Several years ago after much research I purchased my first centerfire handgun--a Ruger P95. At the time I was looking for something to keep in the home, truck or OC while fishing, hiking, etc. My primary concerns were price (both gun & ammo), reliability and something with a bit of weight to minimize recoil. Thousands of rounds later I've had 0 failures and still find it hard to believe I paid under $300 new for this gun!
After spending a lot of time at the range I feel like my aversion to recoil may have been unjustified and find myself wanting a smaller, lighter and more easily concealable handgun (will have CCDW license in hand shortly). Unfortunately I have nowhere to rent from nearby so my only other experience is with my S&W .38spl snubbie. I find the recoil to be slightly more uncomfortable than my P95 although still manageable. How will the recoil of my .38 compare to a compact or subcompact 9mm? I realize it's subjective at best but would be interested in hearing comparisons...the last thing I want is a tiny pocket gun I can't shoot straight when my life is on the line.
Anyway, I would like to hear some suggestions for a new CC weapon along the lines of:
Besides that, I'm open to any brand/model. I would like to mention that before I bought the P95 I strongly considered an S&W Sigma. The grip fit my hand like a glove and simply felt perfect, if there is anything with a similar grip (sw9ve may be slightly bigger than I'm looking for) I would definitely be interested.
So far I'm tossing around the idea of a PF-9 or LC-9 but I'm still leery about the recoil in such small guns and lack of safety. The SR9c seems like a good compromise, but I'm afraid I will end up with just that....a compromise that's not as easy to shoot as my P95 but still too big to conceal in light clothing. Would like to hear some thoughts on this...is it time to just suck it up and deal with the recoil on a pocket pistol? Or should I go with something in between and search for the right holster/carry setup to be comfortable?
Edit - Forgot to mention that my wife has been shooting more and more with me and is starting to show an interest in getting a CC weapon. This is another reason I'm concerned about the recoil of a subcompact; she doesn't enjoy shooting the .38 near as much and I would want something she could also practice with.
After spending a lot of time at the range I feel like my aversion to recoil may have been unjustified and find myself wanting a smaller, lighter and more easily concealable handgun (will have CCDW license in hand shortly). Unfortunately I have nowhere to rent from nearby so my only other experience is with my S&W .38spl snubbie. I find the recoil to be slightly more uncomfortable than my P95 although still manageable. How will the recoil of my .38 compare to a compact or subcompact 9mm? I realize it's subjective at best but would be interested in hearing comparisons...the last thing I want is a tiny pocket gun I can't shoot straight when my life is on the line.
Anyway, I would like to hear some suggestions for a new CC weapon along the lines of:
- Strongly prefer another 9mm for the cheap ammo and less hassle keeping another caliber.
- Price under $450 but $300 would be even better
- Good balance between size/weight for concealment and recoil (with concealment taking precedence this time). Still undecided regarding pocket carry, IWB, etc.
- I know many will disagree but I prefer a manual external safety vs no external safety (everything else being equal). However this is just a preference, not a requirement.
Besides that, I'm open to any brand/model. I would like to mention that before I bought the P95 I strongly considered an S&W Sigma. The grip fit my hand like a glove and simply felt perfect, if there is anything with a similar grip (sw9ve may be slightly bigger than I'm looking for) I would definitely be interested.
So far I'm tossing around the idea of a PF-9 or LC-9 but I'm still leery about the recoil in such small guns and lack of safety. The SR9c seems like a good compromise, but I'm afraid I will end up with just that....a compromise that's not as easy to shoot as my P95 but still too big to conceal in light clothing. Would like to hear some thoughts on this...is it time to just suck it up and deal with the recoil on a pocket pistol? Or should I go with something in between and search for the right holster/carry setup to be comfortable?
Edit - Forgot to mention that my wife has been shooting more and more with me and is starting to show an interest in getting a CC weapon. This is another reason I'm concerned about the recoil of a subcompact; she doesn't enjoy shooting the .38 near as much and I would want something she could also practice with.