[SENTINEL]

My favorite handgun of all time is a .41 Magnum with a 5" barrel. Just the right size, just the right power.

This advice is worth every cent you paid for it.

[Jasper]

"I thought I'd ask for some help in making a decision as to what to buy in the way of a handgun."

Boy, ya had to do it didn't ya? ;>)

Excuse me. I gotta get some popcorn and beer.

/jasper

[Vermonter]

Might help if you told us what you plan to do with it

[Deguello]

Magnums are fun to shoot.

Best advice? Go to the gun shop and ask to see the owner's manuals for each you are looking. There have been various brands over the years that did NOT recommend using magnum loads on a regular basis.

I have over 12K full house rounds through my Redhawk.

[PoorMuttly]

Ahem.

4" is the minimum length to get proper performance out the .357 cartridge, I think. You'll want that. 6" is excellent, and the sighting radius and balance is even better than 4", for use in the field. It doesn't carry or conceal as easily, but believe me, it can be done, and then you'll have a real "using" handgun with you. 6" doesn't clear leather on the draw as quickly, but as the handgunners in the old West knew, if you want to reliably hit something the first time (they found this important, for some reason), longer barrels are the wise choice. Doc Holiday was famous for expending a lot of lead with his little "silver" revolver, and not hitting his target, even at bar room distances, but his 7 1/2" .45 Colt spoke with finality the first time, at the O.K. Corral. Lawman Commodore Perry Owens carried and USED a 10". These men weren't stupid, they chose to use what worked. Fast draw was not as important as scoring a solid hit with the least amount of shooting. Bill Hickock used his 8" barreled .36 Navy revolvers all his adult life. He carried a knife for closer situations.

Now, one should find his own way. There are good reasons for carrying smaller handguns, but I think your choice comes down to learning good shooting skills, and having a rewarding experience in the field. If you want to carry for defense, I'd say 4" is great, the standard "duty" length. For general shooting effectiveness, 6" is wonderful. A friend has a single action 6" Ruger which the owner of a famous hunting lodge in Alaska traded to him. She had collected her moose or caribou every year with it, with no problem at all. Remember, it was a 6", not a 4".

Although I am a major fan of the .44 Magnum, I think you will be better served by a .357 to begin with, especially a 6", if you won't feel cheated by not having something shorter, for concealed carry. One thing I am sure of, you will not go wrong with a premium .357 4 or 6, and probably never sell it, unless to replace it with another one. Before the .44 Magnum, people did everything with the .357. Especially with 6" or 8" barrels. There is hunting ammunition available too. It's great. I advise a Model 686. It has a long cylinder for hunting bullets, and is perhaps a bit more durable than a K frame. It is also available with a 7 shot cylinder. Pretty handy, although standard speed loaders do not work with it. No free lunch, as they say.

[Delta 21]

Dan Wesson .357 Pistol pack. The answer to all yer prayers.

[festus]

My advice would be to buy both of them.

[Delta 21]

They made 'em in .44 Mag too!

[TheOracleAtLilac]

Taurus is basically a S&W clone w/ reported great quality.

Save money, get the Taurus.

Save your hand, get the .357

[Supernatural]

Shorter barrels are easier to carry. Longer barrels give more velocity and are easier to shoot accurately due to the longer sight radius.

If this .44 is not a carry gun, get the longer barrel. A .44 is much more powerful than a .357. A .357 kicks a lot less. If you are recoil-shy, buy a 9mm or a .38 special. Hint: You can shoot .38 special loads in a .357. You can shoot .44 special loads in a .44 magnum.

[winston2]

Save money, get the Taurus.

Get the one that feels right.

Save your hand, get the .357

Nice advice!

I prefer stainless Ruger SP-101 .357 with short barrel.

It has to be packable or you might as well get a rifle/shotgun.

[LouAvul]

By all means, do not buy a 44 mag. Ammo is very expensive and much too powerful to learn on.

Buy a 357 Ruger (doesn't have the ugugaly lock). You can learn to shoot with (very inexpensive) 38 special ammo.

Then use 357 ammo for self-defense.

[Little Ray]

If you have one, go to a range/gunstore. They usually have firearms for rent. Rent the ones you are interested in and try 'em out with some ammo types you might use.

Personally, If its a carry gun, I'd recomend a .357 Taurus snubbie. Its small, light, easy and cheap to feed (you can use .38 or .357 in it), and the number of loads available are litterally staggering. Get a couple of speed loaders to boot. And practice. Lots. The gun isn't dangerous - the shooter is.

If you're getting a "bedside" or home gun, get a pump-action 12 gauge. The PRC makes a nice Winchester 97 repro that is great for the job, or you can find something more expensive (and not made by slaves in an enemy nation...).

[Shooter 2.5]

Smith and Wesson four inch .357 mag. I used to love the 686 but I don't know if they still make it. Don't forget to pay the money for stainless steel since you're in Florida.

If you're a diving instuctor, what's the deal of dive masters and guides stirring up the sharks? If I'm on a dive, I wish they would leave the darn things alone. Tired of almost being lunch for those guys.

[planekT]

I'd probably go with the 44 mag with a 6 inch barrel and use 44 Special for home defense rounds, at least at night just so you won't get temporarily blinded by the muzzle flash. I can't say what the flash is like in a 357 with a four or six inch barrel, but I had one with a two inch barrel and it was pretty bright. I gave it to my brother for Christmas since his old .38 was getting rusty from coast trips and neglect and the .357 was in stainless.

My first choice for HD would be ye olde shotgun, but a pistol is quicker to get a hold of. I keep the former close and the latter closer.

[sig226]

Don't get a Taurus - they're poorly made. A .44 Magnum sounds like a great idea, but it's a difficult gun to master. Many pistol ranges won't let you shoot it.

The Smith and Wesson 686 with a four inch barrel is still made. It's a great gun. You can shoot .38 Special ammunition in it, or .357 Magnum. The .38's are inexpensive. The recoil in that gun is very light. The .357's aren't much more expensive, and the recoil is manageable.

.44 Magnum ammunition is also expensive. .44 Special ammunition is a good defensive round, but you won't need any because you will not have anything worth stealing after you spend thirty dollars a box on .44 Special ammo.

The 686 is expensive. You can save money if you buy the Ruger GP - 100. The four inch barrel is best for defensive purposes in either case. It is easier to wield than the six inch. Many women have trouble with the weight and balance of the six inch guns.

A lot of self defense shootings happen at close range, and it is easy to grab the six inch barrel and control the gun - point it away from yourself so it can't be used as a weapon. It is also possible to twist it out of the hand of the shooter, a move that will likely break the the shooter's trigger finger.

You didn't mention if women or children might use it, but it's something to think about if you have family.

The shop might also show you an automatic. These are great, if you take the time to learn them properly. They can be very difficult for women and children to shoot. Their advantages are that they hold more ammunition, and you can get night sights on them. Most defensive shootings happen in low light. Think about it - bad guys don't like to be seen.

I'm in DelRay Beach. I've been selling guns for over nine years now, so email me through the board if you want more information. I can show you a few tricks to evaluate used handguns - what we do at the store - and you can get some great deals at the shows if you are careful.

[FreedomForce]

Can't go wrong with a Ruger GP100 357 magnum with a 4" barrel(or a similar S&W.) If I could keep only one of my handguns, my GP100 is what I'd keep(the others I own are a .22 Taurus revolver, .45ACP Taurus revolver, and a 9mm S&W semiauto.)

[CountryBumpkin]

If you live in Florida, rust due to humidity is an important consideration. I recommended stainless instead of blued steel in that environment.

If you do not plan to use the gun for CCW, then buy one with longest barrel you feel comfortable with. Ideal length in my opinion is 5" to 6.5". 4" is the absolute minimum. Under stress, it is much easier to unconsciously aim and accurately shoot with a longer barrel, especially in the dark.

Taurus makes fine revolvers. I have experience at the range with a 38 Special Taurus revolver with a 4" barrel. 38 Special hollow-point ammo works well for home defense. A 357 Magnum revolver is another fine choice. Just keep in mind that 357 Magnum ammo packs a heck of a recoil compared to 38 Special. Fortunately, 357 revolvers also shoot 38 Special ammo, hence the best of both worlds.

With that said, having plenty of experience at the range with a variety of revolvers, pistols, and rifles, I recommend a full-size 1911 (semi-auto, 5" barrel) in 45 ACP for home defense. I have a stainless Springfield Armory 1911 full-size, Custom, Loaded in 45 ACP. For your purposes, the full-size Mil-Spec model is fine and about $200 cheaper. The nice part about full-size 1911s is that replacement parts are everywhere and cheap. So are the magazines. I use Wilson Combat 47D 8-round magazines. Most 1911s are only as reliable as the magazine. Plus, for home defense, it's nice to be have a gun with several loaded magazines nearby (in a safe of course if kids are around). You can readily buy semi-auto magazines that hold 10-rounds if you wish. That's up to twice the capacity of a large caliber revolver in just the first magazine. With practice, you can swap a magazine and have 10 more rounds ready to go within a few seconds. I recommend avoiding 9 mm versions and sticking with 45 ACP. 45 ACP is far more effective for home defense although the ammunition costs more. I prefer the "strong push" recoil of 45 ACP ammo at the range over the "violent jerk" recoil of 9 mm ammo.

If money is a big issue and you want semi-auto, "plastic" guns like Glock or Springfield Armory XD are a great choice. Springfield Armory has the new 5" XD 45 ACP coming out this summer. The 4" XD 45 ACP just started shipping.

As for expensive whiz-bang "extras" like night sights, lasers, rail-mount flashlights and the like, skip all of that stuff. There is no substitute for experience, no matter what extras you buy for the gun. If you must have a light, something like the Photon Freedom micro light with covert nose is perfect and costs less than $15. Use the hundreds of dollars you don't spend on extras for a range membership, ammunition, and a decent spotting scope. And when you go to the range, practice in single-action mode using the slow fire method (shooting no more frequently than every five seconds or so). When you are at home, try practicing in your bedroom at night in the dark (with the gun unloaded of course). Put the gun where you plan to normally keep it and practice rolling out of bed, getting to the gun, chambering a round, and taking a defensive position. Remember: Hope for the best, plan for the rest.

The best place I know of to buy ammunition is WalMart, especially the white box Winchester target ammunition. For example, 100 rounds of Winchester white box 45 ACP at WalMart is $20. 38 Special probably costs the same or less.

[Tijeras_Slim]

In the .357, I would suggest finding a used Smith model 28 or 27. These trace their lineage back to the first .357 made in 1935 and are outstandingly reliable and accurate guns. There are many nice examples available and the quality of many are higher that current new versions IMO. My 1954 Highway Patrolman (pre-28) is my favorite packing 357 for woodsbumming.

In the .44, similar advice, except get a more recent gun such as a 629 or Mountain gun. I'd be more prone to use Keith loaded (Hot) .44 Specials than full house mags for home defense.

[Tijeras_Slim]

PS: My experience with Taurus has been dismal.