First handgun - Walther PPX?

Or .. SR9

My wife and I decided we wanted to pick up our first handgun mainly for home defense purposes. Two young boys, 4 and 2. We will also be purchasing a quick access fingertip safe. So, we did a bunch of online research and then went to our local gun shop/range and asked them for some recommendations.

They recommended several, in our price range, <$500 and we were able to try all but the PPX as it is brand new and they don't yet have it for trial at the range.

Out of all of the ones we tried we learned a few things:

My wife doesn't like the compact 9mm's, She says she constantly worries about them coming out of her hand. She also shot the full size ones much better. I thought it weird she didn't like the compacts but overall I was happy because it meant we would be shopping for a full size.

I liked the Glock g17 but she didn't, we both agreed the sights on it were bad.

We loved the Ruger SR9, both thought it was the best feeling/shooting.

The S&W we tried had a really long trigger pull that caused us both some issues. (Can't remember which model, but it was their entry level 9mm)

We both loved the look and feel in our hand of the PPX but we couldn't shoot it.

Do any of you have any experience with it? Can someone more savvy than me, I'm totally new to the handgun world, break down why it seems so good but is under $500?!?


http://www.waltherarms.com/products/handguns/ppx/

http://d2garvxno66y1g.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/Walther-Introduces-PPX.pdf

Thanks guys!

 

I know nothing of the ppx, but another pistol to look at is the SIG SP2022, it comes in 9mm or 40, it's a very good gun for $400-450 depending on where you buy it.

Another option is the smith and Wesson m&p, it's a bit over your budget at 500-550, but it is a very good pistol, it's considered by most to be just as good as a glock.
It also has different size palmswell grips, small medium and large.

Nothing beats going to the gun shop and holding and shooting a gun before you buy it.

 

Thanks for the info.

I called the range back and they have a Black SR9 w/ Crimson Trace Lightguard for $519. I'm going to look at that and then decide. Both the PPX and SR9 felt great in my and my wife's hand.

The M&P is higher out here anyway, regularly touching $600. I did not try the Sig, but I'll look at it tonight.

Excited, first purchase tonight.

 

Any specific reason you are looking into a handgun for home defense?

The advantage of a handgun is its size/portability, which you don't need.

A 20ga shotgun would be a great choice for a wide variety of shooters. They are cheaper, easier to shoot, and still well over 2x the power of most handguns. Load that up with 00 buck (not birdshot!), and you'd have a pretty handy home defense weapon.

Mossberg 500 or Remington 870's are the 2 most common examples out there.

 

I'm relatively well versed in the home defense realm. I own a Rem 870 12 gauge now. The thing about a shotgun is keeping is secure but accessible. It stays under my bed currently not loaded in a soft case. The shells sit in my dresser.

However, my boys are at exploring age now so I need to either lock it up or move it to a more secure, less easy to access location. They are 4 and 2. When they're a bit older I can teach them about safety etc. and then the shotgun won't need to be locked up all the time. I'm in the sweet spot right now of not being able to teach them but my 4 year old is more than capable of finding it and pulling it out.

The handgun in a fingertip safe can sit on my nightstand fully loaded and ready to go. I can have access to it in seconds.

Plus, my wife and I are looking for a new hobby. We both really like shooting.

So win all around.

Thank you for the tips!

 

Aye, over penetration is a major concern of mine as my house isn't laid out the best.

 

SR9 - i like the feel, ...jsut don't like the thumb safety..

walther PPS - have you tried this?... it's a single-stack, thin profile

walther PPQ - have you tried this?... this is a new model and has an excellent stock trigger...

haven't seen the PPX you mentioned yet, so can't help you there...

 

I shot the SR9 and the PPQ, I liked both of them quite a lot. Unfortunately the SR9 is on backorder. Ruger has stopped taking orders and is estimating ~6 mos before they catch up. Two different ranges told me this, a third said a year out.

The PPQ was great but a bit out of our price range.

So, I hunkered down at work tody and at home this afternoon. Watched everything I could find about the PPX. The SR9 was my wife's favorite with the PPX a very close second. She actually liked the grip better on the Walther but the overall feel of the SR9.

Lots of great reviews about the PPX .. not bad for a Walther under $450. I paid $429. Several people say it has the best hammer strike they've seen, very light and smooth.

Bought it a little bit ago and can pick it up in 2-5 days.

 

You should give the Glock 19 a try, its not a compact but is small enough in case you want to carry it someday. I have big hands, I shoot best with my Beretta 92fs which is a big hand kind of gun, and when I first looked at the Glock 19 i thought there was no way, but it actually feels great. Its a 9mm, I would suggest going with the gen 3 which will keep it in your price range and its the compatible mag version where all glock mags will still fit in it. The Gen 4 they changed to an ambidextrous mag release which changed the actual mag and consequently they wont fit any other glocks, which is one reason you buy a glock so that any G mag will fit in it.
Just my .02

 

I liked the Glock, my wife hated it. I didn't tell her which guns I was giving her because I didn't want any bias to sneak in as a couple people in our family are big Glock fans. She picked it up, put 8-10 through it and said she didn't like it. The only one she liked less was the S&W, I think the SD9 VE.

 

Might be because she shot the G 17 not the 19, the 17 is much bigger. I would try and find a 19 and try that out. Good luck.

 

SD9/SD40 sucks major ass and balls!!!

Gun of choice is Sig P229....but thats twice your price range.

I carry an M&P, and I love it. I would never go for a Glock though.

 

That's true, tho in general she doesn't like the compacts. Is the 17 considered compact or just slightly smaller?

 

Yea the S&W was terrible, the trigger pull seemed to be crazy long.

 

she might not have liked the grip angle,that's the one thing i hate about my uncles g19.

 

the 17 is full size and the 19 is compact.

 

The grip angle is what I hate about glocks. lol

 

Correct statement, although it fits fully in your hand so its not a true compact, which was my point. I was referring to the sub compact G 23 (I believe thats the sub compact version which she would not like)

 

Being relatively to in the handgun world what she said she didn't like was it didn't feel natural in her hand when lining the sights up. Caused a weird angle in her wrist? Could that be the grip angle? I noticed it but it didn't bother me too much.

 

She may just need to practice with a couple and see what fits her the best. Maybe she just needs to get used to it. I am assuming she is new to shooting?