Purchasing a Handgun (Vanity)

[dep]

if you are interested in both target and defense work, your choices are:

1. colt government model.
2. colt covernment model
3. colt government model

and for improved range work:

colt government model with after-market sights.

[mylife]

How could 60 years of KGB ops be wrong?

[5Madman2]

Doo’hh

That’s “Taurus”

[Gone_Postal]

all those guns are great,, for home defense get a .22 auto
cheap to buy cheap to shoot and since most encounters of the break in kind are within 3 to 5 feet the .22 will do just fine..and you need not worry about waking the neighbors

[mylife]

remember this: simple is best in a defense situation.

you want a hose that squirts, you don’t want to mess with spray nozzles and pressure washers. You just want a hose that squirts everytime

[Westlander]

Ruger GP100. No racking required.

[sig226]

First of all, for hobby shooting for a new shooter, there are several important considerations.

Is the pistol reliable and will it stand up to repeated use? This pretty much eliminates Bersa and Taurus semi autos. They break. I’ve been working in gun stores for twelve years, I’ve spent years sending guns back to those manufacturers over and over again.

Is it fun to shoot? This pretty much eliminates the Glock 30. Although it is very well made, it is a lightweight .45 and has a bit of recoil. The ammunition costs more and the recoil can make it jam in the hands of inexperienced shooters. It is not a beginner’s pistol for those reasons and one more.

The Ruger SR9 has a similar trigger to the Glock. Both of them are short trigger pulls and not very heavy. They are easy to fire. Most of the accidental discharges we’ve seen are caused by new shooters with Glocks. The Smith and Wesson M&P and the Springfield XD have similar triggers. Absolutely not one of these guns was unsafe. The person handling it had not spent the time to learn safe handling and trigger discipline.

As far as reliablity, most of the makers you listed are solid. Beretta, Ruger, Glock, and Sig all make excellent products and stand behind them.

But the triggers on the Beretta and the Sig differ from the Glock in one important aspect. It takes a long, heavy pull to fire the first shot. This helps to prevent mistakes. The P226 is available in 9mm or .40 Smith & Wesson and the Beretta 96 you liked is also available as the 92F/S in 9mm. The 9mm ammunition is cheaper than the .40. The difference in recoil is negligible in full size handguns. The .40 is more effective than the 9mm, not to knock the 9mm because if you put quality ammunition in it, the 9mm is very effective. The stories about ineffective shots with 9mm handguns are often because the gun was not loaded with hollowpoints.

Then there’s the safety. If you forget that the safety is on when you need it, your gun will not fire. You will be hosed. Most police departments do not issue handguns with safeties for this reason. Safety is in the way the gun is handled, not in a lever or button that can fail. How many times have you heard the saying, “I thought the safety was on.”

Personally, I’d get the Sig.

[PoliticalDookie]

I’m partial to the Glock if budget matters. If money is no concern then by all means a Sig is very nice as is H&K.

[mylife]

And in a full size 40 SW I like the CZ 75 very much

[xmission]

The Mak is a fine weapon, but 9x18 is harder to find. Slide bite is a danger for the unwary with it too.

[xmission]

I’d go with the sig myself. If you can swing an extra $299ish as an investment, you can get a 22LR kit, and shoot 22s through it until the cows come home. 1000 rounds will just about pay for the kit, and your wife will enjoy shooting it allot more at first...

[Tijeras_Slim]

Sig

[Eagle50AE]

Exactly

[mylife]

This is a Great starter pistol CZ 82

[Henry.David]

Sig Sauer P229 SAS or DAK .40 caliber with medium grain federal hydra-shok/remington golden saber/cor-bon nosler ammunition. Grain amount is dependent on how fast you can recover when shooting. You can adjust that later.

Best holster for concealment would probably be one of the crossbreed holsters. Best license for concealment is from Utah. Best holster for open carry would be the blackhawk serpa holsters.

If I’m being too general, let me know. I can post more detail. Take care.

[nbhunt]

my advise is to check them all out, some are easier to handle than others, all depends on what you feel comfortable handling and that is important. I don’t like a huge gun. I have a sawed off side by side at home and a 38 for CWP. but then I am a good shot and CAN hit my target, only missed 2 on the range test.

[2111USMC]

I just picked up a Taurus .38 Special revolver for my wife.

I took her to the range and had her shooting well with both the revolver and a small auto that I have. Her preference? The revolver.

[Chode]

the Beretta or the SIG, which ever on fits your wifes hand best...

[yarddog]

I don't think you will go wrong with any of them unless one happens to not fit your hand. Of the ones you named, I personally like the Sig the best.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with the Bersa autos. I have owned a couple including a really old .380 which was one of the most accurate pocket pistols I have ever fired.

I am not familiar with the Beretta 96 or the Glock model 30 but I have used a lot of similar guns from Beretta and Glock and I would be surprised if there is anything wrong with them.

A great one which you haven't mentioned is the Browning Hi-Power. If you can live with single action and a so-so trigger they are reliable as all get out and easy for me to hit with and they fit my hand better than any other gun.