welcome from southern oregon

First gun stick with NEW...as in WARRANTY!!!
Also if it is your first consider a revolver too, dont rule them out cuz clearing a malfunction in a self defense situation is not good for a newb or the weak of heart...trust me on this one

Buy new if you can and get what you want. 9,40,45 it's all good. You have to get your feet wet sometime and your choices are just fine. Have fun at the range and try to keep em in the X ring.

buy new or used, learn to fix it..... buy any caliber, learn to shoot it..... buy any ammo, learn to hit your target.....

Just off the two you mentioned. I like them both. Difference is I like the M&P alot more. I do also agree with the don't rule out a revolver. .40 is a good round. I am not sure as to whether or not you can upgrade the barrel and shoot a .357sig out of the XD but you can the M&P. My XD was a .45 so that is why I don't know.

As to new or used. I would always go with New unless you know and trust the person you are buying from. I'm not talking about whether the gun was used in a crime or was stolen (though that is a possibility in itself), but for me I want to know how the gun was taken treated and taken care of. Plus since a majority of the time a used handgun won't be that much cheaper than a new one the little extra money, piece of mind knowing that it has been taken care of, and the fact you will get a warranty has alot going for it. Plus if someone says they have put about 1000 rounds through a gun whether they have put more or less. I think it says alot to purchase new and putting the 1000 rounds through it yourself. AA added benefit is seeing any malfunctions or problems a gun may have.

Practice, Practice, Practice!!!! With whatever you get.

I would go to your local range and see what they have for rent. That way you can see if anything catches your eye and feel how it handles.

Thanks for the advice guys, I will take a look at revolvers as I never considered the jamming factor

That and the fact that the majority of the time you will never reload in a self defense situation, and the factor that due to the close nature of an attack a snubnosed revolver will be plenty accurate enough to do the job.

Welcome from Wisconsin....I am assuming that is where you are from............check out as many handguns as you can...fit, feel, function....

Welcome....S&W M&P new has a lifetime warranty and they pay to ship both ways...plus a reputation for excellent customer service....JJ

I must admit the S&W M&P-40 feels right to me and seems to fit my large grip. but I also want to look at the Ruger SR-40 also. I sure wish there was a way to try before you buy with handguns, I know I was able to shoot several brands of shotguns at the gun club before I ended up picking the one that fit me & gave me a sight picture that I needed to see.

There is a way, if you have a dealer with a range......they usually have numerous types of handguns that you can try out...

That or someone close to you that owns one that would let you try it out.

IMHO S&W M&P's are great guns

Here's my M&P 9mm



How much are you gonna be shooting?

If you shoot a lot (I do) you can buy a new gun each year just off of the money you save shooting 9mm instead of .40 or .45

If your determined to get a big caliber ... I personally like the .45 better than the .40 cal.

Good luck

Being new to handguns means you NEED to get some practice in if you want to be proficient with the gun you are going to be using in a life or death situation. The cheapest and probably most effective route to go with would be to get a .22 target pistol or a conversion for the gun you will be getting a larger caliber in. There are quite a few conversion kits for handguns on the market today. Personally I got a target pistol as my first handgun, it was the Beretta U22 Neos, I got it used for $200 and you can shoot 50 rounds for just $2! Comparatively you could only get 10 9MM for the same price. After putting about one thousand rounds down range you should be fairly proficient with the handling operations of a handgun. At this point you can either sell the gun to put money towards a new practical defense caliber handgun. My next gun is the Beretta PX4 Storm Type F 9mm. Now many people might bash the 9mm but in all reality if you got the right ammunition being +P or +P+ it is nearly the same as 40S&W and comparable to 45ACP. Not only that it's smaller size allows you to carry nearly double the ammo in the mag as 45ACP would. Like another member mentioned it is usually a good idea to buy a gun new as I did. But if money is an issue buying a lightly used reliable handgun is also a safe route to take.