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Want to Buy a Handgun

MSC 45ACP

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Joined
Apr 23, 2009
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2,840
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Newport News, Virginia, USA
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I feel sorry for the poor bastage that has to read all of our posts and then make a decision about what to buy...

If I had the cabbages, I'd own a lot more pistols than I do now.

We have involved the poor guy in the "9mm vs. 45ACP" debate without even telling him we did.

We also have him wondering about the revolver vs. semi-auto debate.

I got a S&W Mod 19 NIB (New in the box) for $170 (at COST) back in the 80's. It had the most beautiful wooden grips I'd seen in a long time. they were also very effective. When shooting full-power .357 rounds, they would most certainly leave the palm of your hand red if it wasn't already "broken in" and calloused from shooting a lot. Those lovely wooden grips are still in pristine condition because I put a set of rubber Pachmayr grips on it to make it more forgiving.

I think I posted earlier about this pistol... I gave it to my dad about a year afterI got it.

A revolver is wonderful for home defense. Maybe a short barreled (legal, of course) shotgun would be better. Point and pull is a good idea when you don't have time to be playing with a safety or wondering if you had a round chambered or not.

The simple act of hearing a round being chambered in a shotgun is a good deterrent for Joe Badguy that came in your house at 3 am hoping to score your Wii, DVR, laptop without waking you up.

Your average criminal really is a coward and isn't interested in an armed confrontation. He brought his rusty .25ACP along just in case grandma got up in the middle of the night to pump bilges while he's wondering if your silverware is Antique Revere or WallyWorld Plated.

Rare is the well-armed, well-trained, Home Invader/Kidnapper intent on doing you and your loved ones bodily harm. Sadly, during these tough economic times, these unsavory characters aren't so rare anymore.

We do need to be well-armed and even better trained than the days when June asked Ward not to be so hard on The Beaver (and no one thought that phrase implied anything but but a stern father verbally disciplining his son for getting a "B" on a spelling test).

Whatever the OP ends up with, we must share our knowledge and experience with him. and be there to answer any and all questions, regardless of topic. The day we decided to carry a firearm in public, we accepted an awesome responsibility.

Remind him that his responsibility doesn't end with the purchase of a firearm, but his mission has actually just begun.The mission doesn'tend until the bagpipes play everyone's least favorite song with your friends and relatives looking at a hole in the ground.

A few years ago, when I achieved a goal, the Commander that pinned the badge on my uniform looked me in the eye and told mesomething like 'You have earned one of the highest awards in the field of marksmanship. I challenge you to share your knowledge of marksmanship with as many people as you can. You are an ambassadorand youmust share what you have learned with your students and your peers in the workplace.' It was almost 20 years ago and I've forgotten the exact words he used, but his words were much better than anything I've come up with in my run-on sentences and long-winded rants. About a month ago, that Commander became the Commandant of the U. S. Coast Guard.

You experienced shooters and OCers need to share your wealth of knowledge and experience with the less-experienced. Many of you are quite tactful and very effective wordsmiths. Sadly, I am neither. Many of you are amazing ambassadors for the "Movement". Please keep it up. I know you're doing your best to un-fluck any damage I've caused over the years.

If you're condescending and azz-whole-ish, then you'll run into resistance. I've become rather adept at offending people on here. I've probably managed to annoy or downright piss off most folks on here in the short time I've been posting. If I haven't gotten to you yet, give me time.

msc's long-winded rant has finally come to an end...
 

KansasMustang

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Powerful enough but not too powerful hm? I recommend the Springfield .45 XD or XDM Just me saying it. I have a Taurus PT 140 for concealed carry and a Springfield XD .45 for not. I love 'em both. I also have a Ruger Redhawk .44 mag. that I love.
 

Don Barnett

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Oct 5, 2008
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Concur.

If you can take a youngster along to the pistol range every once in a while, with their parents in tow, it goes a long way to nullifying the negative perceptions society has placed on firearms. If the parents don't want to go, make sure you get them to give you written permission.

Once I took a former student of mine, along with her father whohappened to bea personal friend of mine, to the range. It was her first time shooting and she was a natural! She went on to college, majored in Criminology, and is now a Prince William County Police Officer. I can't for the day she is called to check out a "man with a gun" complaint! It will be the gun she learned to shoot with.

Another time, another teacher and myself took two of our school's administrators to the range for a few hours of shooting. This completely eliminated the "guns are bad" perception that had been programmed into them.
 

halo6941

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Feb 20, 2010
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Ontario, California, USA
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I have a Taurus PT-145 Millenium Pro chambered in .45 10+1 and the recoil is quite manageable. But likes have said it all depends on whats feels comfortable in your hands.
 

Cavalryman

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Jun 6, 2010
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"Powerful enough but not too powerful" is one of the reasons I like .357 magnum revolvers. You can go all the way from wimpy to walloping just by loading from a different box.
 

MSC 45ACP

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Apr 23, 2009
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Once again I agree with you, Cav.Pistols chambered in .357Mag are probably the most versatile pistols out there.

I've read about the .357 Sig, but haven'tshot one. Are it's ballistics truly identical to the original .357 Mag? Sounds like it has possibilities, but I bet ammo ain't cheap.

Maybe my next purchase will be another .357... I'll get one as a BUG with a pocket holster and load it with .38 +P's or maybe even .38 WC's. Those make a nice clean hole in a paper target and a pretty good hole in soft tissue, too.
 

The Wolfhound

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Sep 3, 2009
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Henrico, Virginia, USA
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The 357Sig is close but not a true match for the 357 Magnum revolver round. The good news is that you can just do a barrel swap on many frames from 40 to 357 with no further parts involved. For civilian personal defense it is probably a bit too hot, the thing that inpressed the policeI have asked about it is the penetration. Past a certain point that becomes a liability. We seldom will be called on to shoot through barriers such as windshields, Police may have that need. My sources in the Virginia State Police love the round for their needs.
 

MSC 45ACP

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Apr 23, 2009
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Thank you, Wolfhound.

I carry .45 ACP and alternate ball with JHP Self Defense (SD) rounds for such occasions as the possibility of heavy layers of clothing or other barriers in a SD situation.

Does anyone else alternate different types of rounds in their carry gun?
 

Cavalryman

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Jun 6, 2010
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MSC 45ACP wrote:
Thank you, Wolfhound.

I carry .45 ACP and alternate ball with JHP Self Defense (SD) rounds for such occasions as the possibility of heavy layers of clothing or other barriers in a SD situation.

Does anyone else alternate different types of rounds in their carry gun?
I don't, even though I have a better-than-average chance of encountering someone in heavy clothing (I live in Alaska). I have concerns about the propensity of fully-jacketed ammunition to ricochet, while open-nose projectiles are more likely to deform and not ricochet as well. Of course, ricochets are only a concern if you don't hit your target, but I'm not arrogant enough to think that I will never miss. There are hypothetical concerns with either approach (ball vs. HP), so I guess it's really a matter of which I'm comfortable with.
 

frommycolddeadhands

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Sep 3, 2008
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Knob Noster, MO
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Another wheel-gunner here. I think the advice about the .357 is probably the best choice for a first gun. Revolvers are very easy to understand, easy to clean and take care of, and easy to operate. You don't have to worry about a magazine spring going bad, a round misfeeding into the chamber, and if you hit a dud round you don't have to rack the slide, just squeeze the trigger again. For me personally they fit my hand better than an auto, and basically are just a good fit for me. I think someone made the analogy of trying on shoes before you buy them, and that is absolutely true.

If I were the original poster, I would go to the local cabellas or whatever gun shop you have locally, and get a feel for the .357, along with maybe a .40 auto since you wanted something "not too heavy" and decide for yourself whether a revolver or a semi-auto feels more natural to you. Keep in mind that whatever you get, you want to make sure you can perform the maintenence to keep it shooting for a long time to come.
 

TehGruu

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Feb 25, 2009
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, Texas, USA
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The Ruger SP101 in a 3 inch barrel looks like a dandy .357. That's the next handgun I'm planning on getting.



-Gruu
 

user

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Feb 12, 2009
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Northern Piedmont
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I echo the advice about taking the firearms safety course first, and in particular, I recommend the NRA pistol course.

I also wish to reinforce the concept that the gun you buy has to fit you, you shouldn't have to adapt to the gun.

The next step is to decide whether you like a revolver (easier to use and more reliable) or semiautomatic (much larger capacity and generally more concealable).

One big question is what you want it for because that will determine the caliber you should get. If defense from evil humans is the primary purpose then I'd recommend either .38 special or 9mm (revolver or semiauto, respectively). Either will have sufficient kinetic energy at fifty yards to crush human bone, so either will work just fine at normal defensive range - anything less doesn't have enough oomph, and anything bigger is just extra flash, bang, and recoil. If you want to shoot deer or bear, a .44 magnum might be good, or if you just want to kill paper and soda cans, get a .22LR.

After you've thought about all that stuff, then it's time to start thinking about what kind of gun you want to buy. But the make and model ought to depend on what's good for you, and you should buy the best value you can, not the least expensive, nor the "best" gun.

First, though, find an NRA Certified instructor in your area and take the course.
http://www.nrainstructors.org/searchcourse.aspx
 

frommycolddeadhands

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Joined
Sep 3, 2008
Messages
448
Location
Knob Noster, MO
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user wrote:
I echo the advice about taking the firearms safety course first, and in particular, I recommend the NRA pistol course.

I also wish to reinforce the concept that the gun you buy has to fit you, you shouldn't have to adapt to the gun.

The next step is to decide whether you like a revolver (easier to use and more reliable) or semiautomatic (much larger capacity and generally more concealable).

One big question is what you want it for because that will determine the caliber you should get. If defense from evil humans is the primary purpose then I'd recommend either .38 special or 9mm (revolver or semiauto, respectively). Either will have sufficient kinetic energy at fifty yards to crush human bone, so either will work just fine at normal defensive range - anything less doesn't have enough oomph, and anything bigger is just extra flash, bang, and recoil. If you want to shoot deer or bear, a .44 magnum might be good, or if you just want to kill paper and soda cans, get a .22LR.

After you've thought about all that stuff, then it's time to start thinking about what kind of gun you want to buy. But the make and model ought to depend on what's good for you, and you should buy the best value you can, not the least expensive, nor the "best" gun.

First, though, find an NRA Certified instructor in your area and take the course.
http://www.nrainstructors.org/searchcourse.aspx
+1
 

me812

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 13, 2008
Messages
216
Location
federally occupied Arizona
I want to buy a handgun, a powerful one, but not too powerful, i just want a good one.

As others have advised, get yourself a .357 magnum revolver. That will allow you to shoot a wide variety of different powered cartridges, everything from thermonuclear super-hot magnum loads to soft and cushiony .38 cowboy loads. You can experiment with all different power levels and find something that works for you. If you're looking for something for personal/home defense, just make sure you get a double-action.

Anything under 600 dollars would be good.

Take a look at Ruger's output. They make good quality stuff at affordable prices. I'd get the full-sized GP100 rather than the little SP101, since that will have less perceived recoil, and concealability is not an issue for you (since you're in California, I assume you don't have a CCW, can't get one, and therefore can't carry it around concealed outside your home.) Also good are the Security Six and its variants, but those are out of production, highly sought after on the second hand market and are becoming something of collector's items, so you might not be able to find one at all, let alone one for under $600 dollars. Can't hurt to keep an eye out for one though.
 
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