Deciding on a defensive handgun-

FatBoy,
have you considered the Glock 23? I'm pretty much a "fat-boy', 6' tall and have normal sized paws, and I find the 23 very nice in the hand. I also have a couple of revolvers, a 27-2 in 5 inch and a taurus 357 tracker in 4 inch. While they are fine in the house, my Ruger LCR/357 gets thrown in my pocket more than anything! 17 oz is a lot better to lug around than 30-40oz!

Kahr TP9 (IWB) has been my companion for several years. On heavy coat days I may digress to a S&W 65 3 inch, a S&W 990L, Glock 31C (usually rides in the console) or a SIG 220 DAO. The Kahr doesn't seem to mind too much.

Seriously, the TP9 is slim, has enough length not ride up under an active day and the added accuracy; is reasonably light on the hip.

My opinion of carry guns is that they ought to be small and light. Big heavy handguns don't get carried as much, and might not be there when you need them.

There's a lot of nice guns on your list - if you want to carry often, I'd tend towards the smallest, lightest, and flattest of those that fits your hands well.

If you are planning to carry only occasionally, the full-sized .40s and .45s are the most potent on the list (the three-inch .357 is, believe it or not, actually outperformed by a three-inch .40). Pick whichever of those guns you shoot best. They will all feel different in the hand and some will point more naturally than others.

I'm 6' 2", 260 pounds,and like you, have very large hands. I struggled with several small carry guns before I found the Ruger LC9. With the extended magazine baseplate,it fits my large hands well. It's accurate for a smaller gun,once you get used to the DAO pull,and has decent sights for shorter range target work. I wear cargo pants almost exclusively,and with my pocket holster,it fits the cargo pocket perfectly. I also have a pancake holster for side carry. Check out the LC9, it won't win any beauty contests,but it does what it was designed for.

out of the guns you have listed I would probably take the shield, mainly for the ease of carry.

I will point out, that I have a M&P 45 Compact, that would probably root out my G19, G26, and other defensive geared pistols if I could only have one of them.

S&W Model 36. Keep it simple.

hunterwinco said:

FatBoy,
have you considered the Glock 23? I'm pretty much a "fat-boy', 6' tall and have normal sized paws, and I find the 23 very nice in the hand. I also have a couple of revolvers, a 27-2 in 5 inch and a taurus 357 tracker in 4 inch. While they are fine in the house, my Ruger LCR/357 gets thrown in my pocket more than anything! 17 oz is a lot better to lug around than 30-40oz!

Click to expand...

I am 6' 1" and wear XL gloves, and find the Glock 23 fits my hands very well indeed. It's big enough that all my fingers fit on it unlike a snubby, holds many more rounds than a snubby, and is flat instead of bulgy like a revolver. Also the overall length, width, and height dimensions are comparable to a snubby.

I love revolvers, but my Glock 23 is my first choice for a CCW.

With XL sized hands you might add the regular Glock 21 to your .45acp list, as it has a pretty thick grip. You have a nice list there. If you want to save money the 5906 is a great choice and will be cheaper to feed, but really your personal preferences matter the most since you listed several excellent firearms there.

Using common sense approach the choice is rather simple one and it is between G22 and XD. I would pick XD as parts and spare MAGAZINES are proly easier to find now. As they say one can never have ENOUGH high capacity magazines.

I will just throw it out there,

You don't HAVE to try EVERYTHING. If you have 50 items to choose from, and you get to number two, and it works, so you keep it, you don't have to wonder that you are missing out on. You don't have to try every gun and switch every time you think you like something else. Maybe you're missing out, maybe you're not, but if what you are using works, there really isn't a good reason to worry about it.

If you have one or two you are femiliar with and you shoot well, I would take the ones with the most aftermarket support and accessories available. (Glock, 1911, J or K frame revolvers.)

Since you said...

... you have a familiarity with revolvers, I'd suggest the four inch model 10. The K frame sized revolver is much easier to shoot properly than the J frame, and concealment is not much more difficult.

Nearly all the modern S&W revolvers will handle +p ammunition, which gives one a fair selection - depending on the panic mode of buyers at the moment - of solid defensive ammunition.

The fixed sights hardly ever go out of adjustment.

They are simple to operate and reliable.

In addition, they require no magazines to operate. Speedloaders are cheaper and less prone to breakage, for that matter.

If you have very large hands, then consider the Glock 21 Gen 4 or Glock 30 Gen4. The length of pull can be modified to be either very short or very long depending upon the attachment used.

If you go with a revolver, you can contact Herrett's stocks and they will make a stock to fit your hand (look at the Jordan Trooper model).

Guns chambered in 40 s&w-
Glock 22 -> Maybe, look at 20, 21, 29, 30
S&W Shield -> Maybe, not for large hands, make sure it fits.
Beretta px4 storm -> Maybe, make sure it fits.
Springfield XD (service) -> Maybe, make sure it fits.

Guns in 9mm-
S&W 5906 -> Not sure.
Steyr m1? (not sure on model- new gun) -> Minimal to no support. Don't bother.
Arcus (Browning HP copy) -> Hell no. Unreliable POS from the two that I have seen and shot.
Beretta Nano -> not for large hands. Make sure it fits.
FN -> Which model?

Guns in 38 special-
S&W model 10 (4" barrel) -> Modify grips
S&W model 36 -> Very small. Probably not for you. Look at Crimson Trace LG-305 grips.
Ruger gp100 (3" barrel) -> Modify grips

Guns in 45 acp-
Taurus pt145 -> NO!
Rock Island 1911 Commander/sized -> HELL NO!
Sig p250 compact -> NO!

On the SIG P250: It's just about as ugly as a Hi-Point. However, that is incidental and not really important. The trigger is important and the reset is such that you have to move the trigger fully forward. While this is the same as what is required for a revolver, I dislike this behavior on a semi-automatic pistol. Shooting off the reset is very important and is part of the appeal of the semi-auto pistol. I think SIG fixed the reliability issues, but you'll need to research that. I'd get the serial number off the gun and check to see if it's on a recall list.

Some people will tell you Rock Island is a great gun. I am not one of those people. If you want a gun that looks like a monkey installed the mainspring housing with a chisel, buy an RI (several examples I looked at were marked up similarly). It's also a 1911, which brings some baggage in the form of user know-how, a tight maintenance schedule, lots of testing, and magazine issues. If you are strapped for cash, the 1911 is NOT the way to go. "Cheap" and "1911" do not go well together. Have you tried to buy 45 ACP ammunition in the past month? It was just under $375/1000 for 230 grain FMJ this past summer. The price has gone up a bit in the past 45 days.

The S&W Model 36 will require extra practice to master. If you are familiar with J-Frames and can shoot well with it to 15 or 25 yards, then get it. But, I prefer the K-Frame over the J-frame since it's much easier to shoot.

My top picks out of the ones listed: Glock 22, S&W Shield and S&W Model 10.

Based on what you are familiar with, and with the great guns you've used, I'd strongly recommend the S&W Model 36. Although it looks about the same size here as my 3" Kimber Ultra CDP .45 auto, it is MUCH more concealable. Put it in a pocket holster, pop it instantly in your pants pockets and you can go most anywhere immediately with it.

WHAT GOOD IS ANY PISTOL OR REVOLVER FOR SELF-DEFENSE IF IT ISN'T A GUN YOU CAN ALWAYS HAVE ON YOU!!!

A "J" frame S&W revolver is that gun!!!

BTW, the Kimber generally resides in the safe now! Actually the M36 does too, replaced for "always" (always on me) pocket carry by the Model 36's twin but lightweight brother, the Model 37 Airweight. I sometimes forget it is even in the pocket.

Even when I put a bigger, heavier handgun on (via a belt holster generally), the M37 is in the pocket too as always. 15 oz. of serious fighting handgun with a great track record!

At least look at an Airweight before you decide on the steel frame M36 for concealed carry!

I am way over 6' and my hands look like pterodactyl claws. My old Glock 22, I filed the top front corner off the magazine release because it was poking a hole in the tip of my trigger finger under recoil.

Try a double stack 45- thicker b/c it's double stack, but also LONGER from the backstrap to the trigger.

My $.02 -TS

Texan Scott said:

My old Glock 22, I filed the top front corner off the magazine release because it was poking a hole in the tip of my trigger finger under recoil.

Click to expand...

Then you're putting waaaaayyyy too much finger on the trigger.

I'm 6'4" 260 and as ham handed as they get. I have no problem with a J frame at all. I carry a model 60 38 sp in my pocket all the time. It's a bit heavy but I shoot it a lot (I mean a lot) so an air weight doesn't work for me. My big hands just don't care for the skinny factory grips, I switched them to a Hogue boot grip and I can shoot it all day.