Planning to buy my first handgun

[MolokaiRider]

Glock in 9 mil is about 500 bucks. Perfect for self defense and very reliable.

 

[Mecha]

You know , I somehow forgot the biggest reason I decided now was the right time.

In my small town there's been two bank robberies and a gruesome murder In the past two years, drug activity is rising and just two weeks ago I found a crack pipe on the sidewalk down the street from my house.
My dog is about 14 now and doesn't hear so great anymore.
I want to stay safe so home protection would really be most important for a firearm I choose to buy for more than just fun.
My house is small and the hallway is very marrow so a shotgun is out.

I started thinking maybe a Ruger 10/22 might be a good choice because I can shoot it more, have fun plinking, master it faster, and it wouldn't be a totally useless choice for home defense but this is just a thought.

I'll think on it some more and see if I can find a good practical choice in my price range that's right for me or if I just wanna go with some kind of plinker for now.

Narrow hallway? Seems like a great place for a shotgun!

Or perhaps you need to wield the Power of Titanium. Have you considered a Taurus model 450 Total Titanium .45? or perhaps a Taurus model 617T Titanium .357 Magnum?

 

[not2sharp]

I would second the suggestion that was made earlier. The Glock 19 is a near perfect home defense gun. It is easy and fun to shoot.

My first carry gun was a S&W model 60. It was not my first handgun, and has never been pleasant to shoot. The double action trigger pull is brutal, the sights are crude and rudimentary and it kicks like a mule. It is a great pocket gun; but, it is intended as a belly gun, best shot at 5-10 yards.

Try before you buy.
N2s

 

[Hickory n steel]

Narrow hallway? Seems like a great place for a shotgun!

Not if you need to move through it with one

Btw now I'm really eying the Henry H001, it's just a gorgeous little rifle that's drawing me like a moth to a lampshade.
As a .22 I should be able to afford to get good with it in relatively short order , having a lot of fun doing it, and I don't think 15 rounds of CCI minimags as fast as I can cycle the action would be the worst choice until I eventually get a handgun.

I'm the kind of person where if I don't get something now it'll just end up sitting on the back burner for far too long, ( I've got knives that have been on the list for 3 years now ) and I think I may satisfy my forearms craving with something fun and really put some more thought into a good first handgun for HD.

 

[Mecha]

Not if you need to move through it with one

Well then saw off most of the barrel. What could possibly go wrong?

 

[Hickory n steel]

Well then saw off most of the barrel. What could possibly go wrong?

A minimum of 10 years and loss of my 2A rights if I'm not mistaken.

My grandmother lost her firearms rights when a friend swiped a pistol she had and used it In an armed robbery and I'm not even sure she was convicted of a felony.

 

[bflying]

My first handgun(s) were a Beretta 92FS, and a Browning Buckmark. Picked up at the same time to target those quality vs quantity itches.

I'd have to agree with many voices above. Not sure I'd ever recommend and Airweight or LCP as a first (and/or possibly only) handgun. Not saying there isn't a time and place for them. I have and enjoy lightweight wheel guns. But a few rounds of full house 357 can be punishing. And my LCP, well, it looks good on paper. But I hate everything about it in use. I'm a full believer that any future carry gun needs to be loved enough to be practiced with a TON.

 

[eveled]

A lever action .22 rifle is one of my must own guns. Marlin 39 is the best IMHO. But they are getting hard to find and never cheap. Henry makes a great rifle. I have the youth carbine and it’s a great size. Not too small for an adult. Top one in the picture. I added the large loop.
View attachment 1246794
I don’t own one but also Henrys small game carbine or rifle. They come with a skinner peep site and large loop.

 

[3fifty7]

G19 is generally the answer to most handgun questions, but don’t overlook others.
Even though they are smaller, the single stack Glocks are very manageable and fit quite well in a smaller hand. With minimal quality instruction you can become proficient with this platform.

 

[Horsewright]

Hickory n steel lots of great advice here. It sounds like you want to spend some time training and as you mentioned nothing like live fire practice. Keeping that in mind both .38s and 9mms are pretty cheap to shoot, almost dang near as cheap as .22s. The problem with the Wrangler is that its a single action and so you won't be learning double action trigger pull if you do decide to CCW later and go the revolver route. I would echo other's statements here and suggest a used K frame of some type. Ya kick enough rocks around you will definitely find a good one for around $500. If you CCW hiding an extra 2"s of barrel ain't that tough, I hauled a Smith 67 around for years. The Glock 19 has also been mentioned and would be a great one if you decide to go the auto route and they are available here in our People's Republik of Kalifornia, whereas the single stack Glocks aren't. If you think about it, Glocks are just double action revolvers in a square package with more rounds. Not a lot of manipulation to get er to go bang and it will go bang when you pull the trigger. They are inexpensive, extremely reliable and simple to operate. I have fired hundreds of different Glocks and have one of my own (a G43 that I bought from a deputy down the road) and have found them to all be fairly accurate too. These attributes are what make them so popular in policing circles. Not a bad thing for a civilian either. My first handgun was a Ruger Security Six, blued, 6 inch bbl in.357. Bought it on my 21st birthday a while back. Whereabouts in Cali are ya?

Forgot to mention that those Henry .22 levers are slick. We've got three.

 

[Hickory n steel]

The more I'm thinking the more I want the Henry H001 , then I'll probably keep an eye out for maybe a used K frame or something.

I'll probably go with the shorter H001y if in stock near me, the shorter length seems handier and the 13" LOP is not a problem for me at all.
I'm only 5'6" and not getting any taller

 

[Bigfattyt]

I have shot air weights, atom weights, etc.

I regularly carry a .357 Ruger.... Sp101 Spurless.

Tames the recoil well.

Snubbie Revolvers can be shot just as well as sub compact pistols.

I can hit with my Sp101 better than I can with my Shield .40, or my dad's little pocket. Ruger 9mm or my brothers little Ruger pocket .380

I still like revolvers.

Any gun you get, you have to practice. If you are thinking a lightweigh .38, I'd encourage you to do so.

I usually recommend people get a .357 for the versatility, and shoot/carry .38. Test your carry ammo.

You will find in a steel .38 recoil is pretty soft. In .357 steel gun, still manageable for me.

.357 in lightweight alloy guns, are pretty punishing.


Autos tend to be much thinner in the belt, but they have smaller grips than guns with clips.. depending on what your carry comparisons are. My SP101 has a shorter but wider grip. With Spigel boot grips even smaller.

There is a lot that goes into gun egos, and what one finds comfortable another will hate. Triggers too.

Light weight revolver carry easy.....but so do polymer framed autos.

Try before you buy is good advice. Weight that makes a gun more comfortable to shoot, but more of a pain to carry.

For me, a small glock with extended mags is a good compromise for a one gun to start with. I can shoot the little glocks well, and add an extended mag with extra grip it shoots more like a full sized gun..

I have carried a full sized. 40 glock for years. In summer, it get harder to conceal for me (based on my size).

My Ruger sp101 and S&W Shield in .40 both get carried more.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

The plan is to buy myself a S&W 642 Airweight and eventually some wood grips for my birthday, but I'm not completely apposed to a Ruger LCP if either of the two nearest gun shops to me don't have the 642 in stock or at a reasonable price.
Buds has the best price I've found online, but being my first actual firearms purchase I've obviously never ordered one before and it seems like a nightmare in California with the waiting period plus transfer fees and all that stuff.

I like a lot of things on the traditional side so of course I gravitated towards a snub nose .38, but I did give it some practical thought.
I know limp wristing a small auto can be a problem and if I don't have a lot of time or a convenient place to shoot I figure a revolver might be a good choice as I can at least get myself well aquatinted with it's double action trigger at home using a Lazer trainer.
Nothing beats actual live fire practice but any training is better than none and I think a revolver will let me get the most of limited range time compared to a sub compact auto where you can only train out of limp wristing with actual live fire.

Correct me if I'm way off on this, but that's just my slightly educated idea on small autos vs revolvers.

So what did you guys buy for your first and why ?

What do you want to use this gun for? Carry?

 

[Woodrow F Call]

.410 revolvers are stupid for sure.

At 5'6" 120lb with size 7 hands I don't want a huge pistol but I wasn't going to go for a CCW anytime soon anyways, so I'm starting to think I might just go with a Ruger Wrangler to plink with once In a while.

I don't want to spend more than $500 right now and the Wrangler looks like a lot of fun, I've also heard they're better than the heritage rough rider.

The wrangler would be a great introduction to shooting. If you need something for defense, a GP100 or S&W in .357 Mag would be a great gun that gives lots of options. A 4" barrel would be the best all around size.

Oh, if you need to pinch pennies, you could look at a Taurus. Used and in good condition preferably. They do work even if some people hate them.

 

[Hickory n steel]

What do you want to use this gun for? Carry?

Honestly I plan to eventually get a CCW and think the iconic snub nose .38 is cool , but I'm learning it's probably not the best choice for a first though and have decided against it.
The point is not an introduction to shooting as I've been shooting airguns for the past 18 years and every single day for the past 10, I just want to become a firearm owner as I so strongly believe in the second amendment.

I always knew I wanted a lever action .22 and figured I might as we get the Henry H001 now so I don't feel like I'm putting my firearms ownership on the back burner while I find the right first powder burning pistol for me.

I don't want to have to buy it at the local Big5 because their prices aren't that great but I will if nobody else has it and they would probably be the most convenient.
Hopefully the front sight is tall enough to work with a Williams 5dag or Wgrs54.
I need another 5dag anyways, and wont likely be using the Wgrs54 which is lower so when I get the rifle I'll see how that'll work.

 

[benchwarmer380]

Not if you need to move through it with one

Btw now I'm really eying the Henry H001, it's just a gorgeous little rifle that's drawing me like a moth to a lampshade.
As a .22 I should be able to afford to get good with it in relatively short order , having a lot of fun doing it, and I don't think 15 rounds of CCI minimags as fast as I can cycle the action would be the worst choice until I eventually get a handgun.

I'm the kind of person where if I don't get something now it'll just end up sitting on the back burner for far too long, ( I've got knives that have been on the list for 3 years now ) and I think I may satisfy my forearms craving with something fun and really put some more thought into a good first handgun for HD.

The Henry is in the same ballpark of overall length of many shotguns, so you'll run into the same problems regarding ease of movement with limited space.
If you're contemplating a long gun and home defense is high on the list of priorities, I'd take a peak at the Keltec KSG.
It holds 14+1 shells of whatever load you want (high brass only!) and is a good 10in shorter overall than the Henry. Compact and surprisingly light and easy to handle considering it holds double the ammo of many pump guns.
My brother has one and a Marlin 336y (a few in shorter than the Henry) I'll see if I can snap a pic to compare.

That would be my choice for the home between a 22 or most any handgun really. The downside is it will run you $750-850ish.

For a handgun, I'd go with what most others have said and get a Glock or another easy to shoot semi auto. The learning curve will be a bit easier to climb than a snub nose revolver and you'll likely have more ammo in the off chance you'll need it to save your life.

 

[jackknife]

Hickory, I'm gonna give you some advise. If you want to learn to shoot, I mean shoot really good, there's no shortcut. It means a hell of a lot of practice. Real shooting kind of practice. Live fire kind of practice. You have to learn the "holy trinity" of sight picture, breath control, and trigger squeeze, in that order.

Go get a .22 in the platform you are interested in. For example, if you want to get into revolvers, with a possibility of CCW at a later date, get a Ruger LCR in .22 Long Rifle. You'll have a light weight compact revolver that you can shoot for less than half of a .38. You can still get the 550 round bulk packs of Federal at Walmart and Academy for 22 to 25 dollars. Thats a lot of cheap shooting. Give yourself a year to shoot the ever lovin dog poo out of that gun. Then when you are good, really good with it, you can move up to a Ruger LCR in .38 special or 9mm. You'll already be intimately familiar with the platform and sight and trigger action. Or you can go get a Smith and Wesson .22 revolver and later graduate to the .38 in the same platform like a model 60 or 642. Or the Ruger SP101 in a .22 long rifle to start and later a SP101 in .38.

In the meantime you'll have a .22 revolver that you will be getting very, very familiar with at a rapid pace compared to trying to start out with a hard to handle gun like an aluminum J frame .38 that kicks hard, has minimal sights and will actually be very bad for your shooting skills progression. The .22 LCR is no joke and it will not only teach you the skills you will need, but some CCI mini mags or stingers point black center of mass will ruin some criminals day. If any keyboard commando tries to tell you different, go watch the video of the President Reagan shooing, and take note of how many of the people shot that day with a cheap 29.95 RG .22 revolver were doing the Walter Houston jig right after because it was 'little better than a sharp stick."

Give yourself that one year with a .22 and weekly if not twice weekly practice with a couple hundred rounds at a time used in careful worship of the Holy Trinity. Sight picture, breath control, and trigger squeeze. It all comes down to that. You need a solid foundation of the basics before you go to a center fire handgun. Theres no short cuts. Lots and lots of real live fire practice every single week, with some gun handing and dry fire in between. The gun should feel like an old old friend soon as your hand closes around the grip. You shouldn't have to think at all about what your doing with it or how it functions. And your .22 and your center fire handgun sold be the same platform. For all the years I carried a steel frame S&W model 60 as my camping, canoeing, travel and self defense gun, my practice gun was a S&W model 63. When I had my Colt series 70 .45, I had the Colt conversion unit for the .22 long rifle, and shot the ever lovin dog snot out of it with the .22, and finished each range season with a 50 round box of the .45 hardball.

Trigger time is trigger time. It won't matter if its with a .22 or 9mm, but the .22 will be one hell of a lot cheaper, easier recoil so you can concentrate on the Holy Trinity, and may not develop a flinch.

But above all,,,,GET PROFESSIONAL TRAINING.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

Honestly I plan to eventually get a CCW and think the iconic snub nose .38 is cool , but I'm learning it's probably not the best choice for a first though and have decided against it.
The point is not an introduction to shooting as I've been shooting airguns for the past 18 years and every single day for the past 10, I just want to become a firearm owner as I so strongly believe in the second amendment.

I always knew I wanted a lever action .22 and figured I might as we get the Henry H001 now so I don't feel like I'm putting my firearms ownership on the back burner while I find the right first powder burning pistol for me.

I don't want to have to buy it at the local Big5 because their prices aren't that great but I will if nobody else has it and they would probably be the most convenient.
Hopefully the front sight is tall enough to work with a Williams 5dag or Wgrs54.
I need another 5dag anyways, and wont likely be using the Wgrs54 which is lower so when I get the rifle I'll see how that'll work.

Small five shot revolvers are actually great for concealed carry. This BS that they aren't are generally from people who think you are going to need something with 15 rounds and two spare magazines because you are going to need them in a big gun battle.

It's a tool. Each tool has a job. There are pros and cons to each.

Learn to shoot a short barreled DA revolver and you can shoot any handgun. They disappear in the pocket better than most options (acknowledging that it's not the best method of carry, but it works for some dress code). You can carry a great deal of power in a small revolver... some fishing guides carry a small .357 Mag for bear protection.

In some cases an autoloader is better, in some they aren't.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Small five shot revolvers are actually great for concealed carry. This BS that they aren't are generally from people who think you are going to need something with 15 rounds and two spare magazines because you are going to need them in a big gun battle.

It's a tool. Each tool has a job. There are pros and cons to each.

Learn to shoot a short barreled DA revolver and you can shoot any handgun. They disappear in the pocket better than most options (acknowledging that it's not the best method of carry, but it works for some dress code). You can carry a great deal of power in a small revolver... some fishing guides carry a small .357 Mag for bear protection.

In some cases an autoloader is better, in some they aren't.

The problem I've realized is my small bony hands may not like the snappy recoil,Your assessment is what I had in my mind though.
I never planned to jump right into CCW, with limited time and an unknown range location it would probably be at least two years till I'd be ready.

 

[Woodrow F Call]

The problem I've realized is my small bony hands may not like the snappy recoil,Your assessment is what I had in my mind though.
I never planned to jump right into CCW, with limited time and an unknown range location it would probably be at least two years till I'd be ready.

Anything with enough power and small enough to carry easy is going to be snappy. You will have to learn to control it.

1911s are easy to carry, besides the weight. They aren't snappy though. You do have to remember to flick off the safety though.