Handgun Help

Howdy all.

I am currently in the market to purchase a new semiautomatic handgun, to be used mostly for home defense and target shooting. I'm currently leaning towards the .45 ACP caliber, but in general I am looking for good stopping power on which I won't have to spend an arm and a leg for ammunition.

Local sporting good stores here carry several different models, which is an oddity to me, but it's good that I have a selection. Which leads me to this: what, in your opinion, would be a good handgun for purchase? Like I said, I'm looking for good stopping power with relatively cheap ammo, reliability, and ease of use. All suggestions welcome. :smile:

A 45? Thats a hell of a lot of 'stopping power'. I don't know if you've ever shot one, but you can't taget shoot for long with that calibre of a handgun. (unless you have a ten inch barrel) Have someone punch you in the palm of your hand as hard as they can and you'll know what its like.

If you're serious about having a handgun for home protection, get a revolver, not a pistol. Revolvers don't jam. A personal favorite of mine is the Taurus .357 (which also shoot .38 which are some of the most inexpensive shells to buy) http://www.taurususa.com/products/product-details.cfm?model=66B6&category=Revolver Find a dealer and you can beat the prices (and going with stainless will usually be less expensive)


Use http://www.taurususa.com/products/gunselector.cfm to help identify the right one for you.

dude, Glock 10...most accurate, comfortable, reliable handgun I've ever fired. A .45 ain't all that bad for target shootin, my opinion, Now a .44 Magnum...thats hurts your wrists.

Desert Eagle .50.... lol i'd love to get my hands on one, not really for use, more for novelty, occasional target practice. anyone know how much those run?

Bah, a fancy handgun - perish the thought.
Just get a shotgun, good all around use. Perhaps a bit bulky for "personal defense" though. But what's wrong with keeping a gun rack in your bedroom? :)

desert eagle is just for blastin the shit out of anything, not very practical. Huge stopping power but also huge huge kick-back. I'd get a five-seven or usp .45.

I agree with Yogs, I've fired a 5 shot .357 ruger before and it had alot of power to it so I prefered to shoot the .38 rounds with it. Might I also recommend a .380 its a more compact handgun with a nice feel to it, you won't be fighting a war (hopefully) so a 9mm will even do to put a few holes in your average house invader. Get what feels good in your hand and you can shoot and operate safely and effciently, no good having a .50 if you can't get the safety off.

A 45? Thats a hell of a lot of 'stopping power'. I don't know if you've ever shot one, but you can't taget shoot for long with that calibre of a handgun. (unless you have a ten inch barrel) Have someone punch you in the palm of your hand as hard as they can and you'll know what its like.

Not true, as long as you practice with it, you wont have a problem with it. I own a Glock 21, which is .45. I have been at the range for many many a long hours and never had a problem with my hands. Rounds these days are extremely well as long as you dont buy the cheap shit. I have fired approx 2300 rounds through my glock and I have yet to have one misfeed or fail to extract. They are very easy to care for and clean. revolvers are good, but a bitch to reload IMHO.

go with the glock 21. its a little on the high side, but the gun will take a beating and always come out on top.

Glock or USP.

Both are excellente.

Howdy all.

I am currently in the market to purchase a new semiautomatic handgun, to be used mostly for home defense and target shooting. I'm currently leaning towards the .45 ACP caliber, but in general I am looking for good stopping power on which I won't have to spend an arm and a leg for ammunition.

Local sporting good stores here carry several different models, which is an oddity to me, but it's good that I have a selection. Which leads me to this: what, in your opinion, would be a good handgun for purchase? Like I said, I'm looking for good stopping power with relatively cheap ammo, reliability, and ease of use. All suggestions welcome. :smile:

Don't tell me your ex came back to town....... :eek7: :lol:

Consider a Grizzly Win Mag. Its a very well made semi auto which you can re chamber for different calibers. Start off with the 357 magnum and move up. The .44 Magnum parts make it pretty impressive, but perhaps not the most practical.

I like the feel of the Glock 17, and i also like the Para Ordinance .357 good feel and not to bad on stopping power.

Howdy all.

I am currently in the market to purchase a new semiautomatic handgun, to be used mostly for home defense and target shooting. I'm currently leaning towards the .45 ACP caliber, but in general I am looking for good stopping power on which I won't have to spend an arm and a leg for ammunition.

Local sporting good stores here carry several different models, which is an oddity to me, but it's good that I have a selection. Which leads me to this: what, in your opinion, would be a good handgun for purchase? Like I said, I'm looking for good stopping power with relatively cheap ammo, reliability, and ease of use. All suggestions welcome. :smile:

Check out www.eastcoastmarksman.com. This guy really knows what he's talking about. He'll point you in the right direction.

If you want a good gun get a kimber custom 2. Best .45 out there. It is what LAPD as well as many departments. They run about $800 though. Otherwise get a glock. My opinion model 22 in .40 caliber. About $400. Home defense get a shotgun. They will take someone down and if you have kids you don't have to worry as much about going through a bunch of walls.

.44 mag revolver in whatever high quality brand you choose.

Dead men don't talk.

If you want a good gun get a kimber custom 2. Best .45 out there. It is what LAPD as well as many departments. They run about $800 though. Otherwise get a glock. My opinion model 22 in .40 caliber. About $400. Home defense get a shotgun. They will take someone down and if you have kids you don't have to worry as much about going through a bunch of walls.


I would not have to worry about the bullets going through the wall cause if someone breaks into my house they are gunna catch a few in the chest, there will be nothing on the wall but some splater. I will give you my address if you want to test my theory.

Thanks for all the replies, guys. A few addressed remarks:

Yogs: I currently own a .45 Ruger Vaquero, which is a revolver, and the recoil isn't too bad. I keep it in a drawer next to my bed, the problem with it is not its viability as a weapon, but that particular model uses a loading gate instead of a swing-out cylinder, making loading it time consuming, and I'm not entirely comfortable with leaving it loaded all the time. I'd like an automatic so I can load a clip and leave it close, so I could smack it in quick if needed.

Jet-Lee: Glock 10, hmm, can't find that model on Glock's site. What's the caliber?

Aruba: Deagle would be much fun, but I figure if my .45 LC rounds are hard to find, then .50 cal would be even more so. Plus, the thing's gotta be damned expensive. Still wanna fire one though...

burnM: :lol: :grinno: She hasn't come around for awhile, and I've told her not to come back, but there's an outside chance her little boyfriend might show up... :evillol:

Shotgun folk: I plan on getting a good pump too, sooner or later. Maybe 12 gauge, not sure yet.

Knucklebuster: Good link, man, I'll be looking at it.

Keep 'em coming guys, this is great stuff.

Dude, I used to have one of those...I'll let you know how much I sold for shortly...gotta look it up, been a while.....awesome gun, fun to shoot, not as much kick as the DE 44 though.

Things to think about...
My home defense pistol was a 10mm. With full power Norma loads, it was equal to and surpassed many 41 mag loads. I can put double taps into the ten ring all day long. That is until I tried a real test. Take whatever caliber you want to a gun range and shoot them in low light.
I was blinded by the 8 inch wide, one foot long fireball. If there were two people, I'd have been a goner. Something to think about.

45 acp's flash is not too bad. Very livable and felt recoil is really pretty tame. Buy a Colt. It's never a good idea to go cheap. Your safety is
worth a few extra dollars.

357mag I was never a big fan of these, sorry.

38 spl +P Excellent round. Using the very soft nyclad rounds, simply awesome. On a small to medium frame, felt recoil is similar to a 22 cal..
May not be as glamorous as some of the others, but...there's something to be said for amazing accuracy. My Diamondback can place all six rounds into a nickel sized hole(21mm). The nyclads will flatten out like the old Speer "flying ashtrays".

44 mag is way too big for anything but hunting. You can use 44 spl loads but your still saddled with a large, heavy frame. Difficult to weld in a home/tight quarters. Unless you live in a mansion. A 44 mag Desert Eagle is easier to shoot and shoot well than many 10mm or 45s.
A three bolt gas action system helps with accuracy and felt recoil. Mine can place all seven rounds into a 2"X3" hole at 50 yards.

Buy whatever you can shoot well and allot. Practice means more than caliber. 40 cal. ammo can get pricey, so can 357 and many others. I personally like to practice twice a month. 38 spl are very cheap. Other calibers are better when you start to reload.

For a trouble free semi-auto, with fairly reasonable prices, consider a SIG or Glock. I carry both every day and have shot thousands of rounds through them. I carry these on duty and trust them with my life. Good luck. Marty

For a trouble free semi-auto, with fairly reasonable prices, consider a SIG or Glock. I carry both every day and have shot thousands of rounds through them. I carry these on duty and trust them with my life. Good luck. Marty

What model Glock do you carry? And what department are you? im just a curious guy cause im going to school soon to study criminal law and justice cause i want to become a police officer.

go with a Beretta 9mm

unbridled quality in materials and reliability, fine stopping power, very durable, just an all around good weapon.........oh, accurate too

ugg... I hated carrying the M9 Beretta when I was a MP in the air force. I have small hands, so for my to release the magazine, I had to shift the grip in my hand, I couldnt do it all with one hand. was especially a pain doing speed drills. tis why I like my glock 21. small and fits very nicely in the palm of my hand. One Thing, I noticed you didnt say what size hands you have. did you want the ability to do everything with your one hand? in that case, you could go with a sig sauer. the decock, slide release and mag ejector are all we placed for the ease of a small hand. S&W makes a few hand guns that are very at ease for small hand with a single stack magazine, or a double. the 4056 is a good one...

why don'y you be a real man and get a 50? Anything else is worthless.. I personally own a 9 milli, a 50,tech 9 and a street sweeper. Anyone want war? Not legal either so im gonna come test that guys theory

GO ahead and test my theory, i Guess i will have to pull out the classic super soaker 950. You just asked for a whoopin. But seriously i was kiddin' on the theory, stay out of my house and i will certainly stay out of yours.

If I recall correctly glocks dont have a safety

Yes, they do have a safety. Its inbuilt into the trigger system.

bah guns are for pussies. I use a real samurai sword katana as defense, a sword rack right above my bed. It's more intimdating to someone when u hold the blade to their neck than pointing at gun at them. Yes I know if they have a gun you are screwed, but for the wankstas with knives you can take out a whole group if you have a sword. I also have some nun-chuks nearby but I don't know how to use em well yet, end up hurting myself.

They also say using guns for defense isn't a good idea, you are more likely to shoot a family member than a thief. Some people get paranoid at night and they will shoot at any moving thing with a dark shadow.

Here ya go Moggs.

http://www.glock.com/_safe_action_.htm

I just keep my golf clubs by the doorway......... oh yeah, my cat is not a cat. She's a freakin' badger who doesn't like anyone but me.... and she attacks on command :evillol:

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/133916120-2093_IMG.JPG

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/133916120-2094_IMG.JPG

http://files.automotiveforums.com/gallery/watermark.php?file=/503/133916120-2095_IMG.JPG

She's the ONLY home defence system!!

WTF? Your pussy has a laser in it's eye?

Just a trick of the light... lucky pic.....

ugg... I hated carrying the M9 Beretta when I was a MP in the air force. I have small hands, so for my to release the magazine, I had to shift the grip in my hand, I couldnt do it all with one hand. was especially a pain doing speed drills. tis why I like my glock 21. small and fits very nicely in the palm of my hand. One Thing, I noticed you didnt say what size hands you have. did you want the ability to do everything with your one hand? in that case, you could go with a sig sauer. the decock, slide release and mag ejector are all we placed for the ease of a small hand. S&W makes a few hand guns that are very at ease for small hand with a single stack magazine, or a double. the 4056 is a good one...

I've got pretty good sized hands, about 7" from wrist to tip of longest finger.

What model Glock do you carry? And what department are you? im just a curious guy cause im going to school soon to study criminal law and justice cause i want to become a police officer.


Glock 21, Sig P220. Midland Police Dept./Texas
Good Luck.

thanks.

desert eagle is just for blastin the shit out of anything, not very practical. Huge stopping power but also huge huge kick-back. I'd get a five-seven or usp .45.

I 've actually shot one, and the recoil isn't really that bad. The weight of the gun actually neutralizes most of the kick back.

^ really, I thought the massive .50 cal bullet would throw ur shoulder out. Did you shoot the .357 or .50 cal DE?

^ really, I thought the massive .50 cal bullet would throw ur shoulder out. Did you shoot the .357 or .50 cal DE?

.50 cal. Back when I used to live in Minnesota for a short time, got to actually tour Magnum Industries where they make them. What a treat. I'm not saying you can shoot it like it's any other gun, but if you use proper bracing technique, you can fire the whole clip with no big deal. Your arm still feels like it's used a jackhammer for half an hour. :p

Glock uses three safeties, basically all built into the trigger. My opinion the best safety out there.

The sporting goods stores around here carry a good selection of the most common Glock models, as well as several Berettas, Rugers, Colts, and such. I saw a Colt 1911 I'd have carried out with me if I had $500 on me at the time. :D

I guess I need to go check on prices for ammunition and go from there. It'll still be a few months before I have enough $$ to consider shooting it (pun most definitely intended) on a new pistol. But when I do, I'll revive this post for an update.

My advice is...

Don't purchase a pistol made in a country that doesn't win or fight in wars.

There are plenty of documented incidents of accidental discharge of a certain handgun with a safety inbuilt into the trigger.

If you want to shoot targets on any kind of serious basis - get a target pistol. It will be better balanced and suited to the task. I mean you wouldn't go racing around a track in a Taurus would you?

Now according to someone I know who should know (ie someone well qualified at ensuring the protection of other individuals - hint, hint) the whole purpose of self defence is to not get into a situation where you need to have the confrontation in the first place - otherwise why would you lock the windows and doors when you are asleep?

The first rule of thumb is try to get the offender off your property promptly without violence. Turning on the lighting, making noise and alerting neighbours and police will usually cause the nefarious to bolt.

Even if they do leg it - do not pursue. Leave it to the professionals - you still have an obligation to protect your loved ones and family and if you do pursue you may leave them unprotected.

Failing that - barricade yourself and your loved ones and call for help. If you have absolutely no choice then you should employ as much force as is reasonable given the threat to yourself and those you are protecting.

Yup, thats all true, but you need defence in depth. IE the pistole should be your last last last resort.

Go HK, because in a world of compromise, some don't.

It depends on where you live, too. IE I don't need one unless I'm going into Otara at night. Which I won't.

Go to a range, test fire some of their guns, find which one you like best, and get it. If it comes to the point you need it then use it, if not then dont, quit horsin around, this thread seems to be nothing more than peoples opinions bout different guns. It's like saying "what's better, a Boss 302 or a 2.0L twin turbo's and NOS?" It's all personal opinion. (I'd go with the latter)

Ruger p97 decock $400 new .45ACP will drop almost anything you can think about its what I trust my life to. 8+1 mags and you can fit in old ones that hold i want to say 12 rounds.
Ruger is the hands down best bargin for guns. They are so well made and Ruger could charge 2 times more but they dont because they want to make sure everyone can afford them. I think Ruger is best US gun maker.
But .45 ammo is alot a .40 cal is a good choise too alot of shooters dont feel comertable with .45s .40s are alot tamer to the shooter and have alot of stoping power too.
During my Break in for my P97 it was shooting @ 7yrds under half inch groupings its gotten tighter.