Help me buy my first handgun

Glock 19 /thread

Glock ,kahr, all of the above listed. If you can shoot them I would. Not sure why but I had a Springfield XD and I just wasn't accurate with it. Put a Glock in my hand and it's night and day. I'm sure it's just a preference though.

I bought a CZ-75 Sp01 for my first handgun and couldn’t have been happier. A good bit of weight and full size to help beginning shooter. 18 rounds and I found it extremely easy to shoot. I now have many but that is still one of my faves to shoot.

ETA Someone mentioned the possibility of a .22 if you are truly a beginner. I’m pretty sure the CZ has a “cadet kit” where you can change out to a .22 while you learn the basics of shooting or just want to plink really cheaply. I thought hard about buying this when I started out. But honestly, the 9mm was as so easy to shoot for me I never had to bother. Will probably get it when I move my son from long guns to handgun.

As much as I dislike Glock, every man needs to own a 17 and/or 19. They (and especially their magazines) are ubiquitous in the World.

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Every first handgun for anyone should be a full or mid sized 9mm. This means 4”-4.5” barrel and either a 17 round or 15 round magazine.

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Ehhhhh, ruger single six bags to differ.

Since it's the unpopular opinion around here I'll put it out there, either a ruger GP100 7 shot or Smith 686 7 shot with 4" barrel in 357 magnum. Revolvers are easier to operate, more reliable, chambered in powerful rounds, and easy to conceal. They fall short of semi autos in capacity and reload speed.

My shield .40 jammed this weekend once shooting federal HST. My sig 229 legion has jammed once a while back shooting speer gold dot, my old M9 jammed a few times while I had it. I have only seen one revolver jam in my life, from a rat shot load jumping crimp and locking the cylinder up after shooting a full power 44 mag round.

My personal experience is that revolvers have been closer to 100% reliable by a large margin compared to self shuckers. I carry my sig 229 becuase I trust it and the one time it jammed out of probably 4k rounds it just had to be tapped into battery. But, none of my revolvers have ever failed to go bang.

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Ehhhhh, ruger single six bags to differ.

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A single action revolver is a horrible self defense weapon, especially for a novice. Yea they’re fun to shoot but he also wants this gun for self defense.

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Revolvers are easier to operate, more reliable, chambered in powerful rounds, and easy to conceal

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I disagree that they are easy to conceal. It’s also debatable that they are more reliable, given every law enforcement agency and military in the country has moved to semi autos.

A full sized 357 is a decent defensive weapon and will work just fine but I think it falls short in a few categories compared to a reliable semi auto.

Glock 26 with Glock 19 mags if you want something that's easier to CC later. You give up nothing practical to a 19 and you have the choice of going flush/pinky rest 10rd mags or 15rd mags with a XGrip sleeve.

HK vp9

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It’s also debatable that they are more reliable, given every law enforcement agency and military in the country has moved to semi autos.

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Absolutely not debatable in my experience. Every semi auto I have ever owned has jammed at least once. I have never jammed a revolver and have only seen it happen once, with ratshot.

Military needs offensive weapons so their needs are vastly different. Same for LEO, where there is a real chance of being in a shootout and needing to stay engaged. I'd rather bring an M9 to Iraq than a GP100 no doubt, and I'd want an automatic rifle way more than either of those.

For a purely defensive firearm, especially for someone who isnt going to practice a whole bunch, a revolver is a great choice IMO. Just aim and shoot. Gun didnt go off? Pull the trigger again. Long double action pulls are safer than the mouse click glock triggers, but still dont have any manual safeties.

I carry my 229 here lately, but I have carried a 3" GP100 many many times. It's not hard to conceal at all and I'm not a big guy.

Somebody's gotta knight for the wheel guns around here