what is the best type of handgun to buy for self defense?

Question

first of all, im not looking for something like thr s&w .500. that is just ridiculous i watched videos on youtube and people can barely even handle the recoil. i want something that will be powerfull enough to stop someone in there tracks but also be easy enough to shoot repeatedly without severe recoil.. i need some insight from you gun pros out there on a good choice

Answer 1

One that comes with a professional bodyguard. Any gun that will stop a psycho, ex-con (pumped) that you never saw coming from behind is going to be taken from you and used against you. This will get a LOT of thumbs down and somebody will say document this. I say document this as untrue.
Seriously, shoot the average person ready to do harm to you with a .32 ACP and he's going to laugh. He's way tougher than you imagine and he's been shot before by bigger guns. Anything more than a .32 is going to have a kick you will probably find objectionable.
Since you will get a gun and eventually become a statistic, remember to hold the gun as close to your body as possible, this will minimize the chance of him getting the gun slightly. Keep shooting until the magazine is empty. This way he can't shoot you with any empty gun and multiple shots will be needed to take him down. I guarantee only 1 or 2 shots out of 8 are going to find their mark. Then run away as fast as you can.
Here's a cheap .32 ACP. No sense in spending over $250.
http://www.kel-tec-cnc.com/p32.html

Answer 2

Your question does not specify what your is experience level with handguns and what type of self defense (home or carry conceal).

If you have no experience, I would sugguest that you go to a basic hand gun course and buy a full size, 4" barrel .357 revolver from either S&W or Ruger and practice with .38 specials and load for defense .38 spl +p ammo and use as a home defense weapon and not conceal and carry till you can hit a man size target at 25 yds.
Most encounters happen with in 7 yds, under a minute and there is a 80% chance that you will miss; without good marksmanship the miss factor increases and you may find that the gun is of no use to you. Also, a revolver is a good idea because of ease of use; no miss fire drills, just pull the trigger again.

If you are an experienced person with a handgun, then it will come to personal preference. I own several 1911s and have been shooting them for many years and that is what I will carry because famliarity and can get .5 inch groups at 7yds and 2 inch groups at 25. My house "handgun" is a .45 acp Revolver because it is simple. Caliber does not matter to a civilian (non-LE or non-Miltary) because you may never get into a gun battle with more than one person. In other words, if 17 rds of 9mm, six rds of .38spl/.357mag, 8rds of .45 acp, or 12 rds of .40S&W does not stop what is attacking you. It is time to break out the AR-15 or AK 47 with a 30 rd magazine and call for backup.

Answer 3

How much gun handling experience do you have, Ryan? You sound like a sensible person. There are essentially two non-exotic, reasonable personal/home defense choices out there depending on your level of gun handling expertise or you willingness to learn:

1. The old 9mm loaded w/quality defensive ammo in the 115 to 127 grain jacketed hollow point configuration.

2. The old .38 Special wheelgun again loaded with quality defensive ammo 110 grain to 147 +P+ Hydra Shok Federal manufacture ammo.

Of course, if you opt for the .38 you might as well have the versitility of owning a .357 Magnum which also shoots .38s.

If you don't have too much expertise then get the revolver, take the safety course and learn how & when to use it. If you are comfortable with an auto loader the Glock Model 19 is hard to beat. Just keep your finger outta the trigger guard until you are ready to shoot & store unloaded or carry/keep in a holster that covers the trigger.

ADDENDEUM: OR you could just get the venerable old .45 acp. Like the poster above stated, with the 230 grain Hydra Shok ammo it is hard to beat as a defensive pistol and the .45 shoots such a wide bullet that it doesn't have to expand in order to terminate a situation. I just didn't think of it because I am into 'other' more exotic calibers which in this day & age out-perform the old .45 when dealing with automobiles & barriers. But for a strictly defensive scenario the old .45 acp will serve you well. The Glock Model 21 is a good choice if it is not too big for your hand. Otherwise Glock can fix you up with other models in .45 acp or .45 GAP that may better fit your hand.

Good luck.

H

Answer 4

Unfortunaltly, there is no easy answer, and it is personal to the shooter.

Some would say that for personal defense, nothing less than a 9mm would be acceptable. Others weould argue that a .380 or even a .32 is effective.

It boild down to what do you feel is sufficient to eliminate the threat (self defense). Are you worried about colateral damage (missing the target, shooting through the target).

While there are effective ammunition for most calibers, most will also indicate that shot placement is the most critical - SO training with the weapon is a must.

For me, I prefer to have a slow, heavy round do the work for me, as opposed to having a lighter faster round, and hope that it expands in the target. I would prefer that the round I chose expel all of it's energy in to the intended target, and not pass through that target (at all) by very much. My choice was the .45 ACP.

Yes, I carried a .9mm for quite some time, and trusted my life to that round. I have since changed my opinion and moved on to a different round that has a different purpose - 230 Gr Federal Hydroshock.

While a 9mm round may expand, the .45 doesn't shrink. It is intended to transfer as much energy to the target ASAP. This is due to it's size (big) and speed (slow). The target can not move fast enough to make a difference between 850 FPS and 1200 FPS at 7 Yards in terms of side stepping the shot.

I find that the 9mm has more of a snap, and a different perceived recoil than the .45. For me, the .45 is more controlable than a standard (or even +p+) round in 9mm. But that is just me. The additional perceived recoil of the .45 is controlable and less physically snappy of the 9mm (certainly the .40 or .357 and other rounds)... and has more stopping power than a .32 or a .380.

Whatever you decide. You need to be able to shoot the weapon WELL. YOur (and others) life may depend on it...

Answer 5

The VERY BEST gun for self defense is......The one you have with you that you can hit with when the sh!t hits the fan. It's great to hear everyone talk about their big guns and its stopping power but the simple fact is if a gun is to large/heavy/uncomfortable you will NOT carry it. Only you know what your limitation to recoil is and what feels comfortable enough to carry everyday and everywhere. For many years I carried a .22 auto and while it wasn't much it beat the hell out of a rock and i never felt undergunned cause I new I could hit with it. For off duty work I now usually carry a Glock 27 in .40S&W but thats just me and if my mood changes it might be a .38 with +P hollow points or a .45 or ??? Only because I have lots to choose from. Simply put, no handgun is what you want in a fight thats what rifles and shotguns are for. Choose what you will carry everyday/everywhere and then get a good holster for it and practice drawing / presenting the gun from the holster at least 2000 times {it builds muscle memory}. Then get a couple hundred {min} to a couple thousand rounds of ammo and hit the range and practice,practice,practice. If you are really serious get into one of the excellant gunschools out there like GUNSITE and take a course.

Answer 6

.357 Magnum! You need no other gun.

There are few rounds with more stopping power than the .357 Magnum. .357's can also shoot .38 caliber rounds, which are not nearly as powerful, but is still an effective self-defense round, and has minimal recoil if you aren't comfortable with the full powered magnum rounds.

Aside from this, your .357 revolver will have absolutely NO springs under stress when stored loaded, unlike semi-automatic pistols, so if you buy a decent brand (Ruger, Taurus, Colt, etc.) that gun will be SUPER reliable if you regularly clean/maintain it. Just load it up, put it in a safe yet accessible place, and pray you never have to use it.

Another note - if you live in an apartment or are concerned about those super-powerful .357 rounds over-penetrating a wall and harming someone else...buy Glazer safety slugs. They are pre-fragmented to stay inside the criminal/assailant, cause massive tissue damage, and not over-penetrate.

Make sure you practice at the range, though. .357's have a lot of muzzle blast and recoil (once again, unless you're shooting .38 rounds), and may be hard to aim at first. But once you become proficient, you will have one of the most effective self-defense weapons available to the public.

Hope this helps!

Answer 7

Revolver: .357 Magum is the best choice (also fires .38 Specials as already noted by others). The Ruger GP100 and the SP101 are good choices.

Semi-Auto: 9mm, .40 S&W, or .45 ACPs are good choices. Personally I prefer the 9mm (cheapest of the bunch for ammo) and .40 S&W due to their size and ease of concealment, but I also own a .45 ACP too. There is also the 357 Sig and 10mm, but the ammo is pricey and both are prone to overpenetrate and some have problems handling the 10mm. Ands lastly, there is the .45 GAP which is a newer round and once again the ammo is priced high. I like Glocks, Springfield XDs, and H&Ks.

Answer 8

Ryan,

Since you are asking advise here, I will assume that you are new to firearms, or at least new to handguns.

If you've never owned a firearm or shot a firearm before, you need to start with a .22 LR Rifle and some professional instruction, or at least instruction from an experienced shooter.

After you've learned the basics of gun safety, sight picture and trigger control, you can move to a good .22 LR revolver to learn how to handle a handgun.

From there, you should progress to a good medium or medium large framed revolver, such as an S&W M-19 or M-686. Both of these revolvers are chambered for the .357 Magnum cartridge, but you should stick with .38 Spl ammunition until you learn to handle the recoil. Get a revolver with a 4" or shorter barrel.

If you won't take the time to learn gun handling and marksmanship with a ,22, then go with a .38 SPL or .357 Magnum revolver. It is the simplest and most reliable handgun around. Just load, point, and pull the trigger. No magazines to loose or get damaged, and it will shoot anything that will fit in the chamber.

Unless you are willing to commit to lots of practice and professional training, don't even consider a semi-automatic. The manual of arms is much more complicated than for a revolver, and you will need plenty of practice in malfunction drills as well as simple gun handling.

Doc

Answer 9

You don't seem to have much experience with handguns. Where do you live? If you are in US and can purchase handgun- for basic defense and training, a ,38 special revolver with a 4 inch barrel. Get 500 rounds of wadcutter ammo fired through it at a range- not all at once , try 50-100 rounds a week in 2 or 3 sessions a week. Learn to clean pistol , learn to sight align, learn basic two hand hold and fire. After first 500 rounds target wadcutters you may try 50 rounds of regular power round nose lead 158 grain loads. After that you can try other loads- 150 grain flat nose or 125 grain hollow points loaded for snubs also good. the 125 grain+P s are a extra power load for limited use- originally developed for police shooting through car doors, etc and wanting the strongest load to fire in duty revolvers. Alternatives/ variations- 6 inch barrels, 2 inch barrels, .32 revolvers like H&R and Charter arms. A .22 rimfire can help training but is a little light for defensive use. A automatic for first defense gun? I don't recommend but if you were previously trained on self loading pistol in military them the 9x19mm is a good general defense pistol. If you have a instructor who teaches with .45 1911 then that may be available cheap? learn it then.

Answer 10

Best Type Of Handgun

Answer 11

The best way to find a suitable carry weapon is to go to a range that rents guns and shoot as many as possible. There is a lot of personal preference involved. If price is no option, Glock, H & K, Ruger are excellent choices. Best bang for the buck (pardon the pun) is probably Taurus. They had some issues when they first started making composite frames, but that has been mostly solved and they have a lifetime warranty. Do yourself a favor and stick with a .45. Very few people get up after being shot with one.