Posted on 08/01/2013 7:57:08 AM PDT by circlecity
Looking for advice on which pistol to buy. After my first child was born 30 years ago I sold my pistol so as not to have it around the house. Now I am an empty nester and would like to get back into having a few handguns. After so many years I consider myself a newbie so all advice on which handgun to purchase is appreciated.
For my first gun I would like a 9mm autoloader. I intend to use it primarily for shooting at the range and for personal carry. Eventually I will also purchase a revolver to use as my primary carry weapon - but for now I'm looking at an automatic. I'm looking to spend between $450-600.
>> stay away from the newest generation of Glocks. They have reliability issues.
Gen 4?
What kind of reliability issues? Misfeed? Misfire? Break? What?
Also, you may want to try some alternative ammunition sizes to 9mm. The 9mm is a good cartridge, but the design is a century old and there have been a lot of good alternatives that have been created since then.
I have shot over 5000 rounds in my 26 and never had a problem.
My standard answer when such general parameters are given is a Glock G19. Hard to beat for a gun that does it all. That said, I don’t own one. I own Glock G23, G22, and G17. I know 9 mm rounds have made great improvements in the last 10-20 years but I still like the idea of that big ole .40 bullet coming out of the barrel with 500 ft lbs of energy behind it.
My personal favorite is a .40 S&W G27
How big is your hand? Any arthritis or damage to your favored hand/wrist?
How concealable do you want it to be or do you plan on getting something specifically for carry later? Some of those small two finger, easy to conceal pocket guns aren't fun to shoot or practice with.
How accurate does it need to be, as the longer the barrel, generally means greater accuracy, but also heavier and more difficult to conceal.
What action do you prefer? Where do you want the hammer to end up after you have fired a round, cocked with a very short trigger pull to fire the next round or not cocked and with a long trigger pull, more like a revolver?
Speaking of hammers, do you want it to be visible or not, manipulatable with your thumb or not?
How many rounds do you want to carry?
Are you a brand name shopper or do you buy whatever regardless of names? Do you seek lowest price or highest quality?
I use a S&W stainless Model 641 .357 magnum with a 2” barrel for carry and a .40 S&W Beretta for home defense. The revolver is great for carry because it’s hammerless and has a smooth body. Remember George Zimmerman. He used a semi-auto for carry and it failed fully to eject the first round, probably because the ejection of the cartridge was blacked by his body or Martin’s . A revolver won’t give you that trouble in a really desperate spot, like the one he was in. OTOH the full size semi-auto is a lot better around home because it carries a lot more rounds and can be readily reloaded just by ejecting the empty magazine and inserting the new one.
It’s a crock. There may have been some issues caused by the new two stage recoil springs when they first came out but it was quickly fixed. All 3 of my Glocks are Gen4 and none have had any issues in thousands of rounds.
>> I have shot over 5000 rounds in my 26 and never had a problem.
We’ve put lots and lots of rounds through our G17 and G26 — not 5000, but a lot. Never even ONE hiccup with either of them. With every shape and grade of ammo from cheap ‘n dirty to fancy and spendy.
Back when I bought them the dealer mildly warned me away from the Gen 4, which was just coming out, but I don’t remember why. I don’t think it was a reliability issue though. Something minor like the sight picture or something like that.
All your questions can be summed up with
“go try a bunch of different guns at the range”
i like the S&W as well, but he was looking for a 9mm.
Glock 26 9mm conceal carry size.
Ruger both LCP 380 and 9mm and the LCR revolvers are great.
Springfield XD several friends have them and love them.
Sig Sauer P238 or P938 single action.
Smith and Wesson M&P semi autos or J frame revolvers 38 special.
All are great guns and personal use and fit and comfort is what matters to you. Any well made gun you can shoot well with.
“He used a semi-auto for carry and it failed fully to eject the first round”
That is not true. The gun functioned normally. The confusion arose because the first officer on the scene cleared the weapon and put it in his vest. When he took it from Zimmerman it had one in the chamber and one round missing from the magazine. One spent casing was recovered from the scene. Read the forensic report on the gun.
*Not necessarily too small to start with as I intend it to be used mostly as a range gun to get my chops. I'm looking for reliability and economic to practice with. I intend to purchase a revolver next to use as a carry weapon.
*Accuracy is impt but I want an average sized barrel
* I deinitely want DA/SA action. I saw a Sig P250 for $475 that I liked but DAO scares me off.
* I'm generally looking for a happy medium between price and quality.
Excellent advice.
My daughter has a Kahr PM9. This is a popular LE backup. She loaned it to me for a while so I could shoot it as much as I liked and strip & clean it.
I ended up getting a CW9, a less expensive version without night sights.
Things I like about the Kahr:
-lightweight
-concealable
-very easy to strip and clean
-accurate
-NO safety, long trigger pull
Take a good look at the Kahr CW9. Lightweight polymer, great size, and accurate. No safety, indicators, or etc... Just a good straightforward design and the CW series is Kahr’s value line of handguns ($385). The trigger pull is long and of consistent pressure from start to finish.
10+1 with 17 on the reload.
“I definitely want DA/SA” “happy medium price, quality”
CZ PO1: the “poor man’s Sig”.
FR : ‘Your one-stop gun shop.’
Thank you. Come again.
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