New Guy Seeking Gun Advice

Hey guys, i come to Guns & Hunting sub forum to seek advice about weapons.

First off, i've never owned a large gun, only BB Gun and Paintball Marker as a child. My parents, especially my dad, was never keen on hunting or having protection, so i never had them around growing up.

My father-in-law on the other hand is a retired DEA Narcotics Officer, and though isn't Gun Crazy, carries with him ALL the time because he can, and has probably seen some crazy stuff at work that he feels the need to have one.

I have a wife and 18 month old baby boy and live in a Houston suburb. My wife is on some Facebook group that shares new articles, primarily ones about local rapes and attack, burglaries and the such and is freaking out.

With this in mind, my father-in-law will give us a gun(s) as long as we take a CHL class and go with him to the range. Interistingly enough, the gun is one that someone used to commit suicide with. The wife thinks it's weird, so i plan on buying one for her and one for myself.

We'd like to have a gun that meets the following criteria:
- be able to be concealed carried (purse, car, holster on person, etc)
- smaller in size (we're short and not the strongest and feel that large guns are akward feeling)
- useable for home protection or protection outside the home
- ammunition that isn't outrageously expensive or difficult to find
- between $300-600

In conclusion, a packable, cheaper gun, easy to use as personal defense and easy to use and learn for beginner gun owners.

 

Go to a range where they rent handguns. Shoot as many of them as you can so you can choose one that you like and you can shoot comfortably. Choosing a handgun is a personal choice. What works for one, may not work for another.

Practice a lot.

 

Talk to your FIL. He may have bit of a collection and if you explain your interest he may take you out shooting some different types of guns which would get you a better perspective on what you want

 

Above posts pretty much sum it up. You have to try a few to find one that fits you best. Try both a semi-auto and revolver. The best gun for personal protection is one that you keep with you and can shoot effectively. All of the popular calibers have rounds that are designed for defensive use and will stop a bad guy. Heck, even a .22cal will work if that's all you find comfortable. Even for that small of a caliber, I wouldn't want to be shot with it...

 

My favorite cc pistol is the Ruger LCR. I have one in .357 but it can also use .38 special. They make a .22 version also but I haven't seen .22 ammo at a store for over a year...


Being that you're in Texas there should be no shortage of ranges for you to try things out

 

Smith & Wesson M&P Shield or M&P Compact. Great guns

 

also look at the springfield XDs very good size and I have the .45 one shot will stop most

 

A compact pistol in a large caliber will not be particularly friendly to a new shooter.

 

Having over 30 years in Law Enforcement and carrying both in uniform and concealed, I recommend the following:
1) shoot both revolver and semi-automatic weapons (revolvers are easy to learn, but limited in capacity) semi- automatics have a higher learning curve.
If you father -in- law, is retired he was on the job, long enough to have carried both, give him a chance to show you his knowledge.
2) the gun not carried, will not help you. Don't run out and but a 1911 .45, it is too large to conceal for most people and someone new to carrying probably won't like the weight. A snub nose .38 cal revolver or a small single stack 9mm semi auto, is easily concealed and the newer ones are very light weight.
The .380 Ruger LCP is now my favorite carry concealed weapon.
3) carry your weapon in a inside the waistband holster or pocket holster. Ankle holsters are for back up weapons only! For your wife, never let her carry her weapon in a purse, if the purse is snatched, you have just given a nice weapon to the bad guy to use on the next victim.
4) most shooting incidents occur close up, if you are aware of you surroundings, you will have the time to access your weapon and use it, when confronted with great bodily harm or robbery.

 

Don't shoot anything until you've become familiar with handguns in general using a 22lr.
The smallest, least powerful round will teach you much more and in a more manageable package.
Avoid the idea you have to shoot what someone else or law enforcement is shooting.
Take your time, don't be in a hurry.
If anyone hands you a powerful handgun to learn with, hand it back and say no thanks.

 

True

 

Great advice in here.

I was in a similar situation a year ago, young family and looking for some home/camping protection etc. We went to a few different ranges, mainly to find one staffed by people that could actually talk to non-gun enthusiasts. We decided on 9MM just for availability and price etc. After handling and shooting almost everything in the case my wife ruled out Glocks .. she hated the way they felt in her hand. I ruled out a couple others, I don't remember the model but the entry level S&W. It felt cheap to me, sloppy. We both really liked the Ruger SR9 full size and compact but they were out, for a while.

Eventually we tried the new Walther PPX and fell in love. It's full size but hands down fit the best in both of our hands and we also both thought it had the best trigger feel. We purchased it, signed up for a family membership and haven't looked back.

We'll be picking up our second one soon .. either the SR9 compact, or a .40 .. not sure yet.

The point is go to a local range, meet the guys and try everything. Make sure your wife also does and then decide. Don't forget a fingertip safe ..

 

Go to the gun shop and hold (and shoot if they have a range) as many guns as you can, what feels the best to you and your wife, and what feels the best when you shoot it is what you should pick.

For looking into specific pistols the most popular are the smith and wesson M&P pistols and the glock pistols (usually the glock 19)

 

this. and x2 practice as much as you can, even for 1h at a time.

also agree with talking to the FIL, he maybe able to help you out on a mer personal level.(like help with what size guns and all.) also don’t be scarred away from something like a .40 cal just cause you small. i started shooting a glock model 22 .40 at like 10 years old and i’m still kinda small.(5’8” about about 130) I can shoot it better than a 9mm or .22 seams odd but i can. I can also shoot a 45 even better. I’m not telling you what to get, just see where you said you talking about being shorter and all. at least shoot one a little with the right one you may like it better than something smaller, but wont know till you shoot it a bit.


if i was to get a CCP i’d get a compact or sub compact 40 or maybe even a 45.

 

Different strokes for different folks... but here's my opinion.

If you feel the need for protection NOW, I'd say go buy 2 guns. A .22 revolver and a .38 revolver.

-The .22 is cheap to shoot (if you can find ammo), easy to shoot, great for practicing technique, and can double as a snake/rat/survival gun. Not the best gun for selfdefense, but its better than nothing if its all you have.

-The .38 is easy to learn for ANYONE. It's highly concealable, moderate recoil, easy to maintain, and .38 ammo is coming back quicker than most other calibers.


My dad carries a S&W model 36 everyday and has since he joined LAPD in 1986. It will always fire. And if it doesn't, you dont have to worry about a malfunction; you just pull the trigger again. If you and your wife are beginning and don't want to worry about learning semi auto malfunction techniques yet, then I think a revolver is the way to go.

Call me crazy, but i think that while you don't have the capacity of a magazine fed gun, you have the confidence that "if you point at a target, you have 5 trigger pulls to eliminate a threat".

Way better than having a semi-auto and: "if i point at a target... is the safety on? is there a round chambered? *click* why didn't it fire? bad ammo, is the safety still on?"

 

Revolver in 357 cal. This chamber can also handle less agressive and cheaper 38 special cal. loads to learn to shoot with!

 

well, ...this is a common question that never fails to attract "opinions", ...so why not offer mine?

...first of all, since you and your wife are new to it, i highly recommend taking a "first shots" type class (check ranges in your local area): why? because they introduce you to important safety ideals, basic type of handguns and functionality, and you get some range time shooting 3 or 4 different kinds of handguns under instructor supervision...

secondly, ...you'll need to decide what kind of handgun(s) you gravitate to (for whatever reasons), ...revolver, semi-auto pistol, ...hammerless, hammer, striker-fired, double and single action or just double action only, thumb safety or no safety... these are things that the aforementioned class will familiarize you with a bit

thirdly, ...you might be able to narrow down to 3 or four particular makes/models, ...a good time to rent one and shoot a box of ammo through (check local ranges to see who rents guns there), ...if the gun is for both you and your wife, it will have to be a joint decision, ...something that works well for both of you, comfortable w/, ergonomical match for you, etc... w/ handguns, the ergonomical factor is very personal and important to being effective w/ it...

fourthly (not sure of the grammer here ):

<wiley's opinion> i'd look into the walther PPS, S&W M&Pc, S&W M&P shield, Ruger SR9, ...notice that some of these are "single stack" guns (single row magazine, and the width profile of the grip and slide tend to be narrower), some are "double stack" (double row magazine, rounds are staggered like a "Z" in the mag, ....generally more round "capacity" than a single stack for a given grip/magwell length)...

i didn't mention revolvers mainly because i really don't have any experience w/ them.... one could say that revolvers may be a bit easier to use if you consider that semi-auto actions (magazine, slide lockup) probably have more complexity in how ammo is fed and fired, so proper training requires knowing what to do for clearing malfunctions under duress.... however, i find that modern semi-auto pistols are well suited to modern self-defense tactics, ..i.e. "running the gun", and having a removeable magazine-feed system affords superior capacity and reloading compared to revolvers IMO...
</wiley's opinion>

 

First, some sort of gun safety or intro class would be a great investment...

Once you know the basics, hold every type of handgun you can. Find out if there is a gun show near you soon, this is a great opportunity to handle (but not shoot) tons of different makes and models. Note how the grip feels, were the controls are (mag/slide release), the site picture, yada yada.

If your local range rents guns, do it, itll be expensive to rent a few and buy their ammo but will be worth it in the long run.

You should read up about different calibers, there are plenty of debates on the interweb regarding 9mm vs. .40 vs .45 vs .357 vs a brick vs a slingshot vs "insert thing here"

Whats nice is that most manufacturers realize that people have a round preference and offer the same gun chambered in different rounds.

As said before, what is right for one isnt necessarily right for another... talk to different stores, read on gun specific forums, and get something you will be confident with.

 

not sure what part of houston you are in, but if you ever want to test something out at the range ill be more than happy to let you shoot any of mine. just bring the ammo.