9mm or 40cal IF..
...
As far as "not getting this or that gun" as a first gun, that depends on, as mentioned, what is the need of the gun for..?
As was my case 3yrs ago, it was for HD/SD, as I knew once we lost our last German Shepherd, the wife couldn't handle the loss, again, for a while, so no dogs and the need for a handgun..
The following mentioned guns are in DA/SA format, the Beretta Px4's come in F models (with safety/decocker in one) or G models, which is what I have, and have decocker-only. Sigs have decocker-only, fyi, on DA/SA models.
It was between 9mm or 40cal, so I opted, by feel, price NIB (640.00) in my neck of the woods, and ease of disassembley, inspection, cleaning, and reassembly, between a Sig P226 9mm (940.00) or the much lighter (at the time..lol) Beretta Px4 40.
The Px4 won out on both natural grip feel, balance, point to aim vs the much heavier (then) P226 and 300 bucks more.
Took a private lesson, first, to learn how to handle, safely, my gun, shoot it correctly/safely and clean it.. 1.5hrs worth for 57 bucks. Soaked it up like a sponge..
Then took several more, advanced classes as time went by..
I think that is the key, taking a lesson from the very get-go, or a safety class, with "what gun the OP's needs are for" and within a budget that is good for him..
I can tell you that the Px4 shoots "very accurately" in both slow shots, or rapid, back on target follow-up shots and is very forgiving of recoil due to the rotating barrel effect, having some 9400 flawless rounds out mine over the years.
3 Sig P229's, almost the same size as the Px4 but are a tad smaller, were to follow, in 9mm and 40cal and the weight difference is negligible, now/then as one's hand, wrist, arm and, yep, back muscles, come on-line from time put in shooting and strengthen considerably.
Personally, I would recommend getting a 9mm IF he gets a Px4, that way he can be assured that the gun will shoot cleanly, comfortably, all year round, as some of the 40cals do develop trigger sting in cold weather (as in fall, winter) and the 9mm's do not..
The Sigs have no trigger talk (sting) problems in any weather and, like the Px4's, both offer, IMO, some of the best DA pulls that just get better and smoother per every 500 rounds shot and, clean, light SA pulls, out of the box, as opposed to what others may have felt.
Read below: **
** Guns that are NIB usually have little "lubrication" down in the trigger works, hammer, sear area from the factory (more like rust-preparative packing grease) and is why they can feel gritty, heavier, longer, and is the "main reason" when someone buys a NIB gun, to clean it, then add real lubrication to these areas, rails, guides, etc., and work-it-in using some snap-caps for dry-firing and practice loading, chambering, unloading, ones gun before hitting the range and better, making an appointment with a gun range for either a private lesson or group lesson from the get go.
And, or, if the OP goes Sig, 9mm, 40cal, 45cal, in either P229 or 226 in 9mm or 40cal or P220 or 220 Carry 45cal, IMO, he will not be disappointed, especially with a lesson and, for sure, far up the road (reliability wise) with such choice and the same for Beretta's Px4 9mm or *40cal - *with the warning, again, that some, not all, in 40cal, can develop cold weather trigger sting and 9mm's do not.
Either guns/makes mentioned are accurate, easy to dissasemble, inspect, clean, and reassemble "safely", a big plus, key, IMO.
Take the lesson immediately as:
Good habits last long and work, from the get-go
And if not:
Bad habits (start quick) and take a long time to break and can frustrate and even lead to false beliefs that one's gun is not accurate, jams a lot, not reliable, etc., etc. (when in fact they are not at fault, but user error is) and lead one to:
Buyer's remorse then takes over, via bad habits, whatever they may be or include.
OMMV,
Ls