Help a beginer choose a good starting firearm

[rpm]

This thread has been pronounced dead.

[lazs2]

thanks guys... I'll have bettle post one for me.

guns are a lot like cars and houses... everyone has different needs and taste.   I think 2 handguns are the bare minimum.   One should be a revolver in .357 or .44 mag.    I would be tempted to make the other a .22 in either a revolver like the K22 masterpiece or a semi auto like my hi standard in .22  

If you only want one to be hip and modern... get the latest techno one and drag it out to show your friends once in a while.

If you only want it for self defense... get a good semi auto or revolver and take a good course and then practice... practice a lot more if you choose a semi auto.

I like my 30's vintage 1911... it is flashy and..... fun... chrome with ivory grips and those stupid early A1 sights...  To me... it would be less useful with triton night sights and wrap around rubber grips and a extended everything.  It would then just be a tool that wasn't as good as my .44's (for me).


but then... I drive cars that most would find uncomfortable and impractical and my ideal house would be two story with the entire lower story a garage and workshop.
lazs

[Airhead]

beetle, I went to Laz's house last week and he didn't shoot me. However, his toddler granddaughter kept playing with Laz's .45 but it was OK cause he had the safety on.

I did notice a dead cat across the street from his house tho.

[TPIguy]

but then... I drive cars that most would find uncomfortable and impractical and my ideal house would be two story with the entire lower story a garage and workshop.

Scary, that sounds just like me.

[beet1e]

Lazs, I got your email and answered it, but don't know if you've been able to create a link to your pic. So I'll post it here. Not sure if this is what you wanted in the first place...



Is that one at the bottom right a semi-auto? I'll take that one, now that you've explained to me how they work...

[Mini D]

Hey lazs... shouldn't that revolver with the ivory handle have its trigger guard cut off and tape over the trigger?

MiniD

[lazs2]

thanks beetle..

The high standard is a 1952 sportking that i learned on when i was 9.   it has probly 100,000 rounds through it easily.   A high quality 22 auto is a great handgun to have around to learn on and keep sharp on...  

The rugers are redhawks.. one stock in 7 1/2" and the other in a little less than 4".. both .44 mag.  These are very handy and versitile guns.   I can hit a 5 gallon bucket at 100 yards easily with the "pocket" 4".    

The .45 is for fun.  very reliable and accurate enough at 25 yards... a little weak on penetration but handy...  I mostly have it so that people who want to "shoot a .45" will have a chance to.  

deja... cutting away the front of the triggerguard is a bad idea.  the remaining guard will bend and jam the trigger... In chicago people wore gloves and a cutaway guard allowed them to get their finger on the trigger.   I don't go places that are cold.
lazs

[beet1e]

NP, lazs. But where's a picture of that 1911?  I want to know what one of those looks like.

[Mini D]

The 1911 is in the bottom right hand corner of the pic.

And Lazs... I don't need a lecture on functionality.  If you're going to have a gun that looks so much like a saturday night special, you should go all out.

I have a few thousand rounds of experience on a high standard too.  We used them in the AF for target competitions (.45 and 9mm for combat comptetition).  They were excellent as far as accuracy went, but I never liked the way the breech was layed out.  We'd get alot of rounds that would wedge between the clip and the breech because of that harsh edge and the soft lead.  It wasn't that often (about 1 out of 100), but it was often enough you'd notice it.  Of course, the ruger mk series suffered a bit more on the ejection (stovepiping) but chambered better.  Of course, in both cases, the mass produced aspect of the .22 round was more the culprit than anything else.

MiniD

[beet1e]

Hold on...  we're talking about five guns, but only four pictures. Lazs mentions 2 rugers (4" and 7½"), a .22 auto and a .45. But MiniD says the 1911 is in there. That's 5.

I thought the .22 would be the dark coloured one, the .45 at bottom right, and the .44 7" the one with the wooden handle, and the 4" ruger the top right.

Hell what do I know about guns. Good job I never need one.

[Mini D]

A "Colt Model 1911" is a .45 caliber pistol.

MiniD

[lazs2]

deja... yu probly shot the high standard 'miltary'  probly had an exposed hammer too... at any rate... the "sportking" pictured is different than most high standards (note the takedown latch under the barrel lug)   it has a different feed ramp and is utterly reliable with anything but hollow points.

I do need some explanation tho..  What is a "saturday night special"?   The 1911 I like to think of as a "mexican drug lord special" but it is merely an "honor guard" U.S. military 45 (they use the nickle plated ones) with iveory grips.

The ruger has the hammer despured so it wont catch on clothing and the ivory grips are the right shape and texture for me in a .44... the rubber grips are terrible... cause you to regrip every shot... bet they quit making em when people wise up..  Wood is good but smooth plastic or ivory stays cool and is more consistent.    Is that what you mean by "saturday night special"?

beetle... you got em right... if you show up I will let you try them all.
lazs

[Mini D]

Saturday night specials refer to .38s that usually have the trigger guard cut off with tape around the grip and trigger to prevent fingerprints.  Common gun of older gangs (more 50s-70s).  Its just the first thing I thought of when I saw that 4" gun with ivory handles.

I'll post a pic of my pistol collection when I get home.  Mine's not too disimilar... except no .45.  Though... I did anounce to my wife that 3 or 4 more guns were needed before I could call myself even remotely satisfied with my collection.  A 1911 was one of them.

MiniD

[lazs2]

deja... in the .30's it was common to cut the front of the trigger guard away on 1917 colt and smith .45 revolvers in the belief that it made them quicker to get into action... Mcgivern and many of the top oistoleros of the time all tried this with the end result as I have described.  

Oh.... I have a mint 1917 smith in .45 (takes full moon clips) and several other handguns.   Just thought that those pictured were good basic ones that most would enjoy owning and they cover about 90% of all the handgun needs I can think of.  
lazs

[beet1e]

OK, I admit - I'm confused by all this 1911/.45 stuff. Was 1911 the first year a particular model of .45 was produced? I remember in For a Fistful of Dollars/For a Few Dollars More, Clint had a .45. But this was way before 1911.

Hehe, me shoot of all those guns?   OK... I might have to bandage my wrist afterwards!