Thinking of buying a gun (suggestions)

I'm considering buying a new weapon, I dont currently own a gun but I have owned many in the past, Chinese SKS, M1 carbine, shotguns etc..
My favorite though was a Ruger P95 which is a SS pistol in the .40 S&W round, I lost it about 5 years ago and it was the last weapon that I owned.
Anyway, the reason Im posting here is I cant decide what I want, it will be for personal defense and the choices are so numerous.
I could go with a shotty, with a handgrip and extended magazine pump action or with something like the Ruger Mini, which is good for defense and possibly any future survival situations that may arise in this country.
The only problem with it though is using it for defense in the home, the .223 round could travel through many walls and possibly hit an some poor innocent person in another room or home.
My choices for a pistol would definately be something in the .40 round and since ive already owned one and loved it, the Ruger is one of my first choices.
Another one that Im looking at is the Sig P229 (its price tag kinda scares me though) and the Glock 23, which is the compact model .40, holding 10 rounds +1.
The shotty would be ideal for home defense and I wouldnt have to worry about a highs peed bullet killing someone in the next house and they are very effective and easy to shoot.
My dad was a cop all of my life and I shot my first gun, his .38 service revolver, when I was about 6 or 7 so I dont actually NEED the shotty to be accurate, I can shoot a pistol just fine.
Any suggestions from some avid shooters here and the board, maybe some weapon that I havent mentioned?
I'm really leaning towards a pistol though, especially considering that i can have some fun with it at the range or off in the desert somewhere..

Generally the stand 12 gauge pump racking the shell would be enough to scare off most people if they hear it and the sound it makes is formidable.I have a mossberg 500 pistol grip mariner all stainless steel.I would use number 9* birdshot with a modified choke.That usually would only penetrate 2 or 3 sheets of drywall but would do the job.

Heres a link for it.Also remember standard home self defense if its dark and u have flashlight with you,hold it up in the air and way from you while shinning it.In case if your seen and not made a target.A good autoloader is also a good choice.

www.bigskyguns.com...

Oh wow, thats a nice shotty alien, something like that is what originally came to my mind when I began thinking about doing this.
And youre right, pumping a shell into the chamber is very intimidating

If it's a home defense weapon, then definately the shotgun. I would go for a double barrel, have a normal medium grain shot in one barrel, and a slug in the other. You can buy straps that go around the stock to hold shells. The slug will do a lot more damage than a pistol, and you have the spread shot as a back up.
If your on the street, then a pistol. 9mm, 40, or 45 is good.
Buy the best you can afford. I would recommend glock and sig. Highly reliable. Both tried and tested, and used by the majority of law enforcment and govt...and they should know what's best.
Your better off buying a used good gun, then a bad new gun.
9mm ammo is cheaper than 40 or 45. Use hollow point bullets. Go the range a few times, and try different weight grains. Use the one that feels the best for you. Buy cheaper ammo, like winchester for practise, but only use good ammo for defense. Learn how to clean a jam quick.Shotgun shells are very cheap, but it takes time to reload.
Best idea in the home is multiple weapons, and different locations.
You may have a pistol in your bed drawer, but you may be cut off from the bedroom. Go other direction and grab the shotgun out of the cupboard next to the front door, you know what i mean?
Also, hide behind stuff - the more protection you have the better.
Someone mentioned the gypsum wall boards - if there's someone in your house, they shouldn't be there, use your pistol and shoot through the walls at them. Either they will get hit, or run away. Don't go and check, keep position behind cover if possible, and call police.

reply to post by cruzion


Thanks for the tips, especially the ones about hiding different weapons in different rooms, makes a lot of sense.
I see that you live in Corpus? Cool, I live there too.
Im thinking of going to that modern pawn and gun up on airline tomorrow, they have a nice selection of used guns and some new ones as well.

From personal experience, I would recommend a .40 cal Rueger. I used to own one and it offers a solid, accurate shot with little to no recoil. Hell man, I would even recommend a Walther P22 pistol. Sure, a .40 cal bullet is gonna blow the back of someone's skull off, but the .22 hollowtip will richochette around inside their head a couple times before it exits. AND the p22 is small and easily concealable. In fact, half the time, the 22 bullet doesn't even exit. But if you just wanna see how big of a hole you can put in someone, I recommmend the 12 guage Mossberg semi automatic 500 with slugs. It'll blow a hole the size of a grapefuit in someone.

It doesn't really matter what type of pistol you have, as long as it feels right. The lighter and more accurate, more reliable the better. Quality comes with price. Almost all pistol combat confrontations are within 36ft - most around 16ft. You don't need to be a marksman, but you do need to know the gun and the ammo, so spend time at a range. Anything from 9mm to 45acp is good. Heavier grain is better. If you buy a nice pistol, you may be able to use P++ rounds. These have much increased velocities. Combine that with a heavy grain in say a .45, a hit will almost always shock-drop an opponent, but at a cost of recoil and getting back on target if you miss. 9mm is easilly the best all round round. very little recoil, accurate, has good punch.
Any weapon is better than non. More important is your are comfy with it, feels good in the hand, and you trust it.
If you get a pistol, have it magged, ready, but don't chamber a round. If you need to use it, just knock the slide back and it'll chamber. A lot of plastic pistols don't have traditional safeteys'. The added benefit is anyone getting your gun and trying to shoot you, the round won't chamber unless they cock it They'll probably just stand there pulling on the trigger, wondering why it wont shoot, and looking for the safety switch.

reply to post by Mad_Hatter


Yea mad like I said above the last pistol I had was the Ruger P95 .40 caliber with custom grips. In the past I had mostly S&W 9mm, they were very fun to shoot and for the most part very accurate but none were as fun and accurate as that Ruger, I miss that gun I lost my wife and my guns in the divorce but I only miss the guns
The recoil wasnt all that bad and the trajectory was pretty decent, little or no drop at around 50 yards, shooting up in the mountains when I lived in Idaho.

I just bought a Smith and Wesson SW40VE (.40) with 2 mags for $230. I already have more then a few firearms and this was an "impulse buy" I got used from a cop buddy.

It seems to be a great gun for the price. It is "inspired" from the glock design and inside it is almost indistinguishable from a Glock. It feels way better in the hand due to much better ergonomics. I have already shot about 400 rounds through it. It ate up everything from WWB to Gold Dot ammo without a single hiccup. The trigger is a bit heavy on the brand new ones but breaks in as you shoot. The trigger on mine is nice, smooth and about 7 pounds.
Brand new they should only cost about $280-300 from a reputable dealer. As an added bonus, if you buy a brand new one, S&W have a mail in rebate that gets you 50$ and 2 more mags.




Edited to add rebate information.


[edit on 24-5-2008 by Tiloke]

reply to post by Kr0n0s


Why not just go for another P95? You have experience with it and are obviously very keen on the weapon. Go with what you know.

As for a long, I'd advocate the 12ga shotty any day. I'd go for a double myself, but a pump/quality semi will serve well if combined with a decent sized shot. I'd go for a #4 shot (#3 if in the UK), as it will penetrate enough meat to kill at realistic ranges, but will not go on to take out the little old lady armed with a shopping bag next door.

Remember, don't go for light weight shot. People seem to think that a load of light weight pellets will incapacitate, but this is a bit of a fallacy. Actual shooting reports have demonstrated that birdshot (such as the #9 stated earlier) will often be stopped by heavy clothing or very light cover.

Good luck with whatever you choose mate. Hope you never have to use it.

Shotgun Without Question. Variety of Shells, powerful up close and personal, and if you really want to put the other party Down, Just use solid shot. (Usually for taking out engine blocks on Cars so it would be a good bet to know your common and garden thief would not be getting up again!)

A shotgun blast cant pierce a engine block,not with bb,buckshot,or a slug.The pellets and slug is made out of lead and it mushes.

reply to post by PaddyInf

Why not just go for another P95? You have experience with it and are obviously very keen on the weapon. Go with what you know.

Yea i know that makes sense but if I get another pistol, I've always really wanted to get a Sig and the .357 sig round is an awesome shooting round.

But thats really not entirely the reason that Im undecided, like I said im torn between the 3 different types of weapons, shotgun, rifle and pistol.
I lean more towards shotty because of the type of work that I have to do I could take it with me wherever I have to go.
Im a casualty insurance claims adjuster and I dont want to be in a position like I was in New Orleans in 2005.
The first 2 nights that I was there I had to sleep in my truck and there were people running the streets all around me, sleeping in gas station parking lots in the beds of unattended vehicles, etc..
I was really nervous, I was in the parking lot of the hotel that I had a room at but the room wasnt available for me to get into right away.
A shotty wouldve allowed me to sleep a lot better and hopefully wouldnt get me in trouble like a pistol would have if I had encountered a cop.

Back in my 20s I thought nothing of carrying my pistol because I lived in or around Dallas I had stickers on my windshield that identified someone in my family of being a cop (Dad) and back then Dallas Cops still observed the long gone practice of professional courtesy.

For a 357, defo get a Sig. The P229 (I think) I tested was really comfortable.
A shotgun is a great all round weapon. Also good if you like to do bird hunting!
Get both!
I have 1 glock 19, i double barrel shotty, and an old lee enfield for rifle practise.
I was looking at adding either an AR15 type or Remmington 700-ish before deer season. I'm leaning towards the AR, as a bolt action aint no good for home defense, and the AR will take down deer.

As for the other post, I don't know about a slug penetrating an engine block; I'm sure it would do a lot of damage though. I mean, SWAT us them to blast through locks on doors.....

[edit on 25-5-2008 by cruzion]

Are you talking 5.56(.223)?That load is barely enough for a deer.You need the right combination of shells and within 50year range.Some people will agrue the fact that a .243 is to small.I dont get why people would want to hunt deer with a assault rifle.

[edit on 25-5-2008 by alienstar]

reply to post by alienstar


Those 'assault' rifles may be quite a bit cheaper than a traditional semi-automatic hunting rifle, plus it can pull double-duty as a home defense type weapon with its higher magazine capacity. It makes a lot of sense if you're on a budget. You also tend to have a lot more options available, from different brands to aftermarket parts.

I agree (sort of) about the .223 as a hunting round. Its powerful enough for deer, but if that's what I was specifically buying the rifle for, I think I'd want something with more punch.

If the CIA is running this board, this is an ideal thread to see what weapons people have.

But I digress, back to the topic. A 12 gauge is good, but bulky. I keep one in my bedroom w/ 00 shot and 5 rounds and a flashlight on it.

I also have a Bersa Thunder Plus (.380 - 15 rounds) w/ corbon power ball ammo (a nylon ball in the hollow point cavity - purpose is for feeding in semi automatics).

I also have a Sig Sauer .45 SAS Compact w/ hollowpoints (corbon).

My wife uses a .38 Model 642. No hammer, double action only, noty complicated. If you have little experience, this is the gun for you w/ Crimson trace grips (laser).

Well, I have another thread going, discussing militias in the wake of Katrina, and the confiscation of firearms by police. After a short chat with someone who was there, I'm pretty much definately getting a semi-auto carbine of some sort. Having to scare off looters armed with rifles with a shotgun won't cut it. So, I'll be looking into something primarily for defense that can also double as a hunter during season. Any suggestions are welcome, as I have absolutely no experience with anything other than an AR15. It can't be too expensive, either, and it has to be accurate, obviously.

The old aged kalashnikov ak-47...you can simply run a shoelace through it with motor oil to clean it as some do in the 3rd world countries,they are fairly cheap as well.They have this uncanny reliability to work in the utmost worst condictions.Appears the us soldiers love using them as well in Iraq.

www.keepshooting.com...

I have a mini14 myself with a factory 5,many 30 and 40 rd.and love it.Been shooting coyote with it and just plain targets for fun.

[edit on 28-5-2008 by alienstar]