First Handgun Advice

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jmclark339

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Joined
Jan 24, 2016
Messages
4
Location
Oklahoma City, OK
My 2015 tax refund will be coming in soon and I am ready to buy my first handgun. I am looking to buy a full sized .40 caliber handgun. As this will be my first handgun I intend to use it for range practice and home defense in the unfortunate event. I have plenty of experience with various rifles and shotguns and have shot several handguns at the range with friends on multiple occasions. I have shot several model .45's from 3" to 5.25", a 6" S&W 357 mag, and a .38 special. I had very little luck shooting the .45's. It was the first handgun I ever shot at the range and I had a difficult time even hitting the paper at 20-30 yards. The 357 was much more manageable, I could hit the paper and was able to fire some possibly lethal shots. The 357 was the most fun to shoot. I had absolutely no problem with the .38 special. It was a short barrel but was able to hit my target nearly every time. This all came from a total of 4 sessions at the gun range.

I have considered and handled several full size .40 caliber pistols and cannot for the life of me make up my mind. The main models I am currently considering are the S&W SD40VE ($319.99), S&W M&P .40 ($489.99/$499.99 depending on features), Beretta Px4 Storm Type F ($529.99), and Springfield XD(M) .40 ($599.99). Any of these guns are within my price range and would allow me to buy a decent amount of ammo for practice and pay for my carry license classes(Oklahoma concealed and open carry). I feel the Springfield is the best quality gun in my price range but is kinda pushing my budget. I do also like the palm safety on the Springfield. I have read and watched tons of reviews on the on the S&W SD40VE and M&P .40 and do not see a point in spending the extra ~$180 as the SD40VE seems to fit my hand well and the only relevant difference I can find is the replaceable backstraps. I have heard about the rotating barrel on the Beretta that is supposed to reduce recoil, which would be a great benefit in my situation, but I don't completely understand how this works.

I currently have no intentions of carrying this gun on a day to day basis. I intend for it to be primarily a range gun to practice with, home defense if need be, and maybe carry in the car while traveling. Any advice would be much appreciated.
 
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Glock 22 or M&P .40
Or better yet get a Glock 35 and an M&P .40 Pro and bring it out to shoot a match with us.
 
Welcome to the forum

If you are dead set on a .40 and are sure you will never carry it, get the biggest gun available. Glock 22 would be in your budget

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I'm not sure that I would never carry it but the primary purpose is practice

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Tech,
My federal income tax refund

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So I'll add the Glock 22 and 35 to my initial list. I just hadn't ran across the while shopping gun shops. I do like the longer barrel length for accuracy but this would make it more difficult to carry if I decided to.

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You should really be looking at 9mm. You are obviously budgeting closely, and you will be able to afford about 25-30% more practice with a 9mm. Get a XDm 5.25 in 9mm. It has everything. Buy a couple boxes of known-good self defense ammo, and run it to prove it works in your gun. Once you know it works, save the rest for defense and rotate it as time goes by. Do all your practice with cheap FMJ ball ammo.

Of the types of guns listed, you should steer toward proven guns. The S&W SDxxVE will either be just OK or a total piece of elephant dung, just like guns from Taurus. The Beretta Storm series are very good, but a slide mounted safety is not easy and fast, nor is it intuitive or natural to use. You want easy and fast.
 
I'm voting for the M&P Pro in 9mm. It has a better, smoother trigger than the glocks and you can get the Tehran Tactical mag extensions from our forum sponsors to bump it up to over 20 rounds per mag.
21 in .40, but not sure what 9mm capacity is.

Suprised you found the .45 unmanagable. I take new shooters to our range all the time, and my .45 is the one they really like to shoot.
 
I would second what Mitch said. I am a fan of 9mm for someones first handgun.

My vote would be for a Glock 17, Glock 19 or the M&P 9 Full Size.
 
With a little more practice I think I could have made some progress with the .45's. It wasn't that bad but it was one of the first times I had shot a handgun. I know the 9mm would be more manageable and cheaper in the long run but with some practice I think I could have gotten it down. I just feel the .40 is a good middle ground between the 9mm and the .45. The up front costs are more of a concern than the ammo cost in the long run for me.

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M&P all the way.
I've owned the SD40ve in the past and currently own 2 M&P's... there is definitely a difference between them other than price. Get the M&P.
 
jmclark339 said:
With a little more practice I think I could have made some progress with the .45's. It wasn't that bad but it was one of the first times I had shot a handgun. I know the 9mm would be more manageable and cheaper in the long run but with some practice I think I could have gotten it down. I just feel the .40 is a good middle ground between the 9mm and the .45. The up front costs are more of a concern than the ammo cost in the long run for me.

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9mm will be cheaper and with new bullet tech, probably just as effective as the .45 with more rounds available.

You can shoot somebody 20 times (been done before) and have them still attack you. Those 20 rounds weren't put into the proper place to stop the person.

Its where you put those rounds that count. I know you said its going to be a range gun, but you will quickly figure out that your favorite range gun might just be the one you want to carry to defend yourself.
Always think that range practice is practice for self defense.
Don't shoot at circular targets. Shoot at objects that have a human form. They found out in WWII that shooting at circular targets didn't work when those folks went to the field for the real thing.
 
I'm in on the 9mm, granted I have no 9mm pistols I have used in competition but hey the world is full of hypocrites. Get a XD with all the factory mag pouches and other gear that come with it. It has a good trigger, decent sights and the necessary gear to get your feet wet in competition. Otherwise, if you don't mind spending the coin get a M&P and send it to accurate iron and leave a blank check. You'll love it more than your wife hates it!
 
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I suggest you give the FN P40 a look, poly frame stainless upper, 14 rd. mag capacity and it comes with 3 mags. I have been carrying one for a few years andhardly notice it. Also I find it very accurate and has "eaten" all types of ammo. I have aprox 2000 rounds through it no FTF or FTE.
 
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