Looking to get my first handgun

simple designs are better for self defense type applications. if you don't practice a lot you have a good chance of forgetting to disengage the safety when stuff hits the fan. bad news when a bad guy is closing fast and you needed your weapon 2 seconds ago. so I prefer no safeties on my handguns. so revolvers, glocks, XD's, sig's, ruger autos, and the like. the only thing that have safeties are my target guns.
 
The BIG question to ask yourself when it comes to self defense is...what would you depend your life on.

I would be highly reluctant to stake my life on a 9mm.

Revolvers are very dependable and I would recommend .357, .44, or .45acp...period.

I would also recommend a Glock in at least .40cal as well.

This is all just my opinion, NOT gospel. If I were to do it all over again, I would be more apt to invest in a Glock .40 or .45acp and shoot the **** out of it.

The big picture being: dependable and willing to stake your life on it.
 
FWIW...

Consider a Beretta 92 as well. It's a little larger and heavier than a Glock, but reliable. That's why the US military issues it as the M9. 'Nuf said.
 
fine choices

Your listed choices (M17, M19, and XD) are fine. My only addition would be to examine the Ruger 9mm models to check if they, too, meet your criteria.

(I still recommend a 'first' gun be a Ruger KGP-141 357 Magnum-chambered revolver, but if you think your choices be limited to those already offered, I say fine.)

So find them at your local gunshops, hold them in your hand, and make up your own mind, as any from your list will be fine.
Fine fine fine.



On a personal level, I found the Glock models do not 'point' well IN MY HANDS, and the XD does.
I am not you.
 
welcome to the line.

you may want to in clude a S&W model 686 to your shopping list. comes in various barrel lengths, uses both .357 magnum and .38 special rounds, and is an all - in - one hunting, target, self defense firearm. with a little care, it will out last all of us.

i picked up a used 686-4pp in excellant condition on the gun broker auction web site in august for $434.
 
Smith and Wesson!!!

Try a Smith and Wesson M&P 9mm. It was my first handgun. I love it.
I recently purchased a Glock 26 sub-compact for concealed carry as well.

The M&P has three sized backstraps for larger hands, and easy to find mag release, slide stop. It is also a breeze to field strip.

Bottom line, choose a handgun you are sure you can control. I would rather be accurate with a .380, than wayward with a .50 Desert Eagle.

If you choose a smaller caliber, bear in mind that most good guns can handle a good +P hollow point load for better stopping power.

I use 9mm Winchester 147 gr Premium hollow point defense ammo.

Federal Hydrashock, or Cor-Bon loads are great as well.

Choose a caliber that you are comfortable with, and CHOOSE A WEAPON THAT IS 100% RELIABLE! Your life may depend on it.

Second, the best way to figure out of you like a gun, is to shoot it. Its kind of like cars. You want to test drive that rig before you plop down 30 grand.

You can't go wrong with a glock or an M&P.
I have not shot an XD, but I have heard lots of good things about them.

Hope this helps!!
 
Those who stated they would not feel safe with a lowly 9MM, are apparently not familiar with the current state of the art defensive ammo. But that does not preclude other calibers being good also. The FMJ ammo for practice will be relatively cheap but ammo is really up in price now. The really good defensive ammo is gonna be rather more expensive. Sometimes so much that it is sold in boxes of only 25 or less than 50. Don't go for budget basement on that unless you can find a good deal on what is normally top notch defense ammo. Then you can feel safe IMO, after you shoot enough of the premium stuff to be sure it is reliable in your choice of arms. So many good choices in 9MM guns that you should ask which ones are the dogs to avoid.
 
Get what you'd like, but the best piece of advise ever given on these boards is to HANDLE, HANDLE, HANDLE. I thought for sure I would be getting a Glock (Because they strike me as something of a "Best Buy") for a 9mm, but when I shot one and handled several others, I just could not get comfortable with the grip. Similar results with the Ruger. I have big hands and figured the bigger grip wouldn't be an issue - ultimately I didn't like it. Same with the two Sigs I looked at. What was the winner for me? A CZ 75B. Putting that gun in my hand was like spreading butter on toast.

Now I just need to decide whether or not the extra $130 for a stainless model is worth it. God that's a beautiful gun. Regardless, one will be in my possession at the end of the week.
 
Right now you can still get a Ruger P95 in 9mm. Easy to use and clean and 100% reliable. I have both P95 and P89 and they are both 100 % in every way.
 
I got it

I picked up my Glock 17 yesterday, spent today getting familiar with it. Taking it tomorrow to county to get registered and then off to shoot it. Thanks to all that replied. All were great suggestions...and all will be possible options for future guns, but I went with the Glock because it felt great, shot wonderfully, and was highly recommended. Cheers! and thanks for the welcome to this awesome community!:D
 
Good choice for a defensive gun. Legendary reliability, pretty accurate, high capacity, super-easy to field strip, and a doable-at-home detail strip. They also seem to stay pretty clean, are very easy to clean.

There's nothing wrong with it as a combat pistol, if you don't mind the plasticky looks & feel.

Did you get a new one or a used one? Used ones are pretty cheap compared to new.

Next step: 22 conversion kit for the G17, so you can really afford to practice.
 
1st Handgun

Get a good quality double action S&W or Ruger revolver in 38 special or 357 mag.
 
Last edited:
I have three guns, and for me, "defense" and "target shooting" are separate categories, economically at least. My "defense" gun is a S&W Model 67 38 special revolver. It's accurate and reliable. But... ammo costs nearly $20.00 for 50 rounds here in NY, or 40 cents per shot. My "target shooting" gun is my S&W model 41 22LR. 22LR ammo goes for about 6 cents per shot. I'd say you have to decide whether your primary concern is defense or target shooting. If it's target shooting, then I'd suggest a S&W 617 4" 10 shot for a revolver, or a Ruger MkIII 22LR for a semi auto.

For defense, IMHO, accuracy under pressure is a key criteria. I'd pass on the 1911 45's which I've been told can be difficult to shoot under stress, and choose instead the S&W 686 357 mag for a revolver (which also shoots 38 special and 38+p ammo) or the Beretta PX4 Storm or 90-Two 9mm semi automatics.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top