First pistol recommendations

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smith&wesson m&p, if you are looking for a manual safety this is one of the very few with that option. 9mm would be cheapest to target shoot and hollow points for home defense, +p rounds give it about the same or sometimes more energy than .40. If you get .40 you can also have the option of getting conversion barrel to 9mm or .357 to shoot with, but I would prefer to just not do conversion and spend that on another gun.
 
I like my M&P 40 and would recommend it. I do not like it for a CCW however.
 
Originally Posted By: wkcars
smith&wesson m&p, if you are looking for a manual safety this is one of the very few with that option. 9mm would be cheapest to target shoot and hollow points for home defense, +p rounds give it about the same or sometimes more energy than .40. If you get .40 you can also have the option of getting conversion barrel to 9mm or .357 to shoot with, but I would prefer to just not do conversion and spend that on another gun.


I like the suggestion of a S&W M&P9 which gives me the option of +p rounds (which I believe the M&P allows). My NRA instructor spoke very highly of S&W M&P and said they are an all around excellent weapon. He carries a M&P 40 and offered me to opportunity shoot it next time at the range.
 
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There are lots of people who find the 9mm to be a bad round, lacking real stopping power. Much can be found searching stopping power-handgun-9mm ect

The FBI moved away from the 9mm after this shootout.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_FBI_Miami_shootout
Of the eight agents at the scene, two had shotguns in their vehicles (McNeill and Mireles), three were armed with semi-automatic 9mm pistols (Dove, [censored], and Risner), and the rest were armed with revolvers.
The subsequent FBI investigation placed partial blame for the agents' deaths on the lack of stopping power exhibited by their service handguns. The FBI soon began the search for a more powerful caliber and cartridge. Noting the difficulties of reloading a revolver while under fire, the FBI specified that agents should be armed with semiautomatic handguns. The Smith & Wesson 1076, chambered for the 10mm Auto round, was chosen as a direct result of the Miami shootout
 
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It all depends on the ammo.
Ruger p-90 .45 for home. hollow points
Ruger p95 17r mag for the road. Loaded with corbon powerball
Ruger lcp 380 when wearing shorts in summer. FMJ loaded.
Walther p22 plinking/walking.loaded with cci stingers
 
Originally Posted By: fxrider
A 9MM Black Talon will stop a human in a heart beat.

I think doing your own research is great.Lots of opinions out there.
The Black Talon bullet came under intense negative media scrutiny after it was criminally misused in a shooting rampage in a San Francisco office building in July 1993. The news media reported falsehoods that Black Talon's "razor sharp claws" created particularly ghastly, devastating and unsurvivable wounds.

The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsies of the fatal shooting victims gave a detailed presentation about his findings at the 1994 IWBA Wound Ballistics Conference in Sacramento: "The 101 California Shooting: The Black Talon Bullet," Boyd Stevens, M.D., Medical Examiner, San Francisco, CA. He stated that the wound trauma produced by Black Talon was unremarkable, meaning the wounds were no different nor any more severe than wounds produced by typical JHP handgun bullets. Each of the victims incurred fatal injury because a bullet passed through a vital structure.

Winchester designed the Ranger Talon with what they call a "reverse-taper" copper jacket. What this means is that the copper jacket on the Ranger Talon is thicker at the tip than at its base, and this is the opposite of conventional hollowpoint bullet designs. This thickness is necessary to provide stiffness to the talons after expansion so they remain in ideal position to cut tissue that flows around the mushroom skirt.

Contrary to the pronouncements of gunwriter Ed Sanow, who claims that the Black Talon/Ranger SXT/Ranger Talon bullet slowly expands during its first 8 inches of penetration, the thick copper jacket requires the bullet to rapidly expand after impact when velocity is highest. Once the bullet begins to slow, the forces acting on the copper jacket and lead core which cause the bullet to deform, decrease. His absurd claim that this bullet gradually expands as it penetrates simply defies the laws of physics, and is based on fantasy.
 
Originally Posted By: clarkflower
There are lots of people who find the 9mm to be a bad round, lacking real stopping power. Much can be found searching stopping power-handgun-9mm ect

The FBI moved away from the 9mm after this shootout.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_FBI_Miami_shootout
Of the eight agents at the scene, two had shotguns in their vehicles (McNeill and Mireles), three were armed with semi-automatic 9mm pistols (Dove, [censored], and Risner), and the rest were armed with revolvers.
The subsequent FBI investigation placed partial blame for the agents' deaths on the lack of stopping power exhibited by their service handguns. The FBI soon began the search for a more powerful caliber and cartridge. Noting the difficulties of reloading a revolver while under fire, the FBI specified that agents should be armed with semiautomatic handguns. The Smith & Wesson 1076, chambered for the 10mm Auto round, was chosen as a direct result of the Miami shootout


Gotta remember, this was back in the days before good powerful hollow points. There are states that don't allow or police departments still don't carry hollow points so they go with larger calibers/higher power loads. And the 10mm was too powerful with too much recoil which is why they came up with the .40s&w. 9mm with modern +p hollow point is a very good option for defense imo.
 
>>>Gotta remember, this was back in the days before good powerful hollow points. .

Lots of compromise. I hate shooting for fun what might be the best defense rounds. For me a 357 and a 45 is just not fun.
As I said I carried a 32,much less than a 9mm, cause it was good for me (wearing shorts in S Fla)
All what you are looking for. At the house I always had a 12 Ga too. Hard to beat that
 
Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Originally Posted By: MajorCavalry
Glocks (G26)


How well do you like this one? This is probably what I`ll be buying for my new concealed carry. I currently carry a Remington 380.


Really a very solid gun. I do prefer my Walther P99 AS compact. Great trigger. I will keep the G 26 as I think it is indestructable!
 
Another thought on the S&W M&P...it comes with three handle backstraps (as do some other pistols). This allows you to customize the grip so that it fits your hand. This is a nice feature in a pistol.
 
I own a lot of handguns and no handgun has been better than the CZ-82. Perfect grip and sights and the light 9x18 caliber makes it easy to handle. When it comes to making my shots count I use the CZ and carry it too. It being a $200 pistol and cheaper than most pistol rounds makes it a great pistol to own.
 
I like the comfort of shooting my CZ-82 at the range but it is a little too big to carry in a jeans pocket. So it stays at home.

I carry my PPK in my jeans pocket (yes, when hugging, it's a gun in my pocket even if I may be happy to see them). Shooting more than a few rounds may be uncomfortable but it's mobile and small enough.
 
I'd say a Glock 19 or CZ75B would be excellent choices. Get to the range and shoot everything you can get your hands on. Pick the one that you shoot the best and feels comfortable in your hands.

DO NOT buy into that [censored] that 9mm isn't enough to stop a threat. 9mm is plenty powerful.

DO NOT buy into that [censored] that there's such a thing as particular caliber that has "One Shot Stopping Power". The power to stop a threat is directly attributable to your shooting abilities. If you put the bullet where it's supposed to go, it will stop the threat.

The day they develop commercial phasers from Star Trek is the day I'll buy into that One Stop Shot notion.
 
For a first pistol, my recommendation is a .357 revolver. Simple to shoot, simple to maintain, put cheap .38 SPL in it for target practice (mild round/recoil) and full on .357 JHP for self-defense...

I know you want an auto-loader...but you don't say why...

If you're sold on the auto, a 9mm is a good compromise between shooting cost and round effectiveness. I own a couple of .40s (H&K USP compact...best gun out there...) and really like the caliber for defense/LE applications, but it is a bit more pricey at the range...again, it depends on your intended use/application...if it's just shooting, a 9mm is a good choice...

In your price range, there are a lot of choice for gun type...personally, I like the S&W 3rd Generation, like the 5906. I've had a 5906 for 22 years now, one of the most reliable things I've ever owned, heavy, but reliable, accurate and built to last...
 
Originally Posted By: Astro14
For a first pistol, my recommendation is a .357 revolver.


Sherlock sez: A pistol is not a revolver.
 
Originally Posted By: CivicFan
Originally Posted By: Astro14
For a first pistol, my recommendation is a .357 revolver.


Sherlock sez: A pistol is not a revolver.


Sherlock may say so, and that may be the vernacular in some circles...but here the dictionary differs. Pistol is a broad category of guns designed to be held in one's hand. The revolver is a subset of pistols, thus all revolvers are pistols, but not all pistols are revolvers...

In the words of Wikipedia, "The most common types of pistol are the single shot, revolver and semi-automatic."

In the case where when one is distinguishing the types, and using pistol as a subset type, then the pistol has a chamber integral with the barrel, e.g. a semiauto, but the OP's post wasn't distinguishing; he, in fact, stated that he wanted a pistol and was specifically interested in looking at semi-autos, clearly implying the broader definition in his mind, thus my answer.
 
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For a first pistol I'd probably get a 9mm.

A good striker fire is the Ruger SR9. make sure to check it out.
If you want a concealed carry, the SR9c is the same thing just smaller. You can get an extended that has a grip extension on it so it's full-size for at the range, etc.
 
I agree with the 9mm Walther PPQ suggestion. I have had one for a short time now and although I have only put about 500 rounds through it I have had no problems apart from with a box of PMC ammunition which kept jamming or failing to feed.
 
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