New Shooter -- Hello!

Hi all,

My name is Tim. I have always been fascinated by guns and decided to make the leap into the hobby. As a kid, I shot .22LR rifles and 12 gauge shotguns in the boy scouts, however, I've never fired a handgun, until this past weekend.

I just completed my NRA Pistol Basic course and had a blast. I see this as a hobby that I can enjoy in the winter (I'm generally scuba diving in the summers) or when I'm not underwater.

This weekend, I experienced shooting a single action and a double action revolver in .22LR (I have no interest in owning a revolver at this time) and a Smith & Wesson .357/.38 -- this was fun, but I preferred semi-autos. As far as semi auto's, I experienced the Ruger Mk.II, Walther P22, Glock 19 and Springfield XD9. I liked the P22 a lot, but found that I didn't like the feel of these guns because of the trigger safeties.

After class, the instructor let me try his Sig Sauer 1911 Tactical which I thoroughly enjoyed. I found the recoil of the .45 to be more tolerable on the heavy steel gun than the polymer 9mm.

Now, I still have some research to do before I go out and purchase (need to get my firearms ID card -- yay New Jersey!) and need to get my family more comfortable with the idea of having a handgun in the house -- properly locked up in a safe, of course.

I'm not interested in owning a gun for self defense, only for going to the range for target practice. Therefore, it will live in a safe until I leave for the range, and will get cleaned, and locked back up.

I'll probably get a .22 to start, and eventually a 9mm or .45 down the road.

Hi and welcome ...might want to go straight to a 9mm and try a Sig SP 2022 in 9mm....or get a Sig 1911 .45 as your instructor had and also a conversion kit to shoot the same gun in .22 lr make practice and range shooting cheap and fun and still gives you a .45 for other things...........JJ

taking what you said for target shooting and not self defense then get a RUGER mkiii
go to their web site and see the different models - they have in this line the 22/45 which has a grip angle the same as a 1911
they well a lot with the bull barrel
i have the 22/45 bull barrel and love the target shooting
until you get all the shots in a tight group stay with the 22 due to costs, then step up to a full size 9mm when you are ready. (examples glock 34, beretta 92fs, 1911 in 9mm)
the 9mm ammo is the cheapest to afford of all the center fired pistol ammo - and quite versitile in bullet types and energy
also subscribe to the NRA -

Welcome also from Jersey

Thanks for the input hideit! Unfortunately, I didn't like the Ruger at all... the trigger seemed extremely heavy and stiff, whereas the P22 felt much smoother.

My groups were pretty tight at about five yards off hand with the P22... actually, it sounds like I'm talking myself into my first purchase!

Now waiting for the paperwork :rolleyes:

Welcome from Oklahoma! Good luck in your gun hunt. Lots of great options out there in 9mm.

Steel-framed guns like the CZ 75B or the CZ 75 SP-01 make great range guns. They have fantastic ergonomics, great balance, are extremely accurate, offer a sweet DA/SA trigger and are typically less than $500.

http://i977.photobucket.com/albums/a...2012/grip5.jpg
My CZ 75 Compact

Welcome from Western Kentucky.