One sidearm, suggestions?

Q

Quincy

New member
I am a one gun sort of guy, I have one .30-06, one 12 gauge, 1 .22 and would like one sidearm for concealed carry, home defense and range time. I have been shooting a long time and have had several pistols and a revolver, but would like to settle on one and I'm wondering what your suggestions are. The criteria are fairly open, under $1200, as reliable as possible, semi-auto as that is what I am most comfortable with, 9mm and small enough to carry. If you have any questions, please ask. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

Q
 
I know there are people here who will have differing opinions, but here is mine: I see "concealed carry" characteristics and good "range" characteristics as being on opposite sides of the spectrum. I.E. the closer you come to the goals of complete concealability and comfort when carrying, the further you will be from the characteristics that make for a nice, pleasant shooting range gun. Add in the 3rd work objective (home defense) and you add in another layer of characteristics to confuse the mix. It's going to be up to you to figure out how much of one characteristic you sacrifice in order to gain another.

For example, my 2 carry weapons are currently a Ruger LCP and Ruger LC9s. Both are very small, very light, and very concealable. However, small and light don't make for pleasant or accurate range shooting. Small capacity hinders their ability to be good choices for home defense. If I were to pick a different weapon for home defense, it would be much larger and have a nice double-stack capacity. It would probably have an attached light too. However, that would significantly hinder my ability to carry and conceal it. By the same token, a "range" pistol would have a longer barrel with big adjustable sights. Pleasant to shoot and accurate, but impractical for CC.

My advise to you, for what it's worth, is to decide which of the functions is most important to you and choose a firearm that best fits those needs for you and yet is still "acceptable" for the other two functions.
 
No need to spend anywhere near $1200 unless you really want to.
Take a look at the Ruger line of SRs in the various calibers and two sizes.
Very nice shooters, and not too chubby for a high capacity pistol.
 
"Small enough to carry" is very individual. It would help to have an idea of pistols that you've found to meet this description for yourself in the past.
 
To meet your criteria I'd suggest a CZ 75 if you can handle carrying around a metal pistol. If not, the CZ P-07 (the newer one not the duty model). I had been carrying around an LC9S as my every day CC pistol and plan to continue doing so in the summer months but for all the other seasons I will be carrying the new P-07 I just picked up. You really can't go wrong with a Glock 19 either. I don't enjoy the Glock triggers or the ergonomics of them all that much but they certainly are great all around firearms and they get the job done.
 
I am a one gun sort of guy, I have one .30-06, one 12 gauge, 1 .22 and would like one sidearm for concealed carry, home defense and range time. * * * The criteria are fairly open, under $1200, as reliable as possible, semi-auto as that is what I am most comfortable with, 9mm and small enough to carry. If you have any questions, please ask. Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
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Actually, for $1200, if that's your discretionary budget-range, you could get both a *lightly* used G19 and one of the 10mm Glocks for serious use, or at least more versatility. ;) $1200 can buy a lot, depending on where you look.

Factory 9mm ammo is still fairly cheap, and per the 10mm diehards this cartridge really shines (and cuts way down on cost) when you reload for it, always a good hobby too ... :cool:
 
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CZ 75D or a CZ P-01 if you want a rail. The single action trigger pull is usually nice on the CZs. The alloy frame makes it pretty light for CC and a 3.8 inch barrel is a good compromise for range, carry, or night stand.
 
"Small enough to carry" is very individual. It would help to have an idea of pistols that you've found to meet this description for yourself in the past.
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No kidding.

OP. There are a whole bunch of possibilities. For carry don't go cheap on holster and belt and you probably will find you can comfortably carry and conceal a pistol larger than you think but a lot depends on how you dress when you carry also and CCW laws in your state.

I suggest you go to local gun store and see what you like and try to narrow the list down. A lot also depends if you have a preference for hammer fired or strikers fired pistol and if you want/require an manual safety or not.

My personal preferences for carry/range pistols are from SIG, Walther, and HK. They cover the gamut in size and types with IMO excellent reliability, durability, and accuracy. I also prefer nothing smaller than a compact pistol for carry/range that allows me to have a full grip on my pistol. My favorites include the SIG P228/P229, HK P30L, HK VP9, Walther PPQ, and Walther P99 AS. Poly frame pistols will be the lightest for carry if that is a consideration.

Good luck in your quest.
 
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I'm a cheap skate. I chose an S&W SD9VE for under $300. It is almost identical in size and weight of a Glock 19 and it is so similar in function, it is almost scary. The trigger is heavier than a Glock but it works fine for me as it is very similar to a DA revolver trigger. I would buy it again and save the $200 premium a Glock 19 costs.
 
Reminds me of the old "We can give you a good price, high quality, and on time delivery. But pick only two" scenario.
 
Thanks for the replies. To answer a few questions, currently I carry a S & W Shield for which I have 3 holsters, n82, an OWB and a tuckable, can't remember the brand. Regarding the safety, I'd prefer none, provided it has a passive drop safety and a trigger safety of some sort, like Glock or the Shield. I'm open to either a hammer or striker, I would shoot it enough to get comfortable and proficient with it. I like the Shield but would prefer a 4" barrel or close to it and maybe a slightly thicker grip.

Q
 
Doyle has some excellent points. A good range/hd handgun and a good cc handgun are generally different beasts.

If you are an "only one of each" kinda guy, what about one centerfire semi-auto and one centerfire revolver? One could be large and one could be small.
 
If 9mm is your goal, I have a different suggestion.

S&W M&P 9c.

For range use, get the full-sized M&P 9 magazine and an X-grip adaptor.

I live in a non-free state, so the full-sized magazine isn't useful in regards to capacity. If you are in a free state, you can have 17 rounds in it for range or home defense this way.

I use this setup as the full-sized mag and the X-Grip adaptor make it feel better in my hand for all day range time.

Then, put your compact mags in for concealed carry.

Here is an article- look at the pics: Mag adaptors on M&P Compacts

Let us know what you think.


Edit: sorry, just realized you mentioned 4" barrel preference.

I still stick by the M&P 9c with this setup. Mine is fun to shoot, even without the mag set up the way I described.

However, if I could only own ONE firearm that shot 9mm, it would be a Browning High Power- which you don't want due to the thumb safety. I have no disagreement over that, but I would find a way to CC my BHP before giving it up. It just feels 'right'.

The drawback? No light mount, large for CCW role, thumb safety, irritating trigger out of the box. But it feels SOOO right!:D
 
I'll toss in a suggestion,,,

I'll toss in a suggestion,,,
'cause, when have I ever been shy. :rolleyes:

I own three 9mm pistols,,,
A CZ-75B, a Bersa Thunder UC Pro, and a Ruger LC9.

I tried but the only way I could conceal the CZ was with a sport coat,,,
And that made me sad because she's my very favorite pistol,,,
I was tempted to name her Vera.

If I needed a pistol and concealment wasn't a factor,,,
The CZ would be my choice for a duty gun.

So I decided to go the polymer compact route,,,
I like Ruger as a maker well enough so I handled an LC9,,,
The Evil Pawn Shop Guy made me a great deal on a brand new one.

Everyone is correct about it being a mite "snappy",,,
But I bought a grip sleeve for IIRC $13.95 or thereabouts,,,
It padded the swell of the grip and made it nestle in my K-frame size hands.

I can shoot 50 rounds at the range with no pain,,,
I like the fact that mine is the first version,,,
I like pistols that have a manual safety.

I do miss the hammer though,,,
It would be nice to be able to de-cock it.

Even so, I like the little gun quite a bit,,,
That shooter is a nasty little eight-fanged snake.

Then one day I saw a picture of the Bersa Thunder UC Pro,,,
It looked to be about the same size as a CZ-RAMI.

That's a gun I love and would love to own,,,
But I never could convince myself to sign that big of a check.

So I finally got my hands on a Bersa,,,
I was correct in that it felt very much like the RAMI.

Actually that's not so surprising,,,
I bet Sig has a pistol with the same feel as well.

But the Bersa had one advantage,,,
The dang thing was less than $400.00 bucks.

So I decided that since it did have my favorite DA/SA action,,,
And came with two mags in either 13 or 10 round,,,
I bought one just because it was pretty.

I was very pleased that it turned out to be a great performer,,,
It's very ergonomic and has a great (to me) trigger.

It would be easy to get good with this pistol,,,
I just don't shoot it enough to get there.

So I'm not really recommending any of these three,,,
Just putting a bit of info and commentary out there for your perusal.

The hunt for a new gun can be as enjoyable as the actual purchase.

Have fun.

Aarond

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