Good Concealed/First Pistol?

[philrab]

Nothing under .380 for sure, but 9mm and up preferred.

As I mentioned before for a caliber rec, revolvers IMHO .357 magnum is a no brainer. Shoot the .38 specials if that's all you can handle, but .357 has some serious knockdown ability if you can comfortably control the recoil.

For semi-autos, .380 isn't going to hurt anything bigger than a dog. I've heard all the arguments about how a .22 is lethal in the right hands, but the average person isn't the right hands. I grew up around firearms, and got PLENTY of experience with small arms in the military. I always recommend to someone they carry and shoot the heaviest hitting ammo they can comfortably control. For me, in a semi auto, that's heavy hollowpoint .45 ACP all day.

What you want in a self defense handgun is the ability to knock your target on his/her butt in a single shot. If you have to shoot, and the target is running at you, and that round goes straight through, even if it's a kill shot adrenaline and momentum are going to guarantee your assailant is going to get a piece of you. A heavy, hard hitting, hollow point is going to tend to discharge it's energy into the target and knock them down at a safe standoff range. The goal is to end the thread before they get close enough to you to injur you.

This isn't some gun neophyte or forum fanboy telling you this, this is a 31 year old guy that's spent twenty years of his life shooting on the range and in combat. If we're talking about an average self defense situation, limited range, against an armed or unarmed assailant, your goals are few and simple.

A. You want a weapon you are comfortable shooting. This involves getting the right gun, and spending lots of QT at the range getting to where your motions are automatic. Muscle memory will save your life if you ever had to rely on it. A gun in unfamiliar hands takes too long to put into action.

B. You want to do maximum damage to your opponent with each shot. If you can handle the recoil of a .44 magnum or a .45 ACP, carry them. If you can't, get the hardest hitting round you can reliably control. There is no such thing as overkill in a life or death gunfight, it's simple survive or notify your next of kin.

C. Having satisfied the first two principles, bare in mind that what we refer to as "situational awareness" will save your life more often than any firearm. Keep your eyes and ears open, avoid parking in or walking in dark areas, watch for people stalking you in parking lots. If you recognize a bad situation before you find yourself in one, you can avoid having to ever draw your weapon.

I'm 31, and with the exception of my time in the military I've only ever had to draw down on one person in my life. He was an angry neighbor, obviously loaded on something, and tried to force his way through my front door. Unfortunately for him, I answered the door with a 1911 sitting on the dining room table well within my reach and out of his view. When he stepped forward into the doorway, I grabbed the gun, safety off, and took one step back into the Weaver stance making sure I was out of his grasp. I calmly told him to step back out of my home, or I was going to take no pleasure in calling the coroner, cause "at this range, you don't have a chance in Hell of living through this". He stepped back, I slammed the door in his face, and called the apartment manager. I recognized that this guy was beating on my door late at night, obviously irritated about something and irrational, and did my due diligence by being prepared. Had I not been armed, I probably could have subdued him with my bare hands if necessarily, but no reason to take that chance.

[tayodell41]

You can conceal carry at 18 in Indiana? Here in Georgia you have to be 21.

Yeah I looked it up too, 21 here in MI as well.

So if you come up to MI for anything since you're not that far away, be careful. I know our states offer reciprocity but idk how it goes as far as age between the two.

Yeah only 18 in Indiana

[tayodell41]

Nothing under .380 for sure, but 9mm and up preferred.

As I mentioned before for a caliber rec, revolvers IMHO .357 magnum is a no brainer. Shoot the .38 specials if that's all you can handle, but .357 has some serious knockdown ability if you can comfortably control the recoil.

For semi-autos, .380 isn't going to hurt anything bigger than a dog. I've heard all the arguments about how a .22 is lethal in the right hands, but the average person isn't the right hands. I grew up around firearms, and got PLENTY of experience with small arms in the military. I always recommend to someone they carry and shoot the heaviest hitting ammo they can comfortably control. For me, in a semi auto, that's heavy hollowpoint .45 ACP all day.

What you want in a self defense handgun is the ability to knock your target on his/her butt in a single shot. If you have to shoot, and the target is running at you, and that round goes straight through, even if it's a kill shot adrenaline and momentum are going to guarantee your assailant is going to get a piece of you. A heavy, hard hitting, hollow point is going to tend to discharge it's energy into the target and knock them down at a safe standoff range. The goal is to end the thread before they get close enough to you to injur you.

This isn't some gun neophyte or forum fanboy telling you this, this is a 31 year old guy that's spent twenty years of his life shooting on the range and in combat. If we're talking about an average self defense situation, limited range, against an armed or unarmed assailant, your goals are few and simple.

A. You want a weapon you are comfortable shooting. This involves getting the right gun, and spending lots of QT at the range getting to where your motions are automatic. Muscle memory will save your life if you ever had to rely on it. A gun in unfamiliar hands takes too long to put into action.

B. You want to do maximum damage to your opponent with each shot. If you can handle the recoil of a .44 magnum or a .45 ACP, carry them. If you can't, get the hardest hitting round you can reliably control. There is no such thing as overkill in a life or death gunfight, it's simple survive or notify your next of kin.

C. Having satisfied the first two principles, bare in mind that what we refer to as "situational awareness" will save your life more often than any firearm. Keep your eyes and ears open, avoid parking in or walking in dark areas, watch for people stalking you in parking lots. If you recognize a bad situation before you find yourself in one, you can avoid having to ever draw your weapon.

I'm 31, and with the exception of my time in the military I've only ever had to draw down on one person in my life. He was an angry neighbor, obviously loaded on something, and tried to force his way through my front door. Unfortunately for him, I answered the door with a 1911 sitting on the dining room table well within my reach and out of his view. When he stepped forward into the doorway, I grabbed the gun, safety off, and took one step back into the Weaver stance making sure I was out of his grasp. I calmly told him to step back out of my home, or I was going to take no pleasure in calling the coroner, cause "at this range, you don't have a chance in Hell of living through this". He stepped back, I slammed the door in his face, and called the apartment manager. I recognized that this guy was beating on my door late at night, obviously irritated about something and irrational, and did my due diligence by being prepared. Had I not been armed, I probably could have subdued him with my bare hands if necessarily, but no reason to take that chance.

I'll be sure to take all that into consideration. Thanks.

[poorfish88]

Nothing under .380 for sure, but 9mm and up preferred.

As I mentioned before for a caliber rec, revolvers IMHO .357 magnum is a no brainer. Shoot the .38 specials if that's all you can handle, but .357 has some serious knockdown ability if you can comfortably control the recoil.

For semi-autos, .380 isn't going to hurt anything bigger than a dog. I've heard all the arguments about how a .22 is lethal in the right hands, but the average person isn't the right hands. I grew up around firearms, and got PLENTY of experience with small arms in the military. I always recommend to someone they carry and shoot the heaviest hitting ammo they can comfortably control. For me, in a semi auto, that's heavy hollowpoint .45 ACP all day.

What you want in a self defense handgun is the ability to knock your target on his/her butt in a single shot. If you have to shoot, and the target is running at you, and that round goes straight through, even if it's a kill shot adrenaline and momentum are going to guarantee your assailant is going to get a piece of you. A heavy, hard hitting, hollow point is going to tend to discharge it's energy into the target and knock them down at a safe standoff range. The goal is to end the thread before they get close enough to you to injur you.

This isn't some gun neophyte or forum fanboy telling you this, this is a 31 year old guy that's spent twenty years of his life shooting on the range and in combat. If we're talking about an average self defense situation, limited range, against an armed or unarmed assailant, your goals are few and simple.

A. You want a weapon you are comfortable shooting. This involves getting the right gun, and spending lots of QT at the range getting to where your motions are automatic. Muscle memory will save your life if you ever had to rely on it. A gun in unfamiliar hands takes too long to put into action.

B. You want to do maximum damage to your opponent with each shot. If you can handle the recoil of a .44 magnum or a .45 ACP, carry them. If you can't, get the hardest hitting round you can reliably control. There is no such thing as overkill in a life or death gunfight, it's simple survive or notify your next of kin.

C. Having satisfied the first two principles, bare in mind that what we refer to as "situational awareness" will save your life more often than any firearm. Keep your eyes and ears open, avoid parking in or walking in dark areas, watch for people stalking you in parking lots. If you recognize a bad situation before you find yourself in one, you can avoid having to ever draw your weapon.

I'm 31, and with the exception of my time in the military I've only ever had to draw down on one person in my life. He was an angry neighbor, obviously loaded on something, and tried to force his way through my front door. Unfortunately for him, I answered the door with a 1911 sitting on the dining room table well within my reach and out of his view. When he stepped forward into the doorway, I grabbed the gun, safety off, and took one step back into the Weaver stance making sure I was out of his grasp. I calmly told him to step back out of my home, or I was going to take no pleasure in calling the coroner, cause "at this range, you don't have a chance in Hell of living through this". He stepped back, I slammed the door in his face, and called the apartment manager. I recognized that this guy was beating on my door late at night, obviously irritated about something and irrational, and did my due diligence by being prepared. Had I not been armed, I probably could have subdued him with my bare hands if necessarily, but no reason to take that chance.

I like your thinking and agree 100%, butsome rookie gun owners buy a gun the way it looks or some other reason. Trying to school them on everything usually leaves your info

nun and void cause they can't remember it all. And remember the guy that said Karh cw9 is the gun to get. Not saying anything bad at all, just right there with you.

[tayodell41]

Nothing under .380 for sure, but 9mm and up preferred.

As I mentioned before for a caliber rec, revolvers IMHO .357 magnum is a no brainer. Shoot the .38 specials if that's all you can handle, but .357 has some serious knockdown ability if you can comfortably control the recoil.

For semi-autos, .380 isn't going to hurt anything bigger than a dog. I've heard all the arguments about how a .22 is lethal in the right hands, but the average person isn't the right hands. I grew up around firearms, and got PLENTY of experience with small arms in the military. I always recommend to someone they carry and shoot the heaviest hitting ammo they can comfortably control. For me, in a semi auto, that's heavy hollowpoint .45 ACP all day.

What you want in a self defense handgun is the ability to knock your target on his/her butt in a single shot. If you have to shoot, and the target is running at you, and that round goes straight through, even if it's a kill shot adrenaline and momentum are going to guarantee your assailant is going to get a piece of you. A heavy, hard hitting, hollow point is going to tend to discharge it's energy into the target and knock them down at a safe standoff range. The goal is to end the thread before they get close enough to you to injur you.

This isn't some gun neophyte or forum fanboy telling you this, this is a 31 year old guy that's spent twenty years of his life shooting on the range and in combat. If we're talking about an average self defense situation, limited range, against an armed or unarmed assailant, your goals are few and simple.

A. You want a weapon you are comfortable shooting. This involves getting the right gun, and spending lots of QT at the range getting to where your motions are automatic. Muscle memory will save your life if you ever had to rely on it. A gun in unfamiliar hands takes too long to put into action.

B. You want to do maximum damage to your opponent with each shot. If you can handle the recoil of a .44 magnum or a .45 ACP, carry them. If you can't, get the hardest hitting round you can reliably control. There is no such thing as overkill in a life or death gunfight, it's simple survive or notify your next of kin.

C. Having satisfied the first two principles, bare in mind that what we refer to as "situational awareness" will save your life more often than any firearm. Keep your eyes and ears open, avoid parking in or walking in dark areas, watch for people stalking you in parking lots. If you recognize a bad situation before you find yourself in one, you can avoid having to ever draw your weapon.

I'm 31, and with the exception of my time in the military I've only ever had to draw down on one person in my life. He was an angry neighbor, obviously loaded on something, and tried to force his way through my front door. Unfortunately for him, I answered the door with a 1911 sitting on the dining room table well within my reach and out of his view. When he stepped forward into the doorway, I grabbed the gun, safety off, and took one step back into the Weaver stance making sure I was out of his grasp. I calmly told him to step back out of my home, or I was going to take no pleasure in calling the coroner, cause "at this range, you don't have a chance in Hell of living through this". He stepped back, I slammed the door in his face, and called the apartment manager. I recognized that this guy was beating on my door late at night, obviously irritated about something and irrational, and did my due diligence by being prepared. Had I not been armed, I probably could have subdued him with my bare hands if necessarily, but no reason to take that chance.

I like your thinking and agree 100%, butsome rookie gun owners buy a gun the way it looks or some other reason. Trying to school them on everything usually leaves your info

nun and void cause they can't remember it all. And remember the guy that said Karh cw9 is the gun to get. Not saying anything bad at all, just right there with you.

I dont care too much about how the gun looks. I don't plan on showing it off, just plan on carrying IWB daily (just not to school)

[poorfish88]

How would be surprised at how many new gun shoppers do care a lot about looks. My friend bought lesser quality shotgun cause it had a slotted muzzle brake.

He wouldn't listen, and got what he payed for a shotgun that wouldn't cycle constistantly. He did have that awesome muzzle brake. te he His exact (words I want

what I want, I don't care it looks cool you don't know) Me ok. meh

[Jhunt94]

Have you thought about a gun that shoots a .357 sig or .40? plenty of knockdown power and the recoil isn't too bad.

[Sutliff]

For $500, it is hard here, but H&K is where to invest if you are going to lay down cash at all.

Not a fan of Glock.

[tayodell41]

Have you thought about a gun that shoots a .357 sig or .40? plenty of knockdown power and the recoil isn't too bad.

I have no idea what any caliber feels like so I don't know what I'm looking for.

[tayodell41]

For $500, it is hard here, but H&K is where to invest if you are going to lay down cash at all.

Not a fan of Glock.

Any specific models?