New and have some Questions for you guys

Alright I am new to the forum and new to the semi-auto handgun world, and I need some advise on picking out a new pistol (or two). Right now I only have a .38 S&W revolver with a 3" barrel, I bring it with me on hunts, took my CC class with it, and either have it on me or in the house the rest of the time as my CC or home deffence gun. Its a nice little piece and does the job, but I want something new. I have gone down to a few gun shops looking held a few, shot a few and nothing is really standing out to me. I liked the look and feel of the Taurus PT24/7 G2 but was not a fan of the trigger pull, it had such a long pull before it would fire and I am not a fan of that. I also looked at the Springfield XDM and although it shot great, it did not feel comfortable and the particular one I was shooting did was not ambidextrious and being a south paw I need that. So far the only gun I have really liked has been my fathers Kimber, it has a real short travel on the trigger and only a 4lb pull. I'd gladly pick one up but I am pretty sure my wife will shoot me with it if I go out and spend a little over a grand to get something like he has.

So here is what I am after, I want something that is easy to use, easy to pull apart to clean, it needs to ambidextrious, I would like it to have a short travel light pull trigger. I shoot my guns so I want it to be something I can take out to the range for an afternoon and plink with my friends, it does not need to be a CC gun and not a pocket gun. It will basically be replacing my .38 while I am out hunting and will be in the house the rest of the time so I can keep my .38 in my vehicle.

Right now I am leaning towards a Walther PPQ .40cal, I have been looking at it for a while now, the trigger system looks very clean and very easy but I havent had any hands on time with it as of yet. If I can get it for the right price I also wouldnt mind picking up a Walther P22 for a plinking/play gun while out on the range so it doesnt brake the bank in ammo. If anyone has any experience with either of those two please let me know your thoughts on them. If you guys would also like to suggest a few that I might want to look into that fits what I am after post up. I am not against going up to a .45 either, I have a friend that reloads them for dirt cheap so if there is a good .45 out there that fits I can take a look into it as well.

Again I am new to this side of the firearms, I genrally stick to rifles and shotguns, so I do not know what out there thats good or not so good or what to avoid.

The P22 is a great gun to plink with, but a little tricky to get back together. At least the recoil guide rod anyway. I like using CCI MiniMags in mine, and actually use CCI Stingers for an emergency self defense gun. If you like the .40 S&W cartridge, you might want to consider a Glock 23 in your short list. Simple to operate and clean, and dead reliable and accurate. The Glock 22 is the full size in that caliber, and the Glock 27 is the sub compact. Their trigger pulls average around 5.5 pounds. JMHO.

From what I have read about the glocks is people either love them or hate them or hate them and learn to tolerate them, I'll take a look at them next time I'm out though

And I'm not stuck on the .40 S&W round either, I'd have no issues going with a .45 round either if the price and feel of the gun is right.

Welcome to the forum from the great state of shooting s**t alabama

Welcome to the forum ... I think you'll like it here :mrgreen:

I suggest that you get a 9 mm first and a automatic first.

I then think that you try both striker fired guns & hammer fired guns ( they do shoot differently).

I'd also suggest that you handle & rent / steal / borrow the guns that make you're "final cut" list.

Then I'd suggest that you buy a used "quality" gun before you buy a new "cheaper" gun.

Good high quality guns hammer fired guns are Sig Sauer / Beretta / Older S&W's / Browning / CZ's and others.

Good high quality striker fired guns are Springfield Armory / S&W M&P Series / Glock's and others.

I'm sure I've left our other high quality guns like Kimber / Colt and many more :rolleyes:

Good luck in your search .. searching is a lot of fun..

:smt1099

Most feel one of the greatest attributes of an XDm is ergonomics so, I'm a little curious as to why you found it uncomfortable. Also, the XDm has an ambidextrous mag release. What did you not find suitable for a lefty? The PPQ is a nice gun as is the P99 Walther. M & P's are nice as well. I'm not a big fan of Kimber, they are expensive and reliability is questionable IMO. If you want a premium pistol SIG's or HK's offer better reliability...again that's my experience. Lots of 1911's are out there. S & W, SIG, Springfield and now Ruger is in the 1911 game. If you're set on a 1911( I assume your Dad's gun is a 1911) I'd research it carefully...they can be a beast if you get one that doesn't function properly with a manufacturer that doesn't stand by their product.