First handgun recommendations

[genexd]

I have a 9mm Springfield XD service. 4" model. Love that thing! I just goes and goes. fits my hand very well.

I did put a Talon grip cover on it, and makes a huge difference.



For the money, you can go wrong!

+1 for the xd9 4". Great gun and a great value for the price. I've put well over 2 thousand rounds through mine without a single issue.

 

[sgt23preston]

I have an XDM 40 & it's been very reliable & easy to strip clean & reassemble...

I also have a Stainless Springfield 1911 in 9mm & again it's been flawless...

Both guns are very accurate & completely reliable...

 

[501st]

Sounds like you are on the right track, and you've received some excellent advice in this thread already. This is why I like MDShooters so much, we 'police' ourselves; and you are way more likely to get straight shooting advice here than any place else.

I don't really have anything to add; maybe if you have a specific purpose for the handgun, that would help otherwise, I think you've chosen a great one.

Live long and prosper.


P.s. - 501st - I put your item in the mail today; sorry for the snow delay.

I'm not in a rush, don't worry about it.

 

[quattroginger]

damn. i passed the hunters exam online but now says i have to spend a whole day out for some field day. i got kids, no time for that lol.

 

[trickg]

First choice Glock 19, second Glock 17, and even though it is .45 ACP, you may want to test fire a Glock 21.

Boo. No glocks


I'll 3rd, 4th or whatever were up to now on the xdm. My first pistol and I Absolutely love it.

I recently watched a vid putting a 4th gen Glock through a torture test with some dirt and water. It handled the dirt ok, but utterly failed the dunk test. I mean, horribly. We're not talking after hundreds, or even dozens of rounds. This thing failed after something like 20 rounds or less.

I don't know if current Glocks are made differently, or if those guys just had a bum pistol or what the deal was, but I certainly wasn't impressed with what I saw.

I'd also get the XDM, or the XD at the very least, especially if it's just going to be a range toy. The ergos on the XDM are pretty nice.

Something else you might consider, if you are open to suggestion, is the Walther PPQ in 9mm. It has wonderful ergos (I have the P99, which is great, and the PPQ is supposed to be even more comfortable) and has a pretty loyal following.

 

[OrbitalEllipses]

If you are interested in the XDM, take a look also at the S&W M&P9. Great gun, affordable and unlike the XDM - Made in the good old USA

Comfy in the hand, but the M&P is a terrible gun. Pretty much requires a trigger job out of the box and I can't say the accuracy was anything worth mentioning in the one I purchased and then sold a year later.

 

[AKbythebay]

Comfy in the hand, but the M&P is a terrible gun. Pretty much requires a trigger job out of the box and I can't say the accuracy was anything worth mentioning in the one I purchased and then sold a year later.

Guess I was lucky then. I wouldn't say the trigger is fantastic, but I get great accuracy and zero jams. Easy to take apart and clean. I paid <$400 for it.

 

[Traveler]

I recently watched a vid putting a 4th gen Glock through a torture test with some dirt and water. It handled the dirt ok, but utterly failed the dunk test. I mean, horribly. We're not talking after hundreds, or even dozens of rounds. This thing failed after something like 20 rounds or less.

I don't know if current Glocks are made differently, or if those guys just had a bum pistol or what the deal was, but I certainly wasn't impressed with what I saw.

I can't tell if this is even serious. If you intend to abuse your firearm, get an AK.

Glock makes well respected, reliable firearms. You can feed it most any ammo, pull the trigger, and it goes bang, time after time. You can get parts for them everywhere if things get "interesting." They may not be sexy, but they just work.

 

[joppaj]

You're going to have to get some trigger time. For my money, the Glock 19 is the best of the plastic 9mm's. The grip angle on the XD seems entirely wrong to me, but that's what I'm used to I guess.

 

[protegeV]

You're going to have to get some trigger time. For my money, the Glock 19 is the best of the plastic 9mm's. The grip angle on the XD seems entirely wrong to me, but that's what I'm used to I guess.

Funny you should mention it, the horrible grip angle is my main gripe with glock

 

[itsatrap]

Walther ppqm2

 

[protegeV]

Comfy in the hand, but the M&P is a terrible gun. Pretty much requires a trigger job out of the box and I can't say the accuracy was anything worth mentioning in the one I purchased and then sold a year later.

I concur. When I was testing different handguns I tried an xdm and the m&p. The counter guy at the range raved about the m&p but I was not impressed at all. Went with the xdm, very happy about that.

Also, if you want to look into something a tad smaller, the hk vp9 is an AWESOME pistol

 

[Traveler]

Funny you should mention it, the horrible grip angle is my main gripe with glock

It's not the gun, it's your hand. You must be one of the Saxons.

 

[quattroginger]

upon further investigation it seems that the fingerprinting MUST be done after completion of license exam or you will waste $$$. Charles County just told me i can get it done, but i only have 72 hours to submit application online from when im fingerprinted. so at $50 i think i will wait till after my "field day".

 

[501st]

Comfy in the hand, but the M&P is a terrible gun. Pretty much requires a trigger job out of the box and I can't say the accuracy was anything worth mentioning in the one I purchased and then sold a year later.

You do realize S&W has been making continual improvements to the M&P, right?

The M&P pro series is pretty good.

 

[N00bSh00ter]

I love my Glock 19, but my wife has trouble limp-wristing it and stovepipes it. She's not had the same issue with any of the XD-series she's tried, but as always, YMMV. I have never had a single issue.

I love the Glock for its simplicity. Feed any ammo of your choice, pull the trigger, and bang. Over and over.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[Immersion]

Would either say Glock or XDm because of how easy they are to operate and maintain. Reliability on both are great imo, but you will have to try them for yourself to really know which feels better in YOUR hand.

A little food for thought, if you don't plan to do too much to the gun I would venture to say the XDm is going to be a little nicer out of the box.

However, if you plan to do some work to the gun later down the road (i.e. - trigger job, grip work, slide work, etc.), the Glock will have more options to further fine tune it to your preferences as you will discover the more you shoot.

Hope this helps.

 

[trickg]

^^ Yeah - as someone who doesn't really do aftermarket stuff to any of my guns (I have an entirely un-modded Ruger 10/22, for goodness sakes!) I wasn't thinking along those lines. If that is a consideration, it's tough to beat Glock - there's more aftermarket stuff out there than you can shake a stick at, and aftermarket mags are cheaper for Glock than pretty much anything else except for maybe a 1911.

 

[AlpineDude67]

I have two XDm pistols. One in 3.8 and one in 5.25. I don't believe I have had a single hang up with either gun - they are super reliable and very easy to clean. I didn't like the grip angle of the Glock as much so I went with the XDm. Springfield grips are more like the 1911 profile.

If you are a new pistol shooter there are a few things to keep in mind.

Bigger is better - everything else equal. Longer barrel makes the sight radius better and makes it easier to hit what you are aiming at.

Heavier is better - everything else equal. More weight equals more mass and mass reduces felt recoil.

The most common mistake new pistol shooters make is to assume a bigger gun will be harder to shoot effectively than a small one. The opposite is true.

A Glock or an XDm are relatively lightweight polymer guns and so they are never going to be as soft shooting as an all metal model gun of similar size and cartridge power. So I would try out a CZ75 and see how you like it versus the polymer wonders. I would not get a 1911 as your first handgun.

If you do end up with an XDm you may want to buy it from a dealer in a neighboring state and transfer it in. The XDm comes with several 19 round mags normally but you cannot get those mags transferred to you in Maryland. They are expensive if you have to replace them. If you buy out of state you can keep the mags and just transfer the gun into Md.

 

[EliteContent]

I love my Glock 19, but my wife has trouble limp-wristing it and stovepipes it. She's not had the same issue with any of the XD-series she's tried, but as always, YMMV. I have never had a single issue.

I love the Glock for its simplicity. Feed any ammo of your choice, pull the trigger, and bang. Over and over.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

"Your Wife" sure... you limp-wrister!