New guy from St. Louis & Iowa..advice welcomed!

[SVTmike]

Hey people!

My name is Mike and I'm obviously a new guy. I just graduated college in Iowa and relocated to St. Louis for a job. I'm also new to the field of firearms. I've been lurking on the forum for the past month and have found a lot of helpful things so far! I am going to a range this week to shoot some damn guns for the first time but don't know what to expect at all.

I'm looking at hopefully purchasing a 9mm, 40 or 45ACP (sorry if my terminology is off, there are so many numbers and acronyms), but from what I've read the 45 should have more kick to it. The pistol will be for home defense, what do you guys recommend as far as brands? Any that I should definitely stay away from? I'm looking to spend no more than $500 out the door. I have a few friends with Taurus 24/7's and they like them. I also have a friend that swears by his Glock 22.

What would you recommend? Having never been introduced to guns I hope that I don't sound like a retard...it's just my car hobby is getting too damn expensive!

Mike

[bruce333]

Membership Confirmation

[Hiram25]

Hi Mike, welcome to the forum from Delaware.

You want a weapon that feels good in your hand, any of the major brands would be ok, Springfield Armory, Glock, Sig., etc. I have no experience with the Taurus's.

I planned to get a Glock 23, but when I got to the store the SA XD40 SC felt the best, so I went with it. I love this weapon.

Good luck with your hunt.

[Freedom1911]

Hi Mike.

Seems like Springfield, and Glock have been at the top of my buy list of late. And the great unknown, Bersa Thunder Hi Capacity 9mm pro.
I, personally had some bad times with Taurus, and lost hundreds of dollars on them. I wont buy them any more and would not keep one were it given to me. If you decide Taurus, be sure to do loads of research on the gun and find forums (not Taurus) that talk about Taurus (but not a Taurus Forum) and ask as many people what they think.

As for caliber, go 9mm for many reasons. Cost being a big one. and some articles on the quality of 9mm etc here http://firearmsforumcoali.motionsfor...r-ccw-t121.htm

Good luck.

[ken2925]

Welcome to the forum from SC! I have a Springfield XD 9mm sub-compact and I am very satisfied with this pistol. It is my primary CCW pistol. Have fun looking at all the models out there!

[cougartex]

Welcome from the great state of Texas.

Check out the Stoeger Cougar. Stoeger Industries is a subsidiary of Beretta. The Stoeger Cougars are made in Turkey using the same machinery that Beretta used to make the original Cougars. It is every bit the quality of the Beretta. The Stoeger 8000 in 9mm is identical to the Beretta Cougar L Type P (Cougar L slide, lighter barrel and beveled slide, but with a full-length magazine).

[Todd]

Welcome to the forum!

All members are required to be familiar with the Forum Guidelines , so please take a few minutes to review them if you have not done so already.

[VAMarine]

Welcome from Central Iowa!

[SVTmike]

Thanks for all the advice, and I think I should have completed the registration now!

So I went to the range today and shot a full size Glock 17 9mm and really loved it. I believe this is what I'm going to end up going with, since it felt really good. I still would like to shoot a SA and Bersa as well. I'll have to call around before I go to see if any ranges around me have the Stoeger, the small range I went to today didn't.