Buying First Handgun - Advice Please

4/27/09 | Me

[Armedanddangerous]

the smith and wesson military and police auto is a little better pointer for some people.

[Concho]

Naw, you just rope that spider and saddle him and you could ride it back home. :)

Eight legs with knee action suspension, they are smoooooth riding.

[TexasBeth]

*

[Armedanddangerous]

I just cant deal with big freakin spiders..sorry..cant do it.

[Concho]

It is going to come down to what fits his hand best, and then select a caliber from that. We have both 9mm and .45’s, several of each, and the 9mm “kicks” just as hard as the .45, so it is going to come down to fit and feel and then what is available. What is good for one hand may not fit the next hand. You and I shoot the magnums and dont give it a second thought, but a beginner has to work up to that, dont you think? Start maybe with a 9mm and get used to it, then move up if necessary? I would advise going to a range and leasing a pistol and running a box of ammo through it and getting the feel, before purchasing anything.

[Double Tap]

And I’ve seen a few ND’s while someone tries to decock a single action revolver when they decide not to shoot...

[Armedanddangerous]

Good advice sir.

[Red in Blue PA]

“Glock has the best reputation for reliability”

They also do not have a safety, which for a first time gun owner is probably important.

IMO, Glocks are the most overrated guns on the market. CZ’s probably the most underrated.

[Red in Blue PA]

“the first handgun should be .22 revolver.”

....or a Ruger Mark III, one of the finest guns ever made.

[Concho]

Thank you, Señor.

[Red in Blue PA]

Why would anyone live in a state where self-defense is not a basic right?

[Red in Blue PA]

Kimber should most definitely be on that list. Some of the finest 1911’s ever made!

[Thane_Banquo]

9mm semi-auto.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Or I can shoot 357M through it when she's not using it. I'm 6'1", 225lbs

It still is a lot of recoil concentrated in about 3 square inches of backstrap into the web of your hand. I know guys who shoot .44's and .454's with great regularity who said "never again" after one cylinder full of .357's out of an Airweight J frame Smith.

[Thane_Banquo]

Oh, right. We weren’t planning on buying the airweights. Guy at the gun shop said, “Don’t buy the Airweight.” Same reason you gave.

[Thane_Banquo]

Job and grad school. Hoping to maybe move back to FL next year.

[MHGinTN]

Kel-Tec P11 should be considered also. Not expensive, reliable, 9mm, 11 shots.

[Tijeras_Slim]

I saw later on the thread the you are considering a 686. I would concur with that choice wholeheartedly if your wife can reach the trigger readily. I’ve had several, and they are excellent revolvers. If the factory Hogue grips don’t work, look at Pachmayr Compacts.

[Sudetenland]

Glocks have 3 built in safeties. It is every bit as safe as a revolver...you must pull the trigger for it to fire. Glocks have been dropped from airplanes, buildings, and people...they do not go off accidentally.

A safety adds one additional step in complexity to get a pistol ready to fire. In an emergency situation that means one more thing you must remember to do before you can defend yourself.

You may not like Glocks, but they are the preferred firearm for a vast majority of police departments in America and for military around the world.

Individual Glocks have had hundreds of thousands of rounds fired through them with just simple-standard maintenance.

They are safe, reliable and affordable. You keep your CZ's. I have owned a Glock since they first came out (20 years) and I have never desired any other pistol.

[Last Dakotan]

For the price, you get a lot of gun that's fairly accurate and totally reliabe.

If and when I am ready to trade up to a M&P 40c, I can get all of my modest investment back - try doing that when a gun whose manufacturer nobody has heard of.