Looking for a carry + range gun.

G

GrantH

Inactive
I've been thinking of getting a pistol for a while. I don't know what I want entirely, but I want something I can carry once i'm confident in using it and have some training behind me. I have talked to a bunch of friends and people who have experience in what I want to do, but i'm still not 100% in what I want.

I've been told to get as large of caliber as I can afford/handle, and that a .45 would be best...but I've read a bit that size isn't much of a factor when your trained to react accordingly.

My options are $450 or less if possible, if not...i'll wait and save more, though I think my budget is fair.

I'm not a fan of anything in particular style wise, though I've always liked revolvers and am a bit intrigued by the J frames. A buddy of mine has a brand new/never fired/NIB American Tactical .45 Titan Ultra Compact 1911 that I believe is the officer edition. It's a smaller gun, synthetic wood handles (I think) that he is willing to let go for 400. The only other real options I've looked at are the SR40, and the SD40. I'm obviously not a brand fan boy either.

All said and done, I want a reliable gun with good power that I can easily carry in my car and on myself. Does the 1911 ATI give me that or should I steer clear and go elsewhere?
 
You sound new to guns, and starting with a .45 or a Smith J frame might not be the best idea, especially one of the Airweight J frames that weigh 15 ounces.

Not sure of the rep of that American Tactical your buddy has, and I think you might find it tough to shoot. A 1911-style gun is also considered not the best for a beginner.

My suggestion would be a 9mm pistol or a steel .38 special revolver.

There are many good choices in 9mm, both in guns and ammo, and the 9mm, while clearly good for defense, is much cheaper to shoot than the .40 or .45. Less cost= more practice....

9mm also recoils less and so you can learn to shoot it accurately much faster.

For a 9mm of good reputation that would be fairly easy to shoot, and also easy to carry, look at:

Glock 26 ($500 or less new, or get a nice used one from a reliable shop)
Ruger SR9c($430)
Kahr CW9 ($430)

Somewhat bigger, but of good reputation and even cheaper:

Ruger P95 ($300)
Smith Sigma 9VE ($300)

Make sure the long DA trigger pull on the P95 is OK by you, and your DA shots don't drift right too much.

You might get those posters or buddies recommending Kel-tecs. I would avoid them as a first gun for the nasty recoil alone, and the lousy trigger on the P11.

I would also not get a Taurus as a first or only gun. Quality control is not the best and the service is very slow.

For a steel snubby revolver, I don't see too many Smith steel JFrames, and the larger Smiths are pretty heavy and bulky actually.

I would look for a nice used Ruger SP 101 ($450) and maybe look at the Ruger LCR, a much lighter gun that doesn't recoil that badly. Shoot the LCR first before buying it, find a range that rents one. No need to worry about recoil with the built-like-a-tank SP.

Most SPs are .357 magnums. But of course, you can shoot .38s out of these as well, to cut ammo cost and recoil pain.
 
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As a general rule I suggest trying out as many guns as you can to find something you are comfortable with. Some ranges have deals where you can pay a larger than normal rental fee and then can use any of their guns for your current range session, one-at-a-time of course.

That being said, I personally always recommend the Springfield Armory XD Compact with 4" barrel. It should cost about $350-$400 new. The XD is very reliable, nice looking, simple, and has a good series of safety systems without having a formal safety. It has a trigger safety like a Glock, a grip safety like a 1911, and it has a chamber status indicator that is both visual and tactile. The only downside at all is that during the teardown process for cleaning you have to pull the trigger, which is always little scary even when 100% sure it is not loaded.

I would suggest you get it in 9mm, but not because a newbie to handguns shouldn't have or can't handle .45. I recommend 9mm because it is the cheapest handgun ammo available aside from .22lr. Cheaper ammo means more shooting and longer range sessions, which is useful when you are getting used to your first handgun.

However, if you aren't concerned about ammo price then get the .45 version as it is easy to shoot and learn with if you start using just non +P ammo. Then once you are comfortable you can move to more powerful +P ammo to test and then carry for defense.
 
Thanks for all the tips and info.

I am new to pistols, but have been shooting rifles (7mag, 30.06, 45-70, .22) for a few years at the range with my brother. I have shot pistols, but it's not a regular occurrence and I couldn't tell you what I shot.

I'll have to look for a range near by that rents guns and stuff. I don't know of a single indoor/storefront range.
 
I'll add the gun must feel good in YOUR hand, and YOU will need to be able to control the gun. If you can shoot a 9 mm with good control and are able to hit with accuracy doing double taps but can't hit squat with a 45 acp which do you think you are better off buying? As they say 2 hits with a 9 mm is better than 2 misses with a 45 acp.

What ever you decide to buy being able to get you hits and good solid gun control is a must.
 
Guns I have owned or fired that I am really pleased with and would have no problem carrying.
Ruger SR9c and 40
Ruger P95 (favorite semi auto)
Ruger LCR
Smith J frame (current ccw 638)
For your price range I would go SR9c.
Never owned a glock but I know they are top notch also you might be able to find a police trade in for not too much $$$$
 
I agree with the sr9c or the sr40c. They are both fantastic carry guns. I normally carry the sr40c and have had no problems with it at all. Both are in your price range. You could also consider a Karh cw9. Another fantastic gun in your range.


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IMO the carry roles and range gun role are contradictory roles. Generally a carry gun is smaller, shorter sight radius, and light weight.

Unless your idea of fun at the range is shooting man-sized silohettes at 10 feet, the carry guns are probably not going to be a whole lot of fun at the range. Nothing against people who enjoy that kind of shooting.

I totally understand the motivation though. I want a HD shotgun that I can also use for trap and skeet...

Well, they really are two different guns..
 
Time to report back a little bit.

I held a glock23, and the AT .45 Titan (officer). To me, the AT.45 is perfect in my hand, it feels great, fits, and I can reach everything easily. The weight is a little light unloaded, so loaded should be perfect. I'm really liking this gun.

The glock grip was too narrow/small for me personally.

I'm not a small guy, so I think I should be able to handle a .45 fairly well...though it's a bit of a toss up until I am able to shoot it. I did dry fire the gun while talking to my friend and it has a firm trigger, but a very short pull. It felt good.

I am going to a gun show tomorrow with the same guy, so hopefully he will look at it as me learning and he will show me some differences in the details of different guns. I plan to handle the sr9c, sr40, lc9c, and the comparable sig sauers and walthers. I can handle the others when my brother is working.


Look forward to the near future!
 
Oh, I will also try and handle the Springfield XD40 ESS. I believe that is the one that was mentioned. It runs just shy of 400 online from what I can tell.
 
I don't think I've ever heard anybody say the glock grip was to small or narrow. Before I read that I was going to recommend the glock 19. It's a 9mm so ammo is reasonable. It's big enough to be comfortably used as a range gun. I could put 2-300 rounds thru mine in one range trip with no discomfort. It's also small enough to be able to conceal. There are a lot of aftermarket sleeves to be put on pretty much every gun made. So maybe you could make it fit your hand the way you like.
 
Maybe I need to hold it again. It was smaller than the AT 1911 grip, so it may have been the difference making it seems small. I will be sure to grab on tomorrow to try.

Has anyone looking at this thread used/shot the AT 1911 .45 Titan?
 
There's also the changeable back straps on the gen 4 to better fine tune the fit. That's not a glock exclusive there are several manufacturers doing that. But some people are having issues with the gen 4. Good luck with you're new purchase.
 
Well, the gun show was today and I handled just about everything in my price range that I could. I couldn't get over how they mark stuff up at those things though, so I backed away and went elsewhere. I knew I wanted to make a purchase today, so I wandered around to Academy. Maybe not everyone's first choice, but they had what I found at the show that I liked.

I ended up purchasing a Beretta PX4 .40. I realize this wasn't a recommended gun, and it may not be a Glock...but it was super comfortable to hold and I just really like the gun overall. I didn't get the sub-compact, but I did get the compact with the rotating bolt recoil setup.

We are going to the range tomorrow, I will report back with what I think about my new gun!
 
Until the PPS came along, this requirement for me was filled by the Glock 19. It's relatively lightweight, of an intermediate size, accurate, and range tough.
 
I had a Px4 .40 like you bought, excellent gun, 100 Percent reliable. Nice choice.

Mine was a little too long on the DA pull, and I have grown to dislike the Beretta safety lever, but if those don't bother you, you should be very happy.

Very mild recoil for a .40 also.
 
What don't you like about the safety lever? They now make a low pro/flush lever set that will set me back 70 bucks. Not bad it that does become a small inconvenience.
 
I was not surprised when he said he bought the Storm. I have small hands and the Storm felt too fat in the grip for me but one of my co-workers is a big boy and he bought the Storm and said every pistol that I was comfortable with felt small to him. I ended up with a Springfield XD in .45 a few months ago and I just picked up a Kahr CW9 for CC and to take advantage of cheap 9mm ammo. My local shop was just running a special on Federal 115gr. FMJ
50ct. for $8.99 per box. I got the Kahr from Cheaper Than Dirt and had it shipped to my local FFL and the total for the gun, shipping, and transfer fee was around $375
 
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