Pistol Shooting

[DangerousDan]

To Beretta or not Beretta

Hey I'm expecting to get mob'd to goto the desert and I am wanting to work on my pistol skills. Im trying to figure between getting a Sig, HK or glock or go with the Beretta 92 (M9 clone) Ill be packing in the desert? Ive priced local gun shops and I get get the beretta for about $500. I enjoy going to the range and selling gunpowder and punching paper and am considering it since Ive only fired a M9 twice and both were not good experiences. I have the time and the money to goto the range and a friend willing to work on my technique with me to make me better with the pistol. I don't expect to be a shooter but I do want to be prepared in case it hits the fan. I appreciate your feedback

 

[lmnop]

Pistol shooting is largely muscle memory and the M9 has some subtle differences from comparable Sig or HK offerings. If a situation arises in which you need to use your pistol, you want to make damn sure that you know, and have practiced, all of your corrective actions for failures with that weapon. That said, I'm not a big fan of the M9 and would personally go with whichever Sig or HK feels best. If you develop good core shooting skills, and understand the concepts with failure drills, then you can quickly adapt to the differences between your personal weapon and the M9.

 

[C420sailor]

I know there's a large Sig / HK fan base here, but if you want a reliable weapon that isn't necessarily pretty or ultra accurate but will go bang each and every time with virtually no cleaning (and cleaning it is dead simple), go Glock.

 

[mb1k]

Good attitude. The most important thing to do is practice and become instinctively familiar with your firearm. Since you will most likely be issued the M9, you need to practice the manual of arms for that particular sidearm.

Look up the local shooting range or Google IPSC, IDPA, or USPA for a chapter in your local area and join! To a person most members are friendly and would be more than glad to help you wade into the shallow end of the shooting field at first. You'll be surprised at what you'll learn, and most importantly, how much your confidence will swell in actually having to use that Beretta if needed. Good luck.

 

[gotta_fly]

I asked the same question to some people around here when I bought by pistol and the responses were pretty similar to what you're seeing in this thread. I'll add that the M9 has kind of a beefy frame to it, so if you're planning on carrying (concealed or otherwise) aside from to and from the range, you may want to consider a smaller weapon.

Virtually any pistol you buy will help build the fundamentals that will transfer directly to the M9, but you can also add to that by finding a gun that has similar characteristics (ambidextrous thumb safety, mag release in similar place, etc.).

Since we're on the topic, I'll throw out there that my HK USP compact .40s&w is a beautiful gun that's never jammed and is a dream to shoot. It's not much above your 92FS budget, and they seem to hold their value pretty well. Good luck!

 

[mmx1]

Good attitude. The most important thing to do is practice and become instinctively familiar with your firearm. Since you will most likely be issued the M9, you need to practice the manual of arms for that particular sidearm.

Look up the local shooting range or Google IPSC, IDPA, or USPA for a chapter in your local area and join! To a person most members are friendly and would be more than glad to help you wade into the shallow end of the shooting field at first. You'll be surprised at what you'll learn, and most importantly, how much your confidence will swell in actually having to use that Beretta if needed. Good luck.

IDPA, and i think USPA allow military and LEO to shoot from a duty holster, so that'd be the way I'd go.