Gun advice.

[42_42_42]

I don't know much about guns, other than what my husband's taught me. He's got quite the collection and knows his stuff. He recommends a 9mm because the ammo's not too expensive and they're suitable for home defense. Get something with a double stack magazine unless you plan to conceal carry b/c it will have higher ammo capacity. Avoid highpoint (i.e. Jennings). In general, if it's a new gun and costs less than $250-$300 it's not one you want, but you can get good used guns for a bargain if you look about. Most important is to buy something that feels good in your hands and aims naturally when you point it.

[Jester]

My price range is approximately $500 or less.

I prefer a gun WITH a safety, and I still prefer semi-automatics, despite the jamming issue.

While I do intend to use it PRIMARILY for sport and at the range, I still want something that will, if necessary, stop someone cold.

I do intend to rent a few and try them out.

I know how loud guns are, as I have shot at ranges before, though not in many years (probably about 15).

While I do plan on having a lockbox for it, I don't think I need a whole safe....there are no children in my residence, nor will there be. And if there were going to be for any period of time, said lockbox would find its way to my truck or somewhere outside of the residence for the period of time said child would be here.

And I do know that if I pull a gun on someone, I damn well better intend to use it. I bluff only in poker. Not with guns. If I pull a gun on someone, I DO have every intention of pulling the trigger. I have no intention of pulling a gun on someone unless I deem it absolutely necessary, as in for the safety or life of myself or my loved ones.

Let's just say that if you see me on the other side of a gun, it is not going to be your best day.

[Kara]

The only sidearm I've used is a .38, it's one of the guns we have to qualify on every year for weapons training at the prison. I like it quite a bit, it's easy to use and easy to clean. Never fired a gun before in my life until my first firearms qualification training and I had no trouble at all figuring it out, or hitting the target. The only reason I never bought one for myself is because it has no safety, which is something you don't have to worry about since you don't have little Jestlets running around the house.

[Lyse]

I'be always liked S&W, and found 9mm to be nice - although I've found that after a while at the range it will cause some aches and pains due to past damage to my dominant arm and back.

I highly agree with what the others have said - since your range offers the choice to rent, take it. It will allow you to get an idea of what is comfortable for you, both in general handling and after use. I've known a few people that ended up regretting buying based solely on how the gun felt in their hand during handling in a store.

[TheSHAD0W]

If you're looking for personal protection in addition to sport shooting, one thing I've heard is that some autoloaders will feed "ball" ammunition just fine, but will have trouble with hollowpoints. "Ball" is the (fairly) cheap stuff required by the Geneva convention (as a civilian, you don't need to worry about this - use of hollowpoints or other expanding bullets by the army would be a war crime). For personal protection, however, you'd probably want hollowpoints.

I personally don't recommend hollowpoint ammunition for anything less powerful than .44 magnum. The problem with hollowpoints is that they trade making a bigger hole for reduced penetration, and even something like a denim jacket can prevent a hollowpoint round from penetrating effectively.

.45 ACP is a nice round, but it is also a *slow* round, well in the subsonic range. I strongly discrecommend .45 hollowpoints.

[TheSHAD0W]

I'be always liked S&W, and found 9mm to be nice - although I've found that after a while at the range it will cause some aches and pains due to past damage to my dominant arm and back.

Try to find a pistol with a polymer frame and a ported barrel, this will strongly reduce recoil force. (Note that a ported barrel can be a safety issue in close quarters.)

[Lyse]

I am hopefully going to get a polymer in the next year - finances willing. I hadn't looked much at ported barrels, though. Hmmm. I may have to find one to try out. What safety issues have you found with them? I have heard about the flash and some people say that they are more difficult to clean.

[Jester]

The only reason I never bought one for myself is because it has no safety, which is something you don't have to worry about since you don't have little Jestlets running around the house.

No, I have no children, but I do have roommates, and I am bit of a paranoid and a klutz, so I would actually prefer a firearm WITH a safety. Why are so many people here opposed to safeties on guns? Please, do tell....am I missing something?

.45 ACP is a nice round, but it is also a *slow* round, well in the subsonic range. I strongly discrecommend .45 hollowpoints.

If my only requirements are that it is accurate and, if necessary, stops a target, why would I care if it were slow? It's not like I'm going to be doing long-range shooting, other than whatever distance the targets are at the range. Again, am I missing something here?

Try to find a pistol with a polymer frame and a ported barrel, this will strongly reduce recoil force. (Note that a ported barrel can be a safety issue in close quarters.)

If it is safety issue in close quarters, and I ever need it for personal protection, which would almost certainly be in close quarters, this sounds like something I don't want. Also, someone said something about saving up for it....I do have a budget, and I don't plan on blowing through it. If the ported barrel is potentially unsafe AND expensive, I have no interest in it.

[ArcticChicken]

If my only requirements are that it is accurate and, if necessary, stops a target, why would I care if it were slow?

If it's slow, it might not stop the target.

In general, the faster the bullet is going when it hits something, the further into that thing it goes. A hollow point trades penetration for a bigger hole. If the round you're using is already slow, and then it's a hollow point, it might not go far enough into a dude to stop him.

[kpzra]

Take it for what it's worth, but when my husband was a Ft Benning with Ranger Battalion, their personal deployment guns were .45 caliber for the most part. None had Glocks, they all went for HK's, Sigs, Berettas, S&W, or a 1911 of some sort. Not saying 9mm is a bad round, but when you have hundreds of guys who prefer .45 in a combat environment, I take their advice..lol

You have different needs though, so something like this might be more in line for what you want. It says out of stock, but I haven't looked on the web much for one, and I've seen the kits by themselves in stores.

http://www.kygunco.com/products2.cfm...conversion-kit

Gun alone
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/p...ducts_id/47920

[TheSHAD0W]

I hadn't looked much at ported barrels, though. Hmmm. I may have to find one to try out. What safety issues have you found with them? I have heard about the flash and some people say that they are more difficult to clean.

High-velocity gas exits the ports, and if you have a part of your body, or someone else's body, near the ports, serious injury can result. The ports are at the business end of the barrel and usually at the top, so that's normally not an issue; but in odd situations, and in the case of an accidental discharge, it can cause further injury. Just something to be aware of.

If it is safety issue in close quarters, and I ever need it for personal protection, which would almost certainly be in close quarters, this sounds like something I don't want.

I didn't recommend it for you, Jester; it's useful for people who have problems with recoil, and for some sport shooting.

If my only requirements are that it is accurate and, if necessary, stops a target, why would I care if it were slow? It's not like I'm going to be doing long-range shooting, other than whatever distance the targets are at the range.

The kinetic energy of a projectile goes up linearly with its mass, and as the square of the velocity. As I said, .45 ACP is a decent round, and many people swear by it, but you should be aware of its limitations. Also, what I said is that I don't recommend .45 hollow-point ammunition. Ball ammo is great.

Oh! For cleaning, buy a Bore Snake. Makes cleaning a lot easier. Not great for very-high-accuracy firearms, but no pistols really fit that description.

[pitmonkey]

It depends on the safety. Older guns will have a thumb safety, new gen guns have integrated safeties. You will hear the stories about dropping a gun and it going off, now that rarely happens.
it is hard not to get a modern pistol without a safety.

[Jester]

Shadow, noted.

For further clarification on another point, I should point out that I am right-handed, so am not overly worried about the potential for ejection-caused injury, though I do know that, of course, injury is always a possibility when handling a firearm. Just saying that the ejection port wouldn't be on the "wrong side" for me, being a righty.

[Dilorenzo]

I'm actually in the same boat, or would be if it weren't for the job situation. I went shooting twice, and know exactly what caliber I want for me. Test shooting would be a great idea, Jester, and make sure you fire off enough of each to get a good "feel" for them. That's how I got to know I definitely want a .40. It's perfectly "fun" to fire in a range situation, and recoil isn't so bad on the ones I've fired so far, whereas .45s can vary wildly.

As for 9mm, personally, I dislike the ones I've fired. The grips often seem too high, in the ones that emulate - or just are - Glocks.

That's all personal preference though, as has already been noted, so, yes, test fire.

(As an aside, I do so love the smell at the range).

[Victory Sabre]

All of my guns are older than dirt.

I have a semi auto .22LR, and a .38 special revolver. They're great for target practice. The .22 ammo is pretty cheep. I can get a brick of 535 rounds for around $20, and that lasts a LONG time. If you do get a .22 semi auto don't get the Walther .22. It's a nice gun and all, but it has a major problem jamming with the ammo. The standard .22 ammo isn't powerful enough to work properly.