If there is a post that is guanteed to get 100 + replies it is asking for advice on what type of gun to buy. I won’t give you advice on that front. The reason there are so many handguns out there is because there are so many particular tastes in it. My advice is to go to one of these gunstores that have an indoor range that carries the glock and XD and try them out. They are both popular guns and so they should be on a range. If not in the 9mm, perhaps they will have one in a 10, .40 or .45. Even if its not the same caliber, you will be able to get the feel of it and look down the sites.
I realized that I would get a hundred replies, and I honestly appreciate every one of them even though I don’t have the time to reply to most of them.
The big problem that I have is that I live in an anti-gun state, and there are only two gun shops with a range that I am aware of, that is within a two hour drive of my house, and it does not rent or loan handguns. I have been told that the reason they don’t rent or loan handguns is because under state law a person may only possess and fire the handguns that are registered to that person and listed on that person’s permit, and the only way to get the handgun listed on the permit is by transfer of ownership. Thus, my “legal” options are limited to touching, feeling, and holding different models in the gun shop, asking people familiar with these pistols for their opinions, and reading reviews and doing other research, which is how I narrowed the choices to the Glock 19, Baretta PX4, and Springfield XD,
With that said, I am leaning towards the Springfield XD. The Baretta looks nice, but feels heavier than the G19 and XD, and is slightly larger and I assume harder to conceal. I like the Glock, but do have concerns with the safety system, and for whatever reason, the Glock does not fit my large hands as well as the Springfield. So I will probably go with the Springfield XD 9mm, 4” barrel, 10+1, and then re-evaluate my needs and wants after I have been carrying for a year or so and have put a few thousand rounds through the barrel.