Good US firearm sales site

Yeah, what I love about the XD is it is a decent gun, pretty safe, lots of rounds, shoots well, and I think is right around $500 new.

If you're set on a .45 for target shooting, you should really get a 1911. Rock Island Armory and Taurus make some of the more affordable ones. The 1911 trigger is really good, and you can upgrade a 1911 as you go along. .45 is a hell of an expensive caliber to target shoot with though. I don't know how much you're planning on shooting it, but you're going to be spending a lot of money on ammo. If all you want to do is target shoot, a .22 or even 9mm would be so much cheaper.

I do take that to heart. Look at the UK, now they're actually banning swords, because people are using them to kill people, banning the tool is a stupid road to go down.

I think everyone should have the ability to defend themselves, don't you?

you 're in tacoma?  you shoot at Bullseye then?

i like your top 3:  my dad's got a HK USP (fullsize) and i got a kimber tactical pro.  but .45s getting expensive so im looking at getting the springfield XD in 9mm for range use.

the only crazy thing about carrying a fullsize springfield XD with 13 and one in the hole is that 14 rounds of .45 ways a fucking ton on your hip.  although i guess you could skimp and go with 185 grain rounds.


KRASHED: 
.45s be way more fun to shoot.  but 9mm is waaaaaaay cheaper. 

either way, springfield XDs come with a whole box full of toys (extra mags, paddle hoslter).  and are much cheaper than Kimbers or HKs.

the other consideration is polymer automatic / 1911 style.  its rarer, but you can get 1911s chambered in 9mm but it feels weird to have a big old 1911 with a pinhole out front.

i find that automatics may appear to be "safer" because of the long initial doubleaction trigger pull because they usually only have a thumb safety (save the springfield XD which also has grip safety).  whereas my 1911 is a much shorter trigger pull in single action (4 pounds) but it has thumb and grip safety so i carry it hammerdown / thumb safety on.

ok I took ammunition cost into consideration and since I already have a rifle that shoots 22LR's i'm gonna go for a handgun with the same ammunition because where I get them from is cheap.

I've been looking at the Walther P22 series with a 3.4" barrel, they seem cheap but i'm under the impression that they would make quality guns because they've been around since ww2, am I mistaken?

You can't beat a .22 for being cheap to shoot.

I'd suggest a ruger mkIII

http://ruger.com/Firearms/FAFamily?type=Pistol&subtype=Rimfire%20Autoloading&famlst=55

Yeah, I am in Tacoma and shoot at Bullseye when I go.  If you ever see a kid with a ON3P hoody there, it is a safe bet that it is me.  Sometimes we just go up into the woods, but that is when we are shooting rifles and shotguns.

You are right that .45 gets expensive to shoot though, and I guess considering that, a 9mm would be ideal for him.

The XD45 is appealing to me because it is such a good defense weapon, but in reality, I know that before I got the .45 for defense I would get a Mossberg 590 first.  So in that sense, I would probably pick up a 9mm for range practice too.  Which would likely be the XD as well.

The weight of the fully loaded XD45 never bothered me too much, but I doubt I would conceal carry with it.  Maybe something like the XD compact.

I think with one of the XD (I think the 45) you can also get a 10 round magazine that shortens the grip and would make it lighter, so maybe that would be a better carrying option.

I think the best way for the kid to find what he likes is to go to a range, handle some guns, shoot some guns, and see what fits him the best.

That is sort of what I have done.  A lot of people have recommended the glock to me, but I just didn't like shooting it, so it won't be considered by me.

Guns escalate the situation much higher then it needs to be IMO.

Why can't we all just learn karate and fight like ninjas? Shooting in lame.

Why does one need a handgun? I mean the only reason for a handgun is to kill another human am I right? Your not gonna go hunting around with a handgun. I ve hunted before and It was alot of fun but that was with a 12 gauge rifle. I guess if you want to go target shooting then thats somewhat understandable but other than that there really isnt a reason. And self defense isnt an excuse you can go take a martial art for that. If we were to ban handguns then it would take them away from the murderers and we wouldnt need them to defend ourselves from those with guns. If you want self defense go learn a martial art or something.

I completely agree with this kid.

I hate to argue in this guys thread, but first of all, plenty of people hunt with handguns, including my father, who has a .44 magnum with an 8 or 10" barrel. 

Good luck using karate to defend yourself against a knife or gun weilding attacker, and even if they're unarmed it could be a crapshoot, if they're bigger or more athletic than you.  Criminals still can get "illegal" weapons if they desire them, because they are just that, criminals.  Just now a civilian can't access the same equipment to defend themselves. 

I'm pretty sure gun laws in England and Australia haven't led toa decrease in gun crime, but I can't be sure of the statistics.

I can't stress enough to people how I would not intend on using this for concealment/self defense, this is strictly a target gun and that's it!

If you take away the handguns, first off the only handguns left would be in the hands of collecters and gangs, seems dumb. And honestly if you aren't able to use a handgun in a murder and you want to shoot someone you'll bring out the ol' shotgun or rifle, guns are here to stay and i'd sure as hell rather have a handgun in my pocket (if I actually thinked I needed it) then a blackbelt, kung fu < bullet

I carry a handgun with me (well not now) for self defense purposes, but I also like to go to the range to practice a lot.

i think he was suggesting switching those ages possibly?

This really is the best way to go.  

no dawg, we don't support terrorism in america, do you in canada?