Find a range that rents various weapons. Check out several to help you decide.
My advise is KISS, a nice little revolver. .357 magnum, something easy to conceal and will work guaranteed in a panic if you pull the trigger.
Perhaps you should outline your parameters. A hogleg or a pink purse pistol might be appropriate depending on your needs.
.38 revolver. Point and click. Easy for newbies.
A good quality used revolver chambered in .357 magnum.
Ammunition.
Training.
Practice.
Lots and lots of practice.
L
They’re not popular, but for a newbie to handguns and concealed carry, you could do worse than starting out with an appropriate revolver.
Personally, I’m a Glock guy for the simplicity of the manual of arms. I have nothing against 1911s, though I’m sure that discussion will come up.
Whatever you do, get plenty of training.
I strongly recommend Massad Ayoob’s two books on lethal force, mindset, and legalities.
Deadly Force - Understanding Your Right To Self Defense
https://smile.amazon.com/Deadly-Force-Understanding-Right-Defense-ebook/dp/B00PMIGVKI
In the Gravest Extreme: The Role of the Firearm in Personal Protection
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0936279001
I would recommend reading both before moving forward.
A small .38 Special revolver, hammerless.
An AR-15 pistol in 300 Blackout. Good short and medium range weapon with knock down power. 300 Blackout is optimized for suppressed fire with heavy bullet subsonic loads but can also be used with supersonic ammunition when extra range is needed. An AR-15 pistol is more maneuverable in tight spaces than a M4. The down side is you can’t carried it concealed.
Put double OO in your shotgun assuming it is a pump or auto. You don’t want to send fmj rounds into your neighbor’s house. Lots of hand guns around, 9mm, 380’s, and many surplus goodies to save you $$$, like the CZ’z and Maks.
Consider the threshold proposition of a handgun. There are a variety of .556 clip fed weapons out there with 10 inch barrels built on AR-15 frames which make more sense in the current environment than handguns.
I carry a Sig P 365. It’s a great gun. But until you are ready and familiar w a semiautomatic I would go with a .38 revolver. It’s a never fail and nothing to remember under stress.
As many posts above advise, a revolver is the best choice. Low velocity ammunition is advisable if in heavily populated area. Jacketed hollowpoint rounds if legal in your municipality.
Get a revolver. I recommend a Smith and Wesson .38 bodyguard for concealed carry.
As others have said, a revolver is the best choice. It is a long story, but one time a naked psycho with a semi-auto handgun tried to shoot me in an ambush he set up. What saved me is that he was not familiar with his new toy and had put the cartridges in the magazine backwards. Pretty hard to do that with a revolver.
Go to an indoor range and rent several that look interesting to you.
then purchase the one most appealing.
Forget all the advice you will get here.
The one thing to remember is: “You will learn to shoot the gun you have”
Asking for handgun advice on FR? I’m not sure you’ll get much of a response, but here’s my thoughts:
Male/female?
Height/weight?
Age?
Prior experience with handguns?
There are a lot of good choices, but the right answer for a new handgun will depend on details that you have not shared. How about some more information?
- I love my compact Kimber 1911 in .45, and it has serious stopping power.
- I love my Glocks, but the one guarantee is that a Glock is the wrong answer unless you have a lot of handgun experience (and even then if you’re asking for advice, that means a Glock is probably a dangerously wrong choice - people who shoot themselves by accident are usually holding a Glock and get careless for a fraction of a second).
- I love a good revolver, and the S&W 642 Airweight is very nice. I have one in my pocket right now (in a good pocket holster, of course).
- The S&W Shield .380 EZ and 9 EZ are great options as you get older and are easy to use.
- The Walther ppk in .380 is good enough for James Bond (and it is small, sturdy, shoots very well, and looks cool).
- The original Ruger LCP had a terrible trigger, but their LCP II is very nice. It’s small, light, and accurate enough if you give it a laser.
If you’re new (as I am), be wary of any double action pistols as they’re hair trigger after the first shot. Also, when you buy, especially at a gun show, be sure to take a phone pic of your 4437 so that it protects you from someone adding an illegal firearm to your purchase!
Good luck finding one to purchase. I was out just looking this weekend, if the shop wasn’t closed the shelves were bare.
On your to-do list should be a gun safety class. You should know how to hold a semi-auto so it doesn’t tear off any skin, how to clear a jam, etc.
Side story:
I was out at a gun range once with a friend and the friend’s 15 year old son. Well, the dad handed his semi-auto pistol to the kid, and the gun immediately went off. The kid was never taught anything about proper trigger finger position.
Fortunately the bullet went down range, and nobody was hurt.