You must be confusing me with someone else, sorry. This is the first time I’ve ever posted a thread in general chat, let alone a thread about purchasing a gun.
Sorry. Anyway, buying a gun is like buying shoes. Think about that. What is right for one shooter is not necessarily right for you and your lifestyle. Then go to a gun store and just spend time looking at guns and asking questions. If you can find a range that rents guns, that will then allow you to compare. Don’t forget to shoot with the load you plan to carry.
How are you going to conceal carry? That will determine the holster and the holster (and comfort in general) can sometimes narrow down your choice. What I like to carry and what I have in my bedroom are 2 different kinds of guns. Do you need two or more guns? No, but I’m just saying that your first gun may not be the only one you end up owning.
I carried a gun in Wash DC before the gun ban and always like revolvers because you could send the pistol back to a Gun Smith like Wilson in Pennsylvania to take away the throat that was cut into the barrel. This way you could get a gun that could knock down a can at 50 yds. But I think that if you want to carry a gun then you need one to practice with like a 22 or air pistol and one to carry ... this is because it takes about 65,000 to 250,000 to use a gun accurately and the most difficult is practicing dryfiring on a spot on the wall because it is just plain boring but very necessary.