New to Handguns...Need advice.

[Virus27]

Hey all, been trolling for about a week before I decided to register yesterday.
I just recently got into guns, going to do the Firearms Safety Course next month (I'm in Canada)...my question is, what would be a good handgun to start practicing with? I am not interested in power for now, just the best (hardest) gun to aim so that when I pick up something else I know how to control it. To give you an analogy, I'd like to try the manual transmission of handguns before switching to automatic.

Best regards,
V27

[Ready]

Most sights are pretty much the same, it's just a matter of lining up the front sight post between the notch in the rear sight. A gun that I think requires more skill to shoot than say a Glock would be the 1911. They can be had relatively cheap, shoots a caliber that will teach you to control recoil, has external safeties and is DA/SA. The only downfall is ammo. price.

[Steven Mace]

V27, are you interested in a revolver or a pistol?

Steve Mace

P.S. - V27, welcome to The Guns Network! Hope to see more posts from you.

[Virus27]

V27, are you interested in a revolver or a pistol?

Steve Mace

P.S. - V27, welcome to The Guns Network! Hope to see more posts from you.

Hey Steve, thanks for the warm welcome.

I prefer pistols to revolvers.

P.S. Is it alright that I posted this in the maintenance section and not the general handguns section? Feel free to move this thread if it's not..

[Fred911]

I think a revolver is a natural choice for the first handgun. They are simple to load and operate. I love S&W revolvers and have found them to be flawless. You might want to look at an S&W 686....shoots either .38 or .357 so you can really make the gun go BOOM when you feel like it.

[gewehr44]

I always suggest starting with a .22 to begin with. Learn the basics of sight alignment, trigger squeeze, breath control without having to worry about recoil. The Ruger Mk II/III, Browning Buckmark, Walther P22 are all good entry level pistols.

[l921428x]

i agree also with a .22 or .22mag in learning something new you always
have to crawl before you walk. plus, .22 ammo is really cheap, you can probably
shoot a 4 to 1 ratio as far as cost. one other thing if you are married it may
be easier to convince your spouse to take a shot, with something that goes
pop rather something that goes BOOM! enjoy

[TakeFive]

I always suggest starting with a .22 to begin with. Learn the basics of sight alignment, trigger squeeze, breath control without having to worry about recoil. The Ruger Mk II/III, Browning Buckmark, Walther P22 are all good entry level pistols.
I agree with the .22 suggestion, but if you want manual, consider a Ruger Single Six convertible.

[thegundude]

IMHO, if you're an adult and you want to start shooting, get a 1911 style gun. Or anything other than a .22. Yes, they're cheap to shoot and have low recoil, but that's not what you were asking for.

Your primary criteria seems to be to have the ability to pick up an handgun and be able to shoot with it. The .22 will do you a disservice in that regard.

The 1911 will show every semi-autos basic functionality and the recoil of the .45 will make most others seem mild by comparison.

Again, just my humble opinion...

[deanimator]

I always suggest starting with a .22 to begin with. Learn the basics of sight alignment, trigger squeeze, breath control without having to worry about recoil. The Ruger Mk II/III, Browning Buckmark, Walther P22 are all good entry level pistols.
+1 on the Rugers. Most of the people I know who shoot NRA Conventional Pistol started out with a Ruger MKI or MkII, or at least used one at some point. They're very reasonably priced, very accurate, and with the right ammunition, very reliable. They're also durable as hell.

I bought mine just to plink with, then started shooting NRA bullseye pistol. It was good enough to get me to expert in our local league.