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400 to spend for first gun

Sigma

Hey Buddy

I am in the same boat. Wanted Champagne on a beer budget. I actually found a brand new S&w Sigma 9 two tone for 350 at Collector gallery in Stoneham. Kinda far from you but they are out there if you look in enough gun shops. Just a thought. I love it though.
 
THANKS

Thanks to all for the advice...as far as the s&w 357 revolver..isnt that a lot for a first gun? being new i know little about "kick" but seems a 357 mag might be hard to hold on to and aim for a nubie...am i wrong?
 
I picked up a S&W 5946 (9mm) in excellent shape for $425. Its my main carry gun.

However, I ALWAYS bring my .22 handgun to the range. For the price/availability of ammo you can't beat it. Most shops have more than a handfull of .22 handguns in the price range you're looking at.
 
38+p?

didnt realise you can shoot 357 or 38 plus in 357 mag? why is that? i assume shells are same size?
 
The .38 Special case is shorter than the .357 mag, but the same diameter. The bullets themselves are the same diameter. You can shoot .38 out of a .357 but not vise versa.
 
The people urging a 22 for your first gun are absolutely right.

That said, I've noticed in this thread that no one mentioned Taurus firearms as a centerfire possibility and was wondering why. Not sold in MA?

We sell a fair number of them over here in NY. Good quality, lifetime warranty, and fairly low prices thanks to cheaper foreign labor.

Regards
John
 
Taurus is to firearms what Kia is to cars. They're cheap and they'll run for a while but try to find one police department, military unit, tactical team or even security company that uses them.
 
I might suggest Walther p-22. Get used to carring and practicing with a well built and inexpensive .22.I'm biased because I like all things Walther.But if your going 9mm save up an extra 100 bucks,and buy a brand new M&P. You're probally "Itchin'" go go buy something.Don't make the mistake of buying Taurus or similar crap, you don't want to look back in a week and say "WTF was I thinking!"
 
I would suggest a M&P 9 or 40. Easily found used for $400. Also, Sigma 9 or 40 could be found for $350 ish. I would also agree a wheel gun in .357 is a good choice. You have the ability to shoot two types of rounds through it. I would suggest a Ruger. I have seen several used for $350 in recent times. Good luck with your search.
 
Homebrew said:
I love my Ruger P95 in 9mm, got it at Kittery Trading Post brand new for $385.
Click to expand...

I have a Ruger P89 that I got for $300, slightly used. Shoots nicely. (Take-down of it for cleaning sucks though.) That was a few years ago, not sure if the price on those has gone up much.
 
Another vote for buying a .22 first. My first gun was NOT a .22 and that was a big mistake. I was thinking of a 9mm at the time, but my friend insisted it wasn't powerful enough (wrong) and convinced me to go with a .40 (Sig P239). Not knowing any better back then, I went with it. I only went to the range in Manchester every 6 months or so, and I never got any better at the thing... put an 18" high silhouette target 15 feet in front of me, and I'd be lucky if I could hit anywhere on the paper reliably, let alone get a nice group. All that really did was teach me to anticipate the recoil and move the gun before it actually fired. And, made me not eager to go to the range.

I later got my first 9mm. That was better but still not a whole lot better.

Later I got a Ruger MKIII, went to the range frequently and put thousands of rounds through it. Got so I could make small groups with it at a good distance. I didn't touch my 9mm once for months until I was very comfortable with the MKIII. Then, when I did pick up the 9mm again, I could easily get good groups with it.
 
My first was the S&W 22a. Great gun got it used for $230 added a cleaning kit and an extra magazine and a brick of 22lr's and didn't go over $300 Me and my son got to the indoor range and can shoot 500 rounds for 20 bucks.
 
If you are on a budget and not looking for a tiny pocket gun get a 9mm. Even with Walmart white box you are looking at $0.32 a round for .380ACP vs $0.20 a round for 9mm.
 
If you want something for defense use right away, then yea, a 9mm may be what you want. If you want something to learn and practice your shooting with, and aren't in a hurry to get something to use for self defense, then get a .22 . I have a Ruger MarkIII that works well, will be in your price range, and is cheap to shoot.
I also agree with the recommendations to check out a Ruger revolver in .357, and shoot .38 special in it at first. Something with a 4" barrel will be pretty mild with .38 special, but you'll run into cost issues again with the crazy ammo situation lately.
 
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a SW sigma was my first and still never had an issue .....that was over 10 years ago....cheap but reliable...trigger sucks though
 

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