fire, it could set off the round in the chamber and shoot just as far as if you pulled the trigger.

Or make sure that gun your storage is strong enough to contain a bullet fired from your gun.

I use a pair of small Snap Safe 16 gauge steel lockboxes. The downside is that the locks are easy to pick. I plan to replace the locks with more secure locks.

FYI, 16 gauge steel is NOT going to stop a 9 mm round when shot through a pistol!!!

 

[Mark_Mark]

Don't worry about it. None of us are getting any younger. At 56 (turn 57 in October) I look pretty much exactly what I am. An old construction worker. I'm just kind of impressed people take the time to make avatars. I guess I should sometime though I don't think y'all want to see me.. Maybe I should put up a gun pic or something.

Avatar are easy to put up man! be creative, does not have to be a gun pic. Do your favorite taco or fishing lure!

 

[Nature Boy]

I hope people aren't just being nice to me because my avatar is a "pretty face."

I get that a lot.

 

[Mark_Mark]

I Just Realized your a Female! Welcome to the club!

been calling you Bro, Dude, Man… the whole time

 

[CoalTrain49]

Walther PDP compact or APX. Whatever you purchase make sure the slide is cut for a red dot base. Unless you're an accomplished pistol shooter already, a red dot will flatten your learning curve considerably. Most new models have a slide cut and the trend isn't going away IMO. You may not want to buy a pistol with a RD now but the chances are good that if you train a lot, or compete, you will want one sooner or later.

https://www.gunsandammo.com/editorial/red-dot-ready-pistols/330016

 

[CapnMac]

Make sure you budget enough to safely secure the weapon when needed.

Good comment to add, too. Mind, I believe CA mandates "safe storage" in State law, so that may be part of the budget limitations OP gave us.

@Ellen Ripley in case you were keen to know "our" considered opinions on various lockboxes for nightstands, bedstands or the like, the Search function on this site (unlike so many others) actually works.

As a fascinating bit of topical trivia, the only reason Glock still makes the well-out-of-patent-protection Gen 3 because it's the only CA-compliant Glock "on the list."

 

[JTQ]

I Just Realized your a Female! Welcome to the club!

been calling you Bro, Dude, Man… the whole time

Which body type are you speaking of?
I already said I'm a man with very large hands.
I'm over six feet tall, and I'm not worried about concealing the gun.

 

[Mark_Mark]

So Confused

 

[ontarget]

So Confused

You probably have your man bun tied too tight. I hear that causes confusion.

 

[Mark_Mark]

You probably have your man bun tied too tight. I hear that causes confusion.

for the record, I cut my man bun off 3 months ago. I look like a Chad now!

 

[ontarget]

for the record, I cut my man bun off 3 months ago. I look like a Chad now!

Well then maybe it's your skinny jeans. Or maybe your loafers?
IDK, I get confused when my boots are tied too tight.

 

[Alllen Bundy]

If you really want to store your gun with a round in the chamber you might consider adding a bullet stop in front of the barrel inside your lockbox or safe.

You could make a bullet stop in front of the barrel with multiple layers of steel or aluminum with space behind the first few layers to trap the bullet to keep it from going sideways and then enough layers of metal to stop the round. There may be other materials that are good at absorbing energy that might be used between the metal layers. Or maybe a very thick layer a lead or copper would do the job and also reduce the chance of a ricochet.

 

[RA40]

The two S&W self feeders allowed in CA in "new" are the Shield and SDVE in 9 and 40 offerings. CA is severely lacking to say the least.

 

[Mark_Mark]

Well then maybe it's your skinny jeans. Or maybe your loafers?
IDK, I get confused when my boots are tied too tight.

I know the feeling! I was carrying a CZ S2 carry gun, and I realized I was out of hair ties. Used my wife's scrunchy. It didn’t feel right.

 

[WVsig]

Gen 3 Glock 19

https://www.gunbroker.com/item/935225050

 

[L-2]

Post 142,
"USA" made Glocks aren't transferable (doesn't include private-party-transfers) by a Calif. FFL according to California's "roster". Also, 15-round mags also can't be transferred/sold to a "non-exempt" Calif. citizen. The FFL can keep, destroy, send-back, or refuse the entire deal with the buying party.

The OP might do better discussing things on the Calguns.net forum where folks are more knowledgeable of Calif. handgun-buying issues.

 

[Zendude]

The Beretta Px4 Storm looks like it’s on the list. If you like Da/sa triggers, the Px4 should be on your list.

 

[ProPhetiQ]

This may have been stated before, but please make sure you can operate all the controls (mag release, slide lock/release) with just your firing hand without "breaking"(changing) your active firing grip to do so.
.

 

[JTQ]

This may have been stated before, but please make sure you can operate all the controls (mag release, slide lock/release) with just your firing hand without "breaking"(changing) your active firing grip to do so.
.

Most people will be severely limited in the guns they will be able to use if that were the case.

For a different perspective, Shannon Smith doing mag changes with a G17

At the 2:05 mark, "there is basically no gun on the planet that I can reach the mag release on without shifting the gun in my hand."

At the 7:45 mark he explains that he uses his support hand thumb to release the slide with the slide lock lever.



An alternate way to look at this is the things you need to reach to make the gun fire should be within reach of your strong hand in a firing grip, such as the trigger and a manual safety on a single action auto, while the things that could foul the gun, such as inadvertently dropping a mag (the mag release), or locking the slide back with rounds in the gun (slide lock), are often better when positioned out of the reach of your strong hand in a shooting grip. The need to move your hand to get to those items to avoid the possibility of fouling your gun while shooting could be seen as an advantage.

Another point from Larry Vickers on not using the strong hand thumb (right hander) for slide stop manipulation at the 1:20 mark.

 

[Alllen Bundy]

....At the 2:05 mark, "there is basically no gun on the planet that I can reach the mag release on without shifting the gun in my hand.".....

This all depends upon your hands. I wasn't able to actuate the magazine release with my thumb on gun hand on my P365X unless I rotated the pistol in my grip. I extended the magazine release on my P365X to a more normal height and I no longer need to rotate the pistol in my hand or even need to break sight with my target in order to swap magazines. I practice magazines swaps with my eyes closed. I can easily release the magazine catch with my gun hand thumb without changing my grip.

 

[JTQ]

I wasn't able to actuate the magazine release with my thumb on gun hand on my P365X unless I rotated the pistol in my grip.

My point is, this should be expected for most people, with most guns.

The fact that one cannot reach the mag release, or slide stop, without shifting the gun in your hand (a righty) out of a shooting grip, is not a failure of the gun design or a failure of your hands. It is normal and most folks do this.

 

[aaaaa]

This all depends upon your hands. I wasn't able to actuate the magazine release with my thumb on gun hand on my P365X unless I rotated the pistol in my grip.

That is a good thing. You don't want the mag release where you might accidentally bump it during a gunfight. I recently tested out my new used Kel Tec P32 and it fired flawlessly (about 90 rounds) but I had one failure to feed caused by my bumping the mag release, which dropped the mag a quarter-inch or so.

 

[Alllen Bundy]

My point is, this should be expected for most people, with most guns. The fact that one cannot reach the mag release, or slide stop, without shifting the gun in your hand (a righty) out of a shooting grip, is not a failure of the gun design or a failure of your hands. It is normal and most folks do this.

I'd like to see a poll on how many people can't actuate the magazine release button without rotating the pistol in their hand). My guess is that it would mostly be women and men with small hands.

In the case of the Sig P365, the issue is that is uses an angled mag release button. I extended the mag release button to the NORMAL height and made the top flat instead of angled, such as that used on a P320, and that cured my problem. Enough people have an issue with the angled magazine release button on the P365 series that at least 2 companies make aftermarket extended release buttons that are flat and at normal height. That is a design issue in my book.

That is a good thing. You don't want the mag release where you might accidentally bump it during a gunfight. I recently tested out my new used Kel Tec P32 and it fired flawlessly (about 90 rounds) but I had one failure to feed caused by my bumping the mag release, which dropped the mag a quarter-inch or so.

I would agree with that. In the case of the P365 series, my thumb and fingers protect the magazine release button from being accidentally actuated.

I looked at a picture of a Kel Tec P32. It's mag release button is in nearly the same location as the P365. With your fingers wrapped around the pistol, how could the magazine release button get bumped? Or do you mean it was pressed by your finger or thumb?