Like the title says, I want to try a new-to-me handgun. I have owned a handful of SIG pistols, P229's and a P220. I might consider a P226, but I'm not feeling it right now. I own a nice 1911, but it's a WWII issue pistol and mostly just a collectible. I own, and have owned a number of Glocks, compact and full size, 9mm and .40. I have the carry gun thing figured out. It's a Gen 4 Glock 19. I see no reason to change that, so let's leave "carry" out of the equation, and Glock while we're at it. I want to try something new.

I think what I'm looking for is a full-size pistol, maybe even a long slide. Not going to say 9mm only, but leaning heavily towards it. Probably DA/SA or SAO, no DAO. Striker... maybe. Budget? Uhhh... between $500 and say, $1,200 at most. Today, out of nowhere, I had the idea that a P30L would be just the ticket. Other days, I think I should own a Beretta 92 at least once. I know CZ and Walther make some fine pistols, but beyond that, I'm in the dark. There's plenty of other manufacturers I'm not thinking of right off the bat that I'd be open to.

What do you think? What's a pistol you really like that you'd put in someone's hand at the range and know they'd enjoy shooting? Something that's fun to shoot?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: P220 Smudge,

For your specifications and budget, I'd say a LTT Beretta 92 series with the trigger job will surely delight most anyone at the range.

In that category two pistols stand out in my opinion. Beretta 92 and CZ75. Specifically a LTT B92 or a CZ Shadow 2 or trigger job enhanced SP01.

The LTT or SP 01 excel all around. Great HD guns that you can take to any suitable match and not be lapped by better guns. (There are better match guns, Shadow 2 for instance, but you can be competitive). SP01 with a CGW trigger job (can easily do this yourself) makes for a hard to beat gun. All steel, heavy, not suitable for carry but good for anything else. One of my all times favorites. Enough that I bought a spare.

Consider the 10mm. Falls into your budget, lots of options and lots of ammo choices from plink to nuke. 10mm revolvers are a hoot.

How about an HK P2000 or a CZ 75 ?

quote:

Originally posted by longjohn:
How about an HK P2000

My boss has one, he's going to bring it in tomorrow for me to take a look at.

If you have big mitts, the P2000 might be problematic,at least it was for me. It had a great feel to it but gave me hammer bite. The USP is an amazing gun or maybe the USP compact

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
For your specifications and budget, I'd say a LTT Beretta 92 series with the trigger job will surely delight most anyone at the range.

I would also suggest the Beretta for a full size pistol. I own a 92FS and a 96 in .40 caliber.

How about a Beretta PX4?

CZ Accu-Shadow or Shadow 2 would be a great choice or in the HK line up the Expert is a great range gun.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
In that category two pistols stand out in my opinion. Beretta 92 and CZ75. Specifically a LTT B92 or a CZ Shadow 2 or trigger job enhanced SP01.

The LTT or SP 01 excel all around. Great HD guns that you can take to any suitable match and not be lapped by better guns. (There are better match guns, Shadow 2 for instance, but you can be competitive). SP01 with a CGW trigger job (can easily do this yourself) makes for a hard to beat gun. All steel, heavy, not suitable for carry but good for anything else. One of my all times favorites. Enough that I bought a spare.

Yeah this almost word for word. Either of those are fantastic guns that are different enough and also provide a great pride of ownership experience.

I love the HK P30 and the P2000 even more. HK pistols are my “shit happens” guns of choice but at the end of the day a P30/P2000 is just a plastic gun, with an “obsolete action” and a shitty trigger. I say that with love as I truly do love mine and they are a great go to war gun but I REALLY think you want the Beretta or CZ and they will make you smile.

The CZ P07 is a lot of fun. Accurate and reliable .

I have a Beretta 92 FS in INOX and I agree with you that you should own a Beretta at least once.

It is fun to shoot, reliable, accurate and damn near makes a pump shotgun “chack chack” sound when racking the slide.

It is a great bedside gun too. I keep a Mecgar 18(+1) in it and two Mecgar 20’s nearby.

What’s not to like?!

Everyone is different but I came to love CZ double actions about 13 or 14 years ago. I shot the P226 and P228 prior to this and I loved the anchor droppers duty weapons so much more than the 92F/M9. I'd definitely give a CZ a try if you like SIGs, but I will say they can use a trigger or at minimum a spring job. I'd like to try a Beretta LLT at some point so I haven't given up on them....yet.

You mention Walther but Walther only is making striker fired pistols, poly and steel frame, in compact full size pistols? There are some wonderful striker fired pistols for range use these days.

I adore my HK P30 and it is an exceptionally good shooter for me and just two easy spring changes improved the DA trigger pull dramatically while the SA trigger pull was always excellent out of the box but reset is very long if that matters and most would consider a metal frame better for range use due to the extra weight.

IMO hard to go wrong with a SIG P226, Beretta 92 series, or CZ 75 series - especially those with the steel frame.

From my experience most everyone loves shooting my CZ SP01 Shadow and I was stunned how well my wife, the new shooter, took to it blasting out the center of the target. I think it is a combination of the grip, the excellent 3.5LB SA trigger, the fiber optic front sight, and the heavy steel frame that contributed to her shooting it well. CZ 75 series grip seems to fit smaller/medium hands better that most my other pistols. I don't have a Beretta 92 series pistol yet so I can't comment on that though I tried a few briefly and had very positive results with it but it seems the grip might not be as well suited to smaller hands but I could be wrong as just going by memory.

Good luck in your quest.

I'm in the Beretta 92 camp, however I recently was in a similar situation.

I was in the market for some new carry guns. Didn't want anything striker fired or polymer. Been there, done that.. Did some homework and took a leap of faith on a S&W 4040PD and a 3914. I always heard claims they were damn fine compact carry guns, and I can confirm the rumors were true (in my opinion). I can only assume the same is true for the rest of the old school full size S&W line. I'm sorry I didn't give them a chance when they could be had for much less.

Good luck, and have fun with whatever you decide on.

quote:

Originally posted by grumpy1:
You mention Walther but Walther only is making striker fired pistols in compact full size pistols?

Oh, I assure you, it’s complete ignorance on my part.

I see people talk about the Q5 match and figured it might be in this league. I’m not completely opposed to striker-fired, I have a number of Glocks. Not really sure what I want, hence the thread.

Strikers: Walther PDP 5" full-size, Canik TP9 Elite Combat Executive. Excellent triggers on both, particularly this Canik. Silly long-winded name, though. Around $900 with a Gen2 Vortex Venom RDS, factory mounted. This one has become my favorite striker shooter. The PDP in 5" is also a mighty sweet shooter as well. I hadn't planned on picking one up but after a couple of hours of sampling the new Walthers, I discovered that I simply had to have one. I really like how well my 5" VP9 Tactical shoots as well; definite honorable mention. Another worth considering is the P320 X5 Legion; I like how its heft mellows out how it shoots.

DA/SA Hammer: like Q said, the LTT 92 with the trigger job. It's sold both ways, but without the Langdon trigger work it's just kind of a nice looking assembly of 'meh'. I wouldn't put a P30L in any factory trigger config up against that LTT. Customized trigger...maybe. Others: these days it would be hard to find a Shadow 2 at the upper end of your budget, but if you could come across one that too would be a superb way to get into one of today's better CZ pistols. Personally I think the Shadow 2 has a nicer trigger and more favorable balance than some of the slightly more expensive models ($1500-2000 ballpark) that come out of CZ Custom in Arizona, but YMMV.

quote:

Originally posted by P220 Smudge:

quote:

Originally posted by grumpy1:
You mention Walther but Walther only is making striker fired pistols in compact full size pistols?

Oh, I assure you, it’s complete ignorance on my part.

I see people talk about the Q5 match and figured it might be in this league. I’m not completely opposed to striker-fired, I have a number of Glocks. Not really sure what I want, hence the thread.

No problem!

Walther revamped their pistol lineup and the PDP is their latest offering in poly frame striker fired pistols and it is optics ready too. Comes with full size and compact frame and barrel lengths or 4, 4.5, and 5 inches.

Since you mention the Q5 match you may want to take a look at the optics ready Canik TP9SFX. Gets rave reviews and a lot like the Q5 match and lower price. I personally have no experience with Canik striker fired pistols but have read a lot of good things about them. I am tempted to get one of these myself as it would cost about $400 just to get a VP9L optics ready conversion slide for my VP9.

https://grabagun.com/century-arms-arms-27.html

Based upon your criteria, I concur with the LTT recommendation. It’s a great gun that’s an easy shooter..