Handgun recommendation wanted.

coyote711

coyote711

Joined
Sep 19, 2009
Messages
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First a little about me - not because this is about me, but because if you know my intended usage it will help in making any recommendations. ;)

I'm middle aged (OK 60 years old) and have never owned a handgun in my life. When I was 12 or 13 I went through the Izaak Walton League Hunter Safety course, and owned a Winchester 12 ga. shotgun, and an Ithaca .22 rifle. I used to hunt quite regularly in my teens, but for various reasons haven't hunted much at all in the past 40 years. I've done a little target practice and plinking with a .22 pistol my brother owned a few years ago.

It's kinda hard to describe why I want to buy a handgun now, at this time in my life. I guess the best word would be for security. I'm not a survivalist, nor do I think the world is coming to an end anytime soon. It's just one of those "Ya never know" or "It may not be a bad idea" type of things. Basically self defense in an emergency type situation should it ever arise.

I will buy this from the local, hometown hunting & fishing store - and I'll be asking them for their recommendation also, but wanted to gather a little knowledge beforehand so I could vet their recommendations. I also plan to go to the local gun club/target range to become familiar with my new handgun.

Sorry for the long-winded post. Any recommendations will be appreciated, and thank you in advance! :thumbup:

BTW, I'm a simple guy - I like SAK's & Sodbusters. Not looking for the latest & greatest, techno, super "must have" handgun. The simpler to use, maintain, and buy shells for, the better! Caliber recommendations also very much appreciated! Thanks again!
 
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Glocks are solid and reliable do not own one but about every other person does. Smith and Wesson M&P's are great pistols I have a compact 9mm for my carry gun. CZ's are great too I have the CZ 75B and that is a nice classic design and they can be had for a good price if I remember right.
 
My recomendation would be a revolver in barrel length you're most comfortable with for your intended usage. It should be a 357 mag in which you shoot 38's for practice and familiarization. Strive to work up to the point of being at ease shooting a good 357 defensive load. Learning how to use it competently and safely as well as what's involved if you ever do have to use it defensively should be your top priority. Enjoy.
 
coyote711 said:
First a little about me - not because this is about me, but because if you know my intended usage it will help in making any recommendations. ;)

I'm middle aged (OK 60 years old) and have never owned a handgun in my life. When I was 12 or 13 I went through the Izaak Walton League Hunter Safety course, and owned a Winchester 12 ga. shotgun, and an Ithaca .22 rifle. I used to hunt quite regularly in my teens, but for various reasons haven't hunted much at all in the past 40 years. I've done a little target practice and plinking with a .22 pistol my brother owned a few years ago.

It's kinda hard to describe why I want to buy a handgun now, at this time in my life. I guess the best word would be for security. I'm not a survivalist, nor do I think the world is coming to an end anytime soon. It's just one of those "Ya never know" or "It may not be a bad idea" type of things. Basically self defense in an emergency type situation should it ever arise.

I will buy this from the local, hometown hunting & fishing store - and I'll be asking them for their recommendation also, but wanted to gather a little knowledge beforehand so I could vet their recommendations. I also plan to go to the local gun club/target range to become familiar with my new handgun.

Sorry for the long-winded post. Any recommendations will be appreciated, and thank you in advance! :thumbup:
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Okay, a handgun for a non experianced person for simple security.

I'll tell you what I go with. I don't think you can beat a good clean Smith and Wesson model 10 or 64 in .38 special. Never mind what Hollywood heros and gun magazine gurus go with. It's free country and everyone has thier choice. For you, not experianced in handling semi auto handguns, you can't beat the simple function of a revolver. Open, put a cartridge in each hole, close, and your ready to shoot. No saftys, magazine releases, or tap rack bang drills that won't work at close self defese ranges anyways.

In the 80 plus years that the U.S. Dept. Of Justice has been keeping track of shootings, it's still a 3,3, and 3 situation. # yards or less, over in 3 seconds or less, in 3 rounds or less. A malfunction under those conditions is not survivable.

I've played with the different 9mm's, and even had a nice .45 1911. I never had one that was 100% totally "stake my life on" reliable. Sooner or later they all had a malfunction, and they went down the raod. On the other hand, both my S&W model 64 bought in 1972, and my S&W model 60 bought in 1977, have never, ever, malfunctioned. No failure to anything, in spite of having thousands upon thousands of rounds through them over many years.

Since you have little experiance, the simple manual of arms of a revolver is perfect for you. The .38 revolver is very accurite, easy on recoil, and has a very wide variety of loads and bullet types that can be shot out of it with zero regard for weapon reliability. You can start off with very mild wadcutter target loads, and go up from there.

Sometimes you can find police trade-ins for a good price. They may be a bit holster worn, but in exellent condition.
 
I would also recomend a revolver in 357mag/.38 for its simplicity. For an auto I would look no further than a Glock in 9mm or .40 S&W.
 
Unless you're going to shoot it more than once a year, you need a revolver.

A 4" barreled .357 can also shoot .38's, giving you some immediate built-in versatility.

Good choices for NEW are a S&W Model 686 or a Ruger GP-100

If you want to consider used, there are all kinds, but I'd recommend you go with a NEW gun first.
 
Quick and easy advice. Go to a range where they have guns you can try out. For the money, ease of use and reliability-I prefer Glock pistols. S&W Military and Police models are also fine weapons. As are KAHR and a number of other similar type polymer pistols.

As always, you get what you pay for. Do not buy anything made by Hi-Point, Kel-Tec etc. Some will argue thay are decent weapons, but this is my advice and I say they are junk.

Try a couple pistols out. Try a couple of calibers as well. With the advancement in hollow point rounds these days you can't go wrong with 9mm, .40S&W, or .45ACP.

I hope this helps Mr. Coyote. Also make sure you learn how to use the firearm. That is most important.

SB
 
If i were you i would go with a glock 19 9mm or a .357 revolver. but i am no expert, just my half cent.
 
Definitely go and try out a few different types, calibers and manufacturers of guns. Some will feel better in your hands than others.

Given your need, you probably won't be buying a ton of ammunition, but keep in mind, some ammunition is harder to get than others. Also some is more expensive than others.

I personally shoot an all stainless Sig P220.
 
4" .357 revolver is my first recommendation as well. (I would also suggest a S&W model 19 as a good used revolver option)
Go to your local shop and see what all they recommend.
Handle as many as you can to see what feels best in the hand to you.
If there's an indoor firing range, go talk to them and rent a few to shoot to see what you think of them. (or if you have a friend with guns, see if he'll take you out to test fire his)
Glocks are fine weapons for most folks - I hate them. They feel wrong to me and I despise the trigger. That's just personal preference and not trying to insult anyone who does like them.
1911's feel good to me, but they weigh a ton - which you may not like.
In semi-auto pistols, for folks who are not used to handguns, I do not recommend the .40 S&W caliber, as it's got more kick, muzzle blast, and sheer noise than either the 9mm or .45acp. .380 for being such a small round costs a lot and availability is poor.
In revolvers, .357mag, .44 special, and .45LC are all good multi-purpose rounds for hunting or self defense. While I personally like the .44mag a lot, it's a handful for most people, and especially someone not familiar with shooting.
I like older S&W revolvers. They have the most silky smooth action around.
I like new S&W revolvers, but they're pricing is steep.
I like Ruger revolvers, but my experience with Ruger is that most of their handguns need a $75 action job to make them truly superb.
colt pricing is out of this world, and Taurus/Rossi revolvers are hit & miss for quality IMO.
I do not recommend a semi-auto pistol for purely home defense becuase there are too many things that can go wrong, especially when you factor in long term loaded storage and magazine spring fatigue.

best of luck.
 
I'll add a big +1 to the Glock 19 recommendation. I find my Glocks to be even more simple and reliable than S&W revolvers, in that they don't require as much maintenance. There's pretty much nothing you can do to a Glock to mess it up to the point where it won't go "bang". They're idiot proof. It takes all of 20 seconds to learn how to operate one.

As far as "spring fatigue" is concerned, I'm completely satisfied that it's a myth. If you're worried about it, just load your magazine completely full, and take one round out. Modern springs don't "fatigue". You can load up a Glock, toss it in a drawer and forget about it for a decade or so, and it will absolutely, 100% fire when you need it.
 
The great thing about the revolver is that you open the cylinder, fill each hole with a cartridge, close it---and you are ready. Nothing else to worry about. Is that the safety or magazine release? Is that a decocking lever or a safety, etc. Not all automatics have all these features but for someone that doesn't necessarily know anything or want to know anything about guns it is simpler.

With the revolver, you can't even take it apart and then not know how to put it back together (believe me, I did that with a Ruger Mark I about 30 years ago) so there is nothing to worry about. You can't lose any part of it (where did that magazine go?)

Clearly, at this point, autos are dead solid reliable and even better for defense at some ultimate level than revolvers (otherwise military and police would use revolvers). However, if you buy an automatic without really knowing what you want and don't shoot it enough to know it is reliable, you could end up with a dud.

I'm kind of a revolver guy, as you probably can tell, although I desparately would like to get a wondernine of some kind.
 
+1 what jackknife said. A good used police S&W Mod 64 .38 spec SS trade in can be had for <$250, see;

http://www.jgsales.com/index.php/smith-wesson/revolver/cPath/16_211_431

your local sporting good store can sell you all kinds of great practice and self defense loads. Always wear hearing protection when shooting..lot us old guys didn't learn that when we were kids...come to think of it the U.S. Army did not use when I was in - mid 50's...huh?
 
Another vote for a 357 Mag revolver Even a "good OLE" single action :) Ruger would be a GREAT gun, as has been stated, open, load cylinder, cock hammer, pull "bang switch":thumbup:;):D!!
 
I too would recommend the .357, but there are two issues that haven't been mentioned. First of all, if you fire a .357 indoors without hearing protection, you will experience some degree of permanent hearing loss. Magnums are significantly louder than standard rounds. In a life or death situation, this might not be such a big deal, especially for us older folks who might have lost a few decibels already. The second issue is overpenetration. If you live in an apartment with thin walls, a .357 round can easily go right through them. If you live in a detached house or have a firewall between you and the neighbors, it's probably okay. There are light magnum rounds out there that are not quite as loud or as fast as full-house magnums, but are still hotter than .38 Special +P loads.
 
I also think a revolver would suit you well. It's like a fork; you pick it up and it works.

Specifically, I'd look at a S&W 686 (or 686+, if you want seven rounds.) Barrel length should be based on personal preference, but I wouldn't recommend shorter than 4".

Revolver simplicity, low maintenance stainless steel:thumbup:
 
.38 revolver gets my vote. Revolver has less chance of jamming and is more reliable IMO. Only downside is it holds less rounds than a semi pistol. But if you cant hit the bad guy in 5/6 shots....RUN
 
As a certified master firearms trainer I always recommend a 4 inch barrelled 38/357 for a first handgun.Ultra simple and ultra reliable. as an owner of several semi auto handguns you still find a 357 mag loaded next to my bed.

Mike
 
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