What factors made you choose your defensive handgun?

1. Reliability:
Shoots every brand of ammo that i've tried it with. Not one bobble. Simple SAO operation with slide lock and mag release as only external controls.

2. Durability:
Superb functioning with solid construction throughout. Blackened stainless slide and polymer frame with stainless components for very good corrosion resistance.

3. Accuracy:
Easy to grab and shoot from concealment. Points and shoots instinctively. Shoots to point of aim and gives excellect grouping for combat distances and beyond. Sits low in the hand for good recoil control and quick follow-up shots.
Good sized and regulated combat sights. Long moderately heavy trigger but smooth enough to not affect accuracy.

4. Size & Weight:
Conceals excellently in my preferred modes of carry, mostly pocket and occasionally IWB.

6. Maintenance:
Easy to disassemble/reassemble for cleaning, etc.

7. Caliber:
Shoots a service sized caliber in .40 S&W that's very effective. High market availability.

Kahr PM40
 
I've bounced around between a wide variety of handguns, as I like to experiment. (I have yet to run the same gun twice through IDPA, for instance.)

That said, my primary carry guns keep going back to:

1) S&W M&P45 or 45c and

2) S&W 442

I like my 1911s, my Walthers, my Berettas, and my BHP. I like my S&W K-frames. I don't really carry my N-frames, unless in a woodland milieu. I no longer own the SIGs, Glocks, FNX's, or Kahr that I used to have.

But the reasons I keep going back to the M&Ps and the 442 are a hybrid of the OP's rationale, and that of JC37. I prefer full-size or larger compact guns for the reasons listed by the OP, but sometimes find the J-frame more suitable for the reasons listed by JC37. Under most conditions, I don't mind the bulk of the 45 M&Ps, and with an MTAC holster I can generally hide the 45c under a loose t-shirt. The full-size usually requires an outer shirt.

I have several guns in the same size and weight category as my M&Ps. Of those, only the M&Ps, PPS, and Berettas have never had an FTF, FTE, or FTRB. (Yep, I've had stoppages with all my 1911s at one point or another; several with my BHP; several with my PPQ; several with my previous Kahr PM9; and even one or two with my beloved - though also previous- SIG P220 and P239.)

I have never yet had a failure with my M&P pistols. This includes between 1500 and 2000 rounds on my own time (I don't keep formal logs, but I usually shoot 200 rounds per gun per session), and a 4 day course with Massad Ayoob (most of a 500 round ammo can).

I like the M&Ps slightly better than the PX4s, as I like the constant trigger better than DA/SA.

Note: I may pick up an M&P40 in the near future... we'll see how that ends up in the pecking order.

My PPS has been trouble-free so far, and it sometimes wins out over the M&Ps, but I suspect it may become my wife's gun when she gets her permit. She seems to like it.

Note: I have owned other guns that never had failures in my experience, but for various reasons, I still parted with them.

I never had a failure with my FNX9 or FNX40, but the triggers felt too mushy for me. They worked well when shooting from static standing, two-handed, but not as well for me when moving, or shooting one-handed. Additionally, I had a tendency to push the safety down to decock vs fire - which defeated my intended purpose of using the FN's in C&L mode.

I never had a failure with my Beretta 92 Centurion, but didn't care for its combo of weight and DA/SA. I had bought it so I could have my own gun for training, while I was on active duty and then in the reserves. When I retired from the reserves, and didn't feel the need for an M9 analog at home, I sold the Centurion.

I never had failures with my G30 or G21, but they fit my hand poorly.

The 442 conceals with almost any reasonable choice of clothing. I can reliably hit the vitals of a B-27 silhouette at 25 yards with it - although I still prefer to have a bigger gun for accuracy, controllability, and capacity. Sometimes, though, bigger just isn't possible.
 
Every handgun is a compromise, with the biggest compromise for many people being that between capacity and concealability. I wound up choosing a Glock 26 (10 round magazine, 9 mm ammo) as the compromise with which I was most comfortable, at least in recent years.

Other factors include weight (a similar compromise, especially when considering loaded weight), and ease/accuracy of shooting. Reliability is not something on which one should compromise, IMO.
 
after almost 30 years of guns and shooting, my defensive handgun has evolved. Originally, it had to be the hottest, coolest most wahzoo handgun mankind had to offer. Over the years, I've shot a good number of rounds, killed a lot of paper, got yelled at in a very instructive, nurturing manner, had occasion to actually need a firearm and accumulated a tidy collection of things that go bang. What I now use as my go to defensive handgun is a Glock because it's simple, goes bang every time and if i have to replace it, the next one feels exactly like the one before it
 
I chose a Glock model 19

1) Glock reputation
2) Glock reputation confirmed by everyone I've met who has owned one
3) Small and light enough to carry, yet fits my hand comfortably
4) 9mm ammo cheap enough so I can shoot it often and not go broke
5) Glock resale values hold up beautifully (not that I'll ever sell it!)
6) Just always wanted a Glock!
 
Ruger SP-101, 3" barrel. I love playing with it, taking it apart and putting it back together, reloading for it, shooting it, and carrying it. It fits me real well and I always have it with me, so it is my primary defensive gun.

I had a similar relationship once with a Springfield XD 9mm in the 3" configuration, but that gun broke when I was shooting it. It was too much dry-firing, I expect, which suggests this is not the best gun to play with. The thin roll pin that keeps the striker contained within a certain range of motion actually shattered, and the shattered pieces locked up the gun.

I still keep an XD 9mm loaded in the house, but it's one that I haven't dry-fired. And I also have two SP-101s -- a 3" and a 2.25", loaded with .357 and .38 +P, respectively. They all have a point-and-click interface, are of a decent caliber, and haven't choked yet, which is what I require for a defensive handgun.
 
What factors made you choose your defensive handgun?

Murder, Robbery,home invasion,protecting my family etc.......
 
After owning, practicing with evaluating various guns, I finally settled on Glock. After working with .45 & .40, I finally sold off everything but the 19s and the 26.

My reasons for choosing Glock:

1. With the exception of one lemon G19, all of them have worked very well. (6 G19's, 1 G26, 1 G33, 1 G23, 1 G22, 1 G34, 1 G24, 3 G21s, 1 G30)
2. The grip angle suits my natural point of aim.
3. I carry IWB and the gun is next to my skin. The finish of a Glock survives this well. Including nearly a week in New Orleans at 100 average temperature while I was seeing the sights during the day, while my wife was at a conference. No rust.
4. Easy to service, civilian availability of armorer's courses & spare parts.
5. Rounded edges, rides against bare skin at times.
6. Magazine interoperability between different sizes.
7. Not slippery in the hand without having "catchy" grips that chafe and stick to clothing.
8. Low cost spare magazine. (After having lived through the last ban, I have many extras now.;))

Weapons evaluated and discarded between 1997 & 2007 along with #1 reason for discard roughly in order of purchase.

-S&W 409 - Hurt to shoot, didn't like safety position
-Taurus PT92 - Too big CCW (very accurate though)
-Sig 220 - Too big to CCW for me
-Sig P229 (.40) - Always felt the gun was squirting up out of my hand
-Browning HP - Didn't feed HP well, hammer uncomfortable IWB.
-Walther PPK - Lemon gun, multiple failures to feed, LCI stuck back, painful to fire
-Sig P232 - Hurt to shoot, didn't like heel mag release, nice to carry though.
-Walther P5 - Didn't like heel mag release, hard to find holsters/parts (Really cool gun though, ejected to the left)
-HK USP 40 - Too big to CCW & expensive mags, wish I had tried the USP 9c though
-Springfield Armory Loaded 1911 - Wouldn't feed hollow points, very heavy for only 8 rounds
-S&W 686+ 4" - Way too big to CCW for me, nice bedroom/truck gun
-S&W 640 - Heavy for only 5 shots, couldn't shoot well no matter what I did.
-S&W 442 - Hurt to shoot, didn't shoot well for me.
-G21 - Too big to carry, expensive ammo
-G30 - Carry gun for a long time, expensive ammo
-G33 - Too much recoil, nice to carry in a fanny pack while biking
-G23 - Carry gun for a long time, until I got married and realized I shot my wife's G19 much better/faster

There may be others, but I don't remember for sure.

Settled on G19 with G26 for pocket/ankle carry.

Guns that I would still like to try out:

Sig P239
S&W J-Frame Bodyguard (I don't remember the model number)
H&K P30
H&K USP 9c
Ruger LCR
Walther PPQ

It will take alot to wean me away from Glock though. 60+ magazines, rebuild parts, holsters, Armorer training, and just plain familiarity.:D
 
Reliable
Size
Weight


I ended up with an LCP...

Now I want a single stack something bigger. 40,45,9mm which I already have in compacts. But we all know compacts aren't that compact.

I haven't decided what yet, however.com, I think a P220 is my first order of business...
 
Concealment, reliability, low maintenance, and power. That's why I carry a jframe stoked with Corbon 158gr LSWHP +P+.
 
Since I got my CHL, I have owned about 30 different firearms.
These days, my priorities are:
--Something I shoot well.
--Something that is reliable.
--Something that I can carry and conceal.

These days, that adds up to an alloy framed 1911, either 3" or 4".
 
CZ 2075 Rami 9 in alloy.....

Reliability, Accuracy, Fit and Feel, Light Enough for All Day Carry, Reputation, Price, Looks.....she's gorgeous.......:D
 
First factor was sweat, it's hot here in Texas, so a stainless nickel slide was a must. Second was concealable and light. Third was reliability. Fourth was not a cheap 300$ pocket gun like a LCP or TCP.. Yes I tried both!

So after trying half dozen guns in semi and revolver I chose a SW642, and a Sig P238. I have the best of both worlds and can carry 24/7/365 with either one or both if need be.

If I need more fire power I can always carry my G33 .357sig, XDm 3.8 9x19, or my T3 .45acp.
 
My first reply to this thread was post #29. Since that time, my CCW has changed.

I went to the LGS, and did an exchange + cash to get a new Ruger SR9c.

By the time I had put 20 rounds through the gun, I was already significantly more consistently accurate than I was with my PF-9. I have more rounds on tap. The gun has a reputation for reliability*. All of these factors leave me feeling more confident and prepared than I was before.


*Special note: Rugers tend to have big ejection ports, and beefy extractors. This is a dream come true, after my PF-9's dramatic resurgence of failures to extract (53 in my last 100 rounds fired with it!).
 
I tend to switch up with my carry guns. I have a P238 that I carry alot simply because I can snap it on my belt pull my tshirt over it and go. I also carry a S&W M&P 9c at times, but my favorite is my Kimber Ultra Crimson Carry 45 ACP. This is a beautiful handgun, shoots well, no, wonderful and carries easy.
 
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