Buying Your First Handgun

Thought this would be a good thread to post in, vise starting a new thread. I'm looking for a pistol for home defense/range shooting. Yesterday the girlfriend and I looked at some semi-automatic 9mm's. We didn't really look at the H&K's or the Sigs, because of the price, but we looked at the XD9, XDM9, and the Glock 19.

I was thinking 9mm for the price of ammunition, and being able to go to the range a couple weekends a month and put a couple hundred rounds down range to stay proficient. I know some say that a 9mm isn't sufficient stopping power, but I'm thinking a 9mm isn't going to just anger an intruder and not stop them with proceeding. I also think the 9 has a bearable amount of recoil to shoot regularly for the both of us.

Yesterday she and I went to the range and each put 25 rounds through a SA XD9, and a Glock 19.

The XD9 I thought was a better looking gun, and felt good in the hands, it was a little heavier than the glock, but to me felt a little more comfortable. I liked the feel of the XDM9 even better, but they didn't have one available for use at the range we were at. My grouping was surprisingly good with the XD, because I've never been a good shot (Shooting a Beretta 9mm for Job qualifications). The biggest gripe I had was that the slide would catch on the spent casings instead of ejecting them all the way. I don't know if I got a bad gun, or if I wasn't holding the grip safety correctly so the slide couldn't go back, but something was amiss and I'm now very uncomfortable to the thought of owning one of these. It happened to me probably once every 4 rounds and to my girlfriend a few times as well. It was easy to clear, by removing the magazine, and pulling the slide all the way back, the round feeding and the spent casing would fall out onto the shooting bench, and I'd reinsert the round and continue the course of fire. It's too bad, because I've heard a lot of good things about these guns and I really liked the way the 3.8" XDM9 felt in my hands.

The Glock 19 was lighter, and it was pretty comfortable in my hands, but didn't have the same feel as the XD. My girlfriend preferred this gun because it was lighter and had a smaller handgrip. The looks of the gun were quite utilitarian in comparison to the XD. It had a square slide and a molded polymer textured grip and nothing more. Even the Slide release and magazine release had absolutely nothing special about them. The sights were a little harder to adjust to than the XD, instead of aligning dots, I now had to place a dot in the middle of a field goal post. At first my grouping was terrible. I had to sight in or zero myself to this gun for about 10-15 rounds. After I got the hang of it, my grouping was much better, but it took a lot of adjusting on my part to shoot accurately. The plasticky magazine was a little skeptical at first, but after loading a few magazines I became comfortable with it, maybe even more-so than a full metal mag. The Glock had no hiccups firing whatsoever. After the trigger was pulled the round went downrange and it was ready to go again. My girlfriend and I both noticed we went through rounds much faster with the Glock, because of the ease of fire, before we knew it our magazine was empty, even after taking into account the jams with the XD.

The Marine Corps exchange didn't have a Glock 19 available the day we went, but the XD9 was selling for around $500 with two magazines and a holster. I should have asked for the price of the Glock, but I didn't, shame on me.

Is there any other semi-auto 9mm's I should take a look at, or would you recommend a different caliber for what I'm looking at purchasing? Thanks in advance.

Jake

 

Go for comfort and reliability and the biggest caliber that you are proficient with. For me that is a XD45c and more recently, a Kimber 1911.

 

Am I holding the XD wrong if the slide is jamming on casings?

 

That sounds like a limp-wristing problem.

 

The grip safety didn't protrude very much, and I didn't have a death grip on the gun because in the past I've compensated for the shot instead of letting the gun "surprise" me. I tried my best to get a good grip on the safety and hold it in throughout the shot, but I still got ejection problems and the casings would get stuck in the slide.

 

did the gun have excessive oiling? both my xdm45 and s&w40 will jam if i dont wipe off the excess oil before i shot. as i tend to clean the gun after firing and then i leave a bit of extra oil on it to protect while it sits.

try to shot an xd9,xd40s&w,and xd45acp to compare different calibers. It is not simple as one is bigger than the other and so it has a bigger boom and more stopping power. IMO the 45acp caliber has less recoil than a .40, and shoots best in the xd platform.

also in my area, .40s&W ammo is cheapest and often in stock. the .45 acp is not much more

good luck!

 

Glock normally has a Law Enforcement/Military discounted price for all their handguns. Might want to look into that if you are considering the Glock. I want to say it's around $350 if I remember correctly. Definitely under $500, but also I think they come with only 2 magazines.

 

Let's see... I assume you are Navy and I also assume you were shooting at Camp Allen since you were shopping at the MCX. I just transfered from Norfolk and when I was there I shot at Camp Allen often and am pretty familiar with it. The problem I had with multiple guns was improper cleaning or not frequent enough cleaning. Nothing against the place though, they just have alot of people in there shooting the rentals.

What you can do next time, is take the gun back, ask them for another and to clean the one you had in the mean time. Sometimes they'll even have another of the same type. They've got some great service there and you can't beat the price or the availability for military.

Also on another note, don't be afraid to shop at another gun shop, like the Armory, and tell them how much the MCX is selling it for. Usually they will hook you up with a military discount which can match or beat the MCX price even with taxes.

 

Next weekend my girlfriend has drill, but the weekend after we'll go back to the range and shoot a few different calibers to see what we're comfortable with, thanks for the advice.

Now that you say that, the XD was pretty wet when the slide was back, so it may have been overoiled, it was a range gun so the people cleaning it probably weren't too particular..

 

Wow you sure can put 2+2+2 together! Yes I am Navy (She's Army), and yes I was shooting at Camp Allen. Thanks for the advice I'll shop around, check out the Armory and Bob's and let them know about the MCX prices.

 

Do you have to get the gun from Glock themselves to get this?

 

It was a range rental? What ammo? It could be that the ejector/extractor needs to be cleaned. Hard to tell without field stripping it.

 

Yes it was a range rental at a range on a USMC base. Ammo was range provided and I'm not sure as to what it was exactly.

 

X2

 

I have alot of guns but no hang gun.. I am thinking about getting the Glock 23 for CC does anyone have exp. with this gun. or know a better deal?

 

It's tough to say what was wrong with the XD- could be a cleaning issue, could be you were limp wristing, or could be an ammunition problem. Regardless I think you'd find that your own gun, once you're accustomed to it, will be as reliable as you are with normal maintenance.
As for the magazine question, I was under the impression that leaving a mag loaded weakened the spring as well, but I was set straight by several gunsmiths.

 

this is what i use on my guns now...also my motorcycle chain also the lubricant repels dirt so your gun stays cleaner when carried day in and day out

 

thanks Rmodel65,

looks like good stuff. esp with teflon. I use some rem. dry spray if I am going to carry my hand gun. but I only do that when I hunt.

guess I just like a good coat of oil on things. a personal habit that does require a bit more work and mess sometimes. but i wouldnt suggest this if someone plans to need the gun in an emergency. the mossberg sits nice and dry, for that day i hope never comes.

anyone have good suggestions on an economical .45 double action?? I have no experience with double actions but want one bad. I have looked at a few springfields that look nice.

 

for your first pistol I would recommend a full size in a 9mm. It also does NOT need to be a premium brand like (HK or Sig). I highly recommend buying a Ruger P89 or P94 like $380 brand new, and very reliable.