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How do you fellow enthusiasts choose a firearm?

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Found mine renting from my local range. Went through a ton (alright, maybe 10) then got that one. Been happy with it so stuck with the brand. YouTube and Full30 videos solidified my choice. No haters of the firearm. Good. Solid. Dependable. Right price point.

Springfield Armory (duh).

would like something more exotic and expensive, but I ain’t made of money, so......
 
I buy allot of guns, it basically what ever strikes my fancy at the time. Probably own things from most manufactures from Glock to Marlin and everything in between. Life is to short to only shoot one brand or model. Sometimes you just see something and you get that tingle that tells you "I want that".
 
When I started buying handguns I liked the look and feel of the Springfield’s. They shot good and where very reliable.
When I wanted my first AR it was a Springfield. 5.56 Saint Victor. I did buy a couple Savage AR10’s and then another Springfield. I’m stuck on Springfield Armory.
 
First gun should be for what fills the immediate needs you have and with that in mind consider cost to be factor for most. Is the need self defense, home defense, target, or hunting? Whatever the need or purpose seek out honest reviews about whatever you are contemplating and try handling or firing the firearm a few times before buying if possible.

Personally for me now my needs have shifted to that looks cool I want one for most purchases but I do occasionally come up with different roles for guns that I buy like trying to buy certain a model and add it to my collection before BET7 gets one.
 
10mmLife said:
First gun should be for what fills the immediate needs you have and with that in mind consider cost to be factor for most. Is the need self defense, home defense, target, or hunting? Whatever the need or purpose seek out honest reviews about whatever you are contemplating and try handling or firing the firearm a few times before buying if possible.

Personally for me now my needs have shifted to that looks cool I want one for most purchases but I do occasionally come up with different roles for guns that I buy like trying to buy certain a model and add it to my collection before BET7 gets one.
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Well, you did "steal" that APX Carry from me :sneaky:. I went out looking for one during this gun buying craze, with no such luck :(. I might have to take a run up to NH. soon and "Borrow" one :devilish:
 
My first handgun was a Ruger Security-Six . I wanted a S&W model 19 but the grips were just to big for my hands and there weren't a lot of options back in those days. The Ruger had a smaller grip that worked for me. It turned out to be a great revolver.

Normally I'll see a handgun that strikes me as something I might like and then I go fondle it inn a gun store. Like when I traded my Kimber in on two handguns I handled the XDs .45 and the S&W shield .45 side by side for at least 20 min. before deciding on the XDs. I did the same on the Ruuger LCII. I originally thought I wanted the custom model LCP but after handling them for a while side by side , I decided the LCP II was going home with me.

For me it all depends on the looks , how it feels in my hand , and if I can afford it.
 
I'm like xdman, in that if I see a gun I like, I usually end up buying it. Probably more than I should as I go through a lot of 💸 that flies out of my banking account. But I do sure love them :p, as they are truly like fine Art to me, and server a vital service to boot. 🥾
 
I like a variety, but also will get something that I know I will use weather it be hunting. I have AR’s for hunting coyotes hogs and land beavers. Same with rifles, if I hunt one of my spots where I’m limited to 175 yards MAX and that spot has brush I tote my 30-30 vs another spot that is wide open, the .308 or .270. Pistols I have my carry for, may sound weird to some, but for different times of the year or for what I’m wearing. Then, as stated if I see something that really intrigues me I will research it a bit and if I like it I will get it. Then “range guns” my XFive, a blast at the range but I won’t carry it.
 
I’ve got all of my “needs” firearms bases covered, in triplicate in most cases.

I’m very much in the “collection” phase...but mostly as shooters...I really try to not have safe queens.

I'm deeply into HK's; have nearly all of their earlier (pre-USP) models, many USP models, as well as P30 and HK45’s...now, I’m looking for unusual variants. In their long guns, I have examples of all of their “black” roller locked rifles (HK91, 93 and 94), and am starting on their sporting rifles.

After that? S&W & Colt revolvers...I’ve got 4 of the “Seven Serpents”, and lots of pre-model number Smiths.

So, as I said...I’m at the point of getting things that interest me...and I do wheel & deal, buying, selling, trading...it’s a hobby.
 
10mmLife said:
First gun should be for what fills the immediate needs you have and with that in mind consider cost to be factor for most. Is the need self defense, home defense, target, or hunting? Whatever the need or purpose seek out honest reviews about whatever you are contemplating and try handling or firing the firearm a few times before buying if possible.

Personally for me now my needs have shifted to that looks cool I want one for most purchases but I do occasionally come up with different roles for guns that I buy like trying to buy certain a model and add it to my collection before BET7 gets one.
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Agree your first purchases should be for need. I now purchase for pleasure but through trial and ERROR have found certain manufacturers that fit me the best and now stick with them. I was able to unload a few "safe queens"(HansGruber) and purchase a custom gun which was truly a game changer. Develop a plan, need vs want, stick to it and see what you shoot vs accumulated 10 years down the road.
 
When I started shooting there was not much to choose from.
I bought Smith&Wesson revolvers and one semi which I still have.
In 2016 I broke down and bought my first plastic fantastics.
Since I knew nothing about them I searched the various forums, figuring you guys use your firearms not like paid magazine journalists.
I wanted to like M&P 1.0, but the triggers were awful, I tried a Glock but it was like holding a 2x4.
I settled on a MOD-2 and never had an issue yet.
Do the research and listen to others and you shouldn't have buyers remorse.
 
BET7 said:
Well, you did "steal" that APX Carry from me :sneaky:. I went out looking for one during this gun buying craze, with no such luck :(. I might have to take a run up to NH. soon and "Borrow" one :devilish:
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You can still get all 4 models online at Bass Pro for $329.00 each. You already have 2 out of 4 right? I still want the full size! If you're interested in a really lopsided trade I'll trade for your CZ scorpion micro....🤪
 
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10mmLife said:
You can still get all 4 models online at Bass Pro for $329.00 each. You already have 2 out of 4 right? I still want the full size! If you're interested in a really lopsided trade I'll trade for your CZ scorpion micro....🤪
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ah 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣, oh you were serious 🤯🙄.....🚫🦂

I bought the Centurion, and later the compact grip which I'll swap in. When I went to LGS, I wanted the compact, asked for it, and they had it labeled as the compact. I inspected it, and liked it (although I thought it was a little bigger then the compacts I currently have in other makes). When I got home, label on box indicated it was a Centurion. After some perusing on the internet, I came to find that the APX Compact was fairly new and the Centurion was "considered" the compact before Beretta came out with the true compact. Like the Sig P320, changing the grip doesn't look to difficult, and decreases Mag count from 15 (Centurion), to 13 (Compact). All Mags (including the 17 rd full size), fit all grips, so it's great they give you that option.
 
I was looking for a carry piece when I got my XDs. I tried everything in the rental case. Twice. Three times. Nothing really "did it" for me. They had the XDs in the retail case and I asked to hold it - and it FIT. Like, part-of-my-hand fit. The 'smith saw how much I liked it and gave me some leftover 9mm rounds from a class so I could put some downrange. 5 rounds through 3 holes. I used it for my CCW qualifications about an hour later and shot a 250/248/248/250 - after putting a sum total of 5 rounds through the gun. I gave them my CC, and filled out the forms. Went back to the bench, cleaned MY gun, and locked it away in their safe until the paperwork cleared (People's Republik of Maryland). Been carrying (and trusting) it ever since.

My next will likely be a 1911 variant of some sort. Don't have the scratch for a full-custom, but I really like the EMP 9mm. I'm not at the "luxury" stage where I can simply buy guns...whatever I buy (handgun-wise) needs to be carry-able for me. But I also need to put some downrange first, and the local shop/range never has EMPs on the rental list...maybe I'll have to schmooze a little....
 
I don't have a lot of cash to blow on guns - I've had too many kids in college and 3 weddings to pay for in the past 18 months or so. While I grew up shooting some, it was always my dad's or my uncle's guns. My first firearm purchase was a Ruger Mark II target pistol (bull barrel), so that I could shoot for fun, and I liked the adjustable sights. A few years later my uncle gave me my great-grandfathers 1905 S&W M&P 38 Special 6", made in 1905, which was carried by my great grandfather when he was sheriff of Millegeville, GA. I've acquired a few more rifles and shotguns that were given to me, but my first carry piece was a Ruger LCP with Lasermax back in 2013, as I wanted something I could carry concealed easily, and I've pocket carried it most of the time since. I could not carry regularly before that as I worked on a military base, and could not have a weapon in the vehicle at all.

Eventually I decided that something I "needed" was a full size 9mm, and I had my eye initially on the Ruger American, but when I went to the range and shot their guns, I tried the Ruger, hated the trigger, tried a S&W M&P 2.0, liked it pretty well, a Glock, and a XD Mod 2. I liked the S&W and XD best. On the way home, I stopped in at Academy and they had the XDM 5.25 9mm competition pistol on CLEARANCE for $399. Not quite half off, but almost, so you know I walked out of there with that bad boy! So, it was sort of a planned purchase, but impulse based on opportunity as well.

My XDM Compact was a planned purchase, as I really liked shooting the XDM 5.25, and had decided by then that with the right holster, I could conceal a larger pistol than my puny LCP. So I was budgeting to "eventually" buy the XDM Compact, when all of a sudden Springfield quietly discontinued it. I immediately went and put one on lay-a-way at Bud's gunshop online, and paid it off over a few months, and had it ship to my local FFL. I love the XDM Compact, and carry it often now.
 
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