Thread: Handgun Opinion/Advice

Hey everyone just joined up on this site. Can't believe how many people in Salem are on here.

I have never shot a gun before but have been wanting to for the past couple years. As for right now I am broke but come February I will be in the market for a handgun. After looking around a bit I am thinking about a S&W 22a or a Walther P22. they both seem like good starters.

would love to hear your input on choosing a first gun and getting started in the shooting world

Also I would like to learn as much as I can, if anyone in the salem area would like to take me shooting and give me advice I would appreciate it.
I am a quick study and extremely responsible.

I live on Hines st so I can throw a rock at 3 gun shops from my house haha.

Thanks guys Look forward to posting on here more

The P22 is a fun little pistol. Better suited for smaller hands, short barrel, and the women I've taken shooting say it is their favorite. For about $45 you can get a 1/2x28 thread adaptor and fake suppressor, and for about $125 a green laser to jazz it up a bit.

The GSG 1911 .22 would be a good choice also and would get you used to the controls and feel of a larger pistol (1911). Both are about the same price.

The best thing about .22s is that you can shoot them cheap and they are always fun.

Welcome to the forum!

I like the look and feel of the P22 but they can be finicky over ammo. I don't think you can go wrong with a Ruger Mark III or .22/45. You will never be sorry you have one in your collection.

Isn't there an indoor range somewhere around Salem that Brandon could go rent and try a few different handguns? Come on you folks from around that area should know of a place? Brandon, if you cant get something going there, send me a PM and we'll get together to pop a few primers, I'm an hour west of you. John.

I think that renting a few guns to try out is a great idea, but you can't go wrong with any Ruger .22, semi-auto or revolver.

Originally Posted by salmonriverjohn

Isn't there an indoor range somewhere around Salem that Brandon could go rent and try a few different handguns? Come on you folks from around that area should know of a place? Brandon, if you cant get something going there, send me a PM and we'll get together to pop a few primers, I'm an hour west of you. John.

The closest places are either in Lebanon or the Public Safety Training Center in Clackamas where you have to bring in your own gun in order to rent a gun. I'd guess that's to prove that you can legally own a gun.

Browning Buckmark would be my recommendation for a 22LR.

If anyone is a member of Four Corners Rod and Gun Club what is there policy on guests?

Personally I don’t care for rimfire autos, IMO the best 22 handguns are the Ruger Single-Six and older S&W K-22 masterpieces.

All-in-all though I do not believe adults need to start on a 22, consider a jumping to a Glock 19, 9mm is mild enough to learn on yet plenty enough to self-defense and it's hard to wrong with a 19. Also as a bonus, 22 conversion kits are available for Glock 9mm’s.

Just another angle.

IMHO, there is nothing wrong with getting a .22 as your first handgun. You're going to want one eventually, so you might as well start out with one. Besides, they're cheap to shoot, good practice, and fun.

I have a S&W 22A-1, so I can comment on that. Mine has been absolutely reliable and accurate through thousands of rounds. It has some pecularities, however. The grips are rather large for some people. The magazine release button is in the middle of the front strap, which bothers some people. There is a plastic recoil buffer inside that needs to be replaced periodically. The trigger is hinged such that it moves up and back more than other triggers, and lastly, the front sight on the less expensive models is not removable (without a grinder). That being said, it's very easy to take apart and clean, once you learn how to keep the slide from springing across the room, and accurate and reliable, as I've said.

My advice is to try before you buy.

That also applies to centerfire handguns. i grew up on John Browning designed pistols and so the Glock grips just feel 'wrong' to me. They're fine guns, but there are other pistols that feel better in my hand. See if you can rent or borrow a variety of pistols before you put down your cash.

9mm is about the cheapest centerfire ammunition you can buy over the counter, so that can be a good place to start also. For someone who's new to handguns and probably isn't going to want to 'tinker' right away, I would recommend buying from a company with good customer service, such as Ruger or Smith & Wesson. That being said, a good, inexpensive 9mm pistol I could recommend that you look at is a Ruger SR9C. They can be had for less than $400.00 locally and many people are happy with them.
Bersa also makes a well received 9mm, but I don't know about their customer service.
And by all means try a Glock. If you like their ergos, you can't hardly go wrong with one. Just don't start telling people how superior it is to what other people are shooting, it's annoying.

Good luck with you new obsession hobby!

.22 is a good caliber to start with if you're into learning, tinkering, and developing good shooting habits/muscle memory. It's not really suitable for carry or home defense, albeit i am a firm believer that any caliber/projectile will cause an absurd amount of pain and injury, as it's more of a plinking/range type of round. Hence the suggestion for the 9mm being the bridging caliber for range/carry usage. I had a beretta neos, ruger mark III, and the S&W 22a. The beretta and S&W are the most affordable option ~$200 and very reliable. Mind you the .22 lr round will have more failures due to the how many you shoot and how quickly it can dirty up your gun.

Personally, I recommend the Beretta Neos .22, got it used for $200, very accurate and fun to shoot. If you find a good deal on a Buckmark, I wouldn't hesitate to buy one of those, instead.

Never owned a Ruger .22, but quite a few people seem to adore them.

Best thing to do is go to a gun show and get your hands on as many as you can find, until you find something you really like.

I'd go with either the Ruger autos mentioned or a Browning Buckmark. However, if you don't have the cash for new you might look for a decent used High Standard. I restored a Duramatic for very little money and it shot great.

Originally Posted by Phillyfan

I'd go with either the Ruger autos mentioned or a Browning Buckmark. However, if you don't have the cash for new you might look for a decent used High Standard. I restored a Duramatic for very little money and it shot great.

OK, nix the High Standard. Just looked at the used prices, holy cow they've gone up!

Originally Posted by BrandonOR

If anyone is a member of Four Corners Rod and Gun Club what is there policy on guests?

I'm not a member, but a friend is and I've gone there with him several times. I think he's allowed two guest at a time.

I have or have had

Sig mosquito, p22, ruger mk2,mk3,and a smith 22a

I have had great luck with the rugers (and no they are not that hard to take apart and reassemble if you have a brain, two hands, and can read instructions).

my p22 works fine with all ammo as long as I do a little cleaning every couple hundred rounds but the grips are small, it's loud, and not real accurate (short barrel and sight radius).

my Sig worked fine through about 5000 rounds but last time I took it out it was having feed problems. Might be due for a recoil spring or it could have just been too cold outside

My smith 22a has always been picky about ammo it only seemed to like REM golds but it would jamb on the feed ramp every once and a while and I noticed that the ALUMINUM feed ramp had a gouge in it so I smoothed it out with a jewlers file and now the gun prefers federal bulk pack.... go figure

i second the suggestion for the Ruger 22/45s they are great. you can get them in many configurations to suit you, they are built really well shoot great and accurately. a .22 is a needed gun for new shooters and veterans alike. i have a .22 version of nearly every pistol i own. the training value i get from them is incredible you can shoot 500 rounds of .22 for the price of 50 center fire. that adds up to many more hours of trigger time. and everyone no matter how new or veteran to pistol shooting can use. that is one thing that we all should know, we can always get better.

I have a Walther P22, and Love it! It's a great gun to familiarize yourself with shooting, and won't break the bank. While you're learning to shoot, you can save up for another gun, if you like, for conceal/carry or home defense or whatever.

Originally Posted by titsonritz

Personally I don’t care for rimfire autos, IMO the best 22 handguns are the Ruger Single-Six and older S&W K-22 masterpieces.

All-in-all though I do not believe adults need to start on a 22, consider a jumping to a Glock 19, 9mm is mild enough to learn on yet plenty enough to self-defense and it's hard to wrong with a 19. Also as a bonus, 22 conversion kits are available for Glock 9mm’s.

Just another angle.

I took my niece to the range once.She was jumping at every shot.Worse when the big caliber went off.Everyone reacts different to gunfire.Using a 22 for the first gun kinda eases them into it. And I have ,exclusively used semi auto rimfires for some years now and haven't had enough problems with them to not use one for defense if I was in a bind.
My buckmark will hit anything man size I point it at out to about 30 yards,then I may have to start aiming.
I recently took the optics off to use on another gun and won't bother with them on this gun again.Very accurate

I also recommend the Ruger auto or revolver 22's. You will be able to master the basics of handgunning at a little over 3 cents per shot vs. a minimum of 20 cents per shot with the 9mm. Stay away from the Sig Mosquito as it seems to be only reliable with the more expensive CCI mini mags.

The quality of the Umarex P22 has improved during the past year, but they tend to be ammo-picky. You can't go wrong with a Ruger or Browning Mark series pistol. They arre reliable, accurate, wear like iron, and they'll still be working 50 years from now, or 75 years from now, when you decide to pass it along to your kids or grandkids. That's not necessarily true with the plastic pistols.