Quote:
Originally Posted by OC Newbie
Thanks again everyone for being so helpful and friendly. I feel like I've made a whole new set of friends today!  I have to admit to being a bit hesitant to post at first because I am so green as to the subject matter and I didn't want everyone to read my posts and think "Oh great, an annoying ignoramous has joined our group." |
A newbee like you is what we live for. The annoying ones are those that introduce themselves saying "I just turned 21, I've never had a class in my life, I just shot a gun for the first time Tuesday and
you're all wrong."
I'd suggest NOT trying the H45C, because they aren't generally available in California. Julie's is rare. If you try it and fall in love with it - it's going to be hard to get one. The HK USP 45 C is available and is the same size (just a slightly different shape) you might want to try it.
Basically, these are the things to keep in mind...
1)You're just learning how to shoot. You may want to get a lot of practice just to get the basics, with something OTHER than what you're going to carry. Usually when I teach a woman beginner I start with a 4" midsize .38, just to get the mechanics of sighting, not being surprised by recoil, loading and unloading, etc.
2) For your carry gun, you have to have something that fits your hands reasonably. When I started shooting I was a kid, with VERY small hands. I couldn't shoot an O frame (1911 .45ACP, like the Kimber) because I couldn't reach the trigger. I ended up shooting a Colt Diamondback, a 38 revolver with a smaller frame. It worked for me at the time. If your hands are big enough for an O frame, it's not going to be a consideration.
3) Then we get into a balancing act. You want the largest cartridge that you can reasonably control in recoil. That's something you'll have to experiment to find.
4) You also want the smallest gun that you can reasonably control in recoil. Again, that's something to experiment with.
Without knowing how big your hands are, or how you handle recoil, I'd suggest a .40 as a place to start. If the recoil is too much for you keep working with it for a while - you can get used to much more recoil than you'd think. If it's still too much you can move down (like to 9mm), if it's not a problem you can move up (like to .45)