I grew up a hunter and my experience is mainly with shotguns and rifles. My handgun knowledge and experience is very limited. I've been wanting to get a handgun for years. My wife hates, Hates, HATES guns. Or at least did. She's a high school teacher and the last few years have slowly changed her perspective on having a handgun in the home and getting training, etc. She's read of too many shootings and has had enough bad/crazy students that she just feels that one day, maybe never, a student This is a great thing and I can finally start looking at getting a gun for us. I am left handed and without many modifications, there seems to be a limited amount of models that are ambidextrous for the two of us. (She's a righty) She's never shot before and I've been limited. I'm thinking of getting a 9mm as it seems to be the cheapest for us to shoot all the time and get proficient. I think she'll handle it better although all the times I've shot, I felt more comfortable with .45 calibers. I'm looking at the HK P30 and P2000. I just love the way they feel in my hand. I haven't shot either but I love that they have the slide release, safety, clip release, etc. on both sides. The P30 felt a bit better but I don't know much about the differences. The P2000 seems to be a hair cheaper. I've read the P2000 is a little easier to conceal. Do any of you have opinions on which of these is better? For women, lefties, CCW, etc.? They seem to come in regular and compact, single and double action. I know very little and don't know what is the best of all these options for a first time handgun owner. Are there better makes or models I should look at? Is there a good resource out there to learn the differences in options and why one would get one over the other. All the few people I've asked have told me is that it's all about personal preference. Not too helpful for one who doesn't know what they should be looking for. All I really know is that it needs to be ambidextrous so we both can use it. Also, should I jump on getting one of these quick before any government craziness? It seems most legislation, if any, will be geared toward "assault" weapons and high capacity magazines, neither of which I'm looking at.
Here is a really in depth test on a P30, 42 weeks and 91,000 rds http://pistol-training.com/archives/1406
I apologize is this has been covered a million times on this thread, but I was hoping to get some input from you guys to help me. I'm looking to get a handgun. My girlfriend and I moved into a rental house last year, and I want to have something for home protection. I've been asking a few friends and co-workers that own guns, and I'm just looking to get a couple more opinions. Most of the recommendations have been for 9mm ammo, and I'm cool with that, I guess. I want a gun that is: 1. Easy (comfortable) to use, and doesn't require a large amount of maintenance. 2. Ambidextrous - I'm a lefty, my girlfriend is a righty. 3. Affordable - looking to stay around $600 or less (I wanted to stay under $500, but everybody is recommending guns around the $550 range. 4. Cool looking. Because, hey - I want it to look cool. So far I've been interested in: Glock (19, or the 17 Gen4, the latter is ambidextrous) Walther PPK (for the cool factor, though it's a bit more expensive) or PPQ and somebody recommended a S&W M&P Shield. Anyway, if you guys want to, PM me for more info, or with any recommendations you have. Ultimately, it will be a target shooting/defense training handgun, but I want it to be something reliable that I can use comfortably if I ever have to.
If you are in Nashville, there should be plenty of gun ranges to visit and try out a few pistols. In the polymer pistols, I prefer the Springfield XD line of pistols. They come ambidextrous from the factory. I never could get comfortable with the grip angle of the Glocks.
Yeah, Nashville has a few ranges that let you rent a gun, so I might do that and see what I like. I did get a rep about one gun mentioning how my girlfriend might like the grip...this isn't really one of my main concerns. She is against the idea, but I want to have the protection. I'm hoping to bring her around to the idea of at least going to the range and learning how to shoot it.
In your price range, I happen to like the Magnum Research line of pistols. They are the ones that make the Desert Eagle pistol, but they also have whats called the Baby Eagle. It can be chambered for 9mm, 40 cal and 45. I had one in 9mm and it was one of the most comfortable guns I have ever held. It just felt good in the hands, It has a rail on the bottom if you feel you should need some sort of accessory to attach. They also come in either polymer frame or steel frame. The steel frame gun weighs about 2 lbs and feels damn solid in your hands. It was a joy to shoot.
Do what the guy a few post up is doing. HK P30 or P2000. Sure you have to shell out a few hundred more dollars but they are top of the line and meet all of your other requirements. Stay away from the Baby Eagle Ive heard nothing but bad things about their reliability. They are for yokels that wan the Desert Eagle wow factor for cheaps.
I've had a Baby Eagle .40 since 2000 and it's by far my favorite pistol to shoot. I've had zero problems with reliability. Every friend who's ever shot it likes it as well, including two LEO's. I wouldn't recommend it for CCW, it's much too heavy but for home defense and a fun shooting gun, it's still my favorite. That being said, I recommend going to a local range where you can rent a few guns and shoot them. A pistol is a very personal thing. For instance, I haven't found a Glock yet that feels comfortable in my hand. Doesn't matter how good a gun is on paper, if it doesn't work for you then it's a waste of money.
I can't recommend FNH highly enough. Here's their pistol site. I owned an FNP-9--which, at that time, was one of the best kept secrets around. It comes with two backstraps, so you can change the grip to your liking, as well as three magazines. When I ordered mine, it came with three sixteen rounders, so it may be different now. As far as reliability is concerned, it ate everything. I shot probably around 5,000 rounds with it and never had any failure to [insert problem]. Not one. It was also a great shooter. Recoil was light, it pointed great for me, and it was very accurate. It was, for lack of a better word, perfect. FNH has now built off of that first platform and created two lines, the "S" and "X"--striker fired or conventional hammer. Both have fully ambidextrous saftey/decocker, mag release, and slide stop. The S line is available in 9mm or .40, while the X line can be had in 9mm, .40, and .45. The X line is a DA/SA action, while the S is a conventional striker DA. Personally, I'd prefer the X line because I like a conventional hammer over the strikers, but that's entirely up to you. I'd trust my life with either, though. The only reason I don't have my FNP-9 anymore is because I went through a period when I shot it all the time, then the gun range I went to burned down and it sat in my nightstand for almost a year without being shot. So I sold it to a local gun shop and made an HD setup for my shotgun. I got $75 less than what I paid for it three years and 5,000 rounds later. So it's a gun that holds its value, as well. When you're settled on what you want to get, check out CDNN.com and see if they have what you want. I bought my FNP-9 from them for $380 shipped when every other store around me was charging at least $550. I paid a $40 transfer fee at a local FFL and had a brand new gun for more than $100 less than I would've otherwise.
CDNN is shut down for awhile, this huge demand is ridiculous, I like living in Charlotte but I am used to being able to buy a pistol the same day, this whole wait 30 days shit is for the birds. Pistol prices have stayed relatively constant in my area, as I said I won't be looking at a rifle for awhile.
Yeah. I went to a store on my lunch break today, simply to at least look at some models and get a feel for the grip. Too long of a line, showcases that were half empty, and completely empty ammo shelves. Tomorrow I'm meeting up with a co-worker to get a feel for a few of his guns, and see what I think of some of the grips. I might head into a range too, if I have the time. Again, looks-wise and without any actual experience, I'm totally digging the Walther PPQ.
Teach your girlfriend how to handle a shotgun and she will be able to defend both of y'all should you need to defend yours home. Handguns are subpar defensive weapons if other options are available
Happy Friday y'all, here's some big bore gun porn. The ".700 Nitro Express" inlaid in gold on the barrel roughly translates to "No, we are not fucking around." On top of that the rifle is completely handmade by a father and son team- even the extra large Farquharson style single-shot action was made from scratch. Best part is, it can be yours for only $29,750! <a class="postlink" href="http://hallowellco.com/clayton%20nelson%20700.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://hallowellco.com/clayton%20nelson%20700.htm</a> Now some stuff that may come out of my own shop this year... Spoiler I am very tempted to use this walnut blank I've been saving for a few years to make a custom prone match stock. Could be fun, could be a bitch and a half. We'll see what happens after I shoot in a prone match or two this summer. There's the blank and here's something it would end up very similar to: I hope I have the time this summer/fall to commit to it.
Until then we have animals in Africa that would happily stomp, chew, and shit your guts out if they get the chance. If that .700 ain't enough, here's a 2-Bore double rifle. The bores measure 1.36" diameter so you've got a solid half pound of lead in each barrel ready to go 1500 fps at the touch of a trigger. Seriously... 8 oz. bullets. Another completely handmade rifle, this one is just $100,000. <a class="postlink" href="http://www.stolzergunsmithing.com/2boredoublerifle.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.stolzergunsmithing.com/2boredoublerifle.htm</a>
Some people just love getting their fillings knocked loose and retinas detached. Seriously though, some big bore nuts actually take guns like that to Africa and use them on dangerous game. You couldn't pay me to shoot one of those things...