Hooray! The tax return came and the wife says I can use some of it to upgrade from my Helwan. I am really excited but am having some difficulty in picking a new semi-auto. Since we have a fair number of users on here, I thought I would throw out some of my "requirements" and see what everyone comes up wtih for suggestions.
1: Lefty friendly
I am a southpaw and the Helwan has been killing me. It has a right-handed safety. The good thing is that I have learned to shoot fairly well right-handed, but I would really like to carry with my dominant hand. I would prefer a gun that has no hand specific safety (as opposed to reversible) so if I ever have to shoot with the other hand, I don't have to worry about making my way to the other side of the gun to take the safety off.
2: 9mm or .45
I am torn. I love shooting .45 but want a caliber that a starving student can afford to chew through some ammo with. I have a feeling that as a student, I'll probably end up with a 9mm and get a nice .45 after I have been out of school a few years. As for .40, I have shot it a few times and didn't like the muzzle flip I got. I much preferred the .45's recoil.
3: Concealability
For pretty much the rest of my life, I will be in business/business casual attire due to my line of work and school. So something that will conceal well in that type of setting would be great. I'm not necessarily looking for a pocket pistol here, as I anticipate having to buy a tuckable holster but I am certainly not wanting a government 1911, either.
4: Price
I am looking in the $500 range. I can't go much higher than that and I am willing to go with used, so I am not picky that way.
So far, I have had my eye on the Walther P99 or P99C AS as well as the standard Glock 19 or 26.
So...any suggestions on what to look at?
1: Lefty friendly
I am a southpaw and the Helwan has been killing me. It has a right-handed safety. The good thing is that I have learned to shoot fairly well right-handed, but I would really like to carry with my dominant hand. I would prefer a gun that has no hand specific safety (as opposed to reversible) so if I ever have to shoot with the other hand, I don't have to worry about making my way to the other side of the gun to take the safety off.
2: 9mm or .45
I am torn. I love shooting .45 but want a caliber that a starving student can afford to chew through some ammo with. I have a feeling that as a student, I'll probably end up with a 9mm and get a nice .45 after I have been out of school a few years. As for .40, I have shot it a few times and didn't like the muzzle flip I got. I much preferred the .45's recoil.
3: Concealability
For pretty much the rest of my life, I will be in business/business casual attire due to my line of work and school. So something that will conceal well in that type of setting would be great. I'm not necessarily looking for a pocket pistol here, as I anticipate having to buy a tuckable holster but I am certainly not wanting a government 1911, either.
4: Price
I am looking in the $500 range. I can't go much higher than that and I am willing to go with used, so I am not picky that way.
So far, I have had my eye on the Walther P99 or P99C AS as well as the standard Glock 19 or 26.
So...any suggestions on what to look at?