So, I have the gun flu now and I'm dropping cash. I recently bought a Benellli Supernova and fired about 75 shots in it yesterday. Fantastic shotgun and well worth the money. Now, I'm looking to expand my collection (currently have a .22 ruger revolver, and 2 shotguns now).
I've been looking around and some of the models I've heard that these are the cream of the crop:
Browning Hi-Power (I've heard that this is the best 9mm of all time)
Sig P226 (I've held this and the P229 and they are very comfortable guns
HK P30 (really pricey for a polymer frame gun, but that's HK for you)
Unfortunately, these are around a grand and I'm not sure that I'm willing to drop that kind of money even though these guns are amazing. I'd like to add that I'm a fan of steel frames. They are a bit heavier, but I like that in a handgun.
One gun that I've heard great things about is the CZ-75b. They say that it was based off the Browning, but it's considerably less expensive (around 560ish). I need to fire this, but I was wondering if anyone has any experience with these. Also, I'm looking for some recommendations (cheaper guns or why it's worth to drop 1k on your first gun).
PS: I'm not a fan of Glocks for two reasons. They don't fit comfortably in my hand and I like to have an external hammer (silly, but it's an aesthetics thing).