What Gun?

[jgraham7897]

I am looking for advice on my first gun purchase. I am married with 2 kids in diapers so money is an issue. Also I am a big guy, I am 6' 1" and close to 400 pounds (good size tool shed). So what I am getting at is I am looking for a reasonably priced gun that is reliable and a comfortable way to carry. My typical warm weather wear is shorts and a t-shirt or polo shirt, cool weather varries. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[X-ffdo]

You will hear many voices, many opinions. You will hear about this, that, other brand names, This, that, other calibers. Manual safety, no manual safety, cocked and locked, double action only (DAO)......
Go and get a basic course at a range with a trainer, that way you will get the safety habits under your belt. Then read and research. Then go to a range and rent a few DIFFERENT guns.
Get the gun that fits your hands!. Guns are like shoes, they fit different for every one.
Get the gun that YOU can shoot well!. (I can hit the target!)
Try different guns to see what appeals to you. Try different calibers to see how well you can handle the different calibers.
Settle for the one you can "Achieve oneness with". You will know it! It will fit well, easy to shoot, and your score will reflect it! Shot placement is the most important issue, you can carry a cannon, it is no good if you cannot hit the target, you only would be making noise!!!!. Stay with something that is simple and easy to know, practice a lot until you master that. Get a trainer or a mentor. Someone you can ask questions. Someone with the school of hard knocks behind them. Use the KISS principle, so that you know what to do when you are under stress. Complicated systems lead to stress and mistakes.
Will I forget to take the manual safety off, when I am under a BG threat, under stress, or am I trained well enough to not forget, so I can shoot if I need to?
Most of all look for reliability. Then again, like a car, if the engine does'nt run you have no car!. And practice, practice, practice. Do so until your level of self confidence swells in your chest. Most people buy a gun, shoot it and then after cleaning it, there it goes to the safe, to become "safe queens", people with a lot of Safe queens, never master any of them! Safe queens get sold a lot, at a loss. Used guns get sold a lot by people that do not shoot them after they initially buy them. Have a good gun and master it!
So to recap:
Get trained.
Research.
Rent as many guns as you can. Test drive before you buy!
Get a support system you can fall back on. Join a shooting club, get to know about people that will help you to grow!
Be careful about "knowitalls" and armchair experts.. (Including me). Go collect your own info. Beware of people and their strong opinionated bias...There are many good weapons out there, Sigs, Glocks, H&K, Kimbers and all source or modes of 1911s, Berettas, etc....
Finally: Caliber.
Shoot the biggest caliber that YOU can carry and YOU can shoot well, in the package that YOU can comfortably carry.
Good luck!
Remember!, "If you don't shoot, you can't score"....go for it!!!!

[CCWInstructor]

Lets cut to the chase, find the biggest caliber that fits your hand.

[spc]

X-ffdo
Your wisdom never ceases to amaze me. Good post.

CCWI,,, yoour brevity is amazing and to the point.

From me. Get the biggest caliber that you can comfortably handle (45). Buy what fits your hand and works well for you.

Train, Train and train some more.

spc

[IAmASensFan]

Originally Posted by CCWInstructor

Lets cut to the chase, find the biggest caliber that fits your hand.

S&W .500

[X-ffdo]

Thanks, SPC.....

[CCWInstructor]

As far as price. You need to ask, What is my life worth to me? 500.00, 750.00, 1,000.00. Or my answer "priceless". I only carry the best, because I value my life.

[K-dog.v3]

Try a couple of Glocks.

- No "break in" period.
- No mag issues. Works best with the factory mags it came with.
- Not picky about ammo.
- Works best bone stock. I only add Trijicon sights.
- Low bore axis.
- Pull the trigger and it fires, no saftey to release. ( Some call this a draw back but I also shoot revolvers so its the same drill. Front sight..press.)
- I have never had a failure with any of my glocks.

[newshooterinca]

Originally Posted by K-dog.v3

I only add Trijicon sights.

+1 on that, I have the Trijicons on all of mine, I shoot very very well with them (much better than any factory sights) and it's easy to have the same sights on all guns. You only have to know one sight picture

[X-ffdo]

Originally Posted by K-dog.v3

Try a couple of Glocks.

- No "break in" period.
- No mag issues. Works best with the factory mags it came with.
- Not picky about ammo.
- Works best bone stock. I only add Trijicon sights.
- Low bore axis.
- Pull the trigger and it fires, no saftey to release. ( Some call this a draw back but I also shoot revolvers so its the same drill. Front sight..press.)
- I have never had a failure with any of my glocks.

For all of the above, accurate and true on all counts, in my experience.
Your mileage can always vary.
Then again, Glocks may not be pretty, but if I am looking for beautiful, this is not the subject or place.(I head for Miami Beach, for that!)
I demand, simple, reliable, accurate and trustworthy. That has been my experience thus far. If anyone has a better one, I am not dogmatic. I use what works for me. For you...... it might be diferent!. That is why we have sooo many different kinds and brand names in the gun business.
With a Glock, I know it'll perform for me!

[henry bowman]

I echo the comment calling for Trijicon sights on the GLOCK. Standard GLOCK sights suck and I'm always shocked when I see people tell me how much they love their gun and when I see it, it is a GLOCK with standard sights.

[X-ffdo]

Use whatever works for you!

[UNSUB]

Dear jgraham7897,
I hope this is not too late. I just signed on to the forum yesterday. You stated you were on a tight budget. How great is your need? Are you under threat? CCWs cost a bit of money to pursue and maintain. Just to keep competent with a handgun will cost you time, ammunition and range fees; the cost in money will be at least fourty or fifty bucks a week. Your kids and your wife are the most important things in your life. Spending time with them is the best investment in you'll make. If you're still interested in getting information on a good handgun and holster, I'll be lurking. And there are others with great information here too.

[K-dog.v3]

Originally Posted by UNSUB

Dear jgraham7897,
I hope this is not too late. I just signed on to the forum yesterday. You stated you were on a tight budget. How great is your need? Are you under threat? CCWs cost a bit of money to pursue and maintain. Just to keep competent with a handgun will cost you time, ammunition and range fees; the cost in money will be at least fourty or fifty bucks a week. Your kids and your wife are the most important things in your life. Spending time with them is the best investment in you'll make. If you're still interested in getting information on a good handgun and holster, I'll be lurking. And there are others with great information here too.

No Flame... but what is the point of your post ?

[OCResident]

This pretty much sums it up.

Originally Posted by X-ffdo

Shoot the biggest caliber that YOU can carry and YOU can shoot well, in the package that YOU can comfortably carry.

Just to throw out a few things to try at the range:

• Glock - compact or subcompact i.e. 23/27 in .40, 38/39 in .45 GAP, 32/33 in .357Sig (mid-price range)
• S&W M&P .40 Compact (mid-price range)
• Kimber CDP 1911 in 3" or 4" (>$1k)

There are many others, but those are probably the most popular on the board (here come the dissenters). I left off the Springfield XD as there are some problems that will cost extra to get fixed (ask CCWI), but that is another popular one.

Consider used guns before you consider cheaper/lower quality new guns. I would also recommend working towards the point of having two carry weapons - that way if you need to send one in the shop, or it's dirty from the range, you still have something to carry.

Don't forget to factor in some money for a quality holster. An expensive gun in a cheap holster won't conceal well or be comfortable. See some of the other threads that discuss holsters in depth.