I'd buy the 357 revolver, then spent some money on a good CC rig, speedloaders, and plenty of practice ammo. Get another gun later when you have the money to outfit it the same. Just another way of looking at things.
This is a valid point to consider.
Let's say you fall in love with "X" revolver, and it's $550.
$550 is a fair price nowadays for a quality, new (or possibly even used, depending on make/model) .357 DA revolver.
You can't carry that revolver yet. You need a holster. Maybe more than 1... an outer waistband one, and an inner waistband one for concealment. Maybe you only need the IWB one... I always favor having one of each for my guns.
Anyway, that's about $100 worth of gunleather.
Add in a GOOD gunbelt and you've got another $50 liability. Maybe more, maybe less, depending on how picky you are. But you're looking for double layer bull hide.
You're now at $700.
A sixgunner needs a couple more things: Speedloaders and speedstrips. Speedloaders are circular and typically a bit tricky to carry, but are the ideal way to carry extra rounds if possible. Let's say you get 3 of those. That's $25. Then you want a couple speedstrips. These are flat carriers for your cartridges. Easier to conceal, faster than loose cartridges. Another $10 or so. Add in some other accessories related to that: speedloader carrier for your belt, perhaps? Round up the $35 to $50 to make math easy... You're at $750.
Your CCW class will probably cost $100 or so.
That leaves $150 for ammo. That's not a lot, frankly. .38 range fodder such as walmart winchester white box (WWB) will cost you about $40 for 100 rounds, I think. That's 300 rounds, then add in some .38+p or .357 defensive ammo @ $25 for about 20 rounds nowadays.
One gun, fully equipped from ground zero to carry-capable: $1000.
The next one gets cheaper since you have a belt and a CCW permit, but you still need holster(s) and ammo, and extra magazines if it's an automatic. A $700 .45 auto will really cost you about $1000 including a holster and a couple spare magazines, + spare mag holder(s) and ammo.
Yep. @ $1000 budget, with a goal of transitioning from "nothing to carry", you need to focus on equipping 1 gun all the way.
For a .357, I'd suggest a 3" barrel for a dedicated carry gun.
For a .45 auto, I'd suggest a 4" barrel (1911 Commander rather than Government profile, or 4" length in other non-1911 designs) rather than a longer barrel.
In the Ruger product line (a great bet), I'd suggest above all else, one of the "Six" series older guns. The Security Six or Speed Six. Slightly smaller frame than the new GP's, extremely well built. They were actually money losers for Ruger, they were that good. In their new products, I'd suggest the 5-shot SP101 with 3" barrel over the GP100 with the same length barrel. If you want an auto, the P345 seems worthy of looking at.
.