check out the HK p30, i love mine
Fine choice for a 9mm. I am a huge HK fan. That said, I have come to like Glock and Sig not to mention CZ. Hk's are expensive though and the 9mm P30 is around $850.
No. 4th Generation Glock 19 with Glock Night Sights can't be purchased NEW for under $600.00 unless you a police officer. Dealer cost is $475 for the gun. Glock 19 without night sights can be purchased for $500 or so.
Honestly EVERYONE qualifies for that damn discount.. Ex military, firefighter/emt, police officer, I think there's a few more.. I'd be willing to bet if you sweet talked your local blue label dealer (remember only certain dealers can sell at LE price) and explained to them you were a doctor, you could probably get the "first responder" price also, which is $399.99 for the gun + 80-100 for the night sights depending on the dealer.
A lot to reflect upon on this thread, some random thoughts as they come to me.
1. HK's are decent, but I personally HATE the trigger of the standard variant (to be fair I've never tried the LEM, would love to). I know the P30 feels very nice in my hands. I think the double action pull is unnecessarily long and heavy, and it takes a significant amount of practice to be able to adjust to the single action pull of your follow up shots. YMMV of course, many shoot the HK pistols just fine. Keep in mind that for some reason they are ~$300 more than other brands.
2. Night sights - I have them on my primary duty weapon (currently a gen4 glock 19, but as soon as I can offload this LCP I'm getting a glock 17) and that's it. I'm on the fence on night sights. For a police officer, who has a legal duty to act, and may be forced to into a 0 visibility shot (which I think can still be argued against) they may be a necessity. For anyone else, my thought is this. If visibility is so poor that you cannot see a single feature of your regular sights, chances are very good that you probably have an unusable target picture in front of you, and it makes me wonder what you're going to hit if you fire (this could be argued for police officers also, mind you). I feel at that point you have a moral obligation to readjust your position to where you can see what you're shooting at before anything.. Of course this discussion is slightly moot because the OP is looking for a range gun.
3. Revolvers, I don't like 'em.. lol
4. 22 ammo is cheap, and you can pick up used 22 pistols at the gun shop, pawn shop, or online for ~$200. These aren't going to be high end match grade target shooters, but going out to the back acre and shooting pop cans (and old TV sets.. just saying..) with a 22 is a lot more fun than doing so with a bb gun
5. Most people can't just own one gun, so welcome to the start of an expensive hobby. I fully expect to see a thread by the OP next year titled "getting colder, looking to start reloading, what to buy?"