what handgun should I start with?

Question

I'm 18, not REALLY strong, i dont work out or anything, (just saying as far as recoil goes i dont want to lose control and be missing some teeth) but I'm moving out on my own, into a neighborhood thats not terrible but isnt exactly nice. I'm looking for a handgun for recreational target shooting as well as home protection but i've never owned a gun before save for a air rifle. As a guy naturally I want something that if an assailant gets hit by it, he wont be getting back up before the cops get there . I was looking at 44 magnums but I think for me as a beginner, it''d be much too strong (unless you think i can handle it with practice?).

so without further adieu what would be a good handgun for me?

Answer 1

WOW

I think this is the first string of answers that I have ever read that were sensible, and intelligent!

All of these guys have very valid and wise advice.

Now I will add my two cents...

If you are afraid of recoil, stay away from the .44 Mag. That's a fairly good sized gun with some respectable recoil. I personally find a .44 mag a rather comfy gun to shoot, but that is just me.
Being a newbie, I would have to agree with staying with a .357 Mag using .38 Special ammo, a 9mm (will probably be the easiest, cheapest to find) it has very little recoil, and as some have said, not very expensive to shoot.

Glocks are great guns, my wife owns one in .40 S&W. Just for your comfort, she's 5'2" and weighs about 120 Lbs. She's a good shot, I would hate to be the one she's shooting at! She also owns a S&W Sigma 40SVE. Basically a copy Glock with a much heavier trigger.
This may be a consideration for you since you can pick one up for about 300 NEW (9mm or .40S&W). Ruger makes a nice P series for about the same money in either caliber.

Revolvers are more simple to operate, just point and shoot (double action) I would recommend the .357 Mag with .38 Special loads, until you feel you are capable, or comfortable with the Magnum loads.

See if you can try a few different guns out. Find which one you are most comfortable with, shooting and handling. Practice makes perfect. I like to say practice breeds proficiency. After yo get the basics dwon, you may want to step up to a larger or more powerful caliber.

As far as the age thing. I don't agree with it either but take a firearms saftey course. If you do get a pistol, make sure to become familiar with the gun and how to properly handle, shoot and maintain it.
Just for legal purposes, a 20 Gauge shotgun with some 3OOO buckshot is probably the perfect home defense weapon. You don't have to be 21 to have one either. Ammo is cheap, you don't have to be too accurate, and overpenetration isn't too much of an issue if you do miss.

Answer 2

The key to my answer is your use of the word "start."

A .22 is a good gun to learn with. Low noise, low recoil, cheap to shoot and learn with. You do not even have to buy one; you can use a range rental and move up from there. The low noise and low recoil will allow a beginner to learn good shooting habits without developing the bad habits people tend to pick up when they are afraid of the noise or recoil of their weapon.

I'd recommend you progressively move up. Start with the 22 and practice until you can hit what you aim at. Move up progressively to a 32, 9mm, 38, then finally a 45. In around the 9 mm time, you may want to try something like a CZ-52 shooting the 7.62 X 25 round. These give you a muzzle flash about the size of a soccer ball. I'd been shooting over 20 years when I tried one. It scared the heck out of me, but I now own two.

For protection, the bigger the better. It is true that a 22 or 9 mm can kill a man, BUT, the question is not if you can stop your target but how quickly you can stop it. Killing an assailant with a 22 is fine, but if he has time to kill you while he is dying, it is a little less fine. Still, I don't want to tell you to get a 45, because unless you can and will carry it, it won't do you a bit of good.

Best answer I can give you is to try several weapons and pick the biggest one that you can not only handle in use, but also the one that would be comfortable enough for you to carry. The gun will not do you any good if your assailant is between you and the gun.

Good luck.

Answer 3

A shotgun is a better home defense weapon. I.E. the Remington 870 in either 12 or 20 ga.

Know having said that my personal recommendation for a 'use it for everything' gun is two part.

If you want a semi-auto, the 9mm is the cheapest to shoot and is a viable self-defense weapon. A glock, the Springfield XD, S&W new M&P, H&K all make great guns in this caliber.

For most though a well built revolver in .357 is the way to go. A 3-4 inch barrel and can shooot .38 specials out of it. The S&W 19, 65, 66, and the Ruger GP 100 are the tops in my list. A few speedloaders and your set.

If you do go with a .44 magnum, realize you can shoot .44 specials out of it with no problems. The .45 colt chambering would also be a good choice.

Answer 4

First, in the US you have to be 21 to have a handgun. Second, muscle doesn't matter. You could handle a 44 magnum with practice, but (1) it isn't a beginner's handgun and (2) it's a hunting handgun not well suited for self-defense. The Dirty Harry stuff is bull. For self-defense, you'd want to handload lighter cartridges that would fall in the 44 Special range. In this area, more is not better.
I'd suggest for the next two or three years you keep a shotgun loaded with #4 shot at home for protection. When you're 21, get a 22 revolver like the Ruger Single-Six to learn how to shoot a handgun, and when you've become proficient with it you can decide on whether to go with a revolver (and statistically it seems 357 magnum may be the best manstopper) or a self-feeder like a 9x19, 40 S&W or 45 ACP, amongst which I'd recommend the largest you can handle comfortably.

Answer 5

I'd strongly reccomend a pistol course from a local shooting range. Some ranges have rental guns so you can try out options that might best suit you. Everyone has different preferences. The best gun for you is the one you are most comfortable with. With that said, for beginner shooters looking for home protection I would strongly recomment a revolver. Semi-automatics will and do jam. Particularly on new shooters (limp wrist factor). If you do not know how to quickly and effectivley clear jams the gun becomes useless in an emergency situation. While all guns can malfuntion, revolvers are simpler and less prone to issues. Regardless of which handgun you end up with, practice... practice loading, unloading, shooting etc. I would not reccomend anyone keep a gun loaded for personal protection that is not committed to shooting the gun at least once every six months. Be familiar with your firearm. The other comment I'm going to make is proper grip goes a lot further then strength with handguns. Enjoy, but do the research. Keep it safe!

Answer 6

well to start, at 18 you can't legally buy or own a handgun as a general rule, even though some might argue that fact.Also, I think a handguns real use is to fight your way to your rifle!! For me, the simplest and best choice for home defense is a 12 gauge shotgun with an 181/2 or 20 bbl. Use 2 3/4 inch shells for less recoil. If you live in an apartment or with houses close to you, load it so that the first two rounds are #7 bird shot (these will do massive damage to a person with out penetrating the walls of your dwelling and hurting an innocent person) then the next round up should be #4 buck shot, then 00 Buckshot and the last round (s) slug. This way you can go from least dangerous to bystanders, to being able to hit farther away with more damage to the person, to being able to shoot thru a wall or door. But remember a slug will kill accuratley at 100 yards or more and carry much farther.

Answer 7

Handguns are odd b/c what some people love other people hate. I personally love my Glock. A Glock is very simple to operate and maintain. Which as a first time gun owner may be something that you will enjoy.

Also with a Glock if you are worried about the recoil check out their C series (the C stands for compensated) pistols. All of these have 2 gas ports in the top of the barrel that helps reduce the recoil. You may hear horror stories about people getting burns from the ported barrels but I have never seen this before and I have shot thousands of rounds with my Glock (also it has not jammed on me one time since I purchased it).

The Glock I use for home protection is a 22C which is a .40cal. I also keep hollow points in it when I have it at the house. I've never had to shoot someone with it but I have full faith in a hollow point .40!

One last thing about Glocks that you should know. They do not have a safety switch. If you do not have small children around oftern than this should not bother you much, just something you should be aware of if you are thinking of purchasing one.

Answer 8

A low recoil handgun like a Glock, H&K, or Sig chambered in 9mm would probably be your best choice. Go find a local gun store with an indoor shooting range and try out a few pistols to see what you like and don't like. Check with your local DNR or gun stores to find a shooter safety course. If you are buying this for home protection then you need to know exactly how your pistol works, so you can operate it safely and effectively under pressure. Once you get your new pistol, practice practice practice. Burn through boxes and boxes of ammo until you can consistently hit your target and you are very comfortable shooting it. Then practice at home - NO - don't shoot in your home! - just practice using it in the dark - like reloading magazines, changing out an empty mag for a new one - etc. Oh.....a 44 mag is not a good starter gun either.

Answer 9

As for the 44 mags, thats a definate no. If your "assailant" was to get shot by that, he probibly wouldnt look like a human anymore.

For shooting guns rather than bows, you dont need to be vary strong, but you need to be able to hold the firearm in place after recoil.

Also knowing your buget and financial limits is a good thing to start with. Asking yourself: which gun is less expencive, and what about ammunition? If you shoot alot, you're bound to spend alot. The average hunter starting at 18 years old spends about $93,000 in his lifetime on hunting alone.

As for my opinion, there are two calibers that i would look into: .22 and 9mm. A .22 is a cheap gun with cheap ammo and is extreamily fun to shoot for varment hunting or plinking or any other sport. A 9mm will be a tad more costly with the gun ranging from $300-$1000. A box of ammo will be about $10 for 50 bullets. If you are looking for a revolver, a .38SP may be a good way to go but I'm no expert on revolvers.

If you have any more questions, email me at [e-mail].

Answer 10

Well, you are 18, so legally you cannot purchase a handgun here in the US legally (21 years old). I strongly disagree with that law, but it is what it is.

What I suggest for the time being, is a long gun for defense. That is a shotgun, or a carbine chambered in a pistol cartridge - both of which you can purchase legally at 18.

For shotguns, you can't go wrong with a 12 gauge, or even a 20 gauge. I suggest the 12, and you could go with a pump (Remington 870 or Mossberg 500), or a semi-auto (Remington 1100 or 11-87). Choosing a defense load, depends where you live - if your neighbors are close and/or you have others in the house, go with smaller shot, say 4 (largest) to 7 1/2 (I wouldn't go any smaller than 7 1/2). If you're in the country and can't see your neighbors and aren't worried about over-penetration, go with large shot 2 up to 000 buck, or even a hollow-point slug.

Ruger and Hi-Point make carbines chambered in 9mm Luger and .40 S&W - both automatic pistol cartridges. You can get hollow point defense rounds or frangible rounds that won't over penetrate and go on into the neighbors house. The old semi-automatic US .30 Caliber M1 Carbine with its pistol cartridge .30 Carbine round is comparable to a .357 Magnum (actually its performance exceeds that of a .357), and there are soft point (Remington Core-Lokt) and hollow point (Cor Bon) rounds that would make fine defense rounds. Auto Ordnance makes these carbines brand new - they are short and light (under 6 lbs), and great for close quarters defense with a 15 rnd magazine. All of these pack quite a bit of fire-power, so make sure you PRACTICE and hit your target.

Be sure of your target, and make sure you hit it! Practice! Practice! And Practice some more! Don't go spraying lead - aim for, and hit your target.

Now about pistols, the .44 Mag is over-kill. I can tell you don't have much firearm experience, going after a Dirty Harry pistol. lol

For defensive pistols, you have wheel guns (revolvers) and semi-auto's. Both are great, both have a following and a niche. If you can't decide on one or the other, be like the rest of us and get one of each.

In a defense revolver, a .38 Special (and .38 Special +P) or .357 magnum is about the most you want. There are a few revolvers chambered in .45 ACP that would make fine defense pistols too. Smith & Wesson or Colt would be your best bets. Either double-action (external hammer, that can be ****** and fired single action), or double action only (internal hammer).

For semi-auto defense guns, you have a many choices. Generally, .380 ACP is as low as you want to go, followed by 9mm Luger, .357 Sig, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP at the top. Here you have lots of choices - single action, double action/single action, and double action only.... Sig Sauer, Colt, Smith & Wesson, Kimber, Les Baer, H&K, Glock, Beretta, Walthers, CZ, and on, and on.... You have the good old 1911 model, hi-cap models, carry guns, compacts...

Experience (as in trying out different guns) is key to picking a good one that you like and are proficient with. A great idea is to a gun club (so you can practice!), or finding out store in your area that have an indoor range that allow rentals.