Ok guys, heres what I got going on. Now that I'm 21 and I've been at the shop later and later alone. With so many unsavory characters always walking the road in front of the shop. I was thinking about getting a handgun and with a concealed weapons permit. But, I don't know much about guns. Not saying that I don't know how to properly handle them, but more that I'm kinda dumb about which guns are good solid reliable firearms. I kind of want a 9mm due to the cost of ammo but open to any suggestions. So, in general I just want some opinions on what kind of handgun I should look into. thanx in advance.

 

glock 21, h&k usp 40, sig p220

either one of those and you will be fine.

 

I personally would go with a 45 cal.
If you are in a situation were you need to shoot someone, you want to make sure the shot takes them down.

I personally like the S&W semi auto handgun, with the polymer grip. it is only 400-500 dollars and is a very nice light piece.

but it dose not matter what you get, as long as you are comfortable with it. if you are not comfortable holding it, shooting it, and carrying it, then you probly wont take it with you all the time, so it defeats the point.

 

I thought about a .45 for the whole knock down factor. But I dont want something heavy, if that was the case I would just throw a sling on my pistol grip mossberg 590, that would certainly send the message to not mess with me but I want something discret.

 

the weight of the firearm depends on more than just the caliber.

the biggest weight difference you will find is not with the caliber but by the maker.

also, i handgun weighs next to nothing anyway, even my 95lb wife can shoot my guns with no problems. weight issues are more along the line of rifles, not handguns.

 

I like rugers, especially in the .357mag.

 

I'm really leaning more towards a semi auto as opposed to a revolver. Sorry, I shoulda mentioned that. But I definetly could picture the look on someones face if they tried something and I yanked out one of the big cannons. lol

 

rugers are prety good, especially at the price, last time i looked that is.

you have a price range? that would be first and most important when deciding a gun.

 

Auto's are nice and spify and all, but a revolver is the better handgun. On double-action revolver with a hammer, the pin will only strike with the trigger in the fully depressed position (barring use as a hammer, ect, the kind of activities that will shorten your life span significantly). Hammerless autos require more attention as to the state of the weapon compared to a revolver with a hammer. I'm not wanting to get into a safety debate, I'm talking about split-second visual inspection of the gun, ie drawing it from a holster in a dark alley. For personal defense, that can be an important issue. The revolver also usually lacks safety features like a trigger block safety, and can't really have a pin block safety in a similar fashion to autos.

Benefits of the revolver:
Mechanically simple, less parts to fail.
Double action will always hit a round when fully loaded.
Easier cleaning/ maintenence.
No trigger block safety, nothing to fiddle with on a draw.

Benefits of the auto:
More rounds, faster reload.
Better sights (squared the length of the gun).
More caliber options.
More safety features.

Calibers:
.45 is an overkill, smaller cartidges will outperform if you get the right load. Will knock anything down for good, if you can hit what you aim at. Practice makes perfect

.357 is a good balance of power, recoil, and ball options. Tears things open on exit.

.38 is a caliber for small pocket handguns, like my 5 cly. S&W with a 1.5 inch barrel. Lacks power and accuracy, but makes a helluva bang when the barrel is almost shorter than the cartridge.

9mm is for gangsta who can't aim and redneck who's too cheap to buy good ammo. Hits like a girl, leaves small holes (in and out), and really.. just isn't my personal preference, I just don't like it.

.40- see 9mm. I like magnums, sorry.

.22- Kills baby rabbits and makes a cap gun pop jealous. Will hurt what you shoot, but usually just enough to make them a lot more mad at you, so shoot repeatedly and very accuratly.

If you've bothered to keep reading to this point, you'll have noticed I don't like autos, and I don't like small bullets. Personal preference.... definatly. Sue me if you disagree.

Get a stainless steel .357 mag revolver (Smith and Wesson is what I own) with a somewhat short barrel. Make sure it has rubber grips, no safety of any kind, and some form of illuminated sights. This kind of gun will always perform the two jobs of a personal defense weapon: it will always fire when the trigger is pulled, and will always make whatever is coming at you stop if you hit it.

 

you are crazy if you think a 22 won't kill someone.

the US military uses 9mm, must be something to them. beleive me, a 9mm will kill someone.

semi autos are very reliable, i ave yet to ever have one malfunction. in 9 years dealing with them in the military i never witnessed or heard of one having a non-neglect related malfunction. i know they do but point is it is a rare thing.

the greatest benefit to a semi auto is the capacity and quick reload times which if you are not at all an experienced shooter under stressful situations, you will empty out your magazine and maybe even hit the guy your trying to shoot.

i do not see what is so complicated about cleaning a semi auto, a 3 year old could do it.

but it comes down to personal choice, they both have their pluses and minuses maybe, but hardly enough to make it a factor in the buying decision. both will kill someone, both are relaible, both are fun as heck to shoot.

 

Go with a .38 special stub-nose/air weight Smith and Wesson revolver.

Always go with a revolver if you want a trouble-free, ACCURATE gun. Now, the short barrel (1.5") will take away from accuracy, but give you easy concealability.

Caliber isn't everything. Any caliber can kill someone. We aren't going big game hunting for elks or anything, you don't need a .44 magnum. Just the SIGHT of a gun will make most people back down or start apologizing, lol.

Ah, I just now noticed that someone else likes revolvers, too. Between a .357 and .38 special, they BOTH have the same velocity (feet per second), so with that in mind, and knowing the .38 special is the bigger bullet, carrying more weight, I have always leaned more towards the .38 special.

NEITHER are anything compared to a .44 magnum. My favorite revolver I've ever shot was a .44 mag. Damn thing was accurate as hell and had insane power (for a handgun). Now, none of these handguns are much when you start comparing them to rifles, such as a .270WIN and anything higher than that. BUT, you wouldn't want to shoot a .270 centerfire rifle shell out of a 1 pound gun anyways... if you like your hands.

 

Just a small point ... No matter what your ultimate choice and preference is, PRACTICE ... If you can not discourage your assailant without reloading then you are doing something wrong ...

Like my gramps said ... "A million rounds won't help if ya can't hit the target" ...

 

I shall agree with the above....practice...practice...practice.

 

Autos aren't "hard" to clean, just about 30 more parts to clean. I clean my S&W with a wire brush and a half dozen patches without removing a single part. And yes, a .22 will kill you, especially if it gets into the chest cavity and doesn't have to energy to escape but bounces off a bone or muscle boundry. Wing someone in the arm, and no dice. Wing an arm with a .45, and there's gonna be a lot more muscle that just got tore up. And if you need an auto to have an extra 7 rounds to pop off at someone, you're shooting WAY to many rounds and are apparently hitting everything EXCEPT what you're trying to hit, raising the risk of hurting uninvolved people. If your inexperianced and shooting 15 rounds in the dark.... well that's just a stupid situation where the blame is gonna rest on the shooter.

Yes a 9mm/ .40 will kill you, I just don't like them. Plain and simple, that's why I vote no on them. Kinda like how I feel about keeping an auto under the drivers seat, I prefer a revolver. I'm not a huge .22 fan because it's a small cartridge to play with and I have stubby/ wide fingers and I hate messing with them. They're about the worst thing to finagle into a single shot rifle cause a Short is a bit shorter than my thumbnail.

Personally, I have multiple autos and revolvers. I'm looking at a new auto right now..... probably going to be a .40 (sadly) because it's all about frame size, and the .40 is the right size. Maybe I'll get that .45 Colt Government one day, I know a Texas Ranger who has a nickel plated one that has the badge engraved into both ivory handles. Bada$$ doesn't do that gun justice.

Just for this one situation he put out there, a revolver seems to me to fit what he needs better.

And please practice shooting it.... don't be "that guy" who shoots 15 rounds, kills three stray cats, terrifies an old widow, and doesn't hit the mugger once.

 

well theres lots of useful information here. thanx alot I guess its just all preference. I wasn't saying I didn't like revolvers just more like I was leanign towards a auto. I'm gonna go look a the shop tomorrow and try to get an idea about size and such. thanx for all you guys time and opinions/information.