Reader Matt sent me the following e-mail:
Hey there, I've been reading your blog for a few months now, I forget how I wound up finding it but that's beside the point.
I've been contemplating the purchase of a handgun for some time and after reading both you and Matt G over at Better and Better (maypeacebewithyou.blogspot.com) I think I've decided that its time to pony up some cash and be educated in handgun ownership and most importantly handgun safety. Any suggestions on where to start?
(Note: I'm going with a blue font kept the same size due to font size issues folks have mentioned. Please let me know if this works/doesn't work. Thanks)
This is a pretty tall order. I've broken it into parts. I'm including my response pretty much in its entirety, and it's a long'un. More along the lines of something
Chris or
Kevin would post, only not as technical (meaning correct) or knowledgeable (meaning smart) as either of them would post. My response follows:
The very first thing I would recommend would be to find a local NRA instructor. If there's a local firearms advocacy group, like
GOAL in Massachusetts, they should be able to put you in touch with someone. Take a
Basic Firearms course to start.
Now, for the handgun... Are you looking for something for concealed carry? Home Defense? Target shooting? Handguns fill a wide variety of roles, and can vary significantly depending on what you need/want them to do. A specialized "race gun" that might be the perfect IPSC firearm is most likely NOT going to be a good gun for concealed carry; the lightweight
Kel-Tec or
Smith & Wesson snubnose aren't going to win any long-distance shooting awards; and the
Ruger Single Six that's perfect for blasting tin cans to oblivion isn't my choice for a home defense gun.
Let me cover three basic areas, then, with my recommendations. Bearing in mind that opinions are like @$$holes (everyone's got one, and if it's not your own, it stinks), these are what *I* prefer. I'd recommend that, unless you have a LOT of disposable income, you find a range that rents handguns to try them all out first.
First area:
Home defense. Now, I prefer a shotgun for home defense. All things being equal, a 12 gauge pump-action shotgun with 7-8 round tubular magazine is just about perfect. If 8 rounds of 00 buckshot or slugs don't stop the threat, nothing short of an airstrike is gonna help. That said, there are many reasons why one wouldn't want a shotgun.
Since we're talking about a firearm that will be left in the home, weight (specifically, weight reduction through lightweight materials) isn't an issue. This is good for three main reasons:
1. Cost - the wunder metals are 'spensive, bubba (I know, I have a Smith & Wesson model
360PD j-frame, the 12 ounce snubbie-from-hell with titanium cylinder and scandium frame). A good, solid, well-constructed gun with all-steel frame is generally going to be less expensive than something using a more exotic metal.
2. Longevity: I've got firearms that date back to the beginning of the last century. I will most likely pass them down to my son, and I hope he passes them to his son. No cracking, scraping, etc. like with polymers even under moderate to hard use.
3. Weight - since you're not going to be carrying this firearm, you can afford a heavier gun. What this means is that recoil, specifically your perceived recoil, is going to be reduced. The .357 Magnum that will chew the hell out of your hand through a 20 ounce snubbie will seem like a pussycat in the large frame, 4" barreled house gun.
Caliber: For a home defense gun, I'd recommend one of three calibers starting with last choice:
1. .40 S&W - this makes the list due to cost and capacity. This is still a rather inexpensive round (~ $10 for a box of 50 "practice" rounds), and you can (in free states) find guns with magazine capacities of up to 15 rounds. I'd recommend a
SigSauer model 226.
2. .357 Magnum - Smith & Wesson makes a large-framed, 8-shot .357 Magnum revolver that is on my long list of guns I want to get (
model 627). With a 5" barrel for accuracy and a capacity of 8 rounds of .357 Magnum goodness, you'd have to look long and hard to find a more potent gun for defense. If that's too rich for your taste, there are also many 7 round .357 Magnums out there (model
686P,
619).
3. .45 ACP - old "big & slow". It's been a decent stopper for over 100 years now, and with modern technology and double-stacked magazines, capacity for .45 ACP can range up to 15 rounds. I'd recommend a
SigSauer 220 or S&W
SW1911. Lesser capacity than the polymer framed guns, but the extra weight will make recoil far more manageable. And if you can shoot it more, you'll make better use of the 8 rounds you get.
Next area:
Concealed carry. There are MANY other factors at play when choosing a gun that you are going to carry, concealed on your person, for the purpose of self-defense. First and foremost, know the laws of your state and any state in which you plan on carrying. Do you have a duty to inform a police officer that you are carrying if you are pulled over for speeding? What constitutes "concealed"? Where are you prohibited from carrying? Does your state have binding signage? I'd
STRONGLY recommend taking a concealed carry course in your state.
As for firearms, there are as many options as you can imagine. There are pocket guns; lightweight revolvers; micro-1911s; the list is pretty much limited only by your wallet... For the sake of brevity, I'll touch on pocket guns, small revolvers, and small automatics.
1.
Pocket guns. Generally smaller caliber, also called mouse guns (which I covered
here). As a rule, these are guns chambered in less-powerful calibers (to keep size down) with lesser accuracy (smaller barrels for easier concealability). I've found the
Kel-Tec P3AT to be a good blend of lightweight, moderate caliber.
2.
Small revolvers. Smith and Wesson Chief's Special (
Model 637) or the Ruger
SP101. They're either going to be .38 special or .357 Magnum as a general rule, although S&W had a j-frame chambered in .32 H&R Magnum that's pretty neat (albeit more expensive to shoot than either .38 or .357). These will be carried generally IWB, although ankle- or pocket-carry are also possible with the lighter Smiths. A warning on most of the guns in this category - the lightweight that makes them so well-suited for concealed carry means that you will feel the recoil of even the moderate calibers like .38 special. Try these guns out first before you buy! I'd recommend a Smith & Wesson model 637 should you decide on this method. It's relatively inexpensive, lightweight, and carries the S&W legendary reliability. It's a S&W revolver. It's like a fork: you pick it up, and it works. (tip 'o' the keyboard to
Kim du Toit for that phrase...)
3.
Small semi-automatics. Probably one of the first guns that comes to mind would be the baby Glock in 9mm, the
model 26. It's light, small, conceals well, and is chambered in the oft-maligned 9mm (europellet, to quote some...). For self-defense purposes, with modern jacketed hollowpoints, this is an excellent choice. It's lightweight, controllable, has large-capacity magazines available (it will take the 17-round magazines for the full-size 9mm model 17) and is generally indestructible. I have a Smith & Wesson model
SW99 compact, which is their version of the Walther P99. It's a skosh larger than the Glock, but pretty similar. These guns are generally too large for pocket carry, but make excellent choices for IWB.
One last thought: If you can carry a larger firearm (like a Commander-sized 1911, a mid-size revolver like the S&W K-framed model 686, or a Sig 229), by all means. Generally, these guns are pretty heavy, bulky, and do not lend to easy concealment in warmer climes and seasons. However, as a "winter" gun (i.e. one you can more easily conceal when wearing layers of clothing makes sense and won't look out of place), any one would be a fine choice. Any time you can increase the controllability, caliber, or capacity of the gun you stake your life on, do it...
Lastly,
plinking/target shooting. "Fun" stuff you can do with a handgun. As with concealed carry, there are literally thousands of choices available - you can do Cowboy Action Shooting with a single-action Uberti Colt SA replica; you can spend thousands on a custom 1911 for IPSC; you can spend (as I did) a couple hundred on a lower end .22LR semi-automatic that will still let you put a bunch of holes in a tight group.
For basic plinking, there is no reason to get anything other than a .22LR handgun. Ammo is still cheap and plentiful, recoil is pretty much non-existent, and you can get guns similar to your carry gun (Smith & Wesson model 617, frex) or even conversion kits for your carry gun (Glocks and 1911s). I'd recommend a S&W model 617 for a revolver and a Ruger 22/45 for an inexpensive semi-auto. I'd recommend the S&W model 422 that I described
here, except that S&W no longer makes it (and, hence, support might - emphasis on might - be harder to get).
For target shooting, I'm a big fan of the 1911. I've got a Colt Gold Cup National Match (shown
here) that is far more accurate that I will ever be. It's fine out of the box as far as accuracy and reliability; since it's the venerable 1911 platform there are zillions of aftermarket modifications that can be made; and it's what I'm most familiar with. Kimber, Springfield Armory, Smith & Wesson, Les Bauer, Wilson Combat... There's an entire cottage industry built around the 1911 platform. I've heard really good things about the Smith & Wesson SW1911 and the entire
Kimber line.
You also really can't go wrong with a good .357 Magnum revolver. For plinking, a 6" or 8 3/8" barrel will help tighten groups and reduce felt recoil (although the longer barrels tend to make the guns more front-heavy IMHO), and since it's a revolver, keeping the brass (should you eventually decide to reload to save money) is easy. Smith & Wesson model 686,
Ruger GP100, or the holy mother of all double-action revolvers, the Colt Python are all excellent choices. It's pretty hard to choose a bad target revolver...
So that's my advice. Remember, I'm just some putz behind a screen. Get in touch with folks in your area. Find a range that will rent you a wide variety of handguns so you can try them out first. Be safe, have fun, and let us know what you get!
Best regards,
Jay
So... Any thoughts/criticisms/items to add that I forgot? I tried to keep it both basic and informative, and know that I glossed over somethings and/or skipped some things entirely.
And BTW, Matt wrote back that he forgot to mention this was for CCW.
(Matt, if you've got your own blog, leave a comment with the link and I'll put you on the blogroll).
That is definitely all.
Heh.
