Looking for a Good Hand Gun Any Suggestions?

UPS Lifer · 10-30-2008, 04:51 PM

I am looking for a hand gun for protection that does not have to much kick to it and definitely has a safety. I will be holding it in my left hand. I would also like to get one that can use a laser sight. My price point is anything under $1000.

Any suggestions I should check out would certainly be appreciated.

Jones · 10-30-2008, 05:54 PM

Old Faithful

You can pick up a laser sight for it here.

Hoaxster · 10-30-2008, 06:25 PM

9mm - not too much kick good take down.
I have a Smith&Wesson and a Glock.
Glock is lighter but tends to kick more.
I like S&W overall but not much diff really.

over9five · 10-30-2008, 06:48 PM

I would also recommend a 9mm.

Seeing you want a laser, I would look at a gun that already has one built into the grip (instead of buying one that mounts under the barrel).

There are many kinds of guns out there, but you are buying for self defense. You want to stick with the big name guns, you NEED reliability. Beretta, Smith & Wesson, Glock, etc.

I have a Beretta 9mm, and a Ruger .45 that I carry for self defense. Neither have ever failed to chamber, fire or eject.

Good luck, let us know what you end up buying!

bit · 10-30-2008, 07:10 PM

Sigs are nice but they're costly and you shouldn't shoot reloads through them.
Glocks are nice and easy to break down and clean and fun to shoot.
You couldn't pay me to take a Baretta (I'm ex USMC and I have come to loathe the 92F - My experiences have been with guns that have had probably 12000+ rounds put through them so take this opinion with a grain of salt)
S&Ws are fun

9mm tend to encourage people to spray and pray. 40's a good mix between stopping power and capacity. .45 is fun but they'll wear you out in the wallet. I love 40's and have had a lot of fun with my Sig 229 and glock 22.

If you live in a high density area, use soft rounds that won't carry over into the neighbors house if you're going to use it for self defense.

Recoil wise - Keep your hand high on the backstrap (the spine of the grip) and it'll lessen the recoil a bit. Use a push-pull grip instead of a cup&saucer grip and it'll reduce recoil.

If you have kids, I don't recommend Glock. There are 3 safeties, but they're all internal so that doesn't do you much good - I had to get rid of all of mine when we started having kids. Your request for a safety also pretty much excludes about 98% of all revolvers which is a shame because I think they shoot better.

Sig 229 if you have kids, glock 22 if you don't. Neither of these guns are "easy" to conceal (I'm short so it's hard for me to conceal anything), so they're home defense /holstered. At the end of the day, you want a gun that fits very well in your hand. Get an armorer to raidius any sharp edges and get a new york trigger job ( 6 lb pull).

negrosangre · 10-30-2008, 07:55 PM

I like my Glock 23. .40, kicks a little, but nice mix of weight, stopping power and size.

drewed · 10-30-2008, 08:52 PM

id say go for the .40 doesnt have the kick/weight of a .45 but a lot more bulk to bring someone down, sounds like youre looking for a more compact design? i know berrata does make more compact design and i believe SW does too, those would be my two picks

huskres · 10-30-2008, 09:33 PM

Go online and find a sig p6 police tradein. They can be had for under 300 dollars which is insane for a sig.

rod · 10-31-2008, 08:46 AM

Handguns suck for protection----go with a good 12 guage pump shotgun. Most of the time just the sound of you loading a shell into the chamber is enough to get the bad guy running.

UPS Lifer · 10-31-2008, 08:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by huskres

Go online and find a sig p6 police tradein. They can be had for under 300 dollars which is insane for a sig.

I appreciate all the good advice. Both of my sons are big into hand guns and one is also USMC. They recommended 9 mm.

Ruger is manufactured about an hour away in Prescott AZ. So I was leaning that direction but you have all given me some additional info to mull over.
One of the reasons - would be the ease to drive it over to get it worked on if necessary.

I have seen "sig" mentioned a couple of times and do not know what that is.

I might even look at a shot gun!

Please elaborate.

Thank all of you for the great info.

Honestly, I would hope to never ever have to pull this out and use it but I want it for protection. There is a thumbprint quick action safe that I will get also once I buy the gun.

I will check into the soft rounds and guns with lasers built in too.

I think a 45 is too much for me but I will keep the 40 on the list as well.

moreluck · 10-31-2008, 09:17 AM

Rod, while you're playing at loading your 12 guage stick, the intruder's auto-pistol is ready to fire. I don't think he'd be running......except after he shoots you.

PAUPSER · 10-31-2008, 11:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by UPS Lifer

I appreciate all the good advice. Both of my sons are big into hand guns and one is also USMC. They recommended 9 mm.

Ruger is manufactured about an hour away in Prescott AZ. So I was leaning that direction but you have all given me some additional info to mull over.
One of the reasons - would be the ease to drive it over to get it worked on if necessary.

I have seen "sig" mentioned a couple of times and do not know what that is.

I might even look at a shot gun!

Please elaborate.

Thank all of you for the great info.

Honestly, I would hope to never ever have to pull this out and use it but I want it for protection. There is a thumbprint quick action safe that I will get also once I buy the gun.

I will check into the soft rounds and guns with lasers built in too.

I think a 45 is too much for me but I will keep the 40 on the list as well.

I have a ruger 9mm and a beretta 9mm, I like the sainless steel beretta the best, only becuase of the looks,

dilligaf · 10-31-2008, 12:55 PM

Lifer, I have a Ruger 9mm and I love it. It's not to heavy and minimal recoil. We just added a Colt 45 ACP to our safe. It is a little heavier than the Ruger and has a little more recoil but not enough to deter me from shooting it. I like shooting both of them.

The 'sig' is a Sig Sauer.

They are really nice hand guns.

Glock 40's are nice but for me the grip is a little bigger than I like.

chev · 10-31-2008, 04:24 PM

Look for a gun called "The Judge". It's named that because a lot of judges carry them. It is a .45 cal but takes .410 shotgun shells. Supposed to be a great home protection gun.
It is made by Taurus International. I have been thinking about getting one for my wife since I work all night.

rod · 10-31-2008, 09:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by moreluck

Rod, while you're playing at loading your 12 guage stick, the intruder's auto-pistol is ready to fire. I don't think he'd be running......except after he shoots you.

Oh yah----welll--well --I would throw my hand-grenade at him first

over9five · 11-01-2008, 05:46 AM

Hey Bit! I'd like to hear of your negative experiences with the 92F. The only thing that has worried me about mine is the plastic recoil spring guide. It'll be a long time till I have 12,000 rounds put through it, but I'll take any heads up you can give me!

moreluck · 11-01-2008, 06:05 AM

We have 2 handguns.......A Sig P320 and a Smith & Wesson 357.
We have been to the range just to shoot them and make sure they work, but they just lay in a secure place in the house .

Jones · 11-01-2008, 01:40 PM

I don't recall anyone being too happy about the switch to the Beretta from the M1911, which was made strictly for NATO compliance. Most preferred the stopping power of the .45 to the higher capacity magazines of M9 (military specification of the 92F) . The Beretta seems to have plenty of supporters though, as this issue still gets debated endlessly on military message boards.

soberups · 11-03-2008, 11:20 AM

A good choice for you would be a Ruger or Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum revolver.

Revolvers do not jam. They do not have decocking levers or mechanical safeties to worry about in an arenaline-filled, life or death situation. They are simple and safe to operate, even for the untrained, and you can see whether or not they are loaded by visually observing the front of the cylinder. Another advantage to the revolver is that if you pull the trigger on a round with a defective primer and the gun fails to fire, you simply pull the trigger again to bring another round under the hammer. With a semi-automatic pistol, you must manually rack the slide to eject the dud round before the weapon can be brought into battery again.

The .357 Magnum is a highly effective round, with a proven track record for self defense. You also have the option of using .38 Special or .38 Special +p ammo for reduced recoil and affordable target practice. These are identical bullets, but loaded to lower pressure levels in a shorter casing and they are perfectly suitable for use in a .357 revolver. If you live in an apartment you can load up with Glaser Safety Slugs which are designed to avoid overpenetration thru drywall but are utterly devastating on a human target. These rounds are a poor choice to use in a semi-auto pistol because they are very expensive and they do not always function properly in a weapon which depends upon recoil to eject the spent casing....a handicap that the revolver does not share.

As far as laser sights go, Crimson Trace makes a quality laser sight that is built into the grip and will bolt right on to any Smith and Wesson J-frame revolver, and also the Ruger SP-101.

There is a tendency to dislike revolvers because they hold "only" 5 or 6 rounds and are slower to reload. Accuracy, safety, confidence and shot placement are more important than the ability to "spray and pray" in my opnion.

I own a number of guns, including rifles, shotguns and semi-auto high capacity pistols. I trust all of them; but in a small lockbox under my nightstand there lives a Smith and Wesson .357 revolver that will always be my first choice to grab when something goes "creak" in the night.

soberups · 11-03-2008, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chev

Look for a gun called "The Judge". It's named that because a lot of judges carry them. It is a .45 cal but takes .410 shotgun shells. Supposed to be a great home protection gun.
It is made by Taurus International. I have been thinking about getting one for my wife since I work all night.

The .45 Colt is an effective round for self defense. The .410 shotgun round on the ther hand is only marginally effective when loaded with slugs, and virtually worthless when loaded with birdshot. I see no benefit whatsoever in a handgun that chambers both rounds; the Judge is an extremely heavy, long and bulky handgun due to the cylinder being lengthened to accomodate a .410 shotgun round that I would never use anyway.

If I had a "Judge" I would stick with .45 Colt rounds; but a revolver chambered strictly for .45 Colt or .357 Magnum would be a far better choice in my opinion. The "Judge" is basically a solution in search of a problem.