Best 1st Handgun for HD?

I like to practice @ Nexus shooting range it's a state of the art replicating real life scenarios ... Check them out google them ... It's where lot of the swat guys go!

If you're looking at revolvers look at the S&W TRR8. 8 rounds of .357 and there's a version with a rail to mount a weapon light (which is a must for HD).

Good afternoon guys,

Thank You very much. I am signed up for class starting the first of the month. Since its my first class, I am starting with Pistol Proficiency Level 2 since the instructor felt that I had been around a pistol enough to skip Level 1. I will also be taking the home defense class with shotgun. I figure, I will never be prepared enough, but can only hope to be more prepared than I currently am.

I will continue to take classes and the instructor that I have been speaking with, WESLEY LAGOMARSING, has recommended the Glock 17,19, Springfield XD-9

Smith & Wesson M&P9, and Walther P99 for easy to use pistols that both the wife and I can utilize.

I will be headed to a gun store in the next couple to purchase my first pistol and head to the class on the first.

I appreciate all the help.

 

Any reasons to pick either of the guns listed or vice versa.

 

Thank Again!

Any reasons to pick either of the guns listed or vice versa.

 

Thank Again!

 

 

Like many said on here, everybody is going to have their favorite for different reasons. Honestly your best bet is to rent a few that you are interested in and feel them out. Personally I love the way the XD shoots, but I also like the M&P and the HK. For me, because it will be more a hobby gun, and less an HD gun I am looking at price as well. The XD and M&P can be had for about half the price of the HK and the SIG. At the end of the day you want something that is comfortable for you, and buying one on advice alone is not a great idea. As you stated, the instructor even named of 10 different guns you could look at, simply because everyone has a different opinion.

If you're looking at revolvers look at the S&W TRR8. 8 rounds of .357 and there's a version with a rail to mount a weapon light (which is a must for HD).

 

I didn't care for the super light scandium frame. The R8 with the rail is cool, but I ended up with the regular SS frame 627. Little heavier but more stable and will literally last forever. I hear the scandium guns can be a little delicate.

 

Either way they are bad ass wheel guns!

Unless you are talking a sawed off (illegal here in CA), the spray pattern of a shotgun is not that fantastic in closed quarters. The teenage boy thought that it will clear the room and that the spread patters is like that of a flashlight is just no the reality.

 

If you are going to semi-auto, AND want your wife to use it, make sure she joins your classes. The P99/P99c is fantastic, but get a later model as there are weird trigger things in the first generation. Some weird wannabe double action thing, first pul is a hair trigger, second is a really long pull that seems like you are going to break the trigger. The XD mags suck at getting dropped. The below video is something I practice all the time and they don't handle the drops the way a lot of other's do, they just feel like tin.

 

PRACTICE MAG SWAPS. You can do it at home by repeatedly dropping on to a pillow on a counter top and just keep swapping the mags, racking the slide, then dropping and inserting. Repeat often, and it will become second nature. I do it often, usually 20-30 times as fast as possible once a week.

 

Unless you are talking a sawed off (illegal here in CA), the spray pattern of a shotgun is not that fantastic in closed quarters.

 

Here's an interesting video.

 

Here's a guy shooting an 11" Stoeger sawed off (he chopped off the barrel with a hack saw), a 12.5" Remington 870, Vs an 18" Benneli M4 as a control. At 5 yards (15 feet) they were all the same. Even at 10 (30 feet) there was not a massive difference between the three. And even at 20 yards (60 feet) there was not this huge difference in pattern between the 11" sawed off and 18" M4 like you would think.

 

Most people would say "Oh that 11" Stoeger is no good farther than 5 feet because the spread will be 10 feet wide making it useless". This video shows that shorter is not really that less accurate. At least not as much as Joe Smith who hangs out at the gun shop all day would tell you.

 

 

 

Short barrel shotguns have big inaccurate spread? MYTH BUSTED.

My point was that the common belief is that a shotgun spreads out so much that it does not need to be aimed so much as pointed. Hollywood ballistics lol

 

 

http://www.firequest.com/exotic-shotgun-ammo.html

First off OP lives in CA, no Hi-Cap. Second it depends on his commitment/paranoia and threat-level assessment. If he is subject to needing a defense solution for a potential gunfight, I'd probably think the opposition drew four aces in bad-guy poker. Then none of our advice is good. Guard shack, dogs, alarm systems, a personal protection package for that, one guy with any gun ain't gonna be enough for a firefight. Don't want to see some homeowner going out like Scarface defending his DVR.

 

I have extensive shooting experience and I carry an M&P. For my g/f, revolver. When things go bump in the night, I tend to grab the revolver and drop loose rounds in my pj pants. Last time I grabbed an extra mag in the pockets, I ran down the stairs and they dropped around my ankles. lol

 

To the OP, no matter what you choose, low-complexity revolver, higher cap semi-auto, just take some classes and not just go to the range and shoot paper. Everybody is Rambo when it comes to shooting paper. it is not a contest to see how many rounds you fire, but how many hit.

 

 

First... He can still get 10 caps... And that's four or five more rounds than the typical wheel gun. Put two tens next to it and you have 30 rounds...

 

2nd.. We're talking about home defense here... Which means a person, or more likely persons, are entering your home... Usually while you are asleep.. They know the home is likely to be occupied.... And that means they are likely to be armed. In that scenario, You are going to be in a gun fight. At least if you want to survive it, and not have the female members of your family raped or worse.... The idea is to have enough bullets to make them weigh the odds and run away, or worst case scenario shoot them all until incapacitation... Knowing you're going to miss most of your shots (again, this is what we know from the study of decades of police involved shootings- the police miss most of the time when they fire their guns for real. They hit the target between 10 and 30% of the time...). So you need those extra rounds. There are few things more useless than an empty gun...

 

 

So let's take all of the above and add it up... Best case scenario, one guy comes in his home, he's wide awake, and has his gun loaded, on his lap, ready to go. (All unlikely). He's not as trained as your average cop... So we'll give him the lower end 10% hit rate of high stress shooting....

 

He has a 6 shot revolver....

 

Statistically, he misses every shot. And has to fumble with opening the cylinder, ejecting the old cartridges, and reloading. He's fucked.

First... He can still get 10 caps... And that's four or five more rounds than the typical wheel gun. Put two tens next to it and you have 30 rounds...

 

2nd.. We're talking about home defense here... Which means a person, or more likely persons, are entering your home... Usually while you are asleep.. They know the home is likely to be occupied.... And that means they are likely to be armed. In that scenario, You are going to be in a gun fight. At least if you want to survive it, and not have the female members of your family raped or worse.... The idea is to have enough bullets to make them weigh the odds and run away, or worst case scenario shoot them all until incapacitation... Knowing you're going to miss most of your shots (again, this is what we know from the study of decades of police involved shootings- the police miss most of the time when they fire their guns for real. They hit the target between 10 and 30% of the time...). So you need those extra rounds. There are few things more useless than an empty gun...

 

 

So let's take all of the above and add it up... Best case scenario, one guy comes in his home, he's wide awake, and has his gun loaded, on his lap, ready to go. (All unlikely). He's not as trained as your average cop... So we'll give him the lower end 10% hit rate of high stress shooting....

 

He has a 6 shot revolver....

 

Statistically, he misses every shot. And has to fumble with opening the cylinder, ejecting the old cartridges, and reloading. He's fucked.

 

AGREE 100%!

 

We can debate hypothetical situations all day long. Don't know about you RD, but I am pretty well versed in combat shooting scenarios so maybe my skillset has clouded my judgement a little, I just look to a novice gun owner and think simple HG.

 

The likely (still hypothetical) scenario will be a night time break-in. Groggy gun owner with blurry eyes and adrenaline pumping. The bad guy is probably not close enough to recognize what weapon OP is holding and certainly not counting rounds. When the shooting starts if the OP is pulling the trigger like a 13 year old tugging his meat at the sight of his first boob, everybody will be panicking. Bad guy is not going to go all Audie Murphy and charge the OP, he is more likely to be looking for an exit.

 

In that case, I suggest this:

 

 

 

My brother lives in a not so perfect neighborhood. My father, a 30 year veteran of LAPD/NYPD had the discussion with him about what to buy and keep in the house. Revolver and training.

Haahaa some of these replies and recommendations or information given like "shotgun spray" are pretty hilarious. Some of you guys provided great information.

 

Most important things for home defense HANDGUN:

1. Must have a light source on the firearm

2. 9, 40 or 45 = any will do the job because you are going to shoot multiple times (adrenal glands going). 45 preference.

3. Hallow point ammo

 

As for general home defense a shotgun is by far the best.

If I hear a bump in the night, someone is getting hit with 8 shots from a short barrel tactical 12 gauge shotgun. Once I have dumped the 8 rounds, and if someone is still standing, they are getting hit with 4 magazines x 16 rounds of 9mm hollow point ammo. God forbid the poor saps still survive, and me or my wife can hit my safe, the Carbine comes out and judgement day cometh....

 

I would not recommend thinking about reloading rounds when protecting your self or your family.

 

If I cant hit something and put it down with the first 70 rounds, they deserve to take what they want.

 

Plus my shotgun is so loud that the first couple rounds is more likely to put them out of my house than anything else.

 

The Benelli has a spotlight with a pressure sensor grip. So at first....I will be quiet....then SURPRISE!!!!

We can debate hypothetical situations all day long. Don't know about you RD, but I am pretty well versed in combat shooting scenarios so maybe my skillset has clouded my judgement a little, I just look to a novice gun owner and think simple HG.

 

 

Yeah... You're a ninja compared to me....

 

 

Simpler IS better... And a semi auto is much more simple to operate than a revolver... Easier to load, easier to reload... And need to be reloaded less often. Other than that they operate exactly the same.. Point and click...

Haahaa some of these replies and recommendations or information given like "shotgun spray" are pretty hilarious. Some of you guys provided great information.

 

Most important things for home defense HANDGUN:

1. Must have a light source on the firearm

2. 9, 40 or 45 = any will do the job because you are going to shoot multiple times (adrenal glands going). 45 preference.

3. Hallow point ammo

 

As for general home defense a shotgun is by far the best.

Simpler IS better... And a semi auto is much more simple to operate than a revolver... Easier to load, easier to reload... And need to be reloaded less often. Other than that they operate exactly the same.. Point and click...

True, but with practice you can do some amazing things, regardless of the tool.

 

As hard as I try I can only get a single 9mm compact mag up my pooper for backup. There is not much by nightwear for the paranoid. Just as well, I don't imagine I could hide my giant throbbing erection while shooting at bad guys

 

I tired to google "tactical pajamas" and this is what I got.

 

 

Remind me around the holiday season, I want to send you a Xmas present:

 

 

Haahaa some of these replies and recommendations or information given like "shotgun spray" are pretty hilarious. Some of you guys provided great information.

 

Most important things for home defense HANDGUN:

1. Must have a light source on the firearm

2. 9, 40 or 45 = any will do the job because you are going to shoot multiple times (adrenal glands going). 45 preference.

3. Hallow point ammo

 

As for general home defense a shotgun is by far the best.

 

Hallowed be they name...thy kingdom come.

 

 

Seriously rent some guns and try a bunch out. What works for me doesn't work for you and vice versa. For what it is worth I love my Glock G36.

The one thing most will agree on is a weapon light is a must and Surefire is second to none. I have always wondered if Surefire was worth the money and I recently found a new X300 ultra on Amazon. Since it was about $100 cheaper than anywhere I checked, I got it. I am shocked how impressive a light small enough to mount on a pistol can clearly illuminate objects over 100ft away. In a home defense situation, an intruder on the business end of that light will have better luck staring at the sun than that light.

 

This light is currently on my 870 with Ergo Grip forend but I like how easily I can remove it and put it on anything else with a rail.

Here's an interesting video.

 

Here's a guy shooting an 11" Stoeger sawed off (he chopped off the barrel with a hack saw), a 12.5" Remington 870, Vs an 18" Benneli M4 as a control. At 5 yards (15 feet) they were all the same. Even at 10 (30 feet) there was not a massive difference between the three. And even at 20 yards (60 feet) there was not this huge difference in pattern between the 11" sawed off and 18" M4 like you would think.

 

Most people would say "Oh that 11" Stoeger is no good farther than 5 feet because the spread will be 10 feet wide making it useless". This video shows that shorter is not really that less accurate. At least not as much as Joe Smith who hangs out at the gun shop all day would tell you.

 

 

 

Short barrel shotguns have big inaccurate spread? MYTH BUSTED.

 

 

I still say 12GA. See photo's I posted of mine, with those shells, it really doesn't matter....it's all over.

My nightstand handgun is the Taurus Judge Poly.

 

'Only' 5 shots but gives me the flexibility of loading #6 birdshot as a first FU round - as in 'I don't want to kill you, but the next one is really going to hurt'. The next four are PDX-1.

 

A shotshell requires a bit less precision - that's important at 3:00am.

 

Would be good for the OP: point & shoot.. No jams to clear...no learning curve.

 

YMMV

 

I have narrowed it down to the Glock 17,19, S&W M&P9 9mm as a primary gun for me to attend my pistol class and practice with. Will also be taking the home defense shotgun class and buying a shotgun as well.

 

Thanks for the advice guys. Got some shooting to do over the next few weeks.

My nightstand handgun is the Taurus Judge Poly.

 

'Only' 5 shots but gives me the flexibility of loading #6 birdshot as a first FU round - as in 'I don't want to kill you, but the next one is really going to hurt'. The next four are PDX-1.

 

A shotshell requires a bit less precision - that's important at 3:00am.

 

Would be good for the OP: point & shoot.. No jams to clear...no learning curve.

 

YMMV

 

I understand the logic of a FU round, but if someone is in my house, the last thing I want is a wounded criminal bleeding on my floor. Dead men can't attack me and they sure as hell can't sue.

I have narrowed it down to the Glock 17,19, S&W M&P9 9mm as a primary gun for me to attend my pistol class and practice with. Will also be taking the home defense shotgun class and buying a shotgun as well.

 

Thanks for the advice guys. Got some shooting to do over the next few weeks.

 

I hate glocks, I can never get comfortable holding it. Make sure you shoot it first as a rental.

I hate glocks, I can never get comfortable holding it. Make sure you shoot it first as a rental.

 

 

 

I hate glocks, I can never get comfortable holding it. Make sure you shoot it first as a rental.

 

 

The M&P9 was definitely more comfortable to hold, which is why its on my list. Leaning more towards the M&P9....