A fun question

[CAS700850]

A neighbor/friend/shooting buddy recently graduated from law school and passed the bar exam. (Feel free to make any good lawyer jokes here.) Anyways, as a gift for granduation, his father gave him $750 with the instructions to use it to buy a handgun, because his father has "never met a lawyer that didn't have a fancy handgun in his desk, just in case."

Now my friend is primarily into long guns, so he asked me to help him choose a handgun. He has an overall budget of about $1,000, for handgun, accessories, leather, and ammo. the only bad part of this is that the gun will be his, not mine. Live vicariously. Give me your best suggestions.

[Thirties]

My lawyer has a loaded Smith .38 Target Masterpiece (pre model 14) in a 6 inch barrel in his desk drawer.

I'd strongly recomend a revolver, but in a 4 inch barrel, as it fits better in a briefcase.

As for caliber, I'm saying .38 special. If the new owner has a tolerance for recoil, then a .44 spl/magnum would do just fine.

The new owner should spend enough time shooting the gun to become very familiar with it, and continue shooting once a month to keep up the familiarity.

.

[HankB]

In revolvers, I'd recommend a good .357 like an S&W 686. He should shop the used market and get a pre-lock, pre-MIM example. Have a good 'smith give it a trigger job. If he doesn't plan to carry it, but use it solely as a "desk gun" I can think of nothing finer than an S&W M27 (or even a Pre-27) that's pinned & recessed.

With an autopistol, I'd recommend a 9mm because of ammo costs.

Example:

BHP Mk III - about $675 new.
Milt Sparks VM II holster - about $125
Extra Magazines - about $100
Ammo - about $100

The total comes to $1000, but shopping around may save some $$.

If he prefers, a Glock 19 is a good choice, as is the Beretta Elite I, Elite IA, or Elite II, or even an older 92F. Note that the later production "regular" Berettas are starting to use more plastic parts.

[AirPower]

On serious note, do attorneys experience more "stressful" situations that would make firearms more necessary vs. other occupations?

[Thirties]

"On serious note, do attorneys experience more "stressful" situations that would make firearms more necessary vs. other occupations?"

Is the Pope a Catholic?

[Arch]

If he is not all that into handguns, he probably won't fuss over it to much, and just wants something that works.

My first suggestion would be a revolver for these reasons:
- They cope better in storage (fewer compressed bits), some will disagree on this.
- easier to clean, and maintain
- safer, as you can leave the hammer resting on an empty chamber.
- generally cheaper
- simple operation
- and all the other usual pro revolver arguments.
- They look classy, as lets face it Law is a profession steeped in history, and tradition....like revolvers :rolleyes:

A S&W 686, 586, or 627 (8 shot .357 N-frame) would fit the bill.

Otherwise just get a Glock. Sure they lack prestege, but lets face it, they are simple, and reliable, and give you plenty of choice.

Hey, but I am just a filthy engineer, so I might see things differently ;)

[jehu]

I would reccomend the Rohrbaugh R9S for ease of concealment and the ease of everyday carry in a 9mm package. What ever he gets tell him to practice,practice,practice until the gun becomes so familure as to be second nature should,God forbid, it ever be needed.

[Shear_stress]

Got to second or third the notion of a nice Smith wheel gun. In addition to the 586/686, he might try to find a 99% M27, or M15 (if 38 Special is okay).

[Dionysusigma]

A good Sig, HK, or maybe even Glock. :) ;)

My vote goes to the HK USP Expert:

http://www.hkpro.com/uspexpert9.jpg
The Hk USP Expert (http://www.hkpro.com/uspexpert.htm)

[Bravo11]

What he needs is a nice 1911 BBQ gun.

[R.H. Lee]

Since he's already passed over to the darkside and is doomed to burn in hell, he might as well get a Glock. :p

Seriously, a good 4" .357 would be my first choice. Maybe a 686+ (can you get that in a 4" bbl?).

[Arch]

Maybe a 686+ (can you get that in a 4" bbl?).
- RileyMc

You sure can :D

[Calhoun]

I'm going to inject a little advice that seems to get thrown out alot, but not here yet. Take him to the range and let him try out a few different guns. See what works for him and go from there.

Cal

[9teen11]

How about a nice Kimber TLE!!

[Bob F.]

Consider the 3" .38Spl's. He may decide to not leave it in the desk; halls and parking lots can be bad places, too! No rental ranges around? Take your collection and let him shoot 'em! When we do a CCW class, the instructors all bring a suitcase and ammo, just for fun!!!!!!!

Stay safe.
Bob

[Waitone]

I'm thinkin' a bodacious BBQ gun. Maybe a Smith with some serious artwork. Tasteful, mind you. Maybe with a legal theme. :D

[bjbarron]

He's a lawyer so he is probably interested in flash.

Get him a nice used Python .357...in stainless. You can find old spotless beauties for $800 or so around here.

[Black Majik]

P220ST with the slide Blued (Reverse two tone Sig :D ). Mep or Trijicon Nightsights. Surefire X200. Milt Sparks 60TK in Black.

It'll be over $1000 new so tell him to browse the Sigforum.com site. ;)

[Bandit01]

I took the NY bar but seeing that guns are ILLEGAL in that state, i was unable to get one. But, my first purchase as a Southern Lawyer was a Walther P99 (.9mm). After realizing that it's a POS, I bought a S&W 686.

[CAS700850]

Thanks for the suggestions. the plan at this point, as it has been, is to go shooting this weekend with a few of mine. Smith revolvers (J, K, and L frames), my Glock (no Kool-aid, thank you), and my Sig. While he's expressed interest in a revolver, he's interested in trying the Glock and Sig. While it's rough for me to take these guns out shooting, especially with him giving me money to buy ammo (the sacrifices we make for friends... :D ), if he's interested, we'll let him shoot them a bit.

Right now, I'm thinking stainless revolver, mid-sized, .38/.357, with grips, leather, speedloaders, ammo, and other accessories as needed.

[Father Knows Best]

Nahh. He wants a gun with some intimidation factor. That means a big ole hole in the end of the barrel. I'd say a 1911 BBQ gun (hard chrome with gold plated controls and mother-of-pearl grips!), or a big 44 mag revolver like, say, a Colt Anaconda.

[albanian]

Since it is going to be a desk gun, it is probably going to be fired indoors. I would go with something that would not over penetrate, a .45acp or big bore revolver with light loads should work.

How about a S&W 29 in nickel with a short bbl?