Best Pistols For Newbies

[Thaunk]

I've got a PPQ and love it. It needs a FO front sight for me to shoot it better, or maybe I just want one. It's the finest out of the box trigger I've found yet.

[optimator]

If very budget minded I like to reccomend the polymer eaa witness. You can get the 9mm model for under $300 and when they decide to make the move to an all steel gun they can keep their mags and pouches. Also you can build 21 round mags that fit the USPSA limited 140mm length for under $35 each!

I would have to agree with this. I have a steel full size Witness .45 that I've had for at least 15 years. I have no idea how many rounds I've put through it, but it just keeps chugging.

[Chutist]

Glock

Affordable

Runs with any ammo

Easy to care for

Mags are easy to get - standard cap or 10 rounders'

Aftermarket support

EASY to resell if they decide to "move up" to a 2011 or decide the sport isn't for them.

None of the other choices have it "all".

[gixxerjunky]

CZ P09

Would be my pistol for a new guy.

I don't have one but do have a P01, Shadow Custom, and a P07. The P09 will get you into any sport and leaves room to grow with enhancements when you want to tinker down the road.

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[SubOrbital]

The main issue at play here is the subtext of "what's good for a price a noobie can afford." Yeah, a 2011 would be a ballin' gun for a noobie, but spending that kind of money when you're only beginning would be a waste. A stock CZ-75 of some kind will be rather cheap and getting it massaged by CGW will be affordable. Will it cost more than a Glock, M&P, XDm? Yeah, but now you've got a semi-custom gun for the division of your choice for under $1K with very strong resale for when you outgrow it.

[Chutist]

I like the CZ guns and have owned one but...

at a 1k buck you are double a new Glock and 3 times a nice "Police Turn in" Glock.

"Strong Resale" is debatable... I've sold one CZ and several Glocks over the years. In my experience Glocks are VERY easy to resell.

I much prefer the trigger in the CZ and 2011 guns, but for a beginner? I haven't been persuaded that Glock isn't the answer...

[Majority1775]

Glocks are great starting pistols, be safe and have fun

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[Red Ryder]

Get a used (but unmodified) Glock 17 and ALL the ammo you can afford. The ammo cost far outweighs almost any gun you purchase. 10,000 rounds would be a great start.

After you are sure you got the bug, come back and we'll teach you how to reload your own ammo. Collect all the used range brass you can till then. Cheers!

Edited April 14, 2016 by Red Ryder

[Delta66]

I just started out and I'm shooting a Gen 4 Glock 34. I prefer Springfield but the Glock is easier to work on yourself and there are literally tons of accessories!

[Cole]

SIG P320 or PPQ.

[eern]

I like glocks for all the same reasons that have been listed. Definitely buy used and borrow equipment to find out what you like. Most of us (including myself) did not borrow equipment and just bought what we thought we would like. I know have multiple belts, holsters, and mag pouches.

[JD45]

A Glock 17 or 34. Those posts above explain it well

[petrojc]

I started with a G22 so I could should USPSA limited or production and also compete in the GSSF matches. I soon fell out of love with it and moved to a CZ 75 for production and Witness Match Elite for limited. GSSF was shot with a borrowed gun. The steel guns with hammers and better triggers are much easier for me to shoot accurately in a hurry.

[perttime]

Maybe I'm just lucky but the trigger on my old, completely stock, G19 is pretty nice. No creep or mush and a clear release.

[Audioman]

Glock is a great starting pistol.

[bradsteimel]

To get a new person into the sport, i'd def recommend a polymer gun to keep the startup costs down. After they are hooked, let them decide what kind of a shooting budget they want to afford. I would just feel bad if i recommended a top of the line gun to a new shooter who ended up not sticking with the sport.

[leam]

Mind if I disagree a little bit? All of the guns listed are great to start out with and can carry a new shooter well into the sport. The issue isn't the gun.

Pretty much anyone can take any of those guns and do a slow fire A zone hit every time. If they can't, well, just a little practice time should fix that. The issue is speed, and that is mostly determined by gun to person fit. How does that gun fit into that person's hand? If they have an option, suggest they shoot as many of the listed as possible. I did over half a dozen before finding the one that fit me and actually made me shoot better. I managed to by it on my wife's birthday and got no grief because I had been working the process for weeks.

The second issue is love. Having fun means doing enough practice to get over the initial clumsies and Mikes. It is a lot easier to do that with a gun you want to shoot than the one you're supposed to shoot.

[IronArcher]

Being new to the sport, I went deep end and got a Tanfoglio Limited Pro....looking back, I'm glad I didn't get a "beginner" gun.
Things I like about the Lim Pro:
IDPA SSP/ESP legal

USPSA Production/ Limited/ L10 etc legal
Choice of starting DA (SSP/Prod) or SA (ESP/Limited)
Easy to switch to .40 for Major scoring
Very good trigger
Enough support that hot rod parts are easily available....as long as you know where to look.

Fits my XXL hands
Heavy as can be and still be legal for every class I want to shoot

HUGE thumb rest safety
Adjustable sights
Mags are very inexpensive (At least from Benstoegerproshop.com)
Lots of really good shooters shoot them.(wealth of knowledge)
Chrome steel looks (and acts) like crazy hard stainless.
Easy to work on (for beginner, you don't have to pull the trigger to clean the gun)

VERY accurate

Big mag release
Big mag well
Big beaver tail (impossible to get slide bite)
Very low recoil rise (barrel axis is very low)

It attocycles on slide lock reloads
It eliminates an excuse for me to suck (It ain't the gun)

I don't get "gun envy"...not even looking at another gun right now. I KNOW I would be looking at other guns if I didn't have something on the same level as the Lim Pro.
More that I am not thinking of right now

Things I don't like about the Lim Pro:
It wasn't cheap (and I got a smoking deal on mine BSPS sells them pretty cheap as well)
You have to know where to look for hot rod parts
Would love the cone lock up barrel like the Stock II (But that would make it a no go for anything IDPA)

It doesn't like some cheap ammo (Blazer Brass, price you pay for accuracy I guess (tight fit BB has extraction issues)

Edited May 22, 2016 by IronArcher

[SanduneCC]

I play with Glock exclusively because they're my defensive pistols.

[gunsngeeks]

I agree with the Glock recommendation. Cheap prices, great reliability, and a myriad of upgrade possibilities.

Your Glock 35 recommendation makes a lot of sense. Or a Glock 34 if they don't like .40. Local matches probably wouldn't enforce the "no conversion barrels" rule if you wanted to run a .40->9mm conversion barrel in the 35 to make it a 34, but like you said, downloaded .40s would run fine in production div.

You can shoo the 35 in almost all divisions competitively. (obviously not revolver or SS). But to start off, a G35 in Limited-10 or production is great.

[Schultztec]

I am new and I shoot a g17

[Schultztec]

On August 9, 2014 at 4:42 PM, armydad said:

My buddy has a Glock 35 and a 9mm barrel for an easy conversion. It's a fairly inexpensive option and super reliable, while offering great flexibility. I definitely agree that people new to shooting should begin by shooting anything they can get their hands on before buying a gun. My experience has been that most people in this sport are happy to let other people shoot their guns. And mgardner nailed it with the top 3 guns and all would do well for most shooters. I've graduated from a Glock 34 to a Glock 35 and recently purchased an STI Executive. I'm totally hooked on the 1911 platform. My learning curve in this sport has been expensive, mostly because I get impatient, but then again, you can never have too many guns!

+1

[superluckycat]

On 4/13/2016 at 8:45 PM, Red Ryder said:

This what I did.  Already had the G17 though.  It will take you as far as you want to go.  Holsters and mag pouches are cheap and plentiful and damn thing just runs!

 

Get a used (but unmodified) Glock 17 and ALL the ammo you can afford. The ammo cost far outweighs almost any gun you purchase. 10,000 rounds would be a great start.

After you are sure you got the bug, come back and we'll teach you how to reload your own ammo. Collect all the used range brass you can till then. Cheers!

 

[Kletus]

I've repeatedly put my G34, PPQ, xdm 5.25, and Cz shadow target up against each other.  For me the 5" PPQ wins every time.

The Cz has a custom shop trigger job.  Xdm has prp.  G34 has zanek.  PPQ is stock except for a reduced power trigger return spring.  3.25 lb pull.  Some take up, but you hit a defined wall and it breaks like glass.  Reset is minute.  Zero creep.

ppq and Cz are equal on accuracy,  xdm's is next, then g34.

ive tried most, and I think that the 5" PPQ is by far the best out of the box production gun.  You may want to change sights and a $6 spring, but you can compete out of the box.

The downside to the PPQ is limited in ammo capacity if you decide you want to shoot limited class.  Aftermarket parts like mag extensions and maxwells are slowly coming to market, but in the end the PPQ is limited to 21 in 9mm and I think 18 in .40 with 140mm mags.  

The xdm is 24/ 20 or 21, and has tons of aftermarket support.  It also has a very nice trigger after a prp kit is installed.

I LOVE my PPQ, but the xdm is a more upgrade able package if you think you will need the mag capacity down the road.

[Kletus]

By the way....

 

Ive fed the 9mm PPQ every type of ammo you can imagine.  Not the first hiccup, even after several hundred rounds without cleaning.  I'm probably around 4K rounds through it total.