what would you buy

[Prodigalshooter]

S & W 625, .45ACP. Shoot downloaded for plinking or small game, hotter stuff for self defense.
Mostly I picked this one cause it's my latest and I'm still giddy over it.

 

[HSMITH]

No stainless crowbait guns for me. Owned a bunch of them and they work fine but they are only slightly more corrosion resistant and they are UGLY!

If I did not have a revolver currently:

That money would go to a M19, M13, M15 or a M10 S &W 4" gun. Then I would take the other $200-300 and buy reloading equipment so I could afford to learn to shoot. Learning to shoot takes 10's of thousands of rounds, and having a budget on the new gun tells me that the funding for that kind of factory ammo is not there.

If I had a revolver and reloading equipment and was shooting 2000 rounds a month + through my primary guns then it would be a S&W M24 3-4" or a M29-2 or prior 3-4" gun that I was hunting for. This is where I am right now.

 

[Oracle]

If it is, as you stated, for home defense and woods carry, I'd choose a stainless Ruger GP-100, with a 4-inch barrel, or a used Glock 17 or 19 from KY Imports (they have them for $349.00 - $389.00), which one depends on whether you like revolvers or autoloaders.

 

[Jeff OTMG]

S&W 686 or 629. I would say a 610, but you can't get one new for that, maybe used.