
Originally Posted by
thegodfather
Fu*k the safety features. The safety on your weapon is your brain and your finger. Where are you shooting at, Colissimo's? I used to have a membership there, not bad for a handgun only range. I personally prefer the SIG P229, as an all around home defense/range gun. However, I would recommend you go with a 'standard' full size handgun for your first gun, as they are much easier to learn on.
Springfield has a very big "cult following," so understand you are getting some heavily biased information. Glock, Springfield, Sig, H&K, Beretta, are all great manufacture's and no gun will be significantly better than the other when you are talking about brands of the caliber. I recommend .40 cal, just because it is a very common round, has a significant amount of knockdown power, and a marginal amount of recoil when compared to the .45, especially for a new gun owner. The best part is, there are a host of weapons that come chambered in .40.
What should really make the difference for you, is holding the weapon. You should hold the weapons you plan to buy, and see which ones feel the most comfortable in your hand. The grip angles and materials used on them varies greatly by manufacturer. For instance, some people took issue with the grip angle and 'slippery' feel the Glock's used to have, until they started texturing the grip better. There's a whole host of things that go into buying a handgun. Hold them, and see which one feels perfect in your hand. When I picked up my P229, it was love at first sight, and I knew that gun felt incredible in my hand.