re: Recommend a Handgun

That's cool. Which ones do you find to be the most reliable?

I have a Ruger LC9 9mm with a Crimson Trace laser sight for my concealed carry weapon and I love it. I'm looking for a compact .40 and may buy myself one for Christmas.

Someone suggested a Ruger LCP .380 but I find the pistol is too small for my hands and I don't have large hands so be sure you look at that before buying one.

quote:

---

Glock 19

---

This.

First firearm a recommend CZ sp01 9mm. Easy to shoot, high capacity and the heft really minimizes recoil. I have glocks, HK, FN, and it's still my favorite handgun to shoot.

quote:

---

I maintain that any semiautomatic pistol is a bad choice for a first time handgun owner. They are inherently complex and dangerous.

---

Eh, revolvers are less complex for sure, but if you're not competent enough to trust yourself with a relatively safe semi-auto, I hope for the rest of us you just stay away from firearms altogether.

Trusting yourself is completely different from being competent. Plenty of people play call of duty all day and would trust themselves to carry around hand grenades.

People new to guns tend to not have respect for them in the way they should with regards to muzzle control and clearing the gun before handling it. A ton of AD's happen every year from somebody dropping the mag, forgetting to clear the chamber, and pulling the trigger. Also, the manual of arms is much more complex for any semiauto, safeties or not.

A revolver isn't idiot proof by any means, but it does encourage safe handling more than a semiauto. And it's not like you're shafting yourself out of a good self defense handgun by getting a revolver. Revolvers have lots of attributes that make them great choices, first and foremost being reliability and horsepower.

quote:

---

I know nothing about pistols, but traded a guy my old youth model 243 that I don't use anymore for a brand new XDM 9mm. I'm getting it today, are these pretty good pistols?

---

Yes. When I was selling guns, we sold more XD's and XDM's than any gun in the shop.... And yes we had a giant case of Glocks right next to the Springfields.

In my experience, the average shooter enjoys the fit and feel of an XDM over a Glock. I'm not going to get into a reliability debate with anybody, but we sold more Springfields because of the comfort customers felt with the XDM as opposed to the "block" or "2x4" feel of a Glock. TIFWIW

I enjoy the HK's more but they're twice as much in most cases.

quote:

---

They are inherently complex and dangerous.

---

Yikes....

quote:

---

People new to guns tend to not have respect for them in the way they should with regards to muzzle control and clearing the gun before handling it. A ton of AD's happen every year from somebody dropping the mag, forgetting to clear the chamber, and pulling the trigger.

---

I don't doubt what you're saying (Bapple can probably provide some horror stories) - but it wasn't always like this - novices, females particularly, often had the opposite problem - a fear or apprehension around the weapon, rather than an appropriate level of respect and caution.

More typically, you have the experienced shooter that gets too comfortable and loses the fundamentals - THAT was more common in the old days.

However, as you suggest, the "Call of Duty" generation thinks they already know how to handle weapons because they've been on combat missions since they were 10.



ETA: As to the OP's point - I'll make the pitch for a Sig SP2022 - underrated as a semi, in my opinion - very cost effective (which is unusual for a Sig), high quality, light, but with a more conventional fire control system of SA/DA with an exposed hammer.

However, I echo Downshift and suggest something like a K-frame or L-frame Smith - or, even better a Ruger GP100 with a 4" barrel. A great all around weapon, chambered in the most proven manstopping round of all time, .357 magnum. It is possible to take light game at short range with the weapon, as well as pleasure shoot with light .38 special rounds.

If you select either a S&W 686 or a Ruger GP100 - these will likely be heirlooms passed down from generation to generation. It is not uncommon for such a revolver to see 2 decades, plus, of moderate use, or generations of light use.

Far fewer things to go wrong - if loaded, there is virtually zero chance of it not going bang in a crisis situation when you're not thinking straight, anyway.