Need some handgun advice please

09/25/2002 | myself

[dasher]

If you are worried about capacity then you'll end up with a double stack pistol which will have a fat grip. If you don't mind a pistol that only holds eight in the magazine and one in the chamber check out the Sig P225 or Sig P239, they are perfect for small to meduim hands.

If you don't mind only having 6 shots, go with a revolver for it's simplicity and natural feel. Buy a .357 Magnum, you can always load it with .38's for light practice.

Happy shopping!

[Hammerhead]

Condidering your crime ridden situation.

I recommend a pistol grip (Mossberg????) shotgun.

One rack of the chamber (EVERY thief worth his weight recognizes the noise) and the intruder will RUN out of your house.

You will probably never have to shoot it. Just rack the round. That's all you need. And a good dog.

Use the revolver for around town protection.

[dansangel]

"Go to a gun shop with a firing range. Rent several different pistol, and try them out. Find the piece thats suits you best. Buy it. Practice regularly. Obey all local laws and codes regarding firearm ownership. But most of all be happy."

I can't top that advice. I'm female and love my Beretta Custom Carry (slightly modified 92FS)and that's exactly how I settled on it. I also just recently purchased a Taurus PT111 for an alternate carry weapon because it's smaller and weighs less than my Beretta. The trigger pull is cumbersome, but it is extremely accurate.

I don't think you're going to find a Hi-Cap (more than 10 cartridge capacity) semi-automatic that does not have a stocky grip, if you can find one at all.

Bottom line, if you don't fire it, you're not going to know if you like the trigger action, recoil, etc.

Good Luck!

[Movemout]

I have a Colt MarkIV/Series 80 government model -380 model semiauto that is pretty convenient to put in your pocket. You can always get another magazine if you think you need that many shots. This is the same handgun issued to our military attaches for self protection. It isn't a 9mm but it will do the trick. I have a 10mm that is much superior in terms of firepower to the 9mm but it is probably too large for your purposes. If you carry from room to room in your own house then you should get something that is easy to carry.

[Fighting Irish]

Smith & Wesson (yeah I know the politics.....) J frame .38. Reliable and potent with the right ammo and a confident set of hands and eyes.

Not my choice (I carry a Kimber .45 Pro Carry)but, I can palm a basketball.

Borrow one and shoot it.....see how it feels.

< Before you poo poo the calibre remember, the Moussad has sent quite a few bad guys pushing daisies with a .22!

The best handgun for you is what you feel confident shooting....period!

[Blood of Tyrants]

While I love my Ruger, and I am sure you do, too, the Ruger semiautomaic pistols have some of the largest/fattest grips around. I've heard the "too fat" complaint from a lot of people, but since I have large hands and long fingers, it doesn't bother me.

Since you are familiar with semiautomatics, check out a Glock or Sig Sauer, especially the compact pistols. Consider upsizing to a .40 caliber. It offers more stopping power without a lot more weight or recoil. Be very wary of anyone that pushes a .45 too hard.

Avoid the Taurus semiautos, I have heard that they are jammomatics.

[PleaseNoMore]

Well, I just had my good dog ( she was the best ) put to sleep three weeks ago. She was all I needed at the time. I haven't had the heart to replace her yet and I am still raising her pups ( 4 weeks old today ).

We have had a lot of breakins in our area so I have seriously been considering buying something easier to handle. And I do have a 12 guage Mossberg pump shotgun that I bought when I was 17. It has the long handle though.

I know for a fact that I can handle a pressure situation such as an intruder. I have done it. I just want something that feels better if I ever have to again. I have taken gun safety classes and I have practiced with my army SF neighbor in his field many times so I feel ok with "using" a handgun. The firing part is no longer intimidating to me just the inablility to grip the handle well thus making me feel out of control.

[Blood of Tyrants]

P.S. the Glock and the Sig Sauer are NOT cheap. Check out the EAA (European American Armory) Witness or Witness Compact. They are inexpensive (about $350 or less) but I have never heard of a person who didn't love theirs.

[PleaseNoMore]

Is that you gun? Can I scan a pic of mine?? lol

[yarddog]

Hate to repeat myself but as I (and several others) have stated, the Browning HP does have a trim grip and it is high capacity.

John Browning was able to keep the grip small by eliminating the bar which goes from the trigger to the sear and runs alongside the magazine. Browning got around this but using a pivoting bar which is located in the slide. It does make it a little harder to get a good trigger but not that hard.

I am a large man but do not have large hands. I have owned maybe half a dozen Ruger of the P-89 style and they have about the worst grip of any, although it might just be my particular hand.

Virtually everyone who tries the Browning 9mm comments on how comfortable the grip is.

[PleaseNoMore]

Geeezzz, you would think a person could spell lol. Is that YOUR gun??

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

And I do have a 12 guage Mossberg pump shotgun that I bought when I was 17. It has the long handle though.

If you can handle a wrench, and I'm sure anyone who can raise kids can work a wrench, you can buy a pistol grip for you Mossberg (I bought one for my Remington, that I haven't put on het, at a Gunshow in Florida for about 15-20 bucks) and change it out in about 10 minutes.

[PleaseNoMore]

I can handle a wrench as I change all of the top ends in my son's dirt bike, but my question is..... wouldn't this make the shotgun have a lot of recoil ( is that the word?? ).

[tortoise]

It sounds like there are two guns that would be perfect for you: The H&K USP9C (13+1) and the SIG P239 (8+1 I believe). Both of these are great for people with tiny hands. I find that many Asian women, who have problems with full-size pistols, find these pistols to fit perfectly in their hands. And these are great pistols to boot. Both of these are available in .40 as well, in case you aren't recoil shy, and cost about the same.

[harpseal]

There are a number of handguns that will fit your hands better than the Ruger. If a large capacity 9mm is the goal then the best fit where one has excess of 10 round capacity is likely to come from the either a Browning Hi-Power or CZ-75 (clone) Among the many handguns that fit this desciption are the old BTA-90 from Excam, the Baby Eagle (this is an Israeli made gun that has the same profile), the EAA witness, and several pieces from Charles Daily. There are single stack magazine 9mm's made including the P38 by Walther tat fire the same cartidge but do not have the large capacity magazine. This might be a consideration.

You might also wish to consider a .40 S&W or .45acp single stack handgun. Consider that in a combat situation the 16 round capacity of that 9mm is very seldom needed unless one is a LEO or in the military. The reason for having a large magazine capacity is to allow for a whole lot of misses or the need for multiple hits on the target.

Clearly without seeing how your grip is on the firearm no one can absolutely recommend any firearm but by looking at a number of options you will be able to come to a good decision.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

[white trash redneck]

You can't buy anything new that holds more than 10 rounds.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by this, but it may give the wrong impression. One can still buy plenty of new and used firearms that accomodate magazines of greater than 10 rounds. Despite the gun control act passed by Clinton, one can still buy magazines holding greater than 10 rounds if they were made prior to a certain date (in 1994 I believe); manufacturers made bunches prior to that date and they are still readily available for many firearms.

With regard to the poster's original question, I'd suggest that she try a Browning HP as many have suggested. If she is willing to compromise a little on magazine capacity (a 10 round magazine is flush with the floorplate, but can accomodate higher capacity S&W mags protruding), I would suggest the Kel-Tec 9 mm. It's not a sexy gun, but 1) it's very small (easy front pocket carry); 2) shoots 9 mm, an advantage if you don't reload; 3) DAO, easy operation; 4) it's cheap, which is of some importance to me in that here in the people's republic of Denver, if you're involved in a shooting, and even if you've got a permit and no charges are filed, the police WILL CONFISCATE YOUR WEAPON AND WILL NOT RETURN IT (this is Denver policy - it gets guns "off the street," you know), so I'd just as soon be out a few bucks as opposed to lotsa bucks.

JMHO.

[toddst]

You have much good advice on this thread. Of course, people tend to recommend what they like based on their experience.

Having worked with many women students in firearm instruction I would go with the recommendation in post #41 by dasher:

. . . If you don't mind a pistol that only holds eight in the magazine and one in the chamber check out the Sig P225 or Sig P239, they are perfect for small to meduim hands.

In a practical sense, you won't need more than the 8-9 round capacity. The single-stack magazine is very comfortable for average to small hands. Also, Sigs are quality, reliable weapons. I'm confident you will be happy with one of these guns.

[TheErnFormerlyKnownAsBig]

It wouldn't creat more recoil, but it would make it tougher to handle that recoil as you wouldn't be able to disperse the energy into your torso via your shoulder. You would have to do it with your arms.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Another good choice is the Walther P99. Although it comes with 10 round mags, 16 round ones are available for sale (not LE only). It has three different backstraps that can be installed on the grip (SM, MED, LG) to fit many different hands. It is about the size overall of a Glock 19. I really like mine, has many nice features, not the least of which are controls that are easy to reach (slide release, mag release, decocker)

[umgud]

I carry a Taurus 617T titainium .357 mag 7 round revolver that weighs just 19 ounces empty. No slides or safeties, just point and shoot. And at 7 rounds, it holds as many rounds as many single stacks. I also carry and own others but, this revolver or my Glock 30 are my favorites for personal protection.