First pistol need some thoughts

Thanks for the birthday wishes. I've already accepted that whatever I get I am going to find things about it I dislike that will only become apparent after owning and carrying it. Fact of life. This is why I am not trying to to spend a bunch of money testing this and that and falling in love with something out of my price range. Stoeger and Canik both have good reputations not only for the quality at the price point but with their customer service after the sale. I probably will eventually also pick up the stoeger, but for the first buy I don't think I can do better than Canik for $350.

That gun looks like a solid deal for $350. I hear the trigger is pretty nice for factory as well. The only question is if you ever want to wade into optic waters. How much more is the TP9SFX?
 
That gun looks like a solid deal for $350. I hear the trigger is pretty nice for factory as well. The only question is if you ever want to wade into optic waters. How much more is the TP9SFX?
There is actually one for sale at a local shop for $500 new. That's a FULL size alright, looks to be a great range gun with that 5.2" barrel, and I have the body (aka i'm fat) to CC it. I could probably CC a .500 S&W with a 8.38" barrel. But that is just a bit too big for my desire for a do-it-all first gun. and it's $150 over what I'm willing to part with + 6.25% theft tax.

I would look at the TP9 Elite SC. It has a 3.6 barrel. Great firearm for the price.

I am staying away from subcompacts and micro compacts. A few regular compacts would fit the bill, but I want a good grip on whatever I get, with all 3 fingers on the dominant hand in complete contact with the firearm.
 
I would suggest you don’t get either of the 2 you are considering. Instead, get yourself a full size .22 like the Taurus TX22 or the Sig P322. Both can be had for $400 or less, brand new. Then you can learn to shoot inexpensively with rimfire ammo. You can focus on sight picture, trigger control, etc. and nail down the basics of becoming a better shooter without battling recoil or flinching.

Think of it this way, for every 100 rounds you practice with the.22 you are saving about $20 in ammo costs that you can save towards your next gun. By the time you go through just one case of 5000 rounds practicing, having a LOT of fun, and learning how to become a good shot, while working on gun handling skills that will easily translate to a decent 9mm pistol, you will have $1,000 saved in ammo costs that you can use to buy your next gun. By that time, you will have a very good idea about what you want and will make a more informed decision.

For the record, I’d recommend the Sig P322, but you can’t go wrong with either one.

Good luck.
So true. The first two or three times i fired 9mm (the first two or three times I ever fired handguns) I found it hard to control. I have not had the number of range sessions most others have had since, but now I don't even notice (at all) the recoil from a 365. Of course I still can't control a .22lr NAA.
 
IMHO the Canik has a much better trigger than the Glock right out of the box and is less money too. Brand-new Caniks are on the "roster" and are much more readily available at local gun shops than Glocks. The Canik is more or less a Glock "clone"; uses the same take-down scheme for cleaning as the Glock but the little takedown tabs are larger and easier to manipulate than the Glock. The TP9SF is a great pistol to start with. Too large for concealed carry so if you are looking for something smaller that you could carry I would suggest looking at an Sig Sauer P365XL, also very easy to obtain. I have put thousands of rounds through both guns with no problems.

Best of both worlds (target and carry) for me is a CZ 75 Compact or a CZ P01with the decocker. All steel, double action / single action, incredibly reliable with a great trigger. But CZs can be difficult to find and are considerably more expensive.
Yeah, a CZ is clearly not in the OP's price point.
 
I live in MA. I am not an LEO, so I cannot get a new glock. Which is why glock prices in MA are so silly.

edit: apparently this is not the case, just the deal with the fudd shop I went to.
In the past few years, Ive bought 3 new Glocks from the NES classifieds - a 43x, a Gen 5 Glock 19 MOS, and a Gen 5 Glock 34 MOS.

Yes, I paid the MA premium.

I’ve got a lot of experience with Glocks. I don’t have any experience with Canik or Stoeger. Of those two, I’ve heard good things about Canik and nothing about Stoeger.
 
Sounds like you already made up your mind, but I’ll put in another vote for the Canik. I’d carry a TP9 over a Glock any day. IMO the out of the box trigger is one of the best there is, the ergos are much better than a Glock, and the Warren blacked out rear/fiber optic front sights are perfect. A lot of guys pay extra for Glocks in MA, then pay even more to upgrade the trigger and sights.

And even after all of that, you can’t fix the ergos of a Glock. When I push my Canik (or CZ, or HK, or 1911….hell even my M&P) away from my body the sights naturally line up on the target without any adjustment. When I push out a Glock, the front sight points to the sky like an amorous dwarf, and I have to lower my wrist angle to get it on target. I’m sure I could train myself to naturally lower my wrists, but then I’d have to make the opposite adjustment for every other handgun, and Glocks are WAY too fugly to rope me into monogamy.
 
If I had to choose just one pistol, it would be the Canik. But if you want a pistol that works 100% of the time, has a million aftermarket accessories, one you can just throw in the dishwasher to clean, then just get a Glock. [mg]
 
On my 18th birthday I applied for a pistol permit. A week later I went out shopping for my first handgun. I ended up getting a used Ruger single six. A few weeks later I bought a Ruger Mark ll. I have no idea how many rounds I shot through those guns, but I definitely got some practice!

Skip forward 50 years and I still have the single six, my wife uses it as she just got her LTC a few years ago. Over the years I have gravitated to the 1911. I came home on leave in 1977 and bought a Colt Gold Cup. I still use that gun weekly, what a beautiful pistol.

Moral of the story is you don’t have to buy the latest and greatest. A decent .22 is cheap and fun, plus a good way to develop your shooting skills.
 
There is actually one for sale at a local shop for $500 new. That's a FULL size alright, looks to be a great range gun with that 5.2" barrel, and I have the body (aka i'm fat) to CC it. I could probably CC a .500 S&W with a 8.38" barrel. But that is just a bit too big for my desire for a do-it-all first gun. and it's $150 over what I'm willing to part with + 6.25% theft tax.



I am staying away from subcompacts and micro compacts. A few regular compacts would fit the bill, but I want a good grip on whatever I get, with all 3 fingers on the dominant hand in complete contact with the firearm.

Good note. I think I might have mentioned the wrong one, as you're right, the SFX is full sized. Maybe the TP9SF Elite? I think that has the optic cut on the compact. But I suppose that then blows out the budget, so maybe I'm just spinning wheels now.
 
Don't overthink it, just go buy the one you like. No regerts! You'll either love it, or know what you need to look for in your second pistol.

You're ahead of where I was (research/knowledge-wise) when I bought my first pistol - an FN 509 midsize. I have big hands and it doesn't quite fit. I ended up getting some 17rd mags (blocked out to 10) and little plastic grip extenders and it's better, but they don't seat as nicely as the short ones. Could I have picked a better first pistol? Yeah, for sure. Do I like it and still shoot it every week? Yep. Am I buying a better 4th pistol this month? Again, yes.
 
Good note. I think I might have mentioned the wrong one, as you're right, the SFX is full sized. Maybe the TP9SF Elite? I think that has the optic cut on the compact. But I suppose that then blows out the budget, so maybe I'm just spinning wheels now.
That is exactly what I am looking at. Courtesy of our classifieds, I'll be picking one up new for $350 with a spare mag and a holster.
 
That is exactly what I am looking at. Courtesy of our classifieds, I'll be picking one up new for $350 with a spare mag and a holster.
NES for the win! That looks like a slick pistol. Canik is good to on providing holsters, as they aren't quite yet at top level aftermarket support. Good grab.
 
Best of both worlds (target and carry) for me is a CZ 75 Compact or a CZ P01with the decocker. All steel, double action / single action, incredibly reliable with a great trigger.

I agree cz is a good gun but neither are single action and a p01 is an aluminum frame
 
The Canik is made for a medium size hand also, where you can get to the mag release with your thumb. The Glock is a little more blocky and not easy to get to the mag release.
 
Nothing wrong with a Canik... it's a good shooter with a great trigger for a low price. I don't own one, but I shot my friend's Canik and I was suitably impressed.
 
In the past few years, Ive bought 3 new Glocks from the NES classifieds - a 43x, a Gen 5 Glock 19 MOS, and a Gen 5 Glock 34 MOS.

Yes, I paid the MA premium.

I’ve got a lot of experience with Glocks. I don’t have any experience with Canik or Stoeger. Of those two, I’ve heard good things about Canik and nothing about Stoeger.

Why pay the MA premium?
 
If you’re patient you can get like new gen 4 gen 5 glocks in ma for $600 including mos versions. That is the going rate pretty much on line with taxes and transfer.
 
That is exactly what I am looking at. Courtesy of our classifieds, I'll be picking one up new for $350 with a spare mag and a holster.
Is there any reason you don’t want a .22 as your first handgun?

The fact that you seem to be on a tight budget implies that you will not be shooting all that much if you have to pay $30-35 for 100 rounds of 9mm.

It will take a few thousand rounds before you actually learn to shoot, and get good at it. 1,000 rounds of .22 is about $200 cheaper than 1,000 rounds of 9mm. While you are shooting all that rimfire ammo you will be saving a lot of money, getting a lot of practice, and also (most likely) getting to test fire other people’s guns to see what works best for you. It may be the Canik, or something else, but either way, money spent on a .22 pistol is very rarely wasted, and usually considered a very wise decision.
 
There’s a decent aftermarket support for Canick. Good luck finding holsters/mags/grip modules etc for a Stoeger. I’m sure it’s a fine sidearm tho.
 
A stock, un-f***ed-with Glock 19 Gen 3 or Gen 5 should be everyone's first handgun, period. You can buy them in MA for less than retail if you know where to go or buy one that is lightly used. Holster availability, availability of cheap mags and pre-ban mags, spare parts are cheap and easy to get and have on hand, etc. It is small enough to carry concealed but big enough to train and fight with, and it will last you a lifetime and then some. I can pretty much shoot and carry anything I want and I'd say at least 95% of the time I still grab one of my g19's for most things I need a handgun for. I have a couple of Canik pistols and they are definitely great for the money, but if you can only afford to buy yourself one handgun to do absolutely everything with and rely on, a Glock 19, Gen 3 or Gen 5, is the most sensible choice.

The Stoeger would not even be on the radar for me.
 
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Agree with above post but I like gen 4 better than gen 3. Have 3 g19s great do it all gun.
My gen 4 had significant unreliability issues initially. My Gen 5 is dead nuts reliable and has the best out of the box Glock trigger I’ve had, and I’ve owned Gem 1, Gen 2.5, Gen 3, Gen 4, and Gen 5 Glocks. My preferred Glocks are Gen 5, followed by Gen 3.
 
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