features to consider in handgun purchase?

[mr_dove]

I'm curious what features people take into consideration when making a handgun purchase. I just starting thinking about it because I'm shopping for a new gun for my wife and I have certain features that I was comparing.

Here are "some" that I might take in to consideration.

cost
round effectiveness
cost to shoot (possibly)
rounds held
weight
size (length/thickness)
appearance


things that are more difficult to compare because they are very subjective and tend to vary from gun to gun.

recoil
reliability
hand fit (grip)

What other factors do you all consider when making a new gun purchase, or do you just do it by instict? I'm sure some people just buy lots of guns. I can't afford to do that so I have to make sure that I'm making the right purchase.

 

[Jim Watson]

In the first place, you ought not to be shopping for a gun for your wife.
You should be taking HER shopping for HER gun. Rental ranges and buddies with large collections so she can actually shoot different guns are a big asset.

In the second place, the main consideration in buying a gun should be what it is FOR.

Is this to be a plinking gun, a match gun, a purse gun, a holster gun, a bedside gun or something else I haven't thought of here at lunch time?

 

[Vern Humphrey]

I take a different approach:

1. Reliability -- various designs and makes have reputations, which you can check. You should also shoot the gun WITH the chosen defense load enough to ensure that your particular gun and ammo combination is reliable.

Remember, if it doesn't go BANG! every time you pull the trigger, it's just a funny-looking club.

2. Shootability -- this is how the gun performs in your (or your wife's) hands. It is only vaguely related to accuracy from a Ransome rest, and includes ergonometrics -- it might be expressed as "how fast can you draw and get a round on target?"

A second aspect of shootability is controlability -- given one shot, how fast can you get off an effective second shot?

3. Effectiveness. Given a hit, what assurance do you have that the danger will go away?

4. Cost -- only guns that meet the first three criteria are worth considering. But after that, cost becomes a factor. Consider also that a used gun may well be a better buy than a new one.

4. (Tie) Concealability -- a gun must be concealable with minimum discomfort and inconvenience -- if it is uncomfortable or hard to conceal, it winds up being left at home and not there when you need it.

When those criteria are applied, I keep coming up with two possible answers -- an M1911, or a small .357.

 

[inventory0297]

Depends. If its working gun, then (in order of importance):

1. Quality/Reliability
2. Comfort/Accuracy (with me shooting it, not the gun's)
3. Suitability for purpose
4. Cost

If its a collector gun that all goes out the window and purchases are evaluated on a case by case basis........normally valuable old guns satisfy #'s 1-3 very easily (IMO the best age of gunmaking has passed in terms of workmanship, most old pieces I actually consider "better" than their replacements), #4 almost never .

BTW, if anyone has a minty pre war M&P, or early 50's K38, you just let me know now

 

[Tropical Z]

Cost to shoot should definitely be a factor.For reasonable power,its quite a bit cheaper to shoot 9mm Luger than either .45acp or .40 S&W.I learned the hard way when i bought a (gag-choke) .25acp after a friend had bought a .22lr
I THOUGHT that MY caliber must be superior.WRONG!:banghead:

 

[Sean Smith]

In the first place, you ought not to be shopping for a gun for your wife.
You should be taking HER shopping for HER gun.

Truth. SHE needs to select the weapon, not you. Also, you need to know WHAT the weapon is for to make an informed choice (or for us to give good advice, for that matter ).

It is tempting to stick to easily quantified factors like weight, caliber and capacity to choose a firearm. However, the factors that are hard to quantify are also the ones that have the biggest impact on your ability to USE the weapon... which, of course, is the whole point of the exercise.

1. Reliability. Most important factor, because a firearm that doesn't work is just a low-quality club. Choose a major brand and you should be fine.

2. Trigger pull. Since pulling (or more properly, squeezing) the trigger is how you operate the gun, the quality of the trigger pull has a direct effect on how difficult it is to do so successfully. Lighter isn't always better, although excessively heavy or long pulls can be a serious detriment. "Clean," consistent pulls are more important.

3. Ergonomics. The gun has to fit you for you to use it to its full potential. If you can't reach the trigger, or operating the controls is needlessly awkard, then the gun is a poor fit for you.

4. Sights. Under-sized or poorly designed sights make shooting accurately with speed needlessly difficult. Some adjustable sights are too fragile for practical use. Fortunately, most guns made today come with acceptable sights.

5. Caliber. For a handgun to be used as a practical weapon, .38 Special or 9x19 are probably the best calibers to start with. Both calibers are widely available for reasonable prices, and practice-per-dollar is a very important factor for a beginning pistol shooter. They are also effective calibers for self-defense with the proper ammunition.

6. Other factors. The first "real" handgun somebody purchases should probably be a medium to full sized firearm. This is because larger and heavier handguns have less felt recoil and are easier to shoot with accuracy than smaller and lighter ones in the same caliber. Depending on the kind of climate you may live in, corrosion resistance may be a greater or lesser factor. There are probably some other odds and ends I've forgotten, but you get the idea.

 

[Ankeny]

Assuming the gun will run (history of the platform), I look at ergonomics next. I want a gun that shoots right where I look when I index from my NPA with minimal visual input. If I can't align the sights by feel, I ain't interested.

 

[PO2Hammer]

Reliability first and last. One major consideration in choosing a handgun for someone who isn't a 'gun crank' like most of us, is a gun with no manual safety. Those of us who practice regularly won't forget the safety if we are faced with a life and death situation. if your wife isn't a dedicated shooter, she may forget to swipe off the safety when it counts. Most people tend to 'point and pull'. Remember that jewelry store robbery video where the owner got the drop on the robber(who had a revolver), pulled the trigger and nothing happened because he forgot the safety (S&W auto w/slide mounted safety). The robber shot him three times in the belly. Consider a SIG compact, or a Kahr etc...

 

[Feanaro]

Reliability is king. Even if the weapon points like a dream, could kill with a single shot to the pinky and costs nothing, it's all for nothing if you can't rely on it to go bang. Every company has lemons but there are some that have more than others. And some designs lend themselves to reliability more than others.

It should fit the shooter's hands very well. If it's uncomfortable with controls in all the wrong places, it reduces the want to shoot. And a weapon you don't practice with isn't a whole lot of good. It should also have good sights, though I would say learning to point shoot is a good idea. Most gunfights take place at seven FEET. Not yards, feet.

The recoil shouldn't make it uncomfortable to shoot. More recoil than the subject can comfortably handle increases the time for follow-up shots and might keep your wife from practicing.

Low cost of ammunition and spare parts is a big plus. A Desert Eagle in .50AE is real cool and all but it's pretty bloody expensive to feed. A low cost for the firearm is a plus but if you are going to trust your life with it, no amount is too much.

Concealability is a plus, unless you want a CCW specifically. Then this should be right behind reliability.

A good trigger pull that is neither too light nor too heavy is good but not exactly paramount. You can almost always get it smoothed up and such later.

This is only my opinion, of course. I did not mention caliber (except for the recoil big) because basically you'll probably have to hit the BG more than once anyways, whether you have 9mm or 10mm. I also agree your wife should pick the gun out. At the risk of offending the ladies here or you, I would caution you to make sure she doesn't pick one just because it looks nice. I will now hide in a small, flame proof bunker.

 

[Majic]

Pass your keyboard over to her and let us discuss this. She needs something to fit and appeal to her not you. It's her thoughts and considerations that should be addressed, not yours. You should follow along, but not lead.

 

[mr_dove]

yeah, yeah. I know that my wife will be making the final decision. She always has. She WILL NOT do research on the subject though. I have have to do all the research and then present her with viable options for her to try.

I researched the Springfield Armory XD and we found a guy to borrow one from. We are currently trying that out. I'm just out getting more ideas for her.

She only shoots guns, she doesn't want to both with the finer points.

 

[dairycreek]

My experience with my "women"..........

is based on working with my wife and four daughters. I found myself in a position not unlike mr_dove. None of them was interested in doing the kind of research that really interests me. My job was to assure them that a particular gun was or was not good. They did listen to me on that but, then, they made their own choices based on God Knows What kinds of criteria. Some chose S & W's, others Glocks, and so on. In retrospect I think that they all ended up making good choices. My job was to keep them from making a bad choice. Good shooting