Hello.
I need help deciding which will make the best handgun for my purposes. I was wondering if someone here would be good enough to lend me their perspective.
I come from a family that hunts, and I served in the US Marines, so I am not a complete novice with firearms. in fact, I have shot miniguns and Mk 19s, but my experience with handguns is almost none. So it's fair to consider me to be looking for a "beginner" sort of handgun.
I want a handgun primarily for home defense. So although, as a beginner, I don't want much recoil, I need something with ENOUGH stopping power. If I could find something that meets those conditions and has good concealed carry potential, it would be a huge bonus. Also, it occurs to me that the best home defense firearm would be one that, for example, a teenage daughter, your wife and/or mother-in-law can use effectively, when you are not around to help protect them, albeit I have yet to see that point come up in discussions elsewhere.
Now, here is the part that could make you slam your laptop shut and just walk away: I want all this for between about $250-$450!
These are the options I have found so far. Please feel free to put them in order for me or tell me which you think is best for me.
9mm Pistols:
Sig P250 Subcompact in 9mm
S&W SD9VE (the one I've found in my price range is "low capacity")
Revolvers:
Taurus Model 85 (a regular weight one, with a polymer grip)
Rossi Model 461 (This would only be used for .38 +P, not .357)
380. Auto:
Ruger LC380
Glock 42
Taurus 738 TCP
My first choice would be the P250. Yet, I love the simplicity of revolvers; being able to grab something out of a sound sleep and not worry about it jamming or not working, has got to be a massive advantage in home defense situations. The lower capacity would seem not to be a significant factor, if it was just used for home defense purposes. However, the only revolver models I like in my price range are snub nose revolvers, which experience somewhat high recoil. So, although they may be intuitive enough for anyone to pick up and defend themselves with, even half-asleep, maybe they will kick too much for some users. Please correct me if I am wrong. One alternative I have found, although some may not agree, would be something in .380 like the Glock 42. Can a .380 be said to reliably incapacitate an attacker? My guess is that if loaded with jacketed hollow points, drunk or not, you wont want to find your self standing on the wrong end of one. And to prove my point, I don't even care to test out my theory. Still, I will admit, controversy surrounding .380 Auto as a defense caliber makes that caliber hard for me to have great confidence in.
Thanks in advance for your kindly consideration and advice.
I need help deciding which will make the best handgun for my purposes. I was wondering if someone here would be good enough to lend me their perspective.
I come from a family that hunts, and I served in the US Marines, so I am not a complete novice with firearms. in fact, I have shot miniguns and Mk 19s, but my experience with handguns is almost none. So it's fair to consider me to be looking for a "beginner" sort of handgun.
I want a handgun primarily for home defense. So although, as a beginner, I don't want much recoil, I need something with ENOUGH stopping power. If I could find something that meets those conditions and has good concealed carry potential, it would be a huge bonus. Also, it occurs to me that the best home defense firearm would be one that, for example, a teenage daughter, your wife and/or mother-in-law can use effectively, when you are not around to help protect them, albeit I have yet to see that point come up in discussions elsewhere.
Now, here is the part that could make you slam your laptop shut and just walk away: I want all this for between about $250-$450!
These are the options I have found so far. Please feel free to put them in order for me or tell me which you think is best for me.
9mm Pistols:
Sig P250 Subcompact in 9mm
S&W SD9VE (the one I've found in my price range is "low capacity")
Revolvers:
Taurus Model 85 (a regular weight one, with a polymer grip)
Rossi Model 461 (This would only be used for .38 +P, not .357)
380. Auto:
Ruger LC380
Glock 42
Taurus 738 TCP
My first choice would be the P250. Yet, I love the simplicity of revolvers; being able to grab something out of a sound sleep and not worry about it jamming or not working, has got to be a massive advantage in home defense situations. The lower capacity would seem not to be a significant factor, if it was just used for home defense purposes. However, the only revolver models I like in my price range are snub nose revolvers, which experience somewhat high recoil. So, although they may be intuitive enough for anyone to pick up and defend themselves with, even half-asleep, maybe they will kick too much for some users. Please correct me if I am wrong. One alternative I have found, although some may not agree, would be something in .380 like the Glock 42. Can a .380 be said to reliably incapacitate an attacker? My guess is that if loaded with jacketed hollow points, drunk or not, you wont want to find your self standing on the wrong end of one. And to prove my point, I don't even care to test out my theory. Still, I will admit, controversy surrounding .380 Auto as a defense caliber makes that caliber hard for me to have great confidence in.
Thanks in advance for your kindly consideration and advice.