This post will be a brief survey of the various pistols I’ve shot. Most of these interactions have been brief, just a magazine or two. The trigger time on these occurred as I was being introduced to shooting. I was trying to figure out what I wanted to purchase as my first gun. These first impressions are a way to introduce other newbies to different brands, styles, and calibers. These comments should not be considered reviews, and your mileage may vary. Please note that I have attempted to redact serial numbers and other identifying information in the various photos. The Lego man is for scale. There are a few pistols at the end of the list without photos.

For a description of the process I went through to make a decision on my first purchase, check my post on Buying Your First Gun. Keep in mind that these first impressions come from someone with smallish hands and not a ton of grip strength.

Walther P22 (.22)

The first pistol I shot was a small .22 caliber gun with a suppressor. This was a good first experience, especially with the suppressor. It wasn’t overly loud and not so much recoil that I thought it was going to jump out of my hand. The P22 is on the small side, but not tiny. It did seem a bit “snappy,” that is, jumping in my hand. Some of that feeling comes from not yet having good grip control. Still, not something I want to shoot a lot.

This was my first lesson in understanding that a lighter gun is not necessarily better for someone with limited grip strength. A little bit more weight helps mitigate recoil.

Ruger Single Six revolver (.22 lr)

Handling this gun reminds me of every western I’ve ever seen. It’s a single-action only revolver, which means manually cocking the hammer for each shot. I think I shoot this better than most semi-automatic pistols. Someone pointed out to me that semi-autos’ recoil moves the muzzle up, while revolver recoil moves the gun back. Less movement of the site on the muzzle end. I thought this gun was so much fun to shoot that I bought one. Its sole job is to make me smile.

Dan Wesson revolver (.38 Special/.357 Magnum)

This is a big revolver. Much heavier than the Ruger. It’s also a double-action/single-action. That means you can cock the hammer manually for a lighter trigger (single), or just pull the trigger to have the hammer cocked and the gun fired (double). I find the double-action trigger too difficult to use, so I used this in single-action mode. The first day I went shooting, my first reaction was that I didn’t want to try this gun. Bigger punch from the bigger calibers had me a little shy. By the time I tried the other guns that day, I decided to give it a try and shot both .38 special and .357 magnum. Not something I personally want to do on the regular, but it’s an impressive beast.

Springfield Armory XDM Competition, 5.25” Competition (9mm)

This was my favorite on my first day. The texture on the grip was more pronounced than the others, so I felt like I had a better hold on it. In the long run, it turned out to be bigger than I wanted, but I liked the way this one handled. It made me a Springfield Armory fan.

Kimber Custom II, 1911 style (9 mm)

This was my introduction to 1911s. There’s a lot of history related to 1911s, particularly in World Wars I and II.  The angle of the grip is slightly different. Typically, there is a grip safety, which keeps the gun from firing unless you have a sturdy grip on the back of the handle. There are other differences as well. It was a bit heavier than the XDM. I liked it.

Glock 48 MOS, with green dot (9mm)

This was my introduction to Glocks. I understand they are sort of a standard and exceedingly reliable. It was also snappy, and the grip reminded me of the toy gun I made from Legos when I was a kid. That may be sacrilege to some people — sorry — this is just my opinion.

Baretta 92fs, M9 (9mm)

This is a DA/SA gun. The double-action first shot is a long pull; the subsequent shots are single-action. I thought this was a very cool looking gun, but it was on the middle ground in terms of how I liked it or shot it.

Springfield Armory XDM, 3.8” barrel (40 S&W)

This fits my hand better than the 5.25” SA XDM, but the slide is harder to rack. That’s because the larger caliber requires a stronger spring to move the slide. I like the size, but .40 S&W is more than I want to deal with currently.

Kimber Eclipse Target 2, 1911 style (.45 acp)

Similar in style to the Kimber Custom II, but with a bigger caliber. It’s more difficult to run. These 1911s get heavy.

Glock 34 (9mm)

Again, I think the grip is very blocky. I also didn’t love the trigger.

Palmetto State Armory Dagger (9mm)

This has a better grip than the Glock 34, but the gun is very similar. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it.

Smith & Wesson Equalizer (9mm)

This was my favorite of that day’s shooting. A bit snappy, but I felt like it might work with practice.

Ruger 22/45 Lite Mark IV, ( 22 lr)

This was kind of fun because it was a .22 and didn’t have the recoil. It also had a suppressor and a red dot, which made it quieter and easier for me to see and aim.

IWI Jericho (9mm)

This is the-competition-shooter’s competition gun. It has a steel frame, which makes it much heavier than any of the polymer-framed guns. It also means it handles recoil better, so my shots were better. The Jericho also has a very nice trigger.

Walther PDP-F (9mm)

When I shot this, my shots were in a vertical grouping, instead of a big circle that leaned low and left. It wasn’t until after the day at the range that I realized the PDP-F has less distance from the back of the grip to the trigger. This meant that I was placing my finger in a better position on the trigger and was pulling straight back instead of slapping sideways. The textured grip looks like it would be annoying, but it isn’t. It felt good in my hand. This turned out to be my first choice, and I bought the PDP-F Pro for my first gun.

Springfield Armory Hellcat Pro (9mm)

This gun probably felt the best in my hand, but was snappier than the PDP-F, and I didn’t shoot it as well. Springfield Armory has come out with a .380 version of the Hellcat and I want to try it out.

Glock 43X (9mm)

The best fit of the Glocks that I tried. I liked it better than I expected, but it was definitely behind the PDP-F and Hellcat.

CZ P-10C (9mm)

It seemed a bit bigger than the PDP-F, Hellcat Pro, and Glock 43X. It felt okay in my hand.