[lee-enfeild]

I have a friend who has decided to purchase new pistol and has asked my advice on what he should get, he has narrowed down his choices to these three kinds. Smith & Wesson Sigma .40
Beretta 92
Ruger 9mm P series. I don't know which one of these is the better pistol but i have heard a lot of good comments about the Ruger. What would you recommend?

 

[henryk]

I have a friend who has decided to purchase new pistol and has asked my advice on what he should get, he has narrowed down his choices to these three kinds. Smith & Wesson Sigma .40
Beretta 92
Ruger 9mm P series. I don't know which one of these is the better pistol but i have heard a lot of good comments about the Ruger. What would you recommend?

Glock G22 is a .40 S&W and very hard to beat in my opinion. I also purchased a 9mm conversion competition barrel for it mfrom LWD. With the .40 S&W barrel in it I use it for home defense. When I go to the range, the 9mm barrel is in it. Much cheaper on ammo that way.

 

[Tanker60A3]

Sigma

Hands down I would go with the Sigma. It is as good as a gun as anyone "needs" and right now S&W is offering a $50 rebate and an additional 2 free magazines for each Sigma, or M&P for that matter (see the S&W web site for details). At a gun store here in Atlanta (Adventure Outdoors) they are selling new Sigma's for $279. So for $229 plus tax (assuming your local dealer has a similar mark up) you can have the gun and a total of 4 magazines.

 

[lee-enfeild]

How are you able to try out the guns before you purchase them?

 

[Tanker60A3]

Rental

Most indoor ranges have guns they will let you "rent" to use on their indoor range.

 

[NavyMan]

Berretta would be my choice.

 

[NGIB]

I've had a SS Ruger P89DC for over 10 years and it's reliable, accurate, and built like a tank. They're not the prettiest pistols but they go bang with any type of ammo I've tried. They're also very inexpensive...

 

[wildvee2002]

old school here. go with ruger, american made? I remember a while back s&w sold out to the anti-gun people. glocks is uglyto me. sorry if it offends some folks, i have always had great luck with any ruger product, they go bang when i want em to.

 

[Righteous]

Berretta would be my choice also, S&W got a longggggggg spongy trigger pull , we call them lawyer triggers and its not adjustable either, the ruger would come next

 

[keb]

I'm also previous LE. 12 yrs rural Ak. Personally, I have been shooting wheel guns for the longest, (30yrs), and I carry them a lot in .45 colt or .44 mag. when concealability is not an issue. Otherwise, I carry compact .45 for two legged varmints... I think you would be wise to stick with what you know--you know the drill, why relearn on a new weapon when it's already in your head...I have watched a .40 glock drop a three yr old brown bear with a single well placed shot. Not my choice however--I'd go with the 10mm...that's a lot of power if you can get your hand around one and will practice with the full power loads...also, in Ak, your weapon is going to get wet, dirty, sandy, etc, etc. They may be ugly, but you can not beat a glock for simple reliability and function...I carried one for on/off duty for 10yrs. Ask your favorite gunsmith how many moving parts there are in the average wheel gun vs the glock...you will be surprised.

 

[lee-enfeild]

How do .40 to .45 cal Rugers preform?

 

[billdeserthills]

old school here. go with ruger, american made? I remember a while back s&w sold out to the anti-gun people. glocks is uglyto me. sorry if it offends some folks, i have always had great luck with any ruger product, they go bang when i want em to.

Yeah, but at the time when S&W "sold out" they were owned by a British Company. They are now owned by an American Company!

 

[jeepejeep]

I love my Glock 32 in 357 SIG. For a beginner, I would recommend a 9MM unless he has shot more powerful calibers and is comfortable with them. What I love about the Glock outside of just how it feels in my hand is that you can change barrels and have a 40 S&W! I have one and it actually is more accurate than the 357 SIG barrel. Just my 2Cents.

 

[Goomba]

I have had a .40 Ruger P944DC for well over ten years.

never had a malfunction with it.... I carried it as my duty weapon for when I worked as an armed guard. The only reason I dont still have it is b/c I had switched to a walther99 .40cal for off duty carry, and the company I work for now required me to carry the company issued wepon. ruger is a dependable and resonably priced firearm.

 

[hdfxrs91]

For first-time shooters I ALWAYS recommend a revolver, preferably something generic like a 4" .38 Spl.
One reason is simplicity; fewer moving parts and easy to load. Complicated firearms can easily be a turn-off for new shooters.
The other is reliability; they usually go bang when you need them to.
After they feel comfortable with that, then they can go to a semi-auto.

 

[Samhain]

I own the Ruger P95,(9mm) one of the best guns I have ever shot.
I have put well over 10,000 rounds through it with no jams.
Not a very good carry gun for me, I'm not a large guy and the this Ruger
is a little thick.

 

[Defender]

For first-time shooters I ALWAYS recommend a revolver, preferably something generic like a 4" .38 Spl.
One reason is simplicity; fewer moving parts and easy to load. Complicated firearms can easily be a turn-off for new shooters.
The other is reliability; they usually go bang when you need them to.
After they feel comfortable with that, then they can go to a semi-auto.

If a first-time shooter is too thick and/or intimidated to use something as simple as your typical semi-auto handgun, I'd recommend they use something like pepper foam or a stun gun.

A semi-auto was the first handgun I ever fired and owned, and I never had any problems, physical or mental.

Buy a semi-auto first and stick with it. No sense buying a revolver, and then turn right around and have to buy a semi-auto.

 

[deputy dow]

I own a Beretta 92 FS, I've shot thousands of rounds through it. I used it when I went through the academy in 1996. I have let others use it through police courses. I have been issued several guns through the years and the Sigma was the worst. The one I like the best was a Glock model 23. Best combat weapon in my opinion. I've shot Rugers but never rung one out. I've shot many handguns; Colt 45's, HKs, Sigs, and others. The one I liked the best was the glock.

 

[Dillinger]

I have a friend who has decided to purchase new pistol and has asked my advice on what he should get, he has narrowed down his choices to these three kinds. Smith & Wesson Sigma .40
Beretta 92
Ruger 9mm P series. I don't know which one of these is the better pistol but i have heard a lot of good comments about the Ruger. What would you recommend?

Lee - For what type of use? Range time? Plinking once or twice a month? Home defense? Personal carry?

Outside of that, just on a quality standpoint, of the three choices, I would recommend none of the above to be perfectly honest with you.

The Sigma, while from S&W, is a double action only pistol. The weapon does not convert to single action once the first round is fired, leaving to that annoying LLOOONNNGGG trigger pull on follow up shots. The frame mounted safety is in an ackward location and it just isn't fluid to snapping it on and off. Granted, the weapon is inexpensive, so if you just want a range piece, it might be okay - but I wouldn't recommend it.

The Beretta 92F/M9 - Yeah, I know the military chose them, but they made a mistake. The Beretta is of dual composition make up, the frame is aluminum and the slide is steel, so there are dissimilar metals rubbing against each other every time the weapon is fired. You will experience wear on the aluminum within the first 500 rounds guaranteed. The weapon has a slide mounted safety, which while completely viable, I personally do not subscribe too. Beretta's customer service is crap and their warranty on their products is almost non existant. Here is a review done by some military folks about their experiences.

http://www.defensereview.com/modules.php?name=Reviews&rop=showcontent&id=1

Ruger P9 series - Well, Antonio Banderas made this famous in Desperado. This is a thick weapon, and the bore of the barrel is a little high, causing some accuracy issues. The weapon is more of a cheap, all around gun. Nothing is precision on this model, and while it will feed most ammo without fail, it's just not a real good choice in the price range. Ruger's customer service and warranty isn't good and their products are out there is droves, so they don't need your sale, which is what you will learn the first time you need warranty work. Their resale value isn't good, so if you make the leap, you are going to be stuck with it.

Along this same line, here are two choices that I would recommend to someone if this was the caliber and category they wanted to pursue.

Taurus PT-92. Yes, it's basically the same gun as the 92F - basically. The differences are, they have a steel/steel frame slide match up, they have a new model with a frame mounted safety and they have a LIFETIME warranty. It's not my choice for CDW, but it's good, reliable gun that the manufacturer stands behind no matter how long you own it.

Springfield's XD Line. I don't like striker fired weapons, and I don't like weapons with a safety that is on the trigger group, because so few people take the time to learn true handgun safety. That being said, this is a hell of a weapon that will go bang every time. They have incorporated a new frame mounted safety, on top of the two already in the gun, so it's really a nice piece of kit. Prices are reasonable and it's got a good name behind it.

My $.02 for what it's worth...

D

 

[billdeserthills]

One nice thing about the S&W Sigma or even the S&W M&P guns is that till the end of April I believe it is, you get a $50.00 rebate from S&W and two additional magazines. You can get a rebate form from S&W or if you cannot find one I can probably find you a link.
Also Ruger has just come out with the SR-9, a 9mm 17 round mag (if you can own hi-cap) striker fired handgun. It is much slimmer than their previous offerings and while I can't speak for other dealers they run $405 for ss slide and $430 for blackened ss slide in my store.