I see a lot of pistols having a "1911" model. What does this mean?

Originally Posted by bompa

For whatever my opinion is worth I believe a first gun should be a 22lr..Easy to shoot and cheap to shoot..You will not develop so many bad habits as you progress in proficiency..All considered a 22 is not the worst home defense gun either..A hit or two with a 22 is much more effective than a miss with a cannon..

If you shoot a cannon at me, I will be long gone before you can shoot it again. Boom!

Safety and bullet placement.

Caliber size means nothing if you can't hit the target.

Originally Posted by clawlan

I see a lot of pistols having a "1911" model. What does this mean?

John Moses Brownings design used by Colt It is the first semi-auto design to be adopted by the US military, The M-1911 .45 acp, the grand daddy of all auto pistols,plaigerized by many, bettered by none

If my two cent are worth any thing it's this. What are your needs and what do you want to spend. My breaking point is $600.00 period. If its 602 its to much. Are you looking for something to carry daily are you looking for a range gun, is it strictly home defense. These are important factors. Well I'll try addressing everything quickly. For range gun go with a 9mm with a minimum of a 4 inch barrel; for a daily life saver go with a .40cal of medium size for concealment. If it's home defense go with a .45 or a shotgun. Just go with a brand that has a reputable history. And be warned no matter how much you spend no matter how much the weapons praised it is possible to get a lemon. Trust me on that. My personal preference as of right now on the spot if you forced me to give you an answer would be A Taurus PT-92 or 99 which is the Beretta clone in either 9mm or .40cal. The forty is called PT101 or something don't quote me at that one. I'd go with the nine since it's carrys 17+1 but it's long 5 inch barrel isn't the easiest thing to hide. I haven't heard one complaint about the 9mm yet, I've heard a few bad comments about the forty. I've heard worst comments about the actual Beretta it's designed after.

Originally Posted by fattsgalore

If my two cent are worth any thing it's this. What are your needs and what do you want to spend. My breaking point is $600.00 period. If its 602 its to much. Are you looking for something to carry daily are you looking for a range gun, is it strictly home defense. These are important factors. Well I'll try addressing everything quickly. For range gun go with a 9mm with a minimum of a 4 inch barrel; for a daily life saver go with a .40cal of medium size for concealment. If it's home defense go with a .45 or a shotgun. Just go with a brand that has a reputable history. And be warned no matter how much you spend no matter how much the weapons praised it is possible to get a lemon. Trust me on that. My personal preference as of right now on the spot if you forced me to give you an answer would be A Taurus PT-92 or 99 which is the Beretta clone in either 9mm or .40cal. The forty is called PT101 or something don't quote me at that one. I'd go with the nine since it's carrys 17+1 but it's long 5 inch barrel isn't the easiest thing to hide. I haven't heard one complaint about the 9mm yet, I've heard a few bad comments about the forty. I've heard worst comments about the actual Beretta it's designed after.

wow, really like the taurus pistols, so many to choose from though...

See... now U will get more info to think about...

If u do some searches for Taurus on other forums, U'll get a mixed bag. Granted, all gun companies make some lemons. And, U tend to read more about the lemons, because people post more to complain, NOT to say good stuff.

But... I personally would never buy another Taurus (I used to own a Taurus 22). I have been reading some threads on other sites about their customer service, and some of the treatment people have gotten is maddeing. They also have a bad trackrecord w/ some of their earlier millenium models having defects, and they didn't deal with this in the best way. And, so many people post stories about problems w/ their revolver - problems that keep them using their new gun on their very 1st trip to the range - they gotta send them back first to get repaired or replaced before even using them (even I had to do this on my Taurus PT22 years ago)...

Granted, as I said before, many other brands get more than their share of complaints (Kimber and Keltec for example - and I will admit to prev owning a Kimber, and I currently own a Keltec). But, I wouldn't buy a Taurus anything, if it were me... Just like I wouldn't buy one of those Phillpine brands of 1911...

Now, the Taurus fans or free to flame me...

Just as a side comment: I think it's great that a person with little or no experience with handguns can come here for research and opinions as to what he or she might be happy with. I'm trying as much as possible to make my comments helpful to those people from an absolute beginner standpoint.

Anyways, this forum is great for that sort of thing.

alright, just got back from gander mountain (store) and talked with some people there a little bit. They recommended, and I liked, the Rugers. Said that they are built very well, easy to disassemble and are very affordable. The caveat to that meaning they may not be as accurate. But i think they might be a good starter pistol for me.

Originally Posted by clawlan

alright, just got back from gander mountain (store) and talked with some people there a little bit. They recommended, and I liked, the Rugers. Said that they are built very well, easy to disassemble and are very affordable. The caveat to that meaning they may not be as accurate. But i think they might be a good starter pistol for me.

Any of the Ruger P series are good guns. They are built like a tank and work every time. They may not have the classic lines of others like 1911, Browning High Power, or Sigs. but they are good guns.
A couple of other ones you might checkout are the CZ 75B and the FN FNP-9. The CZ is all steel and the FNP is a polymer frame gun. Both are fine weapons.

An excellent choice, I think. Let's hear what you think about it, after you've had a chance to pick one and play with it a bit.

There is a thread about the gun here:

P89