My girlfirend and I are in the process of trying to pick a handgun out for her. She put together what she learned from my guns, and made a list of features that she wants in her gun.
1)9mm or .380
2)a midsize pistol....somewhere close to 7" in length
3)decocker external safety
4)not too heavy, not too light.....24-27oz?
5)external hammer
6) da/sa
7)about 600 bucks(quality used guns would be considered)
Best I could come up with is a Beretta px4. Anything else out there?
Beretta PX4 Compact is an excellent choice, but I've got to second the suggestion for the FN-Herstal FNX-9
1)9mm or .380 (
9mm)
2)a midsize pistol....somewhere close to 7" in length (
7.4 inches. 0.2 inch shorter than the full-size PX4 Storm, but 0.6 inch longer than the Compact PX4)
3)decocker external safety (
Yup - both)
4)not too heavy, not too light.....24-27oz? (
21.9 ounces)
5)external hammer (
Yup)
6) da/sa (
Yup)
7)about 600 bucks(quality used guns would be considered)(
Retail is $699.00, discount is between $525 and $599. Bud's price is $557.00 Beretta MSRP is $550.00 for the full-size or compact, Bud's price is $465.00 )
Plus you get three 17-round magazines with the FNX-9.
The Beretta is less expensive and a wonderful pistol (I have a PX4 Storm F) but the FN is worthy of your consideration and hits just about every feature you wanted.
If you do get the Beretta, get the Compact, not the Sub-Compact; the Compact has the rotating barrel that makes the gun such a pleasure to shoot.
I also have the FNP-9, the FNX-9's predecessor; the big difference is that it does not have an external safety; just the decocker. That doesn't make the gun any less safe (it won't fire unless you pull the trigger) but some folks just want the safety. On the other hand, if you can find an FNP-9, the price should be about the same as the Beretta.
Now for the .380s. 1.) The Beretta 84FS Cheetah is a beautiful pistol and can hold up to 14 rounds of ammunition. It's straight blowback so there might be some slide issues, but the gun's weight really dampens the recoil. The big downside is the price: the Cheetah retails for nearly $800.00. 2.) The Walther PK380 is one of the best 380s on the market unless you absolutely, positively think you can only get away with a mouse gun. Delayed blowback means reduced recoil and reduced effort to rack the slide. Single-stack magazine means a slimmer grip but you still get a total capacity of nine rounds. You can get them brand-new for about $350.00.
