Planning to buy my first handgun

[Kiteman72]

It's probably out of your price range, but maybe look at the S&W 351PD. It's a 7 shot 22 magnum J-frame. It has an exposed hammer, good for practice and "precision" shots. The 22 mag isn't as powerful as the 38 special, obviously, but it's got more punch than the 22LR. Like J jackknife has said, it's very important to shoot a lot, and 22 WMR ammo is fairly affordable. You can get the Ruger LCR in 22 mag as well.

You can get a Henry chambered in 22 mag as well, for a matching rifle, which you might enjoy.

I love 22LR firearms and there are many good 1st gun choices in that caliber as well. I just got a Taurus TX22 earlier this year and it is a fantastic pistol.

 

[GB940Rookie]

My first handgun I purchased was a Colt 1911. I paid for it and my older brother signed for it. I was 15. Kept it through college and then went through a revolver phase. From there I went to the “wonder” nines, finally settling on the Glock 17. You might still find a 1911 laying around the house.

A shotgun (12 or 20) is my first line of home defense.

I normally advise the first time handgun owner to buy a Ruger Mark 2,3 or 4 series .22 caliber pistol. Extremely reliable, accurate, easy to work on and lots of aftermarket parts. You can choose from the 22/45 frame which simulates a 1911 grip, or the standard frame which is close to the old Luger style grip.

After that, go buy the Glock 19.

 

[K.O.D.]

..... I will be blunt, your thinking is flawed mate. What you need to do is get a handgun that is something you can develop the proper skills and technique with, any J Frame or the like is not that, what you will do is develop bad habits and become frustrated quickly because you can't hit jack with it. Honestly, if your heart is set on a revolver, buy a used S&W Model10 (or 13 or 64 or 65 or 19 or 66 - all K frames in 38/357) and shoot the hell out of it. For very good reason compact and subcompact handguns (both autos and revolvers) are viewed as "second guns". They are not at all good learning tools.

The model 10 is the first center fire gun I ever shot. I was 14. I was 30 when I mastered my grandma's S&W model 36. Not fun to shoot. Even with a medium size Pachmyer grip.

Start medium to large, then scale down. You want to enjoy shooting, and small pistols aren't fun.

Some pr0n for you.

S&W Model 10 5" barrel .38spl
Beretta Px4 Storm 4" barrel .40sw
S&W Model 36 1 7/8" barrel .38spl

 

[cchu518]

Don't do it. Fire off half a box of rounds and 1) you probbie won't hit anything with a snubbie past 15 feet. 2) your palm is going to swell up and look misshapen 2) a hideaway trigger serves no purpose, the fun of them is the single action.

Top suggestions would be a 9mm
Polymer centerfire
Glock gen 2/3 the newer ones feel a little odd, might be a personally thing with the swappable grips.
Springfield xD

metal guns with beaver tails, which I love best, they help to reduce recoil for second shot on target type of exercises
CZ75 super modifiable platform
Sig 226
Beretta 92fs

Go for the gusto
Sig Legion or CZ modified by Cajun Gunworks. You get the one of the latter 2 and you can call it a day for a while.

The Legion is probably the most enjoyable pistol that I've ever shot. My wife shot it and wants one for herself.

.22s are ok too, like the Ruger Mark IV for plinking around but as they say train with the gun and the rounds that you are going to use.

 

[GB940Rookie]

Remember also that it’s better to hit the target with a .22 than miss it with a .45.

 

[Mitchell Knives]

I feel that revolvers are not suitable for carry.

Many will disagree with that statement, but 5 rounds and the inherent difficultly of reloading quickly makes it a poor choice in my opinion.

The 642 has a terrible double action trigger pull and essentially no sights.

I would suggest a Glock, S&W or Walther in 9mm.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Well it turns out that I can't even buy a firearm right now.

California has this stupid new thing called the " Real ID " and if you don't have one of these new ones you can't buy a firearm , and I can't get the new ID right now because there's a deadline and the local DMV's are all booked up.
I suppose I waited too long to buy a firearm.

At least I have that old prewar single shot Mossberg.
It works but since the headspace is a tiny bit off I don't expect perfect accuracy out of it and that's another reason why I wanted a brand new .22.
I'll still have fun with that old Mossberg , but really did want this Henry H001.

 

[jackknife]

I feel that revolvers are not suitable for carry.

Many will disagree with that statement, but 5 rounds and the inherent difficultly of reloading quickly makes it a poor choice in my opinion.

The 642 has a terrible double action trigger pull and essentially no sights.

I would suggest a Glock, S&W or Walther in 9mm.

You're right, many will disagree with your 'opinion'. So many in fact, that both Smith and Wesson and Ruger dedicate a large amount of their production to the J frames and SP101's and LCR's. Apparently they still sell very well in spite of a lot of people thinking they need 15 rounds for an encounter that typicality ends with a few shots at a few yards in a few seconds. At little more than arms length where most close encounters of the ugly kind take place, you don't even need sights.

Yes, sometimes you do get assaulted by more than one low life at time. Like Bernard Goetz the New York subway shooter. He was assaulted by four thugs with sharpened screw drivers and he was armed with a S&W J frame .38. All four would be muggers ended up on the subway car floor with life threatening gunshot wounds. One was paralyzed for life. The little 5 shot snubbie worked well with 4 to 1 odds.

As for the S&W 642 having terrible double action trigger pull, you are entitled to your 'opinion'. Never mind that the S&W double action is a standard that many try to emulate. In 50 years of shooting S&W revolvers, I've not found a better action than a S&W that has been shot and broken in. A little heavy, but very silky smooth. And you can even stage it by feeling the click of the cylinder stop engaging. If you really want to go over board, put in the Wolfe spring kit for even better action.

The one time I had to shoot someone, the range was little more than 3 feet. Range from gun muzzle to target was like a foot and a half. Two rounds of .22 were used. It stopped what was going on, immediately. Contrary to internet opinions, you do not need 15 rounds of 9mm to stop a close range assault. Any good snubbie in .38 special, 9mm, or .22 magnum will do very nicely.

 

[not2sharp]

... So many in fact, that both Smith and Wesson and Ruger dedicate a large amount of their production to the J frames and SP101's and LCR's. .....

Let's not confuse the issue. These small guns are popular because many of us are unable to conceal larger guns. For instance it is hard to conceal carry a full size gun when the temperature averages in the 80s and 90s and typical year round dress is shorts and a T-shirt. Many are also limited by their work place and have to be very discrete about what they carry. Either way a small pocket pistol or revolver can fit the bill; but, that doesn't make them an ideal choice for an inexperienced shooter who wants to learn the basics.

These pocket pistols tend:
1) to have very heavy trigger pulls - for instance the factory setting on my model 60 was 18 lbs for a double action pull.
2) the sights are often less than ideal. They are small and the sight radius is short
3) they are not very reliable. They operate on tight tolerances and things like limp wristing a shot can cause a failure to feed/eject.
4) often there is not much to hold onto. You may only be able to get one or two fingers on the grip
5) Felt recoil can be heavy. Which is generally not a problem, unless the design of the frame is such as to make that recoil painful. I had to modify a p3AT that was so bad it would blister my palm after 25 rounds. The factory grip was like a plastic rasp.
6) Some also have very stiff actions. The Beretta PICO was so bad that a lot of users were unable to pull the slide back to load a cartridge. The factory had to issue a recall and modify the thing.
7) then you have the S&W bodyguard which had a tendency to misfire due to light hammer strikes
8) even the Walter PPK has an unfortunate safety location on the back of the slide that can cause the user to engage the safety as they rack a round.

It is not easy to come up with a really good tiny gun. They work, but they can be finicky, which is why I would feel they are less than ideal for anyone, unless they have a specific requirement for such a gun and are willing to train to overcome the problems. There are certainly better choices out there for home defense or casual target practice. Although, yes, you probably won't need a massive amount of rounds to defend yourself and just about any caliber can work so long as you do your part and hit the target.

n2s

 

[cchu518]

Let's not confuse the issue. These small guns are popular because many of us are unable to conceal larger guns. For instance it is hard to conceal carry a full size gun when the temperature averages in the 80s and 90s and typical year round dress is shorts and a T-shirt. Many are also limited by their work place and have to be very discrete about what they carry. Either way a small pocket pistol or revolver can fit the bill; but, that doesn't make them an ideal choice for an inexperienced shooter who wants to learn the basics.

These pocket pistols tend:
1) to have very heavy trigger pulls - for instance the factory setting on my model 60 was 18 lbs for a double action pull.
2) the sights are often less than ideal. They are small and the sight radius is short
3) they are not very reliable. They operate on tight tolerances and things like limp wristing a shot can cause a failure to feed/eject.
4) often there is not much to hold onto. You may only be able to get one or two fingers on the grip
5) Felt recoil can be heavy. Which is generally not a problem, unless the design of the frame is such as to make that recoil painful. I had to modify a p3AT that was so bad it would blister my palm after 25 rounds. The factory grip was like a plastic rasp.
6) Some also have very stiff actions. The Beretta PICO was so bad that a lot of users were unable to pull the slide back to load a cartridge. The factory had to issue a recall and modify the thing.
7) then you have the S&W bodyguard which had a tendency to misfire due to light hammer strikes
8) even the Walter PPK has an unfortunate safety location on the back of the slide that can cause the user to engage the safety as they rack a round.

It is not easy to come up with a really good tiny gun. They work, but they can be finicky, which is why I would feel they are less than ideal for anyone, unless they have a specific requirement for such a gun and are willing to train to overcome the problems. There are certainly better choices out there for home defense or casual target practice. Although, yes, you probably won't need a massive amount of rounds to defend yourself and just about any caliber can work so long as you do your part and hit the target.

n2s

M&P Shield....sorted....either way a revolver as a first gun is a no for me. It's gone the way of the dinosaurs/novelty.

 

[Mitchell Knives]

You're right, many will disagree with your 'opinion'. So many in fact, that both Smith and Wesson and Ruger dedicate a large amount of their production to the J frames and SP101's and LCR's. Apparently they still sell very well in spite of a lot of people thinking they need 15 rounds for an encounter that typicality ends with a few shots at a few yards in a few seconds. At little more than arms length where most close encounters of the ugly kind take place, you don't even need sights.

Yes, sometimes you do get assaulted by more than one low life at time. Like Bernard Goetz the New York subway shooter. He was assaulted by four thugs with sharpened screw drivers and he was armed with a S&W J frame .38. All four would be muggers ended up on the subway car floor with life threatening gunshot wounds. One was paralyzed for life. The little 5 shot snubbie worked well with 4 to 1 odds.

As for the S&W 642 having terrible double action trigger pull, you are entitled to your 'opinion'. Never mind that the S&W double action is a standard that many try to emulate. In 50 years of shooting S&W revolvers, I've not found a better action than a S&W that has been shot and broken in. A little heavy, but very silky smooth. And you can even stage it by feeling the click of the cylinder stop engaging. If you really want to go over board, put in the Wolfe spring kit for even better action.

The one time I had to shoot someone, the range was little more than 3 feet. Range from gun muzzle to target was like a foot and a half. Two rounds of .22 were used. It stopped what was going on, immediately. Contrary to internet opinions, you do not need 15 rounds of 9mm to stop a close range assault. Any good snubbie in .38 special, 9mm, or .22 magnum will do very nicely.

Revolvers are chosen by many people for CCW and there is nothing wrong with that. I'm not saying it's a poor choice for everyone; just for me. Any gun is better than nothing.

In every training class that I have ever taken, we've practiced drawing and placing 3 rounds center mass. Follow up with more rounds if needed. With a 5 shot revolver, I've immediately used 60% of my ammunition. I'd rather have more ammunition than I need than not. It's really easy for me to carry a full size pistol, so there is no reason not to.

My 642 had the worst double action trigger of any firearm I have ever owned. My Ruger was far superior.

 

[K.O.D.]

Let's not confuse the issue. These small guns are popular because many of us are unable to conceal larger guns. For instance it is hard to conceal carry a full size gun when the temperature averages in the 80s and 90s and typical year round dress is shorts and a T-shirt. Many are also limited by their work place and have to be very discrete about what they carry. Either way a small pocket pistol or revolver can fit the bill; but, that doesn't make them an ideal choice for an inexperienced shooter who wants to learn the basics.

These pocket pistols tend:
1) to have very heavy trigger pulls - for instance the factory setting on my model 60 was 18 lbs for a double action pull.
2) the sights are often less than ideal. They are small and the sight radius is short
3) they are not very reliable. They operate on tight tolerances and things like limp wristing a shot can cause a failure to feed/eject.
4) often there is not much to hold onto. You may only be able to get one or two fingers on the grip
5) Felt recoil can be heavy. Which is generally not a problem, unless the design of the frame is such as to make that recoil painful. I had to modify a p3AT that was so bad it would blister my palm after 25 rounds. The factory grip was like a plastic rasp.
6) Some also have very stiff actions. The Beretta PICO was so bad that a lot of users were unable to pull the slide back to load a cartridge. The factory had to issue a recall and modify the thing.
7) then you have the S&W bodyguard which had a tendency to misfire due to light hammer strikes
8) even the Walter PPK has an unfortunate safety location on the back of the slide that can cause the user to engage the safety as they rack a round.

It is not easy to come up with a really good tiny gun. They work, but they can be finicky, which is why I would feel they are less than ideal for anyone, unless they have a specific requirement for such a gun and are willing to train to overcome the problems. There are certainly better choices out there for home defense or casual target practice. Although, yes, you probably won't need a massive amount of rounds to defend yourself and just about any caliber can work so long as you do your part and hit the target.

n2s

Size, climate, location-- all important considerations.

For example, I live in Chicago, where it's jacket weather 6~ months a year. I also am 6'4", 220lbs, so half the year I could easily cc a large frame pistol. Even in summer, I can get away with a full size 1911 should I so desire.

One of my best friend's 5'6" and carries an LCR. Perfect for him, but I can barely hold it. He practices with it, but mostly shoots his SIG.

M&P Shield....sorted....either way a revolver as a first gun is a no for me. It's gone the way of the dinosaurs/novelty.

I completely disagree. Its like the traditional vs modern folder crowd. Wheelguns are great for their simplicity, reliability, and ease of maintenance. Plus, inside, we all want to be John Wayne or Dirty Harry. Or whatever the modern equivalent is.

My next gun will be the $2000 Dan Wesson model 715 pistol pack. Then a higher end 1911.

 

[cchu518]

Size, climate, location-- all important considerations.

For example, I live in Chicago, where it's jacket weather 6~ months a year. I also am 6'4", 220lbs, so half the year I could easily cc a large frame pistol. Even in summer, I can get away with a full size 1911 should I so desire.

One of my best friend's 5'6" and carries an LCR. Perfect for him, but I can barely hold it. He practices with it, but mostly shoots his SIG.



I completely disagree. Its like the traditional vs modern folder crowd. Wheelguns are great for their simplicity, reliability, and ease of maintenance. Plus, inside, we all want to be John Wayne or Dirty Harry. Or whatever the modern equivalent is.

My next gun will be the $2000 Dan Wesson model 715 pistol pack. Then a higher end 1911.

I did throw in the caveat that it was just me. Perspectives from all sides are good. All I'm saying is I've seen Hickock45 plinking down metal plates from 100 yards out in his little playground using whatever he happens to be testing. That's just not normal for the average gun owner let alone someone with his first pistol. I think I was maybe 10 the first time my irresponsible dad put a 38 special +p revolver in my hand. I can say without question it wasn't as fun or useful as a 9mm as a kid learning how to shoot. And my wife who was anti-gun up until these last few years feels the same way about revolvers.

That said the best thing OP can do is to spend $150 and go to a range that lets you rent guns and try out everything. My wife tried close to a dozen handguns before determining that she wanted her dream yuppie gun a Sig Legion. Her biggest items to think about as a first time gun owner was manual safety or not, single action or double action. Ability to fire under duress if she had to relative to how the pistol was stored in relation to these two items. Magazine loaded, round chambered and safety engaged...magazine fed, chamber empty etc...

I don't know if I had any influence on her but she seemed to have preferred all of my favorites as well. Metal pistols with beavertails over polymer. But we don't live in a particular area where we would ever think we would need to ccw. So for us they're more of a range toy than anything else. For all else we keep pepper sprays and other non-lethal defense devides lying around the cars and house. If its home defense there's no substitute for your mossy, but that wasn't the ask. Getting on the trigger of revolver particularly with a big round for the reasons many have stated is rough as a first handgun vs a 9mm. I find revolvers fun as well but as a secondary weapon not as a first gun and for as long as I've had guns around in my life, I still consider myself a newbie/range guy vs a serious gun hobbyist. But again for my family we just get together, go get bbq and then hit the range after.

 

[Hickory n steel]

I'm going to abandon this thread now, because a firearm is off the table right for the time being.

 

[315]

I'm going to abandon this thread now, because a firearm is off the table right for the time being.

Clear your inbox and I’ll shoot you a message...no pun intended

 

[Hickory n steel]

Clear your inbox and I’ll shoot you a message...no pun intended

Done.

 

[Hickory n steel]

I'm not gonna just jump ship and let them take over not that I can afford to move out of this state, but California is really pissing me off right now.

Why if the deadline for the fancy new ID's isn't up yet are existing ID's not eligible for federal purchases ?
My last ID was about to expire a week or so before the " Real ID " cards were available which I didn't actually know and assumed what I was receiving was the new " Real ID " they were advertising all over their website .
So I don't have the right one, they're all booked up on appointments, and my work schedule doesn't allow me time to go do a walk in and sit the DMV for hours.
And of course because it's around Christmas It's too late to get an extra day off, so it means I simply can't buy a firearm any time soon.

 

[22-rimfire]

I plan to eventually get a CCW, that's why I wanted something smaller and more concealable.

Also because I don't plan to just jump into buying multiple firearms right now I figured I'd start with the smaller harder to shoot pistol because if I can master it I should have no problem when it comes to larger pistols.

I am starting to think that right now I may want to possibly look into a .22 magnum revolver of the same size.

I have never really mastered shooting a small revolver well. The only reason I own them is for concealed carry and I am plenty accurate enough at 5 yds for this. I just don't know if I have the WILL.

I recommend a 22LR as a first gun. You can learn to shoot it fairly well and the experience carries over to larger calibers. I would suggest you look at the Ruger LCR. Nobody wants even little holes punched in them.... as long as the revolver functions well with your choice of ammo, you pretty much good to go. Step up to a larger caliber later.

I wouldn't get too hung up on the limp wristing thing. I have never had a problem that I am aware of. My Ruger (edit SR-22) functions well and is fun to shoot.

If you can shoot a revolver well, you can shoot any semi-auto pistol well.

I have a lot of 22 handguns. Big ones too.

 

[22-rimfire]

....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.

You won't regret getting a Henry lever action 22. In my opinion, the Marlins, Brownings, and old Winchester M9422 are better, but much more expensive.

Get a 22 rifle. Lever actions are cool!

For home defense, the little Ruger 10/22 is hard to beat in a 22 rifle. It points very easily for quick shots.

Added: Sorry to hear that you abandoned this quest. But I still made my suggestions above.

 

[Hickory n steel]

You won't regret getting a Henry lever action 22. In my opinion, the Marlins, Brownings, and old Winchester M9422 are better, but much more expensive.

Get a 22 rifle. Lever actions are cool!

For home defense, the little Ruger 10/22 is hard to beat in a 22 rifle. It points very easily for quick shots.

Added: Sorry to hear that you abandoned this quest. But I still made my suggestions above.

I still want to buy the H001, I just have to get that stupid fancy new ID when I have time then buy the rifle when I've got the money.

This was the perfect time to buy it too, I had Christmas checked off , still had the money, and my birthday is coming up
now I've gotta buy myself another knife an airgun or more American made hand tools for my birthday