help with first gun

S

sunoh01

Inactive
i am looking to purchase a hand gun. i am doing this because i am going into LE and want to get familiar with these things ill cary that go bang. I have been digging for a few months now and hadn't even looked at revolvers.
i want something i can carry concealed. i dont want to spend much more than 450 and want it to have a hammer. I dont think i like DAO's very much there is just something about seeing the hammer back and knowing it is cocked. anyway any insight would be good.
the only revolvers i am familiar with are rugers. all j,k,l,m,n models are greek to me so any help would be great
 
I would go with a snub .357/.38. for that price you can get as good as you want.This could also be used as a back-up/off duty gun. Personally I would go with a hammerless or shrouded hammer model. Cocking the hammer does nothing but increase the likelyhood of accidental discharge.thats why more PDs are going to DAO. Its not that difficult to learn to shoot well from DA. I actually shoot better that way
 
Sit back and I'll teach you some greek. Smith and Wesson designates its models in the following way.
"J" small frames like the 640, 649, 36 "Chief's special" this is probably what you want for concealed carry if you want a Smith.
"K" medium frame like the model 19, 66. The baby of famous shooter Bill Jordan. A full sized revolver capable of full power loads but not reccommended on a regular basis.
"L" medium heavy frame like the 586,686. IMO the best value on the revolver market. Able to handle a steady diet of 357.
"N" large frame like 27,28,29, 629. This is Smiths biggest frame. The original home of the 357 mag. The 44 now most often resides there.
Hope this helps.
 
If you are really green as it sounds about handguns I would strongly suggest you find a shooting school. We can discuss handguns forever but it's no different than driving, you have to do it. Find a school, NRA instructor, or some such and learn to handle, operate, and shoot the revolver/auto and then you can make or have someone help make this choice with you. God Bless.
 
You definitely don't want a "M" frame. These are the long discontinued Ladysmith models designed to shoot the pre high velocity 22 Long cartridge. Use of ammunition made since the late 1930's can be marginal. They are quite pricey as they are collectors items, and not the same, in any way, as todays' Ladysmith models.

Bob
 
Maybe this will help. Sorry that they are not all from one manufacturer but you should be able to get a relative size idea from it.

From the top:
  • S&W M-19 this is the K frame. L frame is same basic size but somewhat beefier frame.
  • Colt Detective Special. This is the Colt D frame which is about the same (slightly larger) as the S&W J frame
  • Colt Army Special (Colts E frame)
  • S&W M-28 N Frame

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Everyone has their own opinion on this. Some say a .22 because it's easy and cheap to shoot. Some recommend a .357 revolver due to it's versatility (you can shoot .38 or .357). My first gun was a 9mm Beretta semi-auto (stainless 92 to be exact). I researched long and hard, and that's what I came home with. 9mm is a great round, because it has plenty of power, and is still easy (not too much recoil) and cheap (walmart has 100 for 11 bucks) to shoot. It also held 15+1 rounds, and that made me feel good with using it as my one defensive weapon. While revolvers are excellent weapons (I own a few), I would definately take a look at some 9mm's particularly because you are planning on going into law enforcement, and autos are what they use.

That being said, I'd stay away from the small 5 shot guns (S&W J-frames and Ruger SP101), because while they are more concealable, they are not as pleasant to shoot as the larger guns, and fun shooting leads to more practice. Check the S&W 66 and 686, as well as the Ruger GP100. Don't know much about the Colt King Cobra, and the Colt Python is out of your price range.
 
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