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There’s no shortage of micro-compact, striker-fired, optics-ready, 9mms out there, so we didn’t know what to expect when Kimber jumped into this competitive field with the R7 Mako. On the one hand, Kimber has built their reputation on creating feature-rich 1911s that offer shooters the custom touches they crave. On the other, it can be difficult and painful for gun makers to try to break into new markets, especially those that are saturated with established players. But Kimber hit it out of the park with the R7 Mako and so impressed the judges that it earned an impressive, and uncommon, double win as both the Editor’s Choice and Great Buy in the micro-sized handgun category.

Home Defense Handguns: The good news about home defense guns is that you can go as big and bulky as you want without issue. A firearm designed to be used inside the home doesn’t need to be concealed. Bigger and heavier can be good things especially when it comes to capacity and easier to deal with recoil. Range Guns: Range guns fall into a few categories, and they can be plinkers for fun, competition guns, or just an extensive collection of fun guns that mostly see life at the range.

With this pistol, CZ did all the custom work to create a competition-ready handgun so you don’t have to. Out of the box it is configured for IPSC Standard division or USPSA Limited division matches. It comes with oversized controls and a pile of upgrades that help the pistol do what it does best—put lots of lead accurately on target in a short amount of time. Of all the pistols in this year’s gun test we probably put the most rounds through the TS2. It comes with three 20-round magazines—in a nicely executed hard-sized case we might add—and we did all we could to load them up and empty them as quickly as possible.

This isn’t to say that I’m not going to keep value in mind. More money saved at initial purchase equals more money left to purchase ammo. As a new shooter, you need to be willing and able to put in some time at the range. So, in no particular order, here are my top five picks for new handgun shooters. I know, there are three guns here. That’s because they’re all basically variations on the same theme, and it’s my list. I’ve also shot thousands of rounds through each of them, making me confident in the comparison. The G19 is the granddaddy of this class, having been around since 1988. This size pistol, though classified as a “compact” gun is really more of a medium or mid-sized option in light of many of the new “micro-compact” guns that are taking over the market. See extra information on Ballachy Official.