Looking to Buy 1st Handgun, What Do You Recommend?

[OC for ME]

Shop around and buy the "best" gun you can afford. The brand name is not so important than is the type. Small-ish revolvers are safe, easy to use, virtually indestructible and a .38 special will mitigate just about any threat. Ammo is relatively cheap and plentiful. Semi-autos are for more advanced shooters.

My S&W Model 60 requires no disassembly to clean. Mine is a 1965 stainless, five round cylinder and takes non+P only as recommended by S&W. That is my BUG and is good for a knife fight shooter. It is my carry gun when I am forced, by my better half, to dress for church and other "Sunday Go To Meetin" dress up events.

YMMV

 

[WalkingWolf]

Shop around and buy the "best" gun you can afford. The brand name is not so important than is the type. Small-ish revolvers are safe, easy to use, virtually indestructible and a .38 special will mitigate just about any threat. Ammo is relatively cheap and plentiful. Semi-autos are for more advanced shooters.

My S&W Model 60 requires no disassembly to clean. Mine is a 1965 stainless, five round cylinder and takes non+P only as recommended by S&W. That is my BUG and is good for a knife fight shooter. It is my carry gun when I am forced, by my better half, to dress for church and other "Sunday Go To Meetin" dress up events.

YMMV

Agree, but unless he is buying new he should take a set of feeler gauges with him. I would pass on anything over .008 unless it is just for a occasional plinker with light loads. Actually S&W considers .012 acceptable from the factory, but I would not buy one, and send it back if a new one had that wide a gap. Colts in new condition are very very tight, sometimes too tight. Anything tighter than .004 might bind with powder residue.

The gap is a indication of how much a revolver has been shot, or if fired consistently with hot ammo. Though the gap is a indicator, the cylinder is where the kabooms usually happen.

 

[SouthernBoy]

Agree, but unless he is buying new he should take a set of feeler gauges with him. I would pass on anything over .008 unless it is just for a occasional plinker with light loads. Actually S&W considers .012 acceptable from the factory, but I would not buy one, and send it back if a new one had that wide a gap. Colts in new condition are very very tight, sometimes too tight. Anything tighter than .004 might bind with powder residue.

The gap is a indication of how much a revolver has been shot, or if fired consistently with hot ammo. Though the gap is a indicator, the cylinder is where the kabooms usually happen.

The barrel/cylinder gap on my 1976 Ruger Security Six 4" stainless was .0015 (15/10,000ths) of an inch when new. My mid-80s (84 or 85??) Ruger Redhawk 5 1/5 stainless .44 Magnum was .003 (3/1,000th's) of an inch when I bought it new. The Security Six was so tight that after two or three cylinders of .357, the cylinder and forcing cone met and caused the gun to freeze up. I fixed this early on but the gaps is still very small.

 

[Grapeshot]

Shop around and buy the "best" gun you can afford. The brand name is not so important than is the type. Small-ish revolvers are safe, easy to use, virtually indestructible and a .38 special will mitigate just about any threat. Ammo is relatively cheap and plentiful. Semi-autos are for more advanced shooters.

My S&W Model 60 requires no disassembly to clean. Mine is a 1965 stainless, five round cylinder and takes non+P only as recommended by S&W. That is my BUG and is good for a knife fight shooter. It is my carry gun when I am forced, by my better half, to dress for church and other "Sunday Go To Meetin" dress up events.

YMMV

That was my "work" gun for years - still carry it as a BUG and as a primary when I want something very inobtrusive.

Bobbed the hammer, installed Barami Hip Grips and Tyler T-grip the day I bought it eons ago.

 

[Firearms Iinstuctor]

The barrel/cylinder gap on my 1976 Ruger Security Six 4" stainless was .0015 (15/10,000ths) of an inch when new. My mid-80s (84 or 85??) Ruger Redhawk 5 1/5 stainless .44 Magnum was .003 (3/1,000th's) of an inch when I bought it new. The Security Six was so tight that after two or three cylinders of .357, the cylinder and forcing cone met and caused the gun to freeze up. I fixed this early on but the gaps is still very small.

I had the same problem with one of the ones I had was an easy fix. I would get about 40 rounds before she became to tight. I have put 40 to 50 thousands through it after the fix no trouble with it.

They are a great gun I should have brought more of them.

 

[Lonster]

1st Pistol

I always pack a semi auto. But as a new gun owner. I would opt for a double action revolver if your in a hurry to be armed. Then rent some autos at a range and find out what you like. Then practice, practice, practice. An auto can jam, stove pipe or fail to feed. And if your not familiar enough with one. You may panic when you need to think straight. Revolvers are for the most part a no brainer. And your families safety should be your first concern. Not what someone else thinks is cooler. The only wheel gun I have left is a Colt 32-20 Navy. Which my Great Uncle gave me years ago. But I've been shooting since I was a kid. And started carrying as soon as I could get a CPL. Autos are nice, because it is so much faster to reload. But if you need more than 6 shots. Then you are where you shouldn't have been in the first place.

 

[Grapeshot]

--snipped-- Autos are nice, because it is so much faster to reload. But if you need more than 6 shots. Then you are where you shouldn't have been in the first place.

Consider:

Home invasion, multiple assailants.

Street mugging after dark, more than one assailant.

Trying to run away (withdraw) and being forced to fire on the run at an attacker behind you.

1 or 2 rounds should be enough for 1 BG, but it often is not. How many will I need? Hopefully less than I carry = 25.

Some carry considerably more - they ain't heavy, brother.

 

[mobiushky]

It's all about which set of odds you want to play with and coming to a comfortable feeling about the odds you have chosen. The act of carrying a gun in the first place is all about odds. The odds are you will never need it. So there are those who play the odds and don't carry. The odds are the you probably will not need more than 3 rounds. So there are those who carry their gun loaded and nothing more. Then again, there are cases where BG's have taken as much as 17 rounds and still not died. It's wildly rare, sure, but it has happened. So you play the odds.

There are people who are quite comfortable carrying 6 rounds. Honestly, if they never fire their gun in self-defense, were they wrong? Likewise there are people who carry 50 rounds or more, if they never fire their gun are they wrong?

The variables are WAY too vast to say you will only need X. Maybe a better way to say it is, if you carry X you'll be fine Y% of the time. I'm comfortable with those odds so I carry X. Just be aware that you are playing the odds and accept that you have decided to be comfortable with the odds you played. Some people don't share that comfort level. Some people might even say 6 rounds is too much.

 

[bloodstone1311]

There are many guns that could potentially fill your needs, my opinion is that you pretty much get what you pay for with cheap guns. I would not recommend a Hipoint. If you can spend enough to get something good, do. Look around and find a Generation 3 Glock 19 used would be my first suggestion in your price range. The EAA Windicator is a good inexpensive revolver too. In any case take a few classes and get a little bit of training with whatever you get.

 

[WalkingWolf]

A person cannot afford a expensive handgun, and passes on a inexpensive proven reliable weapon on advice, gets bad advice. A inexpensive handgun is better than no handgun when there is a BG looking for a easy victim.

Just very very bad advice. In fact the whole intention of the SNS laws was to keep guns out of the hands of blacks. So not only is it bad advice and snobbery it borders on bigotry.

 

[Cavalryman]

If you only have one handgun, IMO it should be a medium-frame Smith and Wesson, Ruger, or Colt .357 magnum. I say this for two reasons (1) simplicity and (2) versatility. The modern double-action revolver is simple to use. A semi-auto requires five motions to return to action after a misfire whereas a revolver requires only one. The difference can certainly be overcome with training and the advantage of the larger magazine capacity does make it worth doing the training. However, where the revolver invariably outshines the semi-auto is in versatility. The .357 magnum revolver can also fire any .38 special round and because it doesn't need the recoil to cycle the weapon, it's possible to use very light shot loads for snakes/rodents or very heavy slugs for mountain lions/black bears and anything in between. You can even get flare rounds for signaling if you're lost in the woods. No semi-auto made will function reliably with such a broad spectrum of cartridges. Again, this advice is most applicable to someone who is getting a first handgun and will (at least for a while) have only one. You're going to want one that will as much possible fulfill every need.

I'm not down on semi-autos; I own and carry several. But if I ever have to bug out with only handgun, it will be a .357 magnum.

 

[langenc]

I understand $$ dont grow on bushes for most.

When you say 'cheap', what is your families lives worth??

If you cant afford now save for a while and get a reliable-good gun.

BUY ONCE, CRY ONCE--Buy twice, cry twice.

True the cheaper one could be sold for what you paid, probably.

 

[WalkingWolf]

I understand $$ dont grow on bushes for most.

When you say 'cheap', what is your families lives worth??

If you cant afford now save for a while and get a reliable-good gun.

BUY ONCE, CRY ONCE--Buy twice, cry twice.

True the cheaper one could be sold for what you paid, probably.

Not very much if the person is unarmed while saving to buy a more expensive firearm. At that moment if it happens I would imagine they would be cursing the person that told them to WAIT to pay more.

 

[mobiushky]

Prepare to be shocked... I agree with wolf.

See, after all that time calling me a snob, I actually agreed all along. There is no harm in buying what you can afford now. Then when you have time to save if you aren't happy or your tastes change, buy something else later. Heck, keep them both. What law says you have to limit how many guns you buy?

Caveat, at least buy something with a track record. I have been in a class where a guy paid like $99 for a "non-branded" .380. That thing sucked and FTF'd and jammed roughly every 2 shots. It had no slide catch which made it a nightmare to do malfunction clearing. Cheap doesn't always mean bad, but sometimes it does.

 

[exgabrit]

There are a ton of good guns out there if you want to take the weeks of time to research the.
Assuming you'll want to CCW, then to cut the list short and using my experience some some of these pistols, look at the following ...
Caliber, go for either a 380 ACP or 9mm. I have a 9mm Glock and two 40 S&W's one Glock22 and the other a Taurus 740. forget everything else, yes even 45ACP, rounds are too bulky, also forget 40, in a small gun, too much practice needed for followup shots and additional recoil mitigation.
for 380, stick with Hornady Critical Defense, it's the only round I'd use if I carried a 380.
380 Pistols - Taurus 738 or Bersa Thunder (Bersa has red sights, hard to see, paint them white), both can be had for under $300 and are reliable.
9mm pistols, go with a Bersa, Taurus Millennium, Glock compact. also look at ANY of the clone pistols from Turkey and Bulgaria etc, i.e. the FN, SIG and CZ clones. they are much cheaper than the name brand and work the same.
as an odd ball pistol, if you find a Makarov such as the CZ-82, buy it, they are great accurate guns.
if you have two equal guns, one in 380 and one in 9mm, buy the 9mm.

ok, that's it in a nutshell.

 

[scott58dh]

Great choices

If you only have one handgun, IMO it should be a medium-frame Smith and Wesson, Ruger, or Colt .357 magnum. I say this for two reasons (1) simplicity and (2) versatility. The modern double-action revolver is simple to use. A semi-auto requires five motions to return to action after a misfire whereas a revolver requires only one. The difference can certainly be overcome with training and the advantage of the larger magazine capacity does make it worth doing the training. However, where the revolver invariably outshines the semi-auto is in versatility. The .357 magnum revolver can also fire any .38 special round and because it doesn't need the recoil to cycle the weapon, it's possible to use very light shot loads for snakes/rodents or very heavy slugs for mountain lions/black bears and anything in between. You can even get flare rounds for signaling if you're lost in the woods. No semi-auto made will function reliably with such a broad spectrum of cartridges. Again, this advice is most applicable to someone who is getting a first handgun and will (at least for a while) have only one. You're going to want one that will as much possible fulfill every need.

I'm not down on semi-autos; I own and carry several. But if I ever have to bug out with only handgun, it will be a .357 magnum.

My reasons to a *T* !

I researched Handguns for about a year before I chose my Ruger SP101 .357mag.

I use 38 spl. semi-wadcutters for TP.

I discovered thru sheer stupidity that 357 mag is way too hard on the ears w/o hearing protection, even outside.

Now for a bonus "opinion" ! :monkey

I realize that this is OCDO Forum & I do OC, however, when I choose to CC, This is my #1 Holster of choice. It's very comfortable & a good price plus they are located right in Lexington NC.

***N82 Tactical*** = Nate Squared ,,,> link>> http://n82tactical.com/n82store/

Happy shoppin' !

Peace, Carry Safe & Smart !

View attachment 11099

 

[mobiushky]

{snip}
Now for a bonus "opinion" ! :monkey

I realize that this is OCDO Forum & I do OC, however, when I choose to CC, This is my #1 Holster of choice. It's very comfortable & a good price plus they are located right in Lexington NC.

***N82 Tactical*** = Nate Squared ,,,> link>> http://n82tactical.com/n82store/

Happy shoppin' !

Peace, Carry Safe & Smart !

View attachment 11099

+1 on the N82 Tactical. I really like mine. I've got a pro line with the plastic shroud instead of the nylon one. Means I can re-holster with one hand.

 

[scott58dh]

+1 on the N82 Tactical. I really like mine. I've got a pro line with the plastic shroud instead of the nylon one. Means I can re-holster with one hand.

Yep, great rig.

They don't make one yet for my revolver yet.

If they ever do, it would be nice to have one, sure would make a lot easier to reholster as you pointed out.

 

[countryclubjoe]

bumping for research.

CCJ

 

[Johnbo]

Remington is coming out with the R-51 next month, which is a single-stack 9mm. They are in your price range if you can wait a month or two:

http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2014/01/01/remington-announces-r-51-pistol/

this has a grip safety as well and is 7+1 single stack. I plan on ordering one soon.