Recommendations for a first handgun…

No, further south; Ozark. Follow hwy 231 south until you get to Dothan, and then backtrack north about 20 miles.

Nobody looks around until they get to Dothan, that's why I had you go all the way there to turn around and come back up a little!

I would caution those whom choose to add any modifications to handguns which have the primary function/role of personal protection, especially additions of any item which specifically enhances sight/aiming assets for lowlight/no light that is not absolutely standard on the average respective handgun make and model. Check into your local statutes, case law and ask a local criminal defense attorney about ‘best defenses’ concerning self defense involving lethal force and handguns for your state.

If used in the unlikely event of needed personal protection in your home (as an example) and death or injury occur to another party the ‘courts’, ‘insurance companies’ the now ‘victim’s family’ etc. etc. have the option/may/most likely attempt to use all your ‘non-stock’ modifications against you.

$$$$$

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Originally posted by Thomas Crowne
~snip
Which one should you buy? Again, very simple: A .357 magnum. A Rossi, 4' bbl will do very nicely. It'll last about as long as a big-name weapon, and chances are, you aren't going to fire it all that much, anyway.

A .357 eats .38 rounds, and they are cheaper to use when getting familiar with your new weapon. ~snip

Nice choice Thomas Crowne! I have the same weapon exactly, albeit mine has the 6" factory magna-ported barrel. Love that firearm! Decent balance an shoots dead on. My dad hand loads ammo, what a difference between the stock .38 rounds and his "MAGNUM" loads!

Thanks for this thread...
I've kept a .40 Tauraus under the matress for years. The 12ga sounds much better for safety/home defense. I have neighbors, heaven forbid that I would have to use a weapon, I never thought of the walls...

(Please enable a spell checker for us in Louisiana... The schools arn't real good here...)

[edit on 7/9/2005 by atwood71360]

Alot of replies i see and some preety good ones too i doubt my opinion really matters now but it depends on what you like and have a feel for i like glocks ive shot 20 guages and 12 guages 22's and etc my uncle is a gun collector and seller and he has alot of guns, my father has his own set he has a 9mm for home self defense if ever needed a few rifles and shotguns for hunting including my 20 guage pump. But like i said before its comes down to what you have a feel for hell you might feel a glock and then feel a 45 and find out you might like the 45 better. dbates sounds like he knows his stuff along with off the street but like dbates said always have a trigger guard on your weapon unless using it and i suggest you go and buy yourself a small safe and put it near your bed so just incase you ever need it will be accesible and keep the chamber open and have the clip out of the gun but i suggest you have the clip loaded.. you might want to check home depot or lowes for a safe try getting a number one or a key whichever you prefer but if you get a number one i suggest you make random numbers so your kid(s) cant guess them. Good Luck

[edit on 9-7-2005 by ShadowMan]

I started out (ahem) with a Ruger .357 revolver, after shooting many types (of guns...not...people....) down at the local shooting range. It remained my favourite.

During the years, I've owned .22s (for target practice), .357s, .38s and two .45s in addition to the ex's Mossberg.

But oddly, none of these gave me the same piece of mind as the complete alarm system I later installed. I ended up coming to the conclusion that the risks associated with the guns weren't worth the offchance of someone actually bothering to break through the alarm system. But that's just me

(here's a pic of the same model Ruger)





[edit on 9-7-2005 by Tinkleflower]

It's amazing the difference between the US and the UK.

I don't have any weapons in the house, i'm not worried in the slightest that it will be broken into.

And if it is, the person is either going to have their fists or at most a knife. I'd just whip out the old baseball bat or lob a bottle of whisky off his napper!

[Edit] Actually i'll correct myself, an EMPTY bottle of whisky would have been a shame to waste it.

[edit on 9-7-2005 by Snoopdopey]

I plan on buying several guns once things are more stable for me. Not for home defense but because I love to target shoot. Shooting is a great way to get out and relax and get things off your mind. You have to concentrate on the moment, and just worry about where the bullet is going, instead of what's going on outside of the range.

Originally posted by dbatesThese comments about trigger locks getting you killed are based on a lack of gun training. Gun safety is not an option and you should be extra cautious if you have kids in your house. I've been made fun of for unloading a gun and setting it down to cross a fence, but then I've never shot myself crossing a fence with a gun either. Gun safety should never be taken lightly. Please ignore anyone who tells you to skip safety features. Mistakes with guns can't be taken back.

The reason you have a self defence firearm in a readily available condition is to keep you safe. If you choose to make it inoperable, you are rendering it useless for an undetermined period of time and that defeats the object.
If you have children in the house, the only way to be absolutely safe is to not have firearms at all, because one day, they WILL find your key.

There is a reason that the military and police force do not use gun locks.

Either your firearm is a personal defence weapon, or it is a paperweight, but don't confuse the two.

For recreation and self defense I have the following.


Below: Beretta Cougar 8040 mini in .40S&W
I love this one. It’s a small frame with a lot of stopping power. Perfect for concealment.
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Below: Beretta 92f 9mm


Below: S&W 22s Target .22LR
The image below is close. I have the same grip but I have a longer bull barrel and a RedDot laser scope. It’s accurate as they come and fun as heck to fire all day for about 15.00 considering it’s a target pistol and fires .22LR ammunition.
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I also have a Remington 870EX 12ga Super Mag Pump shotgun and a savage 30-06, the savage is a very light rifle for hunting/hiking and will absolutely tear your arm off. I can only fire it 6 or 7 times before my arm goes numb.

Anyway what would I grab first if my house was being broken into? My 12ga shotgun with its short barrel. No question… If you are considering a shotgun don’t get the pistol grips like a lot of people suggest, having a large heavy wood stock at the other end could come in handy if things go wrong.


EDIT: skippytjc, if you are set on a handgun I recommend a hammerless .38 revolver. This would be a no brainer, pull the trigger, no fuss solution that still packs quite a punch. S&W makes some really good versions of this hammerless revolver in some really lightweight packages. Good for concealment and all around self defense.

[edit on 10-7-2005 by kinglizard]

The interesting thing here is that everyone is discussing their favorite hahdgun (And if I had to pick, I'd probably go with Tinkleflower and his Ruger GP100, although my present revolvers are both 4" Taurus .357 double action).

But it seems to me that, unless you're a person who wants a gun just because (and there is nothing wrong with that; I have several "just because" guns myself), then, if we're going to be advising a newbie, we should look at what we want the gun for before recommending it.

If the potential user does not have any experience at all in owning a gun, does not have the hours and hours to invest in using one, does not have an unlimited amount of money to spend for it, and is the least bit concerned with the problems of lots of moving parts to operate and fail, then buying an autoloader pistol is about as sensible as buying a heat-seeking missile.

I will admit, when I was younger and thus much smarter, I was a big autoloader fan; and I would talk learnedly about the advantages and disadvantages of Glaser Safety Slugs, Black Talons, etc. as though it actually made any difference. However, I married a girl with a six-year-old son, and all of a sudden I now have a full fledged family -- and I was doing a bit of business travel at the time!

I took my bride to a range prior to signing her up for an NRA course and let her shoot my two current sidearms, a Ruger P-85 (an autoloader in 9mm) and a Colt 1911 MK !V Series 70 (the last single-action .45 ACP Colt made).

She hated them both.

It was practically impossible for her to chamber a round in broad daylight with no outside stress at all; imagine what it would be like to try to do so at three in the morning pitch dark with the belief that there is a Bad Guy intent on breaking in and doing Evil Things to her and our kid!

So I did one of the few smart things I have done in my shooting career: I contacted the range and asked to speak with a woman firearms instructor. I am not an instructor (although I have been a black powder merit badge counselor in the Boy Scouts). I do know that most instructors are men and most seem to take a real macho approach to shooting, as though they were instructors in Parris or Lejeune. I didn't enjoy that for myself; I certainly didn't want that for my wife.

Well this woman was about 45, had a soft voice, and she and Dawn hit it off immediately. She suggested that Dawn try her sidearm, a Taurus 4".357 double-action revolver which she had loaded with .38 spl wadcutters. It was love at first sight, and within two weeks I'd sold both of my autoloaders and picked up two Taurus revolvers.

Now I know that an autoloader has a lot of advantages to someone who know how to use one, but a low-tech sidearm which someone will use beats a high-tech sidearm which someone will not use any day. The reason I got rid of my two sidearms was to pay for the revolvers, and because I'd just bought a Dillon 500 reloader and did not want to buy four sets of dies when two (.357 and .38SPL) would do.

My point here is that there's nothing wrong with talking about the esoterica of benefits of this caliber over that caliber and muzzle velocity and expansion coefficients and all that stuff; I do it myself once in a while, if there's nothing good on TV.

But in the real world, if you want a handgun for home defense (which, as I mentioned, doesn't seem to make much sense anyway), the least you should do -- if you're an experienced user giving advice to a newbie who trusts you ...

Is to give them sensible, real-world advice.

Edited to say: I just read Kinglizard's post above, and he makes a VERY good point about a pistol grip on a 12-gauge shotgun. If you have a pistol grip, throw it away.

[edit on 10-7-2005 by Off_The_Street]

*cough*

Sorry, sorry...

Yes, my little Ruger was the most efficient little revolver I could find.

Specially for a 5ft, 120 lb woman....



Seriously though, the accuracy was optimum, the operation was flawless, and it was fun to shoot during target practice. Even with the "real" .357 bullets.

(Those 38 specials are nice and all, but you just don't get that nice achy shoulder with 'em....)

I really liked that Ruger. I owned that exact model for several years until I traded it in on my Beretta Cougar. That little sucker packs quite a punch with a .357 load.

I'd go with a Ruger Mk II (secondhand) or Mk III target pistol if you're just learning to shoot, probably a lot more fun for a new shooter than some big hand cannon.

For self defense I'd use my Colt 1911 model National Match .45, but I'm a lunatic
Fortunately the chances of a break-in where I live are approching zero anyway.

H&K don't make a 10mm, and finding ammunition for the FiveSeven is all but impossible, but that may improve. And puhlease, it's a MAGAZINE not a CLIP !!!

H&k has the 10mm MP-5 popular with SWAT and Police squads, I was kinda confusing the 10mil with the .40 since their dimensions are relatively the same.

There is a USP .40 so don't bash me, .40 IS 10mm...

AND, Pistol magazines are ALWAYS referred to as CLIPS, even though they might not be stripper clips Garand/Mosin Nagant style, even though Magazine is also an enitrely accurate definition.

AND BTW, I tracked down some Five seveN 20 round CLIPS on www.gunbroker.com

[edit on 10/7/2005 by GrOuNd_ZeRo]

As many wise posters have already stated, a shotgun is the BEST home defense weapon. In a situation where you are defending yourself or loved ones you will not want to be worrying about overpenetration. A #6 or 7 shell is deadly up to about 20 ft. and loses energy VERY quickly beyond that point.
Final note: As you will be shooting without preperation (eye and ear protection), I would suggest looking at the Ithaca model 37. It's a time, and combat, proven design. Bottom load, Bottom eject. You never have to deal with burn off from the ejection port!
Mine has a 20" barrel and factory stock but I have never had a more reliable firearm in my life.

I completely agree on the shotgun for home defense, the only problem with a shotgun is it's pretty large compared to a pistol...so you probably have to keep it under your bed or a gunlocker.

Well I don't have any guns myself, nobody in my household has any. However I did learn a few tips from my great grandparents while visiting in Pennyslavania.

The only weapon my great grandfather kept loaded was his revolver (don't know what kind or caliber), which was kept concealed under the matteres. It was reliable and could be grabbed in under five seconds after years of practice. However if there was time there was always a shotgun, which was the preffered weapon in the guncase. The basic concept was, grab the revolver and then the shotgun if theres time.

Anyhow the best safety tips I've learned are

1. Always have and use a gun case for everything but the revolver.

2. If possible keep the ammunition under extra lock and key.

3. Never keep anything but the revolver loaded.

4. Educate the kids. Guns and ignorance aren't a pretty combonation.

5. Practice firing reguarly.

6. Drill yourself to try and grab the revolver as quickly and safely as possible.

7. Guncases and trigger guards aren't for sissys.

The single biggest thing you can do for gun safety is educate, educate, educate. My sister used to hate guns, until her husband bought some and put them in the house, so she went out and took the NRA course, and loves to go shooting with him now. If you have kids, start teaching them early about how to handle them, and that they aren't toys. The single best way to stop gun accidents is education.

Originally posted by dbates
The 9mm is a good choice. As far as safety goes, don't keep the clip of ammo with the gun and keep a trigger lock on the gun. As an added bonus, the sound of a clip being loaded and the slide being pulled back and released should scare the life out of anyone breaking into your house.

Definitely...because an unloaded pistol that has to be unlocked is incredibly useful.