First time handgun buyer questions

Grappler1911 said:
I base the SW 686 more reliabile than the GP100 on the fact I worked at Big Al's Security guard school and range.
We were training 20 to 50 guards for their G licence "armed Guard" a week.
We used Smiths for many years with no problems.
When we started using the Ruger Gp 100 they all broke down in a month.
We also rented out both guns.
Ruger refuced to keep fixing them.
The Smith has a MUCH better trigger.
The Smith will keep working even if abused,dry and/or dirty.
The Ruger is a decent gun if you keep it clean.
To me for a little extra cash I'd buy the Smith for the trigger alone.
The way the Rugers broke down,I'd pass.
I was a full time instructor for 4 years straight.
I've used dozens of examples of both guns.
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In-spite of that, I'll still take a Ruger GP-100 over a S&W model 19 any day of the week. To my way of thinking, if it HAS TO BE a revolver, a stainless, fixed-sight 4" shrouded barrel Ruger GP-100 is the way to go as a "house gun".
 
David E said:
No, sir, you'd lose that bet.

In fact, that day in 1982 was the last time I ever wore a .38 snubby as my primary sidearm.

For me, "minimum" is a 9mm semi-auto or larger.

As I type this, it's an XD-40 :D

.
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Good answer :)
 
As I Said Before For A House Gun A Wheel Gun Is The Way To Go It Will Not Jam And I Doubt It Will Be Dropped In Sand Unless You Have A Sand Box In The House.if You Do Get A Glock ! S&w ,ruger,charter 44 Spl My Choices For Wheel Guns .
 
My only bit of advice is to save up a little more money and buy a QUALITY gun
One that you can give to your kids someday
One that will not fail in a emergency situation
Taurus and Rossi are towards the lower end of the spectrum IMHO
Save up the extra 100 bucks or so and buy a SandW or a Ruger or a Colt
If you don't mind the "cowboy" look Uberti makes some decent single action revolvers (Beretta also makes one called the Stampede)
This is the one I have been eyeing for a few months

cattlemanGunfighterNMBlue475.jpg
 
Grappler1911 said:
I base the SW 686 more reliabile than the GP100 on the fact I worked at Big Al's Security guard school and range.
We were training 20 to 50 guards for their G licence "armed Guard" a week.
We used Smiths for many years with no problems.
When we started using the Ruger Gp 100 they all broke down in a month.
We also rented out both guns.
Ruger refuced to keep fixing them.
The Smith has a MUCH better trigger.
The Smith will keep working even if abused,dry and/or dirty.
The Ruger is a decent gun if you keep it clean.
To me for a little extra cash I'd buy the Smith for the trigger alone.
The way the Rugers broke down,I'd pass.
I was a full time instructor for 4 years straight.
I've used dozens of examples of both guns.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the follow up. I've been happy with my Ruger products, maybe I am not using them hard enough.
 
Trent Rock said:
My only bit of advice is to save up a little more money and buy a QUALITY gun
One that you can give to your kids someday
One that will not fail in a emergency situation
Click to expand...

I second this!! It is kinda like knives, until you buy a good one, you'll appreciate the quality.
 
Still waiting for specifics on how Ruger revolvers supposedly "broke down".........

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I have never owned a ruger handgun,Oh wait,I did own a ruger blackhawk in .44 mag I believe.It was cool,like a 10 inch barrel bought for boar hunting. HUGE.

I have carried on and off a S&W 686 4 inch for years.LOVED it. Rugers just dont fit my hand and are on the heavy side,in my opinion.Never heard from anyone about a Smith breaking,ever. S&W just flat out beats a Ruger in beauty.To each his own but I have never heard of any departments issueing rugers to its sworn officers.It was always known as a (Door Shakers)security guards gun.Would I carry a ruger? Sure. But I'd rather a S&W.

I do remember a time in California when Rugers were boycotted by many gunshops.Been a long time ago and I dont remember the circs.Think it might have been political.Alot of guys complained also that ruger emblazoned caution notices all over their guns...
 
My first 'store bought' handgun was a blued Ruger GP-100 with adjustable sights, bought when they were introduced - I've had dozens of other handguns of revolvers and pistols since, most have been sold or traded away, but I still have that Ruger...and, all the good stuff said was and is true, but, it's quite heavy...

(BTW, I think your original post, and the thinking behind it was 'spot on')

Someone mentioned a S&W Model #66 - I also have an older fixed (channel rear) sight stainless K frame Model #65 w/3 " barrel...smaller & lighter than the Ruger, with the rounded grip frame and factory supplied Pachmayer rubber grips; it's perfect for my home needs, and it wasn't very expensive either.

For CCW purposes though, I've found both the snubby stainless S&W 640 & nickel finished 442 airweight models are plenty accurate, small enough to 'conceal', and very/very reliable. I've owned these guns for many years, and shot them a fair amount, but only recently moved to a carry friendly state.

In my recent 'Defensive Handgun' (CCW) class, all the other shooters except me and the instructor were using semi-auto's, and all of those shooters had jams or malfunctions of sorts during the class. Don't get me wrong, I love my semi's too, I'm just not gonna carry one...

The instructor had a Ti frame S&W in .357 Mag. and said that light loads worked better for him due to recoil. I'm using heavy +P .38 Special ammo w/no recoil problems, so different strokes...

Anyhoo, a great post, and always remember 'Reliability above all else'...
 
Congragulations on your purchase fishbulb. Be sure to buy a decent flashlight for those times when you hear something "go bump in the night". I would encourage you to get your CCW after you have some time to practice with your new gun.
 
dont scrimp on your frist gun. i have over a hundred in my gun safe, rugers S&Ws colts sigs walters and freedom arms to name a few but the one that sits by my bedside is a ruger gp100.the 357 is a close to a do it all handgun as it gets. from recoiless 148gr. wadcutters in 38 spe. to full house 357s. Ruger gives you a lot for the money and will outlive you ,your son and your grandson .the 4" is a good place to start out it is far easyer to shoot well than a 2" the gp100 is a big revolver thou and to carry concealed well it can be done but this is where my s&w mod 60 gets the nod more offen than not. maybe a s&w 19 with a 4" tube would suit your needs , easyer to conceal better trigger than the ruger out of the box.but if (heaven forbid )i could only have one my gp100 would be one of the last to go
 
Well, last week the gun was stolen in a break-in while I was out of town.

I opted to replace it with a nice used steel Taurus .357 7-shot 2" barrel with a flush hammer. It gives more flexibility and capacity than the .38 J-frame in an only slightly larger package.

I put a bunch of .357 rounds through it and I didn't find the recoil to be all that terrible. As was demonstrated by an experienced shooter at the range, the pistol is far more accurate than I currently am.

It has yet to give me any reason not to trust it. So far, actually, I've yet to see any inferiorities to the S&W products.
 
fishbulb said:
Well, last week the gun was stolen in a break-in while I was out of town.

I opted to replace it with a nice used steel Taurus .357 7-shot 2" barrel with a flush hammer. It gives more flexibility and capacity than the .38 J-frame in an only slightly larger package.

I put a bunch of .357 rounds through it and I didn't find the recoil to be all that terrible. As was demonstrated by an experienced shooter at the range, the pistol is far more accurate than I currently am.

It has yet to give me any reason not to trust it. So far, actually, I've yet to see any inferiorities to the S&W products.
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Sorry to hear that. Sad state of affairs. You can replace the gun, I hope nothing was stolen that cant be replaced. damn I hate thieves.
 
There are only two I would go for 1st choice GP100 4" stainless. As other stated they are tanks!! Can handle even full power loads. For home defense use 125-135 gr hollow point. The other is my wife pistol, a SP101 3 1/16" barrel. We target practice with .38 and .38+ loads. But every month we shoot 50-60 rounds of .357 mag. Taurus are good as are s&w. Taurus and Smith did share infomation, taurus claims more of there info went to better Smith and Smith said the same thing about Taurus.
 
I like the Rugers in concept, but I have issues with their execution.

The one-piece cast chassis with the action dropping in from the top and bottom seems a much better idea than the forged chassis with removable plates that is used by Smith and Taurus.

If I were to manufacture a revolver, it would likely have more in common with the Ruger revolvers than the Smith ones.

It is unfortunate, however, that the Rugers are as bulky as they are. They're just so much bigger than the competing products that I couldn't justify buying one. I know many people like their overbuilt nature, but I wish they offered a "lite" model that would be similar in size to the forged pistols.

Another reason I went with the Taurus over the new-production Smiths is the keyed lockout systems that they use are much better on the Brazilian gun. Smith's lockout design is just plain terrible - it's complicated, ugly, and apparently doesn't work all that well. The Taurus design is simpler and the only giveaway is a small protrusion on the base of the hammer.
 
fishbulb said:
...It is unfortunate, however, that the Rugers are as bulky as they are. They're just so much bigger than the competing products that I couldn't justify buying one. I know many people like their overbuilt nature, but I wish they offered a "lite" model that would be similar in size to the forged pistols...
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I'll offer up my choice for your consideration...;)

The Ruger GP100 4" .357 Magnum in stainless was my choice as the ideal all around handgun for me.
I have used it and carried it for a lot of years now and I do appreciate the weight when I shoot the .357 Magnum cartridge though it.
For woods carry it rides pretty easy and I'm confident that it will do what I ask of it, whether hunting or just shooting it for the pleasure of shooting.


(I do plan on getting a little 2" SP101 someday, just to have one...:))
 
I've had two Taurus revolvers, including a Model 85. They're excellent. :thumbup:
Whatever you get, make sure you practice, practice, practice.
 
ruger makes excellent revolvers imho, both DA and SA, but they are a little bulkier and heavier than a comparable S&W. really all there autos are the same way, just a little bukier/heavier than others.

if thats not a problem for ya, they will work fine, its a problem for me and for edc imho theres better stuff around.
 
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