Replies

First of all, for hobby shooting for a new shooter, there are several important considerations.

Is the pistol reliable and will it stand up to repeated use? This pretty much eliminates Bersa and Taurus semi autos. They break. I’ve been working in gun stores for twelve years, I’ve spent years sending guns back to those manufacturers over and over again.

Is it fun to shoot? This pretty much eliminates the Glock 30. Although it is very well made, it is a lightweight .45 and has a bit of recoil. The ammunition costs more and the recoil can make it jam in the hands of inexperienced shooters. It is not a beginner’s pistol for those reasons and one more.

The Ruger SR9 has a similar trigger to the Glock. Both of them are short trigger pulls and not very heavy. They are easy to fire. Most of the accidental discharges we’ve seen are caused by new shooters with Glocks. The Smith and Wesson M&P and the Springfield XD have similar triggers. Absolutely not one of these guns was unsafe. The person handling it had not spent the time to learn safe handling and trigger discipline.

As far as reliablity, most of the makers you listed are solid. Beretta, Ruger, Glock, and Sig all make excellent products and stand behind them.

But the triggers on the Beretta and the Sig differ from the Glock in one important aspect. It takes a long, heavy pull to fire the first shot. This helps to prevent mistakes. The P226 is available in 9mm or .40 Smith & Wesson and the Beretta 96 you liked is also available as the 92F/S in 9mm. The 9mm ammunition is cheaper than the .40. The difference in recoil is negligible in full size handguns. The .40 is more effective than the 9mm, not to knock the 9mm because if you put quality ammunition in it, the 9mm is very effective. The stories about ineffective shots with 9mm handguns are often because the gun was not loaded with hollowpoints.

Then there’s the safety. If you forget that the safety is on when you need it, your gun will not fire. You will be hosed. Most police departments do not issue handguns with safeties for this reason. Safety is in the way the gun is handled, not in a lever or button that can fail. How many times have you heard the saying, “I thought the safety was on.”

Personally, I’d get the Sig.