Go to local gun shows. Go to your local gun stores. Haunt the online gun sales folks. Go to places like Slickguns -- get a feel for prices. Pick something close to your price range - see if you like it (grip, etc.) then make the plunge. My suggestion is a 9mm -- midsize or full size. Don't start with a small, hard to hold, pistol -- that's a good way to develop a flinch that will follow you around. Makes being accurate near impossible.

Shooting is NOT about being "macho", nor is it about withstanding pain -- it is about putting bullets where you want them to go. It's hard to be precise when you cringe at the thought of the recoil -- that's why so many "suggestions" some folks make to women insures they will never become shooters. Men are not that different - some just pretend to be.

I was able to score a nearly new Sig P250 compact .40 with THREE mags, SIGLITE night sights, in the case for $350 out the door. I know alot of folks have had issues with the P250 (either with malfunctions or they just plain hate the DAO trigger) but for $350 I just could not pass this one up.

S&W Model 5906, it's a Hi Cap 9mm, Police Trade-In, at J&G Sales right now for $299. Otherwise, I would explore Ruger. They have some revolvers and a couple semi autos at that price point.

Save your money and invest in a gun that you will never want to sell and have in all situations.

You can pick up a surplus CZ 82 in 9X18 Makarov for about $220, pay the transfer fee and still have some money left over for practice ammo and a box of Hornady Critical Defense in 9X18. Really reliable designs.

LCP... is the best little mouse gun for $300..
Squeeze trigger goes bang every time ..

Originally Posted by kompactkites

Save your money and invest in a gun that you will never want to sell and have in all situations.

Once upon a time I shared that thought process & gave that same advice, but over the years of military & public service around the world, I have come to the conclusion that there is no 'one' gun for 'all' situations. There certainly are 'suitable' weapons that can handle 'most' situations, but to me, & again, just MY opinion, there is no 'one' gun. BUT 'one' gun is better than 'no' gun; the advice I give now is to purchase the best weapon you can afford at the moment, that fits your immediate needs & purpose. Then save your money for the next weapon. Purchase weapons with a purpose in mind. That purpose can be simply just for range fun, or SHTF or TEOTWAWKI. For example, I like .40S&W a lot. It's a good utility round. In my 'Go-to-hell' duffle, I have a Glock 23, a Charter Arms Pitbill revolver chambered in .40 S&W, and a JRC .40 S&W Carbine. The carbine shares the Glock mags and all three weapons fire the .40S&W. I have the 9mm conversion kit for both the G23 and the carbine, and I have a G32 barrel for the G23, so essentially, I am capable of firing the 9mm, .40S&W, and the .357 Sig. The oddball weapon is my DPMS LR308 (AR10 style rifle), and it's specific purpose is the elimination of LRTs, or dropping large game. So get all the gun you can afford now for home & self defense if you have NO weapon at all. However, if you do, then do like kompactkites said, save your cash for your next purpose. ALWAYS remember that a brand name, or steep price tag doesn't make it a perfect fail safe weapon. I have a Hi Point .45 that you can drive nails with, literally, that I bought as a joke; it's a joke no more and lives in a toolbox in truck as an emergency 'go-to' weapon. I trust it. That said, I just sent a Kimber Pro Covert II back for the second time. Pick a weapon that fits your hand, and choose quality ammo, in a controllable caliber and practice with it. Concentrated shot placement makes ANY caliber deadly. Pick up a copy of Shotgun News or go to BudsGunsShop and get yourself a S&W Model 10 .38 Caliber revolver for $250. Probably the most reliable and field tested revolver ever made. Again, just my .02 worth.

Listen to Mike.

300$ believe it or not can actually get you a decent gun. I have read some threads claiming to like the smith and wesson sigma series in your price range I personally do not like them they have a 40 cal model that would definitely stop anybody sneaking in your house but for my money I would go with a ruger p95pr it's a 9mm but a good quality pistol in your price range a revolver at that price range but would a stupid decision if you ask me

Well, what I bought, for $275.00 from the range I deal with, is a one year old, nice clean Glock 21 in great shape. I'm not planning to sell it, and it's a welcome addition to my little stable.

The surplus cz-82 is an excellent weapon.So are deals to be found at gun shows and pawn shops.

A huge tactical error I see far too many people make,,,
They buy a fine handgun but can't afford to buy ammunition for it.

So the gun sits in the closet and never gets used,,,
And by that very fact the owners never become proficient shooters.

Buy a .22 for your first handgun so you can afford ammunition,,,
Then you can afford to go to the range and practice.

A fine choice for a SA/DA combat plinker/trainer under $300.00 is the Bersa Thunder 22,,,
Another fine choice (but it's closer to $400.00) would be the Ruger SR22,,,
Either of these handguns will serve you well as a plinker/trainer,,,
And the best ammo you can buy is only 7-cents/round,,,
Decent Federal Bulk Packs is 3.9-cents/round.

If you would rather have a SA Target style pistol,,,
These five are the best choices.

I've not listed them in any order of preference.

Browning Buckmark = Great pistol but I found the grip to be funky.
Ruger 22/45 Mk II or MK III = Great pistol with a 1911-ish grip.
Beretta U22 NEOS = Great pistol with a very slender grip.
Ruger Mk II or MK III = Great pistol with a luger-ish grip.
S&W 22A = Great pistol with a very fat grip.

Any of these will serve you very well,,,
They are all reliable firearms that aren't ammo picky,,,
Rather than sweat over which one is better, get the one that fits your hand.

Honestly my friend,,,
Even if your friends all have 9's or 40's, or 45's,,,
Buy a decent .22 pistol and learn to shoot better than they can.

My friends who I used to shoot with all chuckled at my little Bersa thunder 22,,,
They stopped chuckling when I got to be a much better shot than they were,,,
I became better than they were because I shot and practiced a lot more.

Aarond

.

ruger 10-22

Sure to be some commentary on Kel-Tec recommendations, but I carry a PF-9 and train with it regularly. Initially I had some issues with fail-to-feed and fail-to-eject, but following some simple instructions easily found on the web I did some minimal polishing and shot the heck out of it. Today I consider it very reliable and pretty darn accurate as far as pocket pistols go - I can keep all the holes on a pie plate at 25ft.

I say the Ruger LC9 9mm

OK! I got tired of reading all the posts, so I stopped so I could chime in.
DUDE!
Start out like everyone should start out.
Get basic training.
Get a SIMPLE firearm that you can reliably shoot and hit the mark every time.
Take your time and do it right.
There are way too many amateurs waving guns around already. BE A PROFESSIONAL, or don't do it at all.

Sorry if this sounds harsh, but DO THIS RIGHT.
Don't cut corners on guns, training, or experience.
Your life, someone else's life will depend on YOU someday.

Originally Posted by FluBB

so lets say that i have $300 in my hands right now.... and i want to buy a handgun. i am willing to go a little bit more then that but not too much.
all i know about guns is that when i pull the trigger they go boom and it makes me happy.
im pretty sure i dont want a revolver, and in fact im not even sure how far 300 bones will get me. i am looking for a gun that would be fun to shoot with the dudes and could also kill anybody sneaking into my house.
any suggestions?

Flubb

"With great power comes great responsibility."

Save your $300 bones. You are not emotionally ready to assume the responsibility to own a gun.

Russ

Originally Posted by Russ

Flubb

"With great power comes great responsibility."

Save your $300 bones. You are not emotionally ready to assume the responsibility to own a gun.

Russ

+1, and +1

ok, i am very new in this a couple of people on this list has been giving me a hand, i say forget about gettting a handgun anything for now and find yourself a Personal advisor for Firearm training and instrution, this is a course that you can take to learn about handguns etc, besides go on u-tubes and listen to them in very careful manner, i watched at least 3 dffirent ones.
you will have to get a permit etc to have a gun, fingerprints and backround check etc that i do believe will cost you at least $50.00, oh yes and almost forgot the course i am taking is $145.00 and i was told that was a really good price and i should with no doubt take the course, i have been researching few the past 2 months at least, i lost track on how long i been researching, and no one in a store is going to give you the time of day if you walked in the store and said what you just said in that post, you have to ask questions for them to give you the time of day.

just my .02 cents

Get a shotgun.