Pistol Question

I'm considering buying a pistol, mostly as a hobby. I'd like to participate in practical shooting events.
This is, of course, pending having the spending money available for the pistol and training.
I want a full-frame semi-auto in .40 or larger.

Can we buy new magazines with a capacity greater than 10 rounds now?

You have always been able to (even 1994-2004), they just cost more when the Feinstein ban was in effect. Spare full-capacity mags for Glocks and such are back down to the $20 range now, but my wife paid $120-ish for a Glock 19 magazine around 1996 or so.

I should mention that three or four states do limit magazine capacity to only 10 rounds (New Jersey, California, Massachusetts, Hawaii, IIRC). Not knowing where you live, I can't say for sure whether you'd be affected by anything at the state level or not. If you're in the vicinity of D.C., I think Maryland has a 20-round limit (but don't take my word for it), and Virginia has no capacity limits that I am aware of.

I knew they had been banned, but was not sure about current status. I'm thinking about the new S&W .40, not sure if it uses any other's magazines. If I was limited to 10, I was going with a M1911 type. Maryland is limited to 20. DC is limited to 0.

During the Brady ban on hi-cap magazines, you could still buy magazines that were made before the ban took effect, but they were insanely expensive. I paid $80 for a hi-cap 15 round magazine for my Glock 19 during the ban. :mad:

As far as semi-auto pistols go, there are lots of perfectly good ones. Check out Glock and Heckler & Koch. I'd recommend going to a gun shop with a range, and do some test driving to find the gun that's most comfortable for you.

There are a ton of makers of 1911s out there. Most of them are .45s, but you can also get them in 10mm Auto, .40 S&W, and .38 Super (not .38 Special; that's a revolver cartridge). Some 1911 makers offer double-stack magazines for their 1911s.

You can also try the Glock 20,21, 22, 24, or 35, the Springfield Armory XD in .40 S&W, .45 ACP, and .45 GAP, the Ruger P345 in .45 GAP, Beretta 96 in .40S&W, and Taurus also makes a variety of Beretta clones in .40S&W and 1911s in .45 ACP.

here are some links; go knock yourself out!

http://www.berettausa.com/
http://www.glock.com/
http://www.hecklerkoch-usa.com/
http://www.kimberamerica.com/
http://www.sigarms.com/
http://www.smith-wesson.com/
http://www.springfield-armory.com/index.shtml
http://www.ruger.com/
http://www.taurususa.com/
http://www.paraord.com/
http://www.wilsoncombat.com/
http://www.stiguns.com/
http://edbrown.com/

"I'm considering buying a pistol, mostly as a hobby. I'd like to participate in practical shooting events. This is, of course, pending having the spending money available for the pistol and training. I want a full-frame semi-auto in .40 or larger."

Why if it is just a hobby? A 9mm can do everything a 0.45 can do and a lot cheaper too. Anyway, for 0.40 S&W, the preferred model seems to be the Beretta model 96. Also, Sig makes a 0.40 variant of the 226 with a spare barrel that can be swapped in for 0.357 Sig. I have the 9mm version in DAK which is exceedingly accurate. For 0.45, the preferred brands of 1911 pistols seems to be S&W or Springfield. The 1911s are favored by many IDPA members and target shooters.

"Can we buy new magazines with a capacity greater than 10 rounds now?"

Depends on the state. 15-round mags are fine in OH, but not in some other states.