Suggest First Handgun (Page 2)

.38 S & W Chief Special Airweight with +P rounds.....file the hammer off and carry it in your pocket ..... forget the pea shooter .380.  

And sure, forget stopping power.  Spoken like someone who has never been in a gunfight.

Best advice so far

Definate second on the XD.  As far as safety goes it has a grip safety that doesn't allow the weapon to fire unless it's fully dpressed, meaning you have to have control of the weapon.  A trigger safety, that won't allow accidental discharge due to dropping or hanging on clothing etc. that works in concert witht he grip safety.  It has a visual and physical (you can feel it) loaded chamber indicator on top of the slide and a firing pin indicator.  What all this means is, in the dark you can tell if its loaded and cocked by feel and you have to have control of the weapon and intend to pull the trigger to make it go off.

I probably put 500-600 round of off brand ammo through mine before I cleaned it with no issues. It's never jammed on me with 1000's of rounds through it.  It also has a mini picatiny rail to mount, lights lasers etc. Reliable and safe, easily in your price range for the base model.

+2, 3, 4, or whatever we're at on the Springfield XD's.  However, I recommend the XDm which are the newer generation of the XD.

I would personally never own a Glock.  I have shot a few of them and they just don't feel right and they don't seem as accurate (to me).  I also feel the trigger safety as an only safety is very high risk.  If you google "accidentally shoots self" you'll see a lot of guns with trigger only safety's getting snagged on something while re-holstering.  You'll always hear the argument that so many police departments use glocks so they have to be the best, but it's really more about them being low cost and made of plastic so they're easier to maintain and take more abuse.

My home defense and everyday carry are both Springfield XDm .40's and Santa's bringing me a Springfield XDs .45 for Christmas.  (at least I hope he is)

I've also got a Beretta 92f 9mm and an old Colt .45 six shooter that was my Dad's.

As others have said, check out several different brands and just hold them.  In the $600-$700 range you can get a good quality gun.  Also for Ammo the Federal HST's are good, but also look at the Speer Gold Dots (what I use).  You can't go wrong with either one.

Youtube is a great resource for watching reviews of different firearms.  So if you get your choices narrowed down go spend some time there.

Oh yeah, and on stopping power.  Get all you can get.  Yes a well placed .22 will stop somebody, but odds are if you really need to use a gun you'll be so amped up on adrenalin there's a 0% chance any of your shots will be well placed.  It's kind of like somebody hitting you in the stomach with a stick or hitting you in the stomach with a sledge hammer.  They both hurt, but one will stop you and the other just makes you mad.

 Stopping power defined.  "I want to be able to hit the guy in the arm and blow a leg off."

That's just a more expensive 9MM round. Pistol is great, but you really need to check on ammo pricing.

Went to the range a couple months ago, it was sort of a going away for one of my wife's direct reports.  Since they are in HR, they had to keep it on the DL.  He brought the guns and we brought the ammp.  To my knowledge, it was my wife's first time at the range.

He brought:

Both my wife, and the other girl who works for her, preferred the 357 with the XDM second.  We shot both 357 and 38 Special  rounds thru it.  

Not sure what you are asking. The XD comes in every possible auto caliber. The XDm comes in most calibers. The XDs is .45 APC only right now, but they are most assuredly releasing a 9mm and .40 soon. They should have already been out, but they keep being delayed.

One thing about ammo pricing... at least the way I see it.... if all you want to do is practice taget shooting, then get a .22 or .223. something cheap for sure, and go see how many 1000s of holes you can punch through paper. But for a weapon that is going to be used for defense, then I am going to get a caliber that is sutiblae for defense and the price of ammo does not really factor into it. I practice with it and that is it... I don't target shoot. I even practice with +P to see how it will be for the defensive loads I keep in the gun... and that certainly isn't cheap. And no I do not run 100s of rounds of +P for "target practice". But different purposes require different priorities.

I'm going to against the grain here.  I'm a female and I hate my .38 revolver.  It was my first gun and it fit perfectly what I wanted at the time (and I actually liked it when I shot it at the time).  It was a Ruger LCR and I found it difficult to conceal, it was painful to sit on (I carry at 4-5 o'clock).  As time went on, I didn't like firing it, it was too small and lightweight and thus kicked a fair amount.

If you're looking for home defense, a full-size gun would be the best suggestion....no one ever wanted less ammo in a defensive situation.  I'm planning to pick an M&P 9mm to use for competitions, but it would be nice to add to another location in the house.  We also have an XDsc .40 that is actually pretty nice to shoot.  I held an 9mm XDm tonight and it was pretty decent, although could use some trigger work.

If the Mrs. is thinking of carrying, then I would seriously look at some of the smaller 9mm guns like the Walther PPS (I have and LOVE), M&P Shield or the Ruger LC9.  A .380, although a very small frame gun, is going to have more recoil simply due to weight.  I have no issues concealing, sitting, ect with my PPS.  And what solidified my decision between that and the LC9 was after going back and forth, the I realized the grips on the LC9 were smooth - and I know when I shoot a lot, my hands will sweat and I wouldn't be able to keep a good grip on the gun - particularly in a stressful situation.

Anyway, I rambled enough...hope that helps.  Go hold and or shoot everything you possibly can before deciding.

And that theory drives me up a wall. If there is someone in my house in the middle of the night, I could care less how "scary" my gun looks, or how "scary" it sounds, or if it is colored pink.

But if you're doing the whole answer your door with it in your hand, it serves as a deterrent. If someone is in your house at night, I guess the theory is that they would turn and run out the nearest exit if you come around the corner with a hand cannon vs a Saturday night special.

Here's a quick video of the effects of different rounds and the effects of ammo choices with a firearm.

The first two shots are .45 speer gold dots out of the XDs (short barrel) gun.  The first round is a bullet meant for full length barrels and doesn't expand fully.  So it penetrates like a full metal jacket.  The second shot is a .45 speer gold dot short barrel which is designed for lower velocities and expands really well.

Then there's a .22 round and well you can see the difference in "stopping power"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSU56v7hAAE

I've never heard of someone running towards a gun shot instead of away from it. Be it a .22 or a .50.

I don't brandish weapons to intimidate people. I use it to shoot them. If I honestly feel I need a fire arm to answer the door... guess what, I don't open the door. The threshold and my two dogs are the deterrent.

See, that's why you need to know your angles of fire before you just go all Lethal Weapon on an intruder.

If you shoot a .45 ACP, it could go through the intruder, then through the plywood and drywall and lumber and hit one of your kids in another room.

I've seen .45 exit wounds and they're huge. The jacket points usually hold together, but the soft tips come out like shotgun shells.

Whatever gun you get, know your angles and drill on what to do before you need to do it for real.

I'll just share what my wife and I decided on to give you an idea.

I have a .357 Taurus revolver my dad gave me. Fun gun but wouldn't carry it and I don't think it is the best home defense gun. I do keep it by the bed but it is a range gun.

I took my wife to the indoor range to pick out a gun. They had lots of calibers and lots of different brands to try out. She tried a 9mm to start with. Too much gun for her, it kicked her hand pretty good and she was scared to shoot it. She managed 20-30 rounds but she didn't enjoy and kept asking to stop. So obviously 9mm was out, can't expect her to get good with a gun if she is scared to shoot it or hates to shoot it.

Moved to a .22, she had a lot of fun with that but agreed she could handle a bigger gun.

So then she tried a Walther PK380. Perfect fit! Fit her hand nicely, she is deadly accurate with it, it is lightweight and the recoil didn't bother her at all. Went and bought one for her the next week and she loves it. We just took a day long concealed carry class and she had a great time with it and shot very well.

I like the .380 for her because it is the biggest caliber she is comfortable with and shoots well. Sure a .22 to the head is going to kill you but what are the chances she gets a clean head shot if someone was coming at her? Also she works in a somewhat secluded office often times alone. The .380 makes a lot more noise than a .22 and will get the attention of neighbors much better if she were to ever use it.

Myself, I went with the Springfield XDm .40 in the 3.8 compact size. I wanted a gun small enough to carry but I wanted a decently large caliber. A .45 was a bit much in a gun this small, and in disagreement with previous posts my research indicated that the .40 has much more stopping power than a 9mm. And I don't find the ammo to be much more expensive than the 9mm.

Needless to say we both love our guns and are very happy with our choices. If we could only have one gun between us it would be the Walther .380 as she is comfortable with it and I am accurate with it. But that wouldn't have lasted long before I got my own gun.

I am in the process of looking for a pocket size carry gun as well. Something along the lines of a Kel-tec or a Ruger LCP but I have yet to decide on that.

Awesome, sounds like you found the perfect fit.

I'm horribly biased towards the XDm's, but I think it's one of the best guns you can get.  Did you go with the black or bi-tone finish?  I'm partial to the bi-tone.

I went with Black, liked the look of it and didn't like the bi-tone enough to spend the extra dough on it. Haven't found anything I don't like about it yet!

To go totally against the grain, I'll go with a couple left field suggestions:

1 - a Pardini K22 or earlier.  Sure, it's way over your price range - the replacement grips are $500 themselves.

2 - Morini CM84E.  Again, new, you really don't want to ask the price.

3 - Morini CM22.  If you don't want a free pistol

4 - Feinwerkbau AW93.  Just in case the Morini were a little too cheap feeling for you.

5 - Walther PPK.  Classic.

Lets face it, there's almost no chance you'll have to use a gun for "protection".  So pick something that you enjoy to shoot at the range.  Something that is cheap to shoot helps too.  If you spend enough time with them, guns 1-4 will put a 10 shot group in someones eyeball at 25 meters - they are competition pistols, and challenging but fun to shoot.

The PPK is a nice feeling gun, and old school cool too.  Comes in 32 and 380 today.  The PPK/S is the same but a little bigger (fits one more round).  Interesting history of them in the US as Walther doesn't sell them directly here - they could before 68, but a law in 1968 dictated that they were illegal, unless they were manufactured in the US, S&W has the present contract but older ones were built by Interarms.  I believe from 78 to the mid 90s, all US PPK were Interarms, then the guy who ran Interarms died, his daughter went to prison, and S&W got the contract around the turn of the century.

Guns 1-4 range from $1000 to $2500 new, and I have no idea if you could find them new or used in Vegas.  New, a PPK goes for ~600, I've seen them in New England for $450 used.

My first handgun was a High Standard Supermatic .22LR semi-auto.  It was originally owned by an Indiana state trooper who was a competitive shooter.  It has an adjustable rear sight, optional barrel weights and custom left-handed grips.  It's a great gun for the range, very accurate and shooting .22LR won't bankrupt you. 

Mark

I think I'm sold on the springfields!  They got the cool factor I'm looking for and with all the good reviews here on BT.  Nice price point as well.

They block gun web sites at the office so I can't look it up.  Does advantage arms sell the .22 conversion kit for Springfield?  Or someone else.

I'm just sold on that (but I guess I could just BUY a .22 for just about the same price as a conversion kit).  I used one on my friends and thought it was pretty slick.

But a his and hers combo for the same price as a .45 and .22 conversion kit?  hmmmmmm  decisions decisions.