My initial comment was assuming he had already tried out the various pistols and selected the 226 as the best fit for him. If not, fit will win in the long run as has been said. The slippery slope of shooting, like driving, means you will sooner or later not be slowly taking aim and plinking off a round at a time with a cigar in between shots. 226 fits large hands. Folks with small hands <cough> like Glocks, just sayin'. Every time I draw a Glock I find it slightly twisted in my hand when I get to my sight picture and I have to adjust before engaging. Not a problem unless you don't want to lose that moment. Sig comes right up in line for me. Everybody is different. 226 also pairs up nicely with an AR and, also, you can beat someone to death with it or open a door/window. The ergo grip on some of the H&Ks is really nice if it fits your hand perfectly. Just don't buy a 9mm Beretta pistol
Pretty shotguns but not so much their pistols.
Ruger .22 is great for plinking like ViceGrip said. If you wind up with a 1
911 style pistol the Browning .22 has a similar feel and is sweet, if expensive.
I inherited a .455 Colt SA rechambered for .45 Long Colt. Big heavyish thing with a fixed, shark fin fixed site that you adjust with a hammer. Fits perfect in my hand. Hand loaded ammo to sight it in and wound up with such a light load (maybe 500-600fps) you could literarily see the bullet pass beneath the banks of overhead lights. Very fun and surprisingly accurate, if slow. Great sound effects. Boom-swish-swish-swish-thwack.
I think we need a three-man team relay with cars and guns at BSR... A lap around Main to the range with rifles, a lap around Shen egress passenger side to the shoot house, a lap around Jeff and some driver side targets on the skidpad.