Handgun Owners

#1
BarrythesnoUT

BarrythesnoUT

Nico Era
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Dec 31, 2011
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#1
I have very little experience with handguns. I've owned rifles and shotguns my entire life, and I'm looking for a home defense weapon/concealed carry. Looking for some suggestions if anyone is willing to offer some advice.

I've been looking mostly at 9 mm semiautomatic so far. Am I going down the wrong path? It doesn't seem like a revolver would be very conducive to concealed carry.
 
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#3
#3
barrythesnout said:
I have very little experience with handguns. I've owned rifles and shotguns my entire life, and I'm looking for a home defense weapon/concealed carry. Looking for some suggestions if anyone is willing to offer some advice.

I've been looking mostly at 9 mm semiautomatic so far. Am I going down the wrong path? It doesn't seem like a revolver would be very conducive to concealed carry.
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I’m interested in this too. I have a 38 revolver 5 shot which in my opinion may be inadequate.
 
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#5
#5
9mm is good because it is cheap to shoot and usually capacity is more than what you will get with a .40 or .45. Luckily you can find carry sized pistols in almost any caliber. You can find carry sized revolvers as well. What price range are you looking for?
 
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#9
#9
Wow, 9mm concealed carry is a vast market. Glock 43, M&P Shield, P365, and on you go. Please don't buy anything you haven't shot on the range. The aspects of a handgun include recoil, accuracy, capacity, trigger, and on and on. I started with a 9mm Glock 26, added a Sig P238 in 380, and then added a 45 ACP 1911. All have their advantages. Now I'm casting longing glances at AR's. Be careful what you wish for.
 
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#10
#10
VOLinAL said:
9mm is good because it is cheap to shoot and usually capacity is more than what you will get with a .40 or .45. Luckily you can find carry sized pistols in almost any caliber. You can find carry sized revolvers as well. What price range are you looking for?
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I'd like to stay around the $500 or under range.
 
#13
#13
Coug said:
I'd argue that if the assailant is strung out, or quite large then you'd better be very good at bullet placement if you're carrying a .380 and it'd help even more if you choose the right ammo.
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Me and my wife both have a ,380, and I love them as far as carrying. They are more of a close range weapon if needed for protection, at least mine is.
 
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#17
#17
I have carried a pistol (with and without a permit) the vast majority of my life. After getting my carry permit, I shopped around looking for a pistol that fit my parameters: (1) compact (2) light weight (3) reliable and (4) stopping power. After my research and test shooting, I bought the Smith and Wesson MP Shield 9 mm. My wife and son tried my Shield, and liked it so well, that I bought them a Shield. I am very satisfied with the Shield.

Before buying, I would suggest going to Bud's in Sevierville (or any gun range) and test shoot different pistols before purchasing.
 
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#18
#18
First you need to decide what type of self defense you are capable of. For example, are you sure you could encounter a problem, evaluate it and kill the offender in a matter of seconds? This would have some bearing on the weapon and holster for concealed carry and would require some practiced capability on your part. For myself, I don't think I am capable of making a fast decision to take a life so I carry heavy, .45 semi-auto double action. If the situation changes slowly enough for me to evaluate I can match force. I am not the guy looking to stop a holdup, let them have the money.
 
#19
#19
81Bubbavol said:
Wow, 9mm concealed carry is a vast market. Glock 43, M&P Shield, P365, and on you go. Please don't buy anything you haven't shot on the range. The aspects of a handgun include recoil, accuracy, capacity, trigger, and on and on. I started with a 9mm Glock 26, added a Sig P238 in 380, and then added a 45 ACP 1911. All have their advantages. Now I'm casting longing glances at AR's. Be careful what you wish for.
Click to expand...

It get's worse. Once you start purchasing stripped lowers and building AR's, you'll soon find yourself with multiple builds in different calibers.
 
#20
#20
barrythesnout said:
I'd like to stay around the $500 or under range.
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Plenty of good 9mm carry guns in that price range. Ruger, Walther, CZ, Springfield, Sig, Glock, S&W, Beretta, and Canik all have good ones at or below $500. I'm a Sig guy personally. But it's all about what feels good to you. I recommended going to the range and trying as many as possible to find what works for you. Many pistol ranges have rental options to let you try out a bunch of diffrent ones.
 
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#21
#21
barrythesnout said:
I'd like to stay around the $500 or under range.
Click to expand...

I've been searching too. There is a stable of good midsize to conceal well under the $500 ceiling. I have had handguns in years past, but none in quite some time. This time I have to consider my wife wanting to get one, so I have spent a good deal of time researching. For the money in the $500-$600 range, I personally am a die hard Beretta model 92 fan. That was my favorite I ever owned. For dependability and accuracy, it never fails and being on the heavy side, shoots like butter with low recoil. they have a slightly smaller compact 92 that has my attention.

For the others I have done research on, the Bersa Thunder 380 is very popular and highly rated, and inexpensive. It's in my top 3 to decide on. Other affordable compact models in the $200-$350 range that were appealing to me so far is SCCY, Taurus G2C, Canik, S&W SDVE. These are all 380 or 9mm.

I have not ruled out a .22. For home defense, this is a good option. As well as for cost of ammo. Well placed shots are highly important, and .22's can be very effective inside the home.

I've put a lot of time into researching, and as noted above, don't buy what you haven't shot. What looks cool or appealing, you may not like after you buy and shoot. Case in point, my step son has one of those palm sized Ruger 380's. I shot it. Hate it. Had I not shot his, that pistol would still be on my list. I'll drum up my list I had going and come back and post it. because of other commitments I'm paying right now, we just haven't bought yet. Had I got taxes back instead of paying, we probably would have gone and let her shoot accouple and purchased by now.
 
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#22
#22
Depends on what you are comfortable carrying. I split time between 2 guns. A Ruger LCP 380 w/ pocket holster. My second is a Springfield mod2 9mm. I love the mag capacity on it. That being said, if I were to buy my first handgun right now it would be a Sig P365. They are a single stack and weigh in at 18oz without ammo. For home protection only, I would buy a Springfield XDM 9, 5.25" barrel 19+1 capacity.
 
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#23
#23
GVF said:
I've been searching too. There is a stable of good midsize to conceal well under the $500 ceiling. I have had handguns in years past, but none in quite some time. This time I have to consider my wife wanting to get one, so I have spent a good deal of time researching. For the money in the $500-$600 range, I personally am a die hard Beretta model 92 fan. That was my favorite I ever owned. For dependability and accuracy, it never fails and being on the heavy side, shoots like butter with low recoil. they have a slightly smaller compact 92 that has my attention.

For the others I have done research on, the Bersa Thunder 380 is very popular and highly rated, and inexpensive. It's in my top 3 to decide on. Other affordable compact models in the $200-$350 range that were appealing to me so far is SCCY, Taurus G2C, Canik, S&W SDVE. These are all 380 or 9mm.

I have not ruled out a .22. For home defense, this is a good option. As well as for cost of ammo. Well placed shots are highly important, and .22's can be very effective inside the home.

I've put a lot of time into researching, and as noted above, don't buy what you haven't shot. What looks cool or appealing, you may not like after you buy and shoot. Case in point, my step son has one of those palm sized Ruger 380's. I shot it. Hate it. Had I not shot his, that pistol would still be on my list. I'll drum up my list I had going and come back and post it. because of other commitments I'm paying right now, we just haven't bought yet. Had I got taxes back instead of paying, we probably would have gone and let her shoot accouple and purchased by now.
Click to expand...

.22 for home defense ? I guess I'm over doing it a little at my house. I dont trust the .22 for enough stopping power in a home invasion situation. I'm not saying it wouldnt do the job but I wouldn't feel secure with a .22 being my first option. To each his own though.
 
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#24
#24
goldenvol said:
.22 for home defense ? I guess I'm over doing it a little at my house. I dont trust the .22 for enough stopping power in a home invasion situation. I'm not saying it wouldnt do the job but I wouldn't feel secure with a .22 being my first option. To each his own though.
Click to expand...


.22's have bagged and tagged more than the other calibers combined. Viable alternative if you don't want a cannon going off in the house.
 
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