So I walk into this conversation today...

Status
Not open for further replies.
CAS700850

CAS700850

Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2004
Messages
1,304
Location
Central Ohio
So, I walk into a co-workers office, and he's talking about a situation (too long to get into) that occurred at his home, and scared he and his wife pretty good. So, the two talked, and decided that they want to get a gun for their home. So, needless to say, I'm interested in the conversation. I come all the way in, and find he's talking to a group of officers, goo dguys that I know pretty well. I've shot with a couple of the guys (#1 and #2), know one to be a firearms instructor (#3), and know the fourth to at least appear gun savvy (#4). So, he asks for recommendations. Not being the shy type, I jump in:

"Get a good Smith or Taurus .357, mid-frame, four inch barrel. Load it with some good .38 HP's, and you'll be good to go."

Officer #1 "That's good advice, and you won't go broke in the process.

Officer #2 "You might as well get a slingshot. Go get a Glock. It's as easy as a revolver, but with more bullets."

Officer #3 "I'd suggest a Glock as well. It's easy to learn on, requires no complicated maintainance, and will serve you well if you ever need to carry it."

Officer #4 "Nah, if his wife is going to use it, too, he should get a Sig 232 or a Walther PPK, something without all the kick of a .38."

So, my friends, tell me. Did I miss something? Isn't the standard advice for an inexperienced/newbie to go with the mid-frame revolver in .38/.357? Isn't the simplicity of the revolver still the great selling point? Am I lost in the past? (By the ay, I carry a Glock, so I'm not anti-autoloader.)

Instructor
 
Officer #2 spoke out of sequence. The phrase "Get a Glock" should not be uttered until at least 3 other recommendations have been made. He needs to go back for retraining.
 
Seems to me I remember hearing an old saying......Something to the effect of opinions are like.........Everybody's got one.

I personally wouldn't suggest a Glock for a new shooter but none of the advise is necessarily bad as long as the new folks are going to take the time to learn the gun and train with it. If not then they should be getting something like bearspray because the gun won't help them.
 
I would tell you there is no "standard" advice. I will give you generic advice. Get BOTH husband and wife to a range and let them shoot both. I would say that either a revolver or a Glock are excellent choices for beginners, with possibly the revolver edging out the Glock on simplicity.

That's my advice, which, when combined with $2.50 will get you a cup of coffee.
 
I would fit the gun to the intended shooter, not the other way around.

I taught my 17 year old granddaughter to shoot and found she didn't have the grip strength to handle anything with a double action trigger pull. Consequently, I matched her up with a CZ clone pistol carried in condition one. She is quite effective with it.

She can shoot a .45, but prefers 9mm.

Pilgrim
 
I agree pilgrim, I tried to get what I thought was good for my wife (Walther PPK) and she didn't like it, so now it's mine! We ended up back at a Taurus 85, she likes it, shoots it well. When momma's happy, I'm happy ;)

jojo
 
Perhaps I wasn't as clear in my question as I intended. I agree that it is best to take a newbie out, teach them properly, and let them try out handguns until they find the right one.

My question was more about the trend in firearms. Back 15 years ago when I bought my first handgun, everyone told me to buy a revolver unless/until I was committed to shooting monthly to perfect the methods for an auto. And this was after I had qualified with the M-16, the 1911, and the M-9 (Beretta). My father always said that a revolver is the gun for a beginner, because it is very easy and safe to load and unload. Until recently, I have always heard that the revolver was still the beginner's handgun. Lately,however, I have heard "Glock" thrown in as often as "revolver". Is it the company i'm keeping, or is teh trend shifting away from revolvers for beginners to the auto?
 
The guy who said a .38 is only as good as a slingshot showed his ignorance in that one statement. That's just a flat-out dumb thing to say.

I think a Glock or XD is a fine gun but I think a Revolver is a good choice as well. I typically recommend one of the three above to beginners.

brad cook
 
Times have indeed changed. I started shooting revolvers in competition 30 years ago and I still love them to death. However, the bottom feeders have surpassed the wheelguns in popularity by a very wide margin.

Frankly, I think a new shooter is as well served by a "safe action" type of gun with no controls like a Glock or an XD as they are by the wheelgun. Look at the thousands of folks entering law enforcement with no prior handgun experience who start out with a Glock. Must they start out on a revolver? Of course not.

Ergonomics and shootability play a more important part than platform. I chuckle when I see the faint of heart newbie buying a 2 inch Scandium .357 magnum and boxes of .357 +P ammo because a wheelgun is easier for a beginner. That person would be better off with a Glock 19. Then there is the new shooter who buys the light weight compact .45 and a couple of boxes of 230 Golden Sabers because the little Kimbers are so cute. What a handful. They would have been much better off learning with a four inch model 19 Smith and some .38 Special ammo.

Common sense, reason, ergonomics, intended use, shootability, etc., all need to be taken into consideration.
 
This may classify me as a COF (certified old f***), but I still go with the time-honored recommendation of a revolver as a first firearm. Only when that has been mastered, and the shooter has expressed an interest in more-than-occasionally going to the range, would I recommend a pistol. The revolver's simplicity and reliability make it about as idiot proof as it's possible for a handgun to get.

Of course, even a revolver can be mishandled... :rolleyes:

Just remember the Second Golden Rule:

"Idiot proof systems are no match for system proof idiots!"

:D
 
The first firearm I ever owned was a Glock 17. Anyone with half a brain can very quickly figure out how to use a semi-auto safely. If they can't seem to master basic gun safety w/ a semi-auto, they should not be using a revolver either. They only other issues that are unique to Glocks/SAs are reliability and limp-wristing shots. As to the former, I will put on my flame suit and say that a Glock is about 99.9% as reliable as a revolver and just as easy to maintain. As to the latter, that may be a problem with some women at first, but can be quickly overcome wih minimal practice.
 
Quote,
"Seems to me I remember hearing an old saying......Something to the effect of opinions are like.........Everybody's got one."

I believe it goes something like this:

Opinions are like feet, everyone's got 'em, and they all stink, except mine! :D
 
15 years ago the revolver was better for newbies because it was much more simple of an operation. Back then the great majority of autos were 1911 style or similar with manual safety's, grip safeties, complicated field stripping procedures (for a non gun savy person), and a lot were single action which could confuse a newbie. With the advant of the Glocks and more DAO autos I think those days are over. The main reason many police depts. use Glocks is because you can teach a monkey to shoot one, their ruggedness and relieabliity are great secondary factors but that is the main one. It doesn't get much simplier than inserting a magazine, racking the slide and pull the trigger to shoot. Not only that but you get the benefit of higher capacity and faster reloads than with revolvers. I guess I'm not old fashioned, cause an auto always wins hands down in my book.
 
For whatever it is worth CAS700850, I would have given the same answer (and I have more than once).

I like Glocks, I own one. It does what it is supposed to without any drama. It is not a bad choice for a first semi-auto. But it is still a more complicated handgun than a revolver when discussing a first handgun.

Officer # 4 seems worried about recoil. Uh....well. You can't get much lighter recoil than a medium frame .357 shooting plain old .38's.

The advantages are as stated. Price, simplicity, and a wide range of practice and defense ammo available. Not to mention the abuse and neglect they can take and still work when needed. There is no way this setup is a bad choice for a first timer/novice.

Of course in this day and age, revolvers are not as sexy as semi-autos. But, IMHO, I would still recommend the semi-auto for the 2nd gun purchase if that is what they really wanted.

Guess that makes me a COF as well. :eek:
 
Had I been there my contribution would have been: "Handguns are OK, if you don't have access to better. Look at a shotgun for home defense and whatever gun you do choose practice with it as much as you can. Borrow and rent as many guns as you can before laying out your hard earned cash. The revolver is defiantely a viable option but I learned to shoot autos on a Glock so it's a possiblity to."
 
Isn't the standard advice for an inexperienced/newbie to go with the mid-frame revolver in .38/.357? Isn't the simplicity of the revolver still the great selling point?
Click to expand...

In my admittedly slightly less than humble opinion, the best advice to newbies concerned about home and personal security is to find a range that offers firearms for rent, and try this one, that one, and a dozen others. I doubt there are any quick and easy answers, nor any generic answers that fit large numbers of people.
 
Just another COF I guess, but I think you gave the right advise, and I would have said the same.
Many different opinions , but I can think of reasons to NOT recommend some handguns in this situation , and the mid frame revolver is not one of them.
 
My wife has expressed a desire to get a pistol and CCW. Of course I took her to the local gun shop and showed her which ones she would be best off with. Then she handled them and picked out the one's that she said felt the best in her hand. A few weeks later she spent the day at the range with a good friend of mine. He started her with a 22 to get comfortable. Then she shot 9mm. 38 spl, 40 S&W and 45 ACP, 3 models of each. She selected two that she didn't like at the store. The ones that she did like at the store she didn't like at the range.

Moral of the story, you can't predict the "right" gun, only range time can determine the best. And if you have a REALLY good friend, you may save a small fortune based on his investments :)
 
Either of the first two suggestion is decent with my nod going to the first suggestion.

Officer #4 clearly hasn't shot a 232 or a PPK.
 
The problem here is that the choice isn't clear-cut. Sure, a revolver perhaps has certain reliability advantages (a fresh round and chamber are only a trigger pull away), but without a doubt, it's harder for a beginner to put lead on target with a double-action revolver than with a "safe action" or single-action autoloader. Hand that Taurus snubbie to a beginner, and have them put all 5/6 rounds into the paper in a reasonable amount of time. Do the same with a compact Glock or a Commander-sized 1911. I know which one will yield better results.

I'll concede that a semi-auto tends to be potentially more complex when it comes to reloading or malfunction-clearing drills, but I also think these differences are overshadowed by user preference. For some reason, some beginners prefer revolvers, but some also prefer autoloaders.

Based on this, I find it hard to maintain a strong preference for either type when it comes to suggestions for beginners. It's kinda like asking whether it's easier to use a hammer or a screwdriver :neener:
 
I've never fully understood the revolver first theory.

Just my own personal theory, but..

It is my opinion that the first to teach that were the oldtimers that started with revolvers because they were what was commonly available, As they got more into it they evolved to autos just because that's what we do.

The theory that autos are just too complicated for mere novices has never held water for me.
 
Really it only takes an extra 5 minutes to teach someone how to use a semi versus a revolver. Considering the hours of training that are necessary to be profficient in either weapon I don't think it really makes much of a difference. There is nothing wrong with recomending a Glock as a first firearm.

Usually when someone asks me what to get i either take them to the range and let them try some different stuff or I tell them to take a class that allows them to try a few different things. Whatever they "like" the most is going to be the best choice for them as they will shoot it more and have more trust in it. Really guns arent complicated to operate and it's better to get something your comfortable with than to worry about how hard it is to figure out.

With that said I tend to recomend revolvers anyways just becuse i am a revolver shooter and I like to see more people (particularly young people) shooting them. They are neat guns that don't get the TV and movie airtime that the Glocks get these days and there is just something about a younger man or or woman shooting a revolver that seems to say "I know what I am doing".
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top