I am a firearms newbie. I learned to shoot in spring 2018 during "NRA Basic Pistol" on father-in-law's Ruger Mark I, which the NRA instructors did not like because the slide did not lock back when empty. Then, I moved to father-in-law's FEG PMK 380 auto for "NRA Personal Protection In The Home" and finally bought myself a used S&W M&P Shield 9 for "NRA Personal Protection Outside The Home", 3 more non-NRA classes, and carry.
My husband laments the cost of the thousands of 9mm rounds I have sent down range since I bought the Shield so Autumn 2018 I bought myself a brand spanking new Walther PPQ 5" 22LR for target shooting. The Walther has only been to the range 3x so far. One night, it failed to extract 3 times within an hour on Federals (1200v,40g) yet less than a week later, it capably handled those same Federals, plus Remington Goldens (1280v, 36g), CCI Mini-Mags (1260v, 36g), Remington Thunderbolts (1255v, 40g), Winchester M22s (1255v, 40g), CCI AR Tacticals (1200v, 40g), Normas (1100v, 40g), and Wildcats (?v, 40g).
While my Shield can be a challenge, the Walther PPQ 5" 22LR is an absolute delight. I don't really have any problems dis/assembling it. And, most importantly, my husband doesn't complain as much when I go to the range and shoot it for an hour or two!
Skeet281, I like the PPQ 5" so much in 22LR, I'm thinking about getting it in the 9mm . . .