Stuff Hit the Fan Handgun: Which one?

[Gun Geezer]

I am considering buying 5 identical handguns for the purpose noted in the title. If things got nasty bad, I already have a wide variety of numerous pistols, revolvers, shotties, and rifles in various calibers, gauges, etc. I am the only shooter in the family and suspect the others might be inclined to take up the "sport" under these circumstances. I plan to stock pile ammo and acquire holsters and parts so commonality seems like a good idea.

My thoughts for qulaifiers of this weapon are these:
- Caliber must be common and recognized as a "self defense" round.
- Caliber must be adequate for novice shooters. Not "too" big.
- Utterly reliable through 2000 rounds.
- Parts kit available (larger issue for autos than revolvers).
- Mags (if an auto loader) plentiful and available now and not >$40 each.

I already have a pistol and a revolver in mind. What are your thoughts about the above list of qualifiers and which revolver or pistol would you choose for this purpose?

 

[1stmarine]

What is exactly the situation you need to defend yourself from?
what kind of hit the fan thing if you know what I mean?
A number of good "systems" come into mind.

 

[Sheepdog1968]

In a conversation with a full time firearms instructor, he felt that in a situation like you described, the two weapons he would want are a Glock in 9 mm and an AK. He has found Glocks to be utterly reliable when kept stock.

 

[1stmarine]

It is funny you mention this. Glocks are called the AKs of pistols, for a reason. AKs are reliable but there are other reliable choices that might bring an extra choice.

We have to look for the best systems there is in terms of reliability, compatibility and standardization. So as boring as it seems you need to look a the most popular systems (and boring options possibly) and stick to them.

Your instructor might not be totally off but I would add the AR-15, with a piston if you want.

I am asking purpose and what type of situation because I hear a lot of the SHTF but not sure I understand what that means. I mean, I understand the anachronism but I cannot envision what type of intervention that requires. In katrina there was a total lack of post disaster etiquette shown and the Mayor, Police Chief and all that obeyed some orders violated the constitution of the United States, something they should be brought to justice for.

What situations do you have in mind and what they require?

Home defense
Personal defense
Attrition warfare.
Guerrilla tactics
Interception
Zombie invasion from another planet? lol


Also the biggest weapon is not mentioned ever, that is the human brain.

 

[1stmarine]

I mean... I am trying to be practical and realistic as I see you have good intentions and I see a lot of Hollywood movie type nonsense approach everywhere.

 

[Snowbandit]

In the scenario you describe I think the best choice of rounds is unquestionably going to be the 9MM. It's available everywhere and there's going to be lots of battlefield pick-ups after any major engagements involving military forces. It's powerful enough to be useful for self defense and not terribly intimidating to new shooters. Continuing on that same line of thought, the handgun I believe most fitting for your stated use is the Beretta model 92. Some will complain that the gun, especially the grip, is too large. It's still something that can be controlled by pretty much anybody and the slightly larger size does help tame recoil. Parts kits are available everywhere and magazines are cheap.

 

[Kendal Black]

- Caliber must be common and recognized as a "self defense" round.
- Caliber must be adequate for novice shooters. Not "too" big.

These factors narrow it down to 9mmP or .38 Special.

A revolver is simpler to operate, so it would be my preference here. One idea is to get service revolver sized .357's and load them with .38. You get good controlability with the Specials and you have the option of going to magnum ammo if you need more whoop-de-doo.

 

[1stmarine]

Consider this....
5 glocks 17 or 19 Gen3 brand new (discounted now)
5 Keltec Sub2000 9mm for the Glock mag.
100 magazines. 50-60 G17 magazines and 40-50 magazines glock hi-cap
20K rounds of Winchester Ranger +P FMJ and JHP (Bulk)

Each glock + sub2000 and magazine set is consider one self contained
system. Sub2000 consistent head hits at 100 yards with iron sights. Know this first hand.
They need some minor tuning to make them battle worthy.

 

[o Unforgiven o]

If this is some SHTF fantasy, it is not taken seriously here.

If you have a legitimate reason for what you are proposing, move.

 

[David E]

Once upon a time, I took it upon myself to provide guns for my 3 gunless friends during a camping trip. All had shot before and were safe, but they didn't own any themselves. (this would appear to put them way ahead of your non-shooting family)

Suffice to say, it didn't work out as expected.

To expect your non-shooting family to suddenly become interested in learning to be competent and safe with guns is wishful thinking.

Further, if they become "interested" only AFTER the stuff hits the fan, it's too late to practice or become even barely proficient.

Invite them shooting and see if an interest develops. If so, take them shopping so they can buy their own gun. If no interest is evident, save your time and money. If they don't want to buy their own, they won't care one whit about one you purchase for them.

If you still feel compelled to outfit the clan with something, buy them a Kimber. (pepper blaster, that is) and call it good.

The gun(s) for YOU to buy for yourself should be a Glock 9mm, such as the 17, 19 or 34. The rifle should be an AR15 in the M4-gery size with a 5.56 NATO chamber. Along with plenty of spare mags, parts and ammo for each.

 

[1stmarine]

Wise words of advice from David here. Always caution and careful planing before you ramp up like crazy.

I would add a 100 surplus M16 mags case for the AR-15 will run you for $900 to $1000 bulk. Get an unopen surplus full case and then buy the magpul followers and you have AR magazines for the entire city block that work almost as good as H&Ks for around $11-13/each.
This is all proven first hand advice. not read somewhere.

 

[PabloJ]

If you want utterly reliable I would go with S&W Model 327 'Night Guard'. If you want something utterly durable then get the Glock.

 

[buck460XVR]

I assume this SHTF-EOTWAWKI situation includes Zombies?

 

[Sam1911]

I assume this SHTF-EOTWAWKI situation includes Zombies?

NO. Because then we'd delete the thread.

I think there has been some good advice here:

1) A glock might be just about the perfect autoloader to hand someone who's never fired a gun before

2) Handing a gun to someone who's not put any time into instruction and practice is likely to be more of a dnager than whatever disaster is threatening your bliss in this hypothetical future.

 

[StrawHat]

If you plan to arm total novices and expect them to be proficient, good luck. If that is your plan, I would suggest you go with revolvers. Double action ones as it is much harder to "accidently" put 10-12 pounds of pressure on the trigger than it is to put the 3-4 necessary for a self loader or single action revolver.

 

[Walkalong]

Whatever you have handy with a double handful of ammo, plus food, water, meds, more water, food, ............

 

[rybu0305]

Meets all your requirements except maybe on cost but I would personally go with a Sig 226 or 229, in terms of handguns.

Very reliable
Easy to shoot
Parts kits
e2 and SRT triggers make it even easier to shoot well and will fit smaller hands better.

If you buy used the gun and mags can be very at very reasonable prices.
No, it is not as light as a polymer gun but I would prefer a Sig in the situation you outlined.

 

[huntsman]

I am considering buying 5 identical handguns for the purpose noted in the title. If things got nasty bad, I already have a wide variety of numerous pistols, revolvers, shotties, and rifles in various calibers, gauges, etc. I am the only shooter in the family and suspect the others might be inclined to take up the "sport" under these circumstances. I plan to stock pile ammo and acquire holsters and parts so commonality seems like a good idea.

My thoughts for qulaifiers of this weapon are these:
- Caliber must be common and recognized as a "self defense" round.
- Caliber must be adequate for novice shooters. Not "too" big.
- Utterly reliable through 2000 rounds.
- Parts kit available (larger issue for autos than revolvers).
- Mags (if an auto loader) plentiful and available now and not >$40 each.

I already have a pistol and a revolver in mind. What are your thoughts about the above list of qualifiers and which revolver or pistol would you choose for this purpose?

approach this like a small town would for a start up police department, don't most use Glocks?

 

[EmGeeGeorge]

Gp100

 

[Husker_Fan]

I'm not going to address the situation discussed, as I'm not sure what it is. Maybe a natural disaster type scenario like Katrina where you have friends/family with shooting experience but don't own handguns. I know I shot handguns a bit before I ever bought one.

In that case, I'd get some surplus revolvers like the S&W k-frames that have been available lately. Model 10s and other in .38 are easy to find and cheap. All models take the same speed loaders and ammo is abundant and relatively inexpensive. They are easy to maintain, and even with low quality ammo, there are no jams to clear. It seems to be the easiest for a novice shooter with enough experience to be safe to learn to handle well.

 

[zxcvbob]

Get a bucket of S&W model 10 police trade-in revolvers, some little ammo pouches, a whole bunch of "once fired" brass and lead SWC or RNFP or DEWC bullets, and get busy reloading. (the key being the novice shooters)

Another idea is .22 rifles.

 

[easyg]

Ruger GP100

 

[Andrew Wyatt]

Glock 19.

 

[stonecutter2]

Consider this....
5 glocks 17 or 19 Gen3 brand new (discounted now)
5 Keltec Sub2000 9mm for the Glock mag.
100 magazines. 50-60 G17 magazines and 40-50 magazines glock hi-cap
20K rounds of Winchester Ranger +P FMJ and JHP (Bulk)

Each glock + sub2000 and magazine set is consider one self contained
system. Sub2000 consistent head hits at 100 yards with iron sights. Know this first hand.
They need some minor tuning to make them battle worthy.

I second this. Glock 19 gen3 or gen4, or S&W SD9 are my recommendations.

9mm is probably the easiest caliber I've shot in a handgun, and is perfect for novices, yet can still be an effective self defense round.

Whatever you choose, I would recommend that your pistols be as rust proof as possible, as you're looking at long term storage and use during conditions that are not ideal. Glocks have a tenifer treatment for slides/barrels, but melonite (or other names) are the same thing. It's just an extra prevention that when you need them, the guns won't be or get rusted out.

Consider VCI bags or something you can seal and store the firearms in, to prevent corrosion.

Glock mags and parts are available cheap, even more so if you get the Korean mags, which come already sealed in their own bags. I bought some and they seem to function just fine so far.
Glock factory 19 mags $22.99 each, Koren "New Asian Military" $7.99 each:
http://www.cdnninvestments.com/glock.html

Test fire/proof all firearms for proper functionality prior to storage.

Buy spare parts - 1 set of spare springs and firing pin/striker per firearm. Glock parts are pretty cheap and plentiful.

Include gun cleaning supplies in your storage plan, as well. Some quarts of motor oil, and white lithium grease, should be effective, cheap, and easily available in quanitities without breaking the bank. If you choose Glocks, get 5 Glock disassembly tools and include them in your cleaning kit. They are small and handy.

 

[KodiakBeer]

If it really hits the fan and all you've got is a handgun, you've planned very poorly. Trade your handguns off for rifle ammo.