G19 vs. Revolver, first gun

G

Ginger

New member
Arghh!!

Just when a very gently used one owner G19 waltzes into my life, for $450, with tritium sights, a friends husband gives me the "glocks are sexy but a revolver won't let you down" lecture.

So it's still out there waiting for me to buy it, but now I have doubts about whether I shouldn't be buying a revolver instead?

The G19 fits in my hand. I'm scared of jamming. I'm a small female and I have only taken one class - more to follow - I know if I just buy the thing I'll practice plenty and learn to clear any jams, and imagine if I don't like it I can sell it for what I paid...I have a cwp but this will be primarily for in home defense.

Any advice? I know this question is likely a dead horse, thanks to all willing to keep beating it ;)

ps I have a dominant side elbow injury.
 
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I'd rent a G19 at a local rage. Fire 100 rounds and see if you have any issues.

What feels best in your hands?

By the way, $450 is not a great price. They are new in box, without night sights, in my market for $479. A very gently used G19 is worth more like $400 retail and $350 on trade to a dealer.

Also, the revolver doesn't have the capacity to fire 15 consecutive rounds!

A Glock is a very good beginners' gun. It has an excellent trigger pull, is reliable, durable and accurate.

For a first gun, I would buy a .22, like a Ruger Mark III or Browning. Fire thousands of rounds, get good, have some fun, develop confidence...on the cheap ($12.50 for a Federal 550 cartridge brick at Wal-Mart).

Good Luck!!!
 
I don't think you could go wrong with either selection. Personally, when I was originally confronted with the choice, I chose the revolver for the exact won't-let-you-down-when-you-absolutely-need-it demands that your friend cites.

You mention that the gun is for home defense (and maybe carrying (I'm citing the cwp reference)). I doubt that you'll need 15 rounds.

The only thing that's stopping me from unequivocally recommending a .357 revolver (such as a S&W or Ruger) is your elbow injury. Is it permanent? Even if it is, a .38+p load wouldn't be much more than a 9mm semi-auto.

All things considered, I'd still go for the revolver. They're sexy too! And reliable as all hell. Either way you are definately going about it the right way (training, questioning, etc.). More power to you and good luck. RP
 
I went with the revolver as my first gun because of the whole reliability factor as well. I quickly replaced my revolver with a semi-auto because of all of the issues I was having with the revolver (aka it was NOT reliable) and sent the revolver to get fixed. All guns can malfunction and not work but in general the glock is probably as reliable as a revolver. Either one should be fine for you.
 
The G19 has a higher capacity, and I've never heard of one letting anyone down. That's part of the reason I bought one. They are incredibly reliable and have a long record to show it.

I'm not knocking revolvers. I just think G19's are awesome. Given your choice, I would go with the G19.

By the way, I do think that price is a little high. I just saw a brand new G17 today for like $480 (It's the full-size 9mm). I'm admittedly no expert on pricing used guns, however.
 
Revolvers are great, but I trust semi autos much more so. The Glock will be better to learn on, easier to shoot (in general), and probably can be found for less $$$.

If you want another option, try a Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm in full size or compact. I have both the M&P and a Glock. They are great pistols both. Price is comparable. I think the M&P is the better shooter, but thats MHO.

Check this out:
M&P 9mm Full Size

M&P 9mm Compact
 
Thank you for your responses. I was pretty excited and dead set on the G19 till doubt reared it's ugly head. I kind of figured that if I was hesitating I should hold off, and focus on replacing exterior doors, and generally making the home less penetrable, especially since my kids get home before I do and when I looked into safes and cables it seemed 1. bolt cutters would cut the cables and 2. a person with time could get into a gun safe and 3. I don't want my kids coming home to an intruder wielding my own gun. Not that I think that is necessarily likely but I don't want to go to the kind of lengths to hide the thing that are going to make me less likely to access it myself when needed.

Kids and I sleep upstairs and my door is the first at the top of stairs, so I'm thinking reinforce the exterior doors and maybe do a ground level alarm system so if I get a ground level intruder the dog wakes up, I wake up, and am able to remain upstairs while mitigating any threat coming up the stairs.

Because I have a teenager who likes midnight snacks I'm thinking a contact alarm system downstairs and a motion controlled light in the staircase so when he trips it and comes upstairs to tell me I can see him.

My elbow issue is lateral epicondylitis, tennis elbow, taking a long time to get better but the day I went shooting all day with a friend's arsenal kinda tore it up.

As for the kind of home defense I need to be concerned with it's

1. run of the mill home invader likely scared off by light and sound and

2. an ex who is a poss candidate for a kamikaze mission, in which case the light and sound will just suffice to render me alert to help him fulfill it, before the top of the staircase.

My primary location from which I would be firing is facing onto the top of the stairs with no rooms/people/neighbor issues on the other side of the target. But every night that I have my head on the pillow and, looking through my bedroom door, see the kids as they get to the top of the stairs and then walk by my doorway I think about those midnight snacks, and know I really have to have my sh*t together before I play with fire.

Love this site, you folks are the best!
 
Of all the semiauto handguns on the market, the Glock is deemed one of the most reliable with very few jams, if any. I wouldn't worry about that part.

However, you may want to consider another gun, something with a DA/SA pull. Glocks are fairly notorious for their 'negligent discharge' record due to lack of additional safeties or harder trigger pulls. As a beginner you will learn 'trigger discipline', IE keeping your finger OFF THE TRIGGER until you have the sights lined up on your target. I know it took me a while to learn that when handling the gun.

Just a thought.
 
My jamming stress stems from my first pistol class. I'd read about the Glocks jamming, had just held one and it was like the glass slipper, so asked an instructor about it. He proceeded to tell me it was no big deal, and, explaining the mechanism while demonstrating with his own Glock, created a jam that he couldn't undo, and in fact did not undo prior to the end of our discussion and the class.

Bingo, jam traumatized.
 
So what kind of jam was he able to induce? Like I said, Glocks are famous for being extremely reliable. He must have done something completely out of the ordinary for that to happen.
 
The Glock is as reliable as any firearm. Not all revolvers are reliable. Its not true that a revolver is 100% reliable but a semi is prone to jam. I've never had a failure of any type with any of my Glocks, I have had revolvers lock up on me at the range.

Your price on the G19 is within the normal range if its a generation 3. Used gen 3s in excellent condition go for $400-$450. If you're getting 2 or more mags plus night sights the price is fair especially now with the buying frenzy going on.

Get the Glock and down the road invest in a 642. With a G19 and a 642 you'll have all of your bases covered.
 
I really think you should try to rent and test fire each model if possible, and see which one you like shooting and do well with. They're both rock solid guns but have very different feel and point characteristics. For first timers, I do think revolvers have a more forgiving learning curve regarding general things like safety, cleaning, operating etc. but you should get what you like.
 
Don't know about generation, only know the owner has fired at most 500 rounds, it has the tritium, two mags, don't know capacity, can prob go shoot with the owner, and we were hooked up by someone I really trust who was once one of the biggest holster manufacturers in the US, and I know he wouldn't steer me wrong, even if he is a Springfield man.

I value the cash sale, the night sights, and really appreciate the info here on pricing as well as other advice.

I esp. agree that it doesn't have to be my only gun, it's just a first and as such it seems a useful one. And I've been carrying around it's lovely pic :D in my phone since I finally picked the G19 after tons of research, the last time I was serious about buying a gun. I really want my own before my next class, last time I got stuck with a .22 and was sad :(
 
OTOH, I keep wondering if I should just get a shotgun and call it a day, but another leo advisor freaked me out about house clearing and someone being able to grab the thing. Clearly, I need to start somewhere and buy one of everything so I will no longer face these dilemmas.
 
"revolvers are sexy but a glock won't let you down"
Click to expand...

Fixed.

Anyhow, if the Glock fits your hand: buy it. I love revolvers, but there is no comparison here. Capacity issues aside, the Glock is simply going to be easier for most people to shoot well, and likely cheaper to feed. Also if you want to continue your training, many of the higher end training classes are going to be geared towards the semi-auto.
 
First of all I will say I'm a huge Glock fan. But I know for a fact they are prone to limp wristing. I've gotten into debates over limp wristing even existing on this forum, but it's a fact. Our very large department has been using Glocks for over 15 years and limp wristing is a known factor to watch for in training. I've seen it first hand. You must have a firm grip on the weapon. We train to push out with the grip hand and slightly back with the support hand to keep it tight. There is video on the net where limp wristing is demonstrated with a Glock, it jams when held loosely. The Glock 19 is a great choice. Just be sure to train with it. You will come to be fully confident in it. Good luck!
 
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