So to start off with, forget you own any firearms at all.

You're going to buy your first handgun, you want to run it exclusively as it is your one and only gun.

Then you start your research going through all the brands, reviews, etc.

Hopefully you try some guns before you buy at a local range and look at who has recalls.

Look for where you can buy accessories, holsters, spare parts, the availability of ammo for the caliber you wanna chose.

Weather in your local area can that affect which gun you buy and how it runs.

So after all this complicated thoughts... you narrowed it down. Several thing run through your mind.



320's great gun and feel amazing in your hand, but they have had one recall so far.

320 Xcarry, cant press check the gun because it won't go back in to battery without pushing the slide forward with your thumb.

Glock's angle sucks, but they are carried by many police departments

FN509, the texturing is way too aggressive.

HK P30 nice but expensive in comparison, and if you need accessories are you going to find them locally or will you need to order it online.

CZ P10c, wasn't comfortable.


Steel framed handguns are really cold when it is 5 degrees out, even worse when it is freezing rain out and you don't have the common sense to shoot inside.

Question:
So after all that you come down to four choices, the first two are what you are really leaning towards. What would you buy?

Choices:
Glock G45
Glock G19x
Sig 320 TacOps
HK P30 LEM

 

Is this for a carry gun? And you're missing a lot of other obvious choices. For my first gun, it would be none of those.

If you like Glock, look at a plain jane 19. It's a better carry gun than the 19x/45 format. It still has enough rounds to be a worthwhile HD gun. But if that works for you, you all need to look at the M&P 2.0 compact or full size. If you don't like Glock's grip angle, the M&P corrects that.

It would be good to know what more of your thinking was that narrowed it down to the guns you put in the poll, and what uses you'd put the gun to. If it's not for carry, there are better choices. If it is for carry + others, there are better choices.

What, no love for M&P 2.0 ??

or Walther?

Of the four choices, I would pick the HK P30, hands down.

If those four are my only choices for a first firearm, I would go for the HK, though it sounds like you should go for the P320

I certainly would NEVER buy a firearm that I feel the shape of the grip SUCKS no matter how many police agencies use them

The firearm has to feel good to YOU, not me . . . not 10 or 100 voices on the Internet . . . YOU

If you do not like the gun, you will not carry it or practice with it enough

In reality, none of these would ever by a first gun purchase for me

The HK P30 would be my choice out of those options. The quality, workmanship and warranty appeal to me.

of those 4? the P30, if I could stretch the list just marginally? VP9

Huge HK fan here and my main carry.
No brainer - HK.

Glock 19 Gen 5.

Glock 19X, of the 4 mandated. A plain-Jane gen 3 19 otherwise. Perfect conceal-ability vs. capacity and I must be the only guy that has no problem with the grip angle.

Why limit this artificial question to those four in particular?

I voted Sig. And to swim upstream, for first time buyers, I advise them to opt for the SP2022 in 9mm or the CZ P-07.
Get safe with the DA/SA before advancing to strikers.
In your poll, the HK would fit, too. I did not vote for it because I think the Sig or CZ is less costly.

Personally, I'm with grumpy1 but out of your four, I picked the G45.

I’ll take “you’re concerning yourself with shit that doesn’t matter” for 400.

The simple answer is: the one you shoot best. And be sure to include rapid fire.

Of the ones you listed, I voted G45, because it can use G17 mags.

The G45 doesn't really crank my tractor though, because it has the short barrel and long grip. If you can carry a G45, you can usually carry a G17. The advantage of the 19 is the short butt, and still being able to use G17 mags.

The 19x doesn't use all G17 mags, so it is a non starter for me.

My true answer to your question is a G19 or a G17, with really no preference for me-the 19 might have a very slight edge if the need to be concealable is an issue.

Of your poll I would go with the P30.

With that I have carried the G45, and the X Carry, moving more toward X Carry exclusively.

I find I don't have to work quite as hard with the X Carry as I do the G45 to achieve the same accuracy and speed. It's really personal preference.

It's a bit silly to rule a gun out because you can't press check it, but to each his own.

Ability to press check isn't even on my list of requirements for a duty pistol.


TXPO

quote:

Originally posted by jhe888:
Why limit this artificial question to those four in particular?

Because this is the Internet and it's his poll.

And because this is the Internet, we are all free to show shade on his four choices.

Really, jhe888, sometimes your lawyer brain gets the best of you and you overthink these things.

Now I'm off to search for pictures of cats.

I voted the 19x. But truly, if I had to pick "only one" do everything pistol. G26. You can carry it, shoot it, use every freaking Glock Mag (double stack) in it, cheap ammo. And I dont even own one, but of all the options, the 26.

In the poll, the 19x. But in the real world, my first "one and only" polymer would be a G19, 2nd choice the G26.

I'd go Glock 19 for an all purpose plastic gun. There's accessories literally anywhere, great support for the models they make and if youre not hot on the grip angle you can chop a backstrap or get a $20 clamp on that brings the grip angle back to most other guns. I would consider a few other plastic guns but for an all around carry gun G19 is hard to beat. Holsters are plentiful and everyone makes one for your needs. Mags are cheap, replacement parts are cheap and available everywhere.

I wouldn't base what I carry on cops however. It's not about the best gun but about budgets and offers from companies,contracts and bids. It's so rarely a best gun thing. Plus something that makes a good duty gun may not matter for your purposes.