Handgun Advice

I hereby request this thread be locked and stickied.

Pains me to say this, but with your budget, Glock is the best. It goes bang every time, and is very simple to learn on.

Can we do used? If so a Springfield XD. .45 if you can find one in your price range.

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hmmm, king ranch seems to know a lot, yet feels hell bent on not sharing that knowledge.

thanks so far, guys. i moved to a really bad area in jackson, ms, and plan on getting something within the next two weeks.

kind of ironic that a guy asking for a handgun and safety gets the opposite of it all . . . from gun advocates. ha

There are sooo many choices, it's hard to tell what you will like. The guys aren't bashing you, but we have someone pop in twice a week and ask the same question.

I would advise signing up for a class to learn the basics and/or going to rent a gun or two (or more) and see what you like. Revolver, semi, small, med or large, different calibers.

I recommend the 9mm for a starting point because you will need practice before you really feel comfortable carrying, and 9mm ammo is cheap. (much less actually shooting at someone)

Since you are on a time crunch GO TO THE RANGE. Otherwise, I may give different advice.

After you have shot/held a few, check back here and tell us what you did and didn't like and then ask for a recommendation in your budget. You will probably get some better feedback.

Pants,

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plan on getting something within the next two weeks.

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First bit of advice.....slow down. This is an important decision w/ a bunch of options and you have a very minimal knowledge base. You need more time than 2 weeks to research it and SHOOT some guns.

Cliff's Notes version:
Given your inexperience handling handguns, I'd suggest a full size (4-6" barrel), steel frame, 6 shot (or more) revolver w/ fixed sights chambered in 357 Mag. Start off shooting mild 38 Spec rounds, advancing to +P loads when you can handle them. Advance to full 357 Mag loads ONLY once you've mastered the +P loads. If you can't make it to 357 Mag loads, just stay w/ the +P loads, which are still very formidable self defense rounds.

Full verion:

I gather this gun is going to be used for self defense at home or in an automobile, but not concealed carry.

For home use, the best self defense weapon is not a handgun, but a shotgun, usually a 12 gauge, but 20 gauge is a good choice, as well.

For a self defense that is NOT going to be used in concealed carry, you don't want, nor need a compact or subcompact gun; get a full size gun w/ a steel frame. All things being equal, a smaller and lighter gun is generally more difficult to shoot well than is a larger and heavier gun, especially for newbies.

The best self defense calibers are 9mm, 357 Mag, 357 Sig, 40 S&W and 45 ACP; 38 Special also has a good track record, but not like the above.

The semi-auto vs revolver debate always generates a lot of interest. Ruger, Colt, Chiappa and Smith & Wesson are top notch; other makers that seem to have spotty quality control include Charter Arms, Rossi and Taurus.

If you decide on a semi auto, I'd suggest a 9mm w/ minimal controls made by Glock, Beretta, S&W M&P, Ruger, CZ-USA, Springfield, Kahr or Sig Sauer. Brands w/ spotty qc include Kel-Tec, Taurus and Diamondback. Whether or not the gun has an external safety lever or not is highly personal. Mine generally don't.

Given your price range, a used gun is a good option, although you might need some help finding a good one.

Last, if you can swing it, I'd strongly consider buying a 22 LR to learn the basics of handgun handling and to practice w/. If you want a revolver for self defense, make the 22 LR a revolver; if the SD gun is a semi auto, get a semi auto 22 LR.

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TigerOnThe Hill

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I'll second everything this guy said.

You need to decide exactly what you want to use the gun for. A loadout for home defense versus concealed carry is very different. Even a loadout for car carry is different (but if you carry a CCW then you can always use that in the car as well, like I do).

I'll definitely agree with him on the suggestions as well. I think some of the best novice full-sized handguns are

Ruger SR9 or SR9c (around $400)
Smith and Wesson M&P (around $500-$550)
Beretta 92 or 96 (around $550-$700)
CZ 75b (not sure on price)
CZ Phantom (not sure on price)

And two good .357 magnum revolvers that I like

Smith and Wesson 686 (around $700)
Ruger GP100 (around $600)
Ruger SP101 (a snub revolver for carry)

I generally don't suggest Glocks to novices unless they have large hands. A Glock is a lot to hold, and is very wide in the grip, where these listed are more forgiving. The M&P has changable grip swells for different sized hands too, so if you have a wife or girlfriend, you can put the small grip on it when they shoot it. Of the ones listed, the M&P is the only one with an optional safety (not all of them have one). But as long as you follow the rules of handgun safety, I think it's better to not rely on a safety anyway. My carry gun has no safety and it doesn't worry me a bit (I have a quality holster!).

You need to hold all of these guns yourself and choose what is most comfortable in your hand. There is no one-size-fits-all in the handgun world.

For concealed carry, within your budget the best guns would be the Kahr CM9 or Smith and Wesson M&P Shield. The Sheild is the subcompact single-stack model. Width is the most important dimension for concealed carry. And a gun that carries more comfortable will be carried more often.

If you want quality, you're gonna have to spend more than $250. You have to decide how much your life is worth. I spent around $400 on my Kahr and haven't looked back after shooting it over 3000 times. It ticks like a Timex. On the other hand, my friend has a Keltec Pf9 (around $250) that has returned to Keltec twice and now finally works. I'll tell you this though, it is not fun at all to shoot at the range. My Kahr I could shoot all day, but the Pf9 is seriously painful.

So to sum it up, decide what you want as Tigeronthehill described. That will help you decide. Happy shooting.

tl;dr

Seriously though. Think about and handle some guns.