Which Pistol to get?

[peepsalot]

hmm i been thinking about getting a gun and going to shooting range. what would be a good starter gun? for like under250

Heh, I went to Cabelas recently and it made me want to buy a gun. I hadn't really considered getting one before that. I've gone to the shooting range a few times with one of my friends who own guns(we mostly shoot his yugoslovian assault rifle, 7.62 i think, don't know the exact model). I decided I'm only willing to pay about $200 for a gun though. Maybe I'd be better off with a pellet gun, lol.

 

[dominoy2k1]

hmm...been in houston since fri. guess i might try some gun shops this week and try to get something.

Heh, I went to Cabelas recently and it made me want to buy a gun. I hadn't really considered getting one before that. I've gone to the shooting range a few times with one of my friends who own guns(we mostly shoot his yugoslovian assault rifle, 7.62 i think, don't know the exact model). I decided I'm only willing to pay about $200 for a gun though. Maybe I'd be better off with a pellet gun, lol.

same here i went to the shooting range a while back and its pretty cool. its been a while though.

 

[DiscreetSpeed]

dude hit the gun shops for sure.

 

[SilverBulletES]

hmm i been thinking about getting a gun and going to shooting range. what would be a good starter gun? for like under250

A military surplus Bulgarian Makarov. They're available in every other gun store for $150. An extremely reliable and pointable gun. Basically a more simple version of a ~$500 Walther PPK.

The biggest downside is the 9x18mm ammo is hard to find and not cheap unless you buy it online in bulk. (Then it is cheap, but the surplus ammo is kind of dirty.) For that reason I'd look at a Bersa .380 which run about $200, a similar weapon to the Makarov but in a readily available cartridge. 380 is the bare minimum for self-defense but not that bad in the right load.

I would not buy one of the cheap 9mm pistols made in California. They suck, they jam and they are not worth your money. If you're going to buy a 9mm at least drop the extra 100 and get a CZ. As quality as any gun.

For $250 another great choice would be a used but not abused .38 Special or .357. Preferably S&W or Ruger. And Taurus are not bad.

 

[dominoy2k1]

both of those are revolvers right?

For $250 another great choice would be a used but not abused .38 Special or .357. Preferably S&W or Ruger. And Taurus are not bad.

 

[SilverBulletES]

both of those are revolvers right?

Yep. Double-action revolvers. You either have a long, heavy, deliberate, safe trigger pull or... you pull the hammer back and you have a tight short snappy one. Can't go wrong with the classics.

 

[stdntDrvr]

i bought my glock without a license. they did a quick background check (2-3 minutes)...if you have a license, there's no background check (at least in the state of GA)

 

[dominoy2k1]

damn that bersa 380 looks nice and seems to have alot of great reviews. i think thats what imma look for.

 

[stdntDrvr]

check pawn shops...you can usually snag a glock for $3-400...i should have gone that route, but mine was an impulse buy.

 

[dominoy2k1]

i just want something to start with and from the few mins i been reading the bersa seems to be a great choice. the other thing is i am limiting myself to 250max.

 

[SilverBulletES]

The Bersa is a very respectable pistol and something to keep forever. If you've Googled "Bersa 380" you'll find all the gun nuts have nothing but great things to say about them.

I'd look into one but I already got a similar-design Makarov for 100 bucks from a private sale. It's the rarer and higher quality East German vintage, I don't think the guy knew what it was b/c those go for as much as 300.

To get the Bersa for 200 or less (I've sen them for 170) you probably need to go to a gun show though.

 

[slayer4u]

I love my PPK and would love to get a P99. S&W makes a P99 imitation in .40cal. It's cheaper than the P99 too.

 

[AODfan]

Man so many choices, I guess Im just going to have to go to shop and see what feels best in my hand and what kind of deal I can get.

 

[YellowMP5]

sorry, wrong thead (deadhorse

 

[anarchistchiken]

I cant stand Glocks personally. My vote would be for the H&K USP. It's expensive, but there is no auto pistol I've found that is more fun to shoot.

Also try and find some shooting ranges around where you are and see if they offer gun rentals for the range. I would never want to buy a gun before firing it.

 

[Nutari]

I dislike all handguns.. im more of a rifle person...

my dad had something like this..

.50 caliber black powder rifle.. fun to play with cause you can put as little or as much powder as you want.. one hell of a kick.

 

[Roywhitep5]

http://www.hkdefense.us/pages/military-le/special%20applications/gmg.html

this looks pretty sweet. you never know when you'll need one

 

[slayer4u]

If you want the best gun in the whole wide world get an FN five seven. 5.7X28mm same as the P90. Will blow through 48 layers of kevlar pretty much rendering all affordable body armor useless. Armor piercing rounds are banned but the reg. ammo can do just as much damage. It will fire all 20 rounds under water. pour sand in it and it will fire. it is garenteed never to jam as long as you own the gun.you just can't beat belgian craftmanship.

 

[SilverBulletES]

I've shot and both, and for the price of H&K USP (don't get me wrong, it's a fine pistol worthy of Special Forces) I would definitely get this instead

I have the 9mm equivalent in blued non-stainless and quite love it. Would like its big brother in a .45 though. (glare)

 

[anarchistchiken]

Yeah Sig Sauer is definatyl one of my favorite companies. There guns are quite nice and for the price, it's damn near impossible to beat.