Posted on 03/05/2019 5:23:19 AM PST by w1n1
Pick the right entry point and you're already on your way to enjoying a fun, long-term shooting hobby.
For a new shooter, buying their first handgun can be an intimidating experience. What brand, what style, revolver or semiauto, and most of all what caliber?
Most people jump straight into picking out their favorite handgun without thinking about what caliber it is. Caliber choice is critical for new shooters. Too much gun can be a handful; too little and you might be under gunned.
Beginners looking for a firearm gun to do. For example, a new shooter may desire a firearm that is suitable for self-defense; a self-defense caliber has certain criteria to meet.
A shooter looking for a fun range gun has some different criteria to meet. We are going to first look at the best calibers for beginners, and then provide you with a few examples of popular handguns in each caliber that you should consider when you are first starting out.
TRAITS OF BEGINNER CARTRIDGES
In general, beginners should stick to commonly available, well-reputed handgun calibers. Magnum rounds are often too much of a handful for new shooters, and odd balls are often expensive and hard to find.
Commonality and afford ability are very desirable traits for a caliber to have. If you cannot afford to shoot the caliber regularly, the skills you build will deteriorate.
The same goes for trying to find ammunition in odd calibers. Rounds like the .32 Long are still out there, but they can’t be found in most big box stores.
The round should be relatively low recoil. Beginning with powerful, heavy recoiling rounds can actually cause training scars. Training scars are poor habits gathered from poor training and practice.
Magnum calibers in the hands of beginners tend to create an exaggerated and noticeable flinch that pulls a shot off target. Starting with a smaller, lower recoiling caliber and working up to larger calibers is the better way to go. Read the rest of handgun calibers.
My circumstances are there:
I’m an old guy and I live alone with a small dog, who sleeps in my bed with me.
Years ago, for self defense, I bought a Maverick 88. 12 gauge with an 18 1/2 inch barrel. I have it loaded with 00 shells right next to my bed. Slide the safety off and I’m ready to fire.
But it’s in the bedroom, and if someone breaks in during the day, it’s out of reach for me in every other room in the house.
So, I want a handgun that I can have with me all the time. (Well, I don’t think I’ll take it into the bathroom while I shower, because the moisture would be bad for it.)
The reason I have the 12 gauge with 00 shells is because I want to be able to kill any intruder I see in the house. I want to be able to kill any intruder I see in the house with a handgun, also.
A few years ago, I visited a friend who has a 40 acre ranch and he has several handguns. The one I liked most was an old .38. I have no idea of the make or manufacturer. But I shot it well and was comfortable doing so.
Now, go. What models of handguns should I look at?
Should be: My circumstances are these:
Your shotgun is adequate.
For a handgun we can probably give you a better choice if we knew some things.
Do you have arthritis in your hands? How much can you afford to spend? How large are your hands?
“At one point in my Marine Corps career, I was asked to train a group of Navy wives on using a pistol for self defense. ... At the end of the session, they could out-shoot most of their Navy husbands.”
Toward the end of my enlistment, another Marine and I were detailed to FAMFIRE a group of Navy commo techs (CT’s) at the old Ft. Myer indoor range. A small group of 6-8, we used their issue .38 revolver and our M1911A1. Either it’s something endemic or your ladies were kin to some of my group as the CT’s were somewhere south of being slow learners on safety. A lazy or weak hand in the “temple index” position or a gun hand naturally following a turning head. Funny now but breath takers back in the day.
SF
Want a nice .38 revolver?A S&W model 15 or 19 might be right for you.Smooth actions,accurate and reliable.Plus you can use .357 in the model 19.
Check out the Ruger SP-101 revolver in stainless steel. It’s a bit overbuilt, but the weight helps tame recoil - and bathroom humidity won’t damage it.
WTF people? It’s 9mm first, last, and always for an all-around pistol caliber, while 22 is the choice for plinking.
Oh, let’s see....454 Casull, .460 Magnum, .475 Linebaugh, and in rifles, .300 Weatherby Magnum, .338 Lapua, .416 anything, etc.
Holy sheet-that’s scary powerful.
Wife Bought a 22 to learn with-now comfy with the 9mm, I immediately started with a 9mm without a problem. And learned just fine.
Bkmk
Obviously I posted in jest.
I think you did the right thing. My will learned on a .45 when she was in the Army.
We have a Glock 380 in the house and go shooting every once in a while.
Started her with a .38 S&W Air...
Then moved to a 9mm (LCP/Glock)...
She is now shooting a .22 Ruger SR-22 and loves it (quite accurate too).
Wish I had done the reverse order when bringing her into the sport. Most new women shooters like a light gun without a lot of kick. When they find one they like: practice practice practice...
Bfl
Look at Ruger GP 100 .357
Beautiful and easy.
Shoot .38 and “Snake Shot.”
Get another shotty, but a “short” shotty, and use #4, 5, or 6 shells to tag the perp with at least a couple bb’s on the first shot, then finish with subsequent shots.
Good questions.
Arthritis is not bad at all, just a little.
When I buy, I expect to spend $400 to $500.
My hands are not large, but whenever I’ve been in a gun store handling various handguns, it’s only the larger ones that feel right. Like the Taurus model that takes 12 gauge shells.
Are you sure it is 12 gauge? Might be one of the 410s which also take .45 Colt.
It sounds like about anything you want would be OK. Maybe a Glock.
Thus sayeth struggle: “Please teach us, oh, fatman”
I’m not a cheap date Brother struggle, thus out of your league.
So sorry, maybe next time.
Thank you.
Thank you.
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