If you want a Glock 26, get a Glock 27 instead. It’s the same frame, but with the more potent .40 S&W. For <100 bucks you can grab a 9mm conversion barrel to let you shoot at the range for cheap, let the wife/girlfriend shoot with a little less kick, etc.
It’s literally a <5 minute drop-in with no other parts besides a 9mm magazine. You can’t do the reverse (put a .40 barrel into a 26) because the 9mm is smaller.
Also, you can get grip extensions that fit to the bottom of the magazine to let you get your whole hand on there, and extend the magazine by 1 or 2 rounds.
Last thing...there’s no such thing as a “high capacity” magazine. That’s doublespeak the gun grabbers came up with. Before they renamed everyday pistols as “assault” weapons, they were just standard, un-castrated, normal mags. Just call them “standard capacity” or “full capacity”.
A good starter pistol type is the revolver. They are easy to clean, not complicated to take apart to clean and don’t have the jamming potential of the semi-autos.
Leaving the shell casings behind, after firing, is not desired in some situations for some people so semi-autos is not a good choice for those having those concerns.
Didn’t you post a similar topic last week? No one should decide for you. You need to figure that out for yourself by trying out different models/types. You need to do your homework first. There is actually a series of several important decisions to make if you want your first purchase to be successful and not wind up being a trade-in after 3 months.
Glock 19.
Consider a Smith & Wesson 642 Centennial hammerless revolver.
-ccm
.38 SW Revolver.... nice and easy.
If you want to carry you really should get some training in the use of deadly force for self defense. When you are trained you will have a much better idea of what sort of weapon will serve you best and you will have much less faith in the power of any weapon to work magic in an emergency.
Your most important weapon is your brain. Train it well.
Depending on your size and strength, I would suggest a revolver in .38, .44 or .45 caliber.
Medium frame revolvers are easy to conceal, and can be found which can fire both the mild .38 Special and the higher powered .357 magnum.
Large frame revolvers are more effective, but harder to conceal, and can be found which fire .44 Special and the higher powered .44 magnum.
A more specialized revolver is available in .45 ACP, that uses moon clips to quickly reload.
Unless you frequent territory with large bears, avoid hand cannons, though for the sake of completeness, they are available from Ruger in .45 Colt and .454 Casull.
Best to practice with lower power rounds, with more occasional shooting of higher power (and more expensive) self defense rounds.
Smith and Wesson makes a large number of excellent double action revolvers. Other solid makers are Ruger, Taurus, and Charter Arms. I don’t recommend the very high end revolvers such as Korth to beginners.
It is also a good idea to have a .22 revolver that is similar to your larger caliber revolver. The way to get good at shooting is to get up to your butt in empty shells. Unless you are independently wealthy, you want to do that using the cheap .22 Long Rifle. Smaller rounds also let you work on trigger skills, with less danger of carpal tunnel, and less danger of developing a nasty flinch.
I would not recommend an automatic pistol for a first gun. An accidental discharge can ruin the rest of your life.
1. All guns are always loaded.
2. Don’t point your gun at anything you are not willing to destroy.
3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot.
4. Know your target-AND what is behind it.
The average pistol engagement is still what it was 20 years ago, about 3 rounds. A pistol/revolver shot is LOUD! The first shot changes the dynamics of any social encounter. Outside the military, or SWAT units, more rounds than 6 are very very rarely needed. Never go somewhere with the gun if you wouldn’t go there without the gun.
1) Spend a couple of hours looking through the NY State and NY City / Nassau County Gun Laws and Restrictions.
2) Right off the bat -- you cannot legally fire a handgun without a Permit, so there is no "try-and-buy" for your first one. (A friend in a quarry ... !)
3) Find a Range and Dealer near you, and seek your information from them; they know the regs for the area and who to deal with (and stay away from!) in the local administrations.
4) Get what fits you and your hand, not whatever someone wants to give you 'a good deal' on.
5) Take some lessons, both class and range time, to acquaint yourself with maintenance of the tools and provide speed and accuracy of target aquisition. You will never take it out unless you need to use it; training will ensure you can hit the correct target immediately.
6) All guns are loaded, unless in pieces on your table.
I lived in Wayne County, and was going to get my permit when my company pulled me out and sent me out of state. Somewhere in the files I still have the application, lol.
Good luck.
For shooting at the range I prefer a full size 1911, but for actual concealed carry I find it too big, too heavy and it's capacity too low. I give the 1911 the nod for accuracy, but the XD and the Glock are more than adequate accuracywise to hit a bad guy at 25 yards.
I would hesitate to go with a caliber smaller than .40 S&W or .357 Magnum, unless it was for a pocket pistol. I've got a AMT .380 that I use for that. Even though it's somewhat underpowered, it's as small as a wallet and I can easily and comfortably conceal it wearing nothing but a pair of cutoffs.
Short answer: Go to a range that rents handguns, take their safety course, get their range card, and take several months renting and shooting different models.
Buy the one that "fits", in other one that is comfortable in your hand, but, most importantly that you can consistently hit "center of mass" with at distances > 20 ft.
Second short answer: If you're not going to practice religiously-- and I mean in the sense that some people are about golf and others about Mass and yet others about yard sales--
Then don't buy one.
Most liberals would never understand it, but There's something very Zen about expertise in the use of firearms.
He's not Zen, but the Dalai Lama said the following,"
If you still want to proceed, I am a huge fan of enclosed hammer revolvers for concealed carry. They aren't anywhere as sexy as the semi-auto's but we're talking about saving your life, not picking up chicks.
The enclosed hammer revolvers are specifically designed for concealed carry. When drawing, the smooth lines won't get snagged in your clothing and as revolvers, they will function every time.
A snub nosed revolver is generally less accurate than a longer barreled semiauto but at close range, you'll be doing point shooting so, the overall accuracy of the gun shouldn't be a factor. At close range 5 or 6 rounds of .357 mag. or .38 spl +P should be more than enough to thoroughly ruin an assailants day.
At longer distances, your shooting will be designed to prevent the pistol armed attacker from firing accurately by greatly increasing his stress level, from closing the distance and deciding to flee if he's still alive. Simultaneously, you will also be seeking the opportunity to take better cover or, to escape entirely.
Longer distances are probably where you'll fire more bullets and be faced with having to reload even though the assailant hasn't fully decided to depart the scene. So, if armed with a revolver, you'll want to carry one or two speed loaders and be well practiced at how to use them. This is where the semiautos with their higher magazine capacities come in real nice. In either case, you will want to be very adept at reloading.
Before buying, visit a lot of gun stores and gun shows. Handle a lot of guns. Ask a lot of questions. Narrow the list to just those which feel comfortable in your hand and feel comfortable the way you intend to carry. Think about the gun being cold and wet as well as your hands being cold, wet and dirty when you have to use it.
Once you have your list, research the manufactures of those guns and their reputation. Narrow the list some more if you need to. Once you have a list of guns you would be comfortable carrying, carefully consider their caliber and type of gun; revolver or semiauto.
If at the end of your analysis you still can't decide which way to go, buy both; an enclosed hammer revolver and semiauto. Over time, you'll settle on one as your primary. By having both, you'll always be prepared for a situation where you need to carry one, the other or, both. The snubby revolver can always be carried strapped to your ankle as a backup piece,
It's a Seecamp .32, and it fits very nicely and unobtrusively in your jeans pocket. You can stroll right into a stadium without getting a second look as they search the ladies' purses. It's a very reliable handgun, especially if you stick with the Winchester Silvertips.
If you want a gun to wear in a holster or for your car's glove compartment, go with a nice snubnose .38 revolver. Always go with a revolver for no-doubt-about-it reliability.
Also, these threads sometimes load up with people talking about "stopping power", and accuracy at 25 yards, and clip capacity, etc., etc., as if you should be prepared to fire from behind car doors or alley dumpsters in some kind of a movie-style shoot-em-up. The fact is, you want a concealed weapon so that if a bad situation suddenly jumps up out of nowhere and bites you in the ass you can get off a quick (hopefully surprise) point blank shot or two to the face or throat and then get the hell out of there as fast as you can.
Good luck!
LH
The right firearm is the one you like and is big enough to stop a bad guy. I would suggest at a minimum a 9mm but preferably a 45 ACP. Find a local gun dealer and tell him that you want to fire different weapons to see which one you like. When you like something buy it if it is a model and brand with a good record of reliability.
Then practice practice and practice some more.
Refuse to attend a gun fight unless the caliber of your weapon begins with the number 4 or larger.
Thanks for posting this question. I will keep the answers for later reference as well.
I think every sane American should. It is not for the fact of having more guns on the street but rather for the confidence it gives people that have the ability to defend themselves. They no longer are push overs and are more willing to take a stand on everything from individual rights, responsibilities as well as being more likely to assist others who have been attacked or injured.
When I got my conceal license I noticed that I actually carried a weapon less often and felt more self assured than I did before. Others have told me the same thing.
In general though, while it's good to think through your gun purchase, I think it's also good to find the gun that fits you. And you probably won't get it right the first time out. You're not buying your gun; you're buying your first gun.
I'm more and more favoring 9 mm, though I still shoot 357 SIG. A well placed nine will do the job, and two well placed nines will do it even better, and nines are fun to shoot.
Read, converse, oh, and get at least a small gun safe. When you go on vacation to some place that doesn't respect the 2nd Amendment, a safe is nice to have.
I just got my pistol permit in Warren County (upstate).
If I'm not mistaken, NYS no longer issues concealed carry permits.
Mine is stamped with the words "It is valid only for hunting or target shooting and transporting a weapon therefore."
The law, it seems to me, is ambiguous and open to interpretation.
Let me know how you do...
We bought a S&W model 686 357 Magnum for our first gun.
If it looks like the radical marxist is about to be elected, I’ll be buying one too!