[ShelledPants]

My first gun (ever) was a KJW M9, and it was such a pain in the ass coming from no experience. Issues with them are poorly documented and the fixes can be daunting.

All beginners we point in the same direction: TM/KJW 1911.

They are so easy to strip (and I mean, to the bone), tonnes of replacement parts, and you can find 50000 youtube videos holding your hand the whole time.

M9's are large. They are a bigger gun than most think without handling it. It doesn't "dwarf" a 1911, but as mentioned above, the grip is large. The safety is a pain in the ass under pressure. Without a decocker, you're basically stuck with two options, Carry Condition 1 (Round in the chamber, hammer back, safety on) and have to fumble with the safety on the draw, or condition 3 (empty chamber, hammer down) with the safety off and just draw, rack the slide and fire, ignoring the safety altogether.

1911's are a solid choice. Glocks a close second. I fucking hate stripping Glocks past a field strip, the hammer system is a fucking Rubik's cube. Same with P226's. Glocks are great point and shoot weapons, and pretty hard to break. KJW and TM make nice ones.

EDIT: KJW 1911's (Les Baer specifically) are some of the nicest C02 pistols on the market. I just read your bit about playing in colder months.