Go with 9mm. If you primarily target shoot, you will save alot of money over time shooting 9mm than anything else; and God forbid you need to use your gun in a defensive situation, trust me, whoever it is who is attacking you will not enjoy being the recepticle of a 9mm bullet.

These are some reliable brands that represent very good to excellent quality at a reasonable price (I consider $500-$800 the zone for reasonably priced high quality):
Beretta
FNH
CZ
Ruger
S&W
Springfield
Sig Sauer

(and, of course, there is Glock, on which I have zero input to provide). Another nice, underrated choice in a decent 9mm is the Armalite 24.
Good luck.

Thanks for your input! I will be looking at those brands and also seeing what my local gun store carries, maybe he'll let me try some out so I get feel of the brands.

Right, the Ruger SR9 and SR9c are excellent 9mm pistols for both experienced shooters and beginners. I have both and I love them both even though I prefer the .45 round. The Ruger SR40 and SR40c are also great guns. The Ruger SR series pistols are highly recommended.

Cool I'll have too check them out. I'm open to any caliber just not a .22, after shooting my dads I look at it as a toy compared to his others. I know guns aren't toys, it's a figure of speech.

How do you guys buy your guns? Meaning like online or at a store?

I got my guns from the local gun shops as well as from the online stores. Bud's Gun Shop and Davidson's are my 2 favorite online gun "stores". To purchase guns from an online store, you need to have a local FFL that does not charge too much for the transfers. My FFL guy charges $20 per transfer, some FFL's would charge as high as $80/transfer, some charge only $10-$15 so you will need to check around.

Davidson's has their local dealers in almost everywhere so the gun you order will go to their local dealer first.

Lol sorry but what is FFL?

Federal Firearms License/Licensee

Per US Federal gun laws, the online stores must ship the firearms to the FFL's (normally your local gun shops), not to you the buyer unless you're an FFL, then you will need to come to the FFL guy to pick up the gun(s) you purchase.

Ok cool thanks, I'll have to see what my local gun shop will charge to do that.

Yep, you will need to talk to your LGS to see how much they will charge per transfer and to ask them to email/fax a copy of their FFL to the online gun store before the online store can process your order.

The FFL guy charges you some money for the works they will need to do to transfer the gun to you: Filling out the ATF Form 4473, NICS Background Check and for using their FFL for the transfer. In Texas and other States, if you have the concealed handgun license, the FFL guy won't need to do the NICS BG check.

Nothing wrong in not wanting to kill animals....I hunted when I was younger, but just can't do it anymore.........for under $1000, you could get A Ruger SR9, and an SR40, and have money left over.......I'm a Beretta person myself, but after purchasing an SR40 for the wife, price point is good, and for the money, there a fine firearm.

How are SIG SP-2022?

Bertterabone, yea I'm fine with the hunting issue, I'm not a vegetarian or anything I just can't seem to kill animals lol, love them to much, hell you would see that if you seen the list of animals I have lol.

I got a chance to run up to one of my local gun shops but has to look fast cause gf had doc apt, I wanna go back to see a Ruger, I only got to look at a berreta, glock, and sig. So far I liked the sig the best then berretta, I'm not a glock guy I think lol. Never shot any brands but berretta though so I maybe wrong on the glock, I just held the gun and pulled trigger unloaded.

Take your time, check out as many firearms as you can..........I love my Beretta 96's....long barrel, ease of maintenance, I can change the mag release to the right hand side, shoot like a dream to me....so I was suprised, that I would also like a totally different animal like the SR40. Personally, I do not like Glock, because of the hand position, just me. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them, as long as they feel right to you.

Yea I'm going keep looking the shop I went to is real cool and wasn't caring at all on how long I will look or how many guns I want to see, real cool mom and pop shop. When I was there I did like the feeling of that one sig, nice and light, looked sharp to me. Berretta was nice as well, felt great, little heavier then sig but not to bad, and the glock was just blah to me. He also showed me a tauras the mock up of berretta but I wasn't liking that at all, grip was rough (yea you can change but first impressions are EVERYTHING) and it was way heavier then berretta. I'm going be going back again and also looking at another gun shop.

Keep in mind, the lighter the firearm, more recoil felt........

Great point didnt even think about that!

I make a point of handling firearms first, then I purchase them online.......my FFL is really good about transfers, and he's only a block away, so it's convenient for the both of us.....I have always come out better, price wise, getting firearms online, even with the transfer fees. I also always change out my recoil springs and guides. I replace with stainless guides and 2 lb. stronger spring. You will get arguments about whether this is necessary, but I do it for piece of mind. I don't like plastic guide rods, and a stronger spring will save on some wear and tear on your firearm, especially if your shooting heavier loads.

Yea I really wish I could try them out so I know how it is, the true feel for the gun, and everyone who I know that owns guns which are only 3 people do not have what I am looking at besides my father which he ownes a berretta and I did like that feeling, but would like to expereince other brands.

Originally Posted by EWC88

Yea I'm going keep looking the shop I went to is real cool and wasn't caring at all on how long I will look or how many guns I want to see, real cool mom and pop shop. When I was there I did like the feeling of that one sig, nice and light, looked sharp to me. Berretta was nice as well, felt great, little heavier then sig but not to bad, and the glock was just blah to me. He also showed me a tauras the mock up of berretta but I wasn't liking that at all, grip was rough (yea you can change but first impressions are EVERYTHING) and it was way heavier then berretta. I'm going be going back again and also looking at another gun shop.

You might want to find a local shooting range and see if they have the brands that you are interested in for rental. Therefore, you can actually shoot the firearms you want and make a sound decision on what feels right in your hand.

maddmexy, that is really smart, I didn't think of that at all. That shop I was actually at does have a indoor shooting range, I will have to call them to see if they have any rentals and which brands so I can give it a try!

my wife and I both have the ruger sr9c and we really like them I did what others are telling you go handle as many different guns as you can then narrow down the ones you really like and if you can shoot them for me I kept going back to the ruger but everybody is different it is what fits and feels best for you my next one is going to be a ruger sr22 then sr45 hopefully

A 22 is nice for cheap practice.

I subscribe to the John Wayne school on killing; "There are 2 reasons to kill, meat and survival".

I agree with bigplow, the SR9 and the SR9c are sweet shooters. But like others said, you need to try as many different guns in various calibers as you can to see which one works best for you. The SR9c is my EDC in the warm weather.