I hate shopping for a handgun. Real thread here.

Yes I mean the title. I'm absolutely despising shopping for a handgun. I figured first it would be my birthday present to myself, then I figured it would be my Christmas present to myself, now it's my New Years Resolution.

Just who the hell first decided it was a good idea to start building handguns that started out in one caliber, like the Taurus Pt92, and then make them in another (PT100, the .40 PT92)? Whoever he was he needs to be dropped in the middle of Nebraska because it's absolutely freezing there right now and it would ruin his thought processes.

I started out looking for a 9mm. Preferably something with fifteen round magazines, made from all metal, and a full-size pistol (5 inch barrel). Then along came the XD(M) in 9mm, so I thought, "plastics are okay! They make condoms out of the same stuff right? And those have saved me from trouble more than once." Then I found what I had considered a relic of the past, and to top it off it was going for nothing. I found a man selling a Sistema Colt pistol for just $300. So I widened my search, and after finding out that .45 ACP is nearly a dollar a cartridge depending on which store you walk into I went back to 9mm. By now the Taurus PT92 AND XD(M) I had been looking at were sold.

Just today I found a S&W M&P in 9mm, a Beretta CX4 in 9mm, and they were both $400. Right, this means I'm buying a 9mm you think? Wrong, because I went to the MVACA show today to find a Hungarian knock-off of the Browning Hi-Power for just $300 (LNIB!), and then an RIA 1911 in .45 for only $380! One ammunition seller their had target .45 ACP from Winchest for $25 a box of 100!

DAMNIT ALL TO HELL! :smt076 :smt076 :smt076 /end rant.

:smt033Look at it this way; Based on the rant, you're lucky you didn't come home with a small arsenal ( I might have.)

It appears the problem is you are shopping for ONE gun. If you shop until you find the least expensive gun instead of the gun you really want you will continue to hate rge experiance. Buy the one you want that feels good to you. Then get another one. Then get your third one.

It sounds like you hate spending money more then you hate shopping for a gun. You appear to constantly be shopping it's buying you aren't so good at

Good luck man buying a gun is fun really it is.

RCG

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Originally Posted by MLB

:smt033Look at it this way; Based on the rant, you're lucky you didn't come home with a small arsenal ( I might have.)

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Trust me, it's taken every last measure of my willpower not to have three or four pistols by now. But I'm a firm believer that if you spend enough time with one gun/car/computer/etc, eventually you'll learn it inside and out and at that time you'll be better with it than you would had you bought a second whatever.

Problem is I can't find the one gun for me. ARG.

I think this is similar to the problem I have except I like shopping......after the 9 came a 40 and now looking at revolvers. Who knows what I will "need" after it?

Something worth considering......

For a good number of .40 S&W caliber guns you can buy a conversion barrel to shoot .357sig but more importantly 9mm. The Lone Wolf 9mm conversion barrel for the Glock would be a good example. The plus to this is that it is easier to find ammo since you can shoot both.

I have a buying problem. Started my handgun experience buying an Beretta M9 then needed a .22 to plink with. Then realized I wanted to Conceal Carry and the M9 was too big. So, I bought a Kahr PM9. Now my wife wants a hand gun so I take her to the LGS and she picks out a Beretta 84 SS. I then discover the PM9 is a little big to carry during the summer so my wife purchases a Ruger LCP for me. Then Beretta comes out with a PX4sc and since I like Beretta's so well I get one of those.

Now my son wants his own to shoot with me and one I can pass on to him in his twenties. My wife and I get him a Springfield XD9sc. For the winter, my local gun range will only allow .22's with light loads and since my son has conveniently laid claim to the before mentioned .22 I need to have my own. I get a Kimber Rimfire .22.

In 4 years I end up with over 8 hand guns. I have a very good and shooting companion wife.:smt033

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Originally Posted by Hammerhead6814

Trust me, it's taken every last measure of my willpower not to have three or four pistols by now. But I'm a firm believer that if you spend enough time with one gun/car/computer/etc, eventually you'll learn it inside and out and at that time you'll be better with it than you would had you bought a second whatever.

Problem is I can't find the one gun for me. ARG.

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There is a giant difference in being better with it (what ever ..it ...is) then haveing the right it for the situation you need it for.

The reason they make big vehicles is to haul big stuff, the reason they make lttle ones is to run around and get good mileage. The reason they make super fast hi res computers is for gaming and complicated software, the reason the make 350 dollar laptops is for students to store pics and word process their papers. Knowing what you have, means knowing the limits and expectation. Knowing what is really important in your buying decision make what you buy easier.

From the list of guns you put up here, PT92's 1911's M&P's, High Power knock offs, all with a very reasonable price tag at the time. My advice is make a list of what is REALLY important to you then find the gun that has the most and the most closest to the top of your list and buy it. Look at a Bersa Hi Cap Thunder 9mm.....They are pretty good guns and don't cost much new.

RCG

Next save yourself the worry - buy them all.

Gun shopping is my favorite thing to do. But I will get an idea what I want to look for and I don't listen to counter jockeys that will tell you all kinds of mall ninja crap because this or that rep is running a contest to see who can sell the most brand X weapons.

Know what you are looking for, then go get it. That does not mean that you have to lock into one brand but you know what you are wanting the weapon for It's just a matter of finding the one that fits the bill for a price you can live with. Running around to a bunch of shops looking at this or that and comparing bells and whistles will drive you nuts.You just have to pull the trigger so to speak. Unless you are going to have jut one gun (I have no idea how people do that but I've heard stories/myths about these people), that's what your next purchase is for. The best fit in YOUR hand and a caliber you are comfortable with is all that matters. It wont matter what you get you will see something late that will catch your eye and the addiction will do the rest.:smt083

Have never seen 45acp in the St.Louis area near a dollar a round but I have seen prices that get pretty close to 50cents a round.