BCRider
Member
Get thee hence to a "Rent-A-Gun" range and try out everything you can lay your hands onto. Be sure to try everything and get a feel for which you like and then go back and try those ones again to narrow the field down.
Some of us like plastic framed pistols and others like all metal handguns. Striker fired guns have a different feel than hammer fired guns too so that's another issue. Finally there's the overall grip size and reach to the trigger which determines how well it fits your grip. None of OUR preferences for any of these factors will mean diddly in YOUR case. You need to test drive a bunch of guns and decide for yourself.
More so than with long arms handguns work best when you get one that fits and balances in your hands and has a trigger feel that suits you the best. But if you don't use the correct grip then you can't properly get a feel for the guns in a way that you'll be using them. Two of the best free guides on how to hold a pistol in the modern two handed grip are linked here. If you haven't gotten proper guidance on holding handguns or want to check that what you picked up is correct then check these out before you go off to the Rent-A-Gun range for a day of testing.
http://www.handgunsmag.com/tactics_training/combatg_100306/
Todd Jarret in a trailer for a video on pistol gripping and shooting. Lots of good hints.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa50-plo48
And a similar series on holding and shooting revolvers from the master;
http://www.myoutdoortv.com/pdk/web/smith.html?feedPID=00zG15zm84msK0GbWemanhJ0KNWQYqM4l
It's safe to say that none of the guns from any of the major makers is anything less than good quality and well performing piece these days. On that count if you stick with the major players you won't go wrong with any of them. They are all far more accurate than us mere mortals can hold them. On that count you won't go wrong with anything mentioned in this thread so far... except the wags that are suggesting .460's and .500's
You may find you want one eventually but it's something more to work up to rather than for your first handgun.
Handguns at the range are all about fun. And for down in the USA as practice "just in case". One of the best ways to have great fun and get some better and more meaningful practice is to shoot in the various speed shooting matches such as IPSC and IDPA with IDPA having a fair amount more validity for defensive shooting than IPSC. But both have much to offer and it would be nice to pick a gun and extra mags that is elligable in both events. Check out YouTube for many, many videos of both these handgun events for inspiration if you haven't already seen them. Just poking holes in paper soon pales in comparison. Also there may be club level speed steel or bowling pin competitions as well. Look into them for fun ways to use your guns while getting quicker with accuracy.
And WHEN you are at the Rent-A-Gun range do try out a couple of revolvers as well. You may well find that they strike a chord with you like they have for a lot of us. I love my semis and I've started shooting in IPSC but I actually have more revolvers than semis because from the first time I shot a S&W model 19 in .38Spl I was hooked.
One final note. Although a .22 doesn't seem all that exciting if you have a companion .22 semi they are superb as a practice gun to work on accuracy, proper hold and, most of all, curing yourself of any flinching habits you acquire. A 9mm or larger handgun is an excellent flinch teacher and it can take some of us a lot of ammo and concentration to break that flinch and become a really good shooter. Shooting a magazine or two of .22 then switching on the fly to a magazine of 9mm is a great way to unlearn that nasty flinch and develop better trigger habits.
Some of us like plastic framed pistols and others like all metal handguns. Striker fired guns have a different feel than hammer fired guns too so that's another issue. Finally there's the overall grip size and reach to the trigger which determines how well it fits your grip. None of OUR preferences for any of these factors will mean diddly in YOUR case. You need to test drive a bunch of guns and decide for yourself.
More so than with long arms handguns work best when you get one that fits and balances in your hands and has a trigger feel that suits you the best. But if you don't use the correct grip then you can't properly get a feel for the guns in a way that you'll be using them. Two of the best free guides on how to hold a pistol in the modern two handed grip are linked here. If you haven't gotten proper guidance on holding handguns or want to check that what you picked up is correct then check these out before you go off to the Rent-A-Gun range for a day of testing.
http://www.handgunsmag.com/tactics_training/combatg_100306/
Todd Jarret in a trailer for a video on pistol gripping and shooting. Lots of good hints.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ysa50-plo48
And a similar series on holding and shooting revolvers from the master;
http://www.myoutdoortv.com/pdk/web/smith.html?feedPID=00zG15zm84msK0GbWemanhJ0KNWQYqM4l
It's safe to say that none of the guns from any of the major makers is anything less than good quality and well performing piece these days. On that count if you stick with the major players you won't go wrong with any of them. They are all far more accurate than us mere mortals can hold them. On that count you won't go wrong with anything mentioned in this thread so far... except the wags that are suggesting .460's and .500's
You may find you want one eventually but it's something more to work up to rather than for your first handgun.Handguns at the range are all about fun. And for down in the USA as practice "just in case". One of the best ways to have great fun and get some better and more meaningful practice is to shoot in the various speed shooting matches such as IPSC and IDPA with IDPA having a fair amount more validity for defensive shooting than IPSC. But both have much to offer and it would be nice to pick a gun and extra mags that is elligable in both events. Check out YouTube for many, many videos of both these handgun events for inspiration if you haven't already seen them. Just poking holes in paper soon pales in comparison. Also there may be club level speed steel or bowling pin competitions as well. Look into them for fun ways to use your guns while getting quicker with accuracy.
And WHEN you are at the Rent-A-Gun range do try out a couple of revolvers as well. You may well find that they strike a chord with you like they have for a lot of us. I love my semis and I've started shooting in IPSC but I actually have more revolvers than semis because from the first time I shot a S&W model 19 in .38Spl I was hooked.
One final note. Although a .22 doesn't seem all that exciting if you have a companion .22 semi they are superb as a practice gun to work on accuracy, proper hold and, most of all, curing yourself of any flinching habits you acquire. A 9mm or larger handgun is an excellent flinch teacher and it can take some of us a lot of ammo and concentration to break that flinch and become a really good shooter. Shooting a magazine or two of .22 then switching on the fly to a magazine of 9mm is a great way to unlearn that nasty flinch and develop better trigger habits.