Dad wants a pistol - Help me suggest one please

For home defense a revolver doesn't seem like an ideal choice. Slow to reload with limited capacity. Although I'm not a Glock man per say, for the money it's tough to beat a Glock .40 or .45.
 
If you go revolver (or even semi-auto), please don't go with a .380. Stay away from .410 shotshell too...for SD, thats just not enough.

I would go with a .357 magnum ( can train with .38's). Or a .40 glock, or even a .45
 
Slidetechnik said:
For home defense a revolver doesn't seem like an ideal choice. Slow to reload with limited capacity. Although I'm not a Glock man per say, for the money it's tough to beat a Glock .40 or .45.
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actually, for most people, a revolver is the ideal choice for home defense.

doesn't have multiple parts to manipulate (gun and mag) and requires minimal interaction with the shooter to go bang. a revolver needs no maintenance and very little lubrication. its easier to check if its loaded. really, you can drop it in a drawer and not worry too much about it.

and its damn near impossible to get a revolver to malfunction as a result of shooter error.

reloading is slower with a revolver, assuming the auto shooter has a mag handy.

the learning curve is just steeper with an auto.
 
For home defense I also say revolver. Simple and fool proof there is little room for user error and they require little to no upkeep to remain in shooting condition.Personally I feel six shots should be more than enough in a close quarters situation such as a home invasion and more likely there will be no reloading. a 357 has good knockdown and as others have stated you can shoot 38 target rounds for practice which is much cheaper on the pocketbook. Whatever he picks he should familiarize himself with the gun thoroughly before relying on it for protection. Good luck, Trevor~
 
+10000 on the revolver. A semi-auto is not for someone new to handguns. Capacity and reloading is a non-issue IMHO. Also, 20 yards is kind of ridiculous. 20 feet is a more realistic range.

While I have a Glock 19 and a Les Bear 1911, my go to handgun is a Ruger SP-101 with Crimson Trace grips. I keep it loaded with Speer Gold Dot 135 gr. ammo.

Don't worry about holding a button on the laser grips. There is no way that you can shoot the revolver with out pressing the button unless your middle finger is missing.
 
MORIMOTOM said:
and its damn near impossible to get a revolver to malfunction as a result of shooter error.
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I've only had 2 revolvers jam on me.

First was a Colt Trooper III .357 -- cylinder locked up due to substandard ammunition (aluminum cased CCI Blazer) -- IIRC the primer backed out of the casing.

Second was a 30+ year old Dan Wesson .357 -- trigger started sticking and it finally locked up. The original lubrication had solidified.

If a revolver jams, you're screwed . . . fortunately, revolvers seldom jam. 2 jams in 30 years isn't bad. :)
 
tyr_shadowblade said:
I've only had 2 revolvers jam on me.

First was a Colt Trooper III .357 -- cylinder locked up due to substandard ammunition (aluminum cased CCI Blazer) -- IIRC the primer backed out of the casing.

Second was a 30+ year old Dan Wesson .357 -- trigger started sticking and it finally locked up. The original lubrication had solidified.

If a revolver jams, you're screwed . . . fortunately, revolvers seldom jam. 2 jams in 30 years isn't bad. :)
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yep.

and neither was a result of shooter error. unless you count loading crappy ammo as shooter error. :p
 
Shoot good ammo in either a revolver or semi-auto and you won't have a problem. If you have a squib is either, you are screwed. :eek:

There used to be gun shop in the San Fernando Valley (Pony Express?) that had a collection of KA-Booms. One in particular that I remember was a S&W M&P. The owner fired 6 rounds of very old GI 130gr. FMJ ball ammo. The first round was a squib and the bullet lodged in the barrel just behind the front sight. He fired the next 5 rounds and didn't notice anything until the first bullet poked up through a crack in the barrel. He was lucky that the ammo was underpowered even when fresh.

Last week a customer brought in a semi-auto pistol that was badly jammed. He said that a friend (?) gave him some hot reloads to try. It turned out that the ammo wasn't hot. The first round had either no powder or a light charge and the bullet lodged in the barrel. The second bullet pushed the first bullet out of the barrel, but the extreme pressure bulged the barrel and locked everything up.

There are two morals to these stories. Use fairly fresh ammo and don't shoot your buddies reloads.
 
UffDa said:
There are two morals to these stories. Use fairly fresh ammo and don't shoot your buddies reloads.
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Don't use gun show reloads either.

While there are a few guys who operate very professionally and know what they're doing, MANY do not. :thumbdn:
 
Glock 17/22 -- 19/23 take your pick---can add lights--lasers or both

Get a proper holster that covers the trigger---keep your booger hook off the boom switch until ready to fire.Simple.
 
Well, first of all, as mentioned by some of the knowledgeable people above, lasers are nearly useless for untrained individuals and not all that great in the opinion of many who are trained. Hard to see in daylight and how do you know what you're lasering in the dark? They work fairly well for crowd control police type situations because that little red or green light dancing on their chests tends to calm people down BUT that is an entirely different situation than personal home defense.

Secondly, how trained is he in the use of a firearm? If it is minimal or none, the short barrels don't lend themselves to easy shooting with or without a laser. If he is not comfortable with using a firearm then he needs some serious range/shooting time, whatever he chooses, and I'd suggest a somewhat longer barrel.

Based on his choices, and depending on his budget, I'd get a Smith Mod 10 (M&P, common and cheap), a Smith 66, or one of the Rugers mentioned above preferably with at least a 3 inch barrel.

Frankly if he has to have a pistol/revolver, I'd probably suggest a Glock in .40 with or without a laser, but if he is set on a revolver, then get what he wants, especially if he knows how to use one. otherwise you might spend some time talking his choices over with him. The Glock with no external safety, has significantly more firepower especially if he carries an extra clip in his left hand or pocket. They can be had used, with patience, for basically the same price or just a bit more as any of the revolvers mentioned above.

Finally, as mentioned above, a shotgun which can be obtained very cheaply (Mossberg) and sawn off to 18plus inches loaded with 4 or 6 shot is a premier home defense weapon, taking minimal training for effective use. If he is really in a high threat area, I'd have one of each, pistol and shotgun, shotgun by bed and pistol to be carried around the house. Watching TV, keep it on a table or whatever next to him, etc. I'm not sure of how available they are, but a "panic" button which automatically dials 911 might be considered.
 
If your Dad is not already a GUN GUY respectfully suggest you find a local gun club that can help him get comfortable and safe with any new firearm...including security of same when it is not in his physical control.

If he is already good to go in those areas - suggest a .357 4" revolver...Ruger or S & W and shoot it to death...he'll soon be comfortable with what he can do it. Lot of folks practice their .357 with .38 Specials.

I like and use SpeedLoaders .. a wheelgun shooter's best friend,IMHO...well next to a good holster.

You're a good guy helping out your Dad.
 
My personal pick for this role is a Ruger SP101 -- I've been shooting a long time and have a variety of pistols/revolvers but I like the Ruger revolver for all the reasons Morimotom mentions above. A surefire, 2 speedloaders, loaded revolver in a quick release pistol safe was the choice for me.
 
a comment that is a little off the original poster question, and for you " if it isn't a caliber that begins with a 4" please stop reading now... my favorite little ole lady gunfighter was a tough old bird, getting a little frail with arthritic fingers that wanted to learn to shoot. She had been in the Womens Ferry Pilot Service during WWII, and had flown P51s, and P47s and that was good enough for me. We tried just about every pistol in the club, light loaded .38, .380 .32, .25, but she didn't have the strength to shoot anything double action, and even single action the muzzle blast was very difficult for her... our solution was a thin barrel 4inch Ruger Mk1 .22lr. and 5 magazines. I recontoured the front sight to a more snag free design, and cut the sight to shoot point of aim, and numbered the magazines. After a couple of days working on safety, range etiquette, and mechanics of shooting (mainly how to charge the pistol.. hold the charging handle, and with straight arm and rotate shoulder to push pistol forward, then releasing charging handle..) We set up a shooting program for her...spray paint 25 quarter sized dots on the back of an IPSC target. Load 2 shots in mag, bolt forward on empty chamber...pick up pistol, charge, and two aimed shots in bull....remove mag, lower bolt to empty chamber and repeat at 3m until all 25 bulls have no stray shots. Then move to 7m and repeat... she enjoyed the shooting, obtained her concealed permit from the state, and speed and smoothness improved. After each day's practice a full 10 round mag would be inserted, empty chamber, and that went into her purse and on her bedside table. We had her rotate the numbered mags every 3months, and recycled the bullets to the practice can. When done she had peace of mind, a pistol in a safe condition that could be instinctively charged, and deadly accurate... One day she sheepishly commented " the little black dots represented eye sockets don't they"...... regards Les
 
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