What to buy.. Car to home

I am a real estate appraiser who has to drive through the not so great areas of town and also go into some vacant homes quite a bit. I'd love to have an "under the steering wheel" set up as well as something to take into vacant homes with me. I'll keep this one at home with me until I add something for in home protection..

SO my question is: What are the best options for me? 1 sensible and then one if money was no object (within reason) if that makes sense.

I am very new to guns. What do most people think of the laser sites?

I'm a decent sized guy, 6'1 240 lbs or so

I have my eyes on a Springfield XDM 3.8 9mm

Do you have any shooting experience? Do you want to be able to conceal it? Personally, I carry a Bodyguard .380...for home, I have more than one Beretta 96, which I also shoot. You really should go to a range, and fire many, many firearms, if that is possible. Everyone and their brother can tell you to get a specific firearm, but until you get accustomed to shooting, and trying out different firearms, no one can tell you, except you.

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Originally Posted by berettabone

Do you have any shooting experience? Do you want to be able to conceal it? Personally, I carry a Bodyguard .380...for home, I have more than one Beretta 96, which I also shoot. You really should go to a range, and fire many, many firearms, if that is possible. Everyone and their brother can tell you to get a specific firearm, but until you get accustomed to shooting, and trying out different firearms, no one can tell you, except you.

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I really liked the looks of the bodyguard but read some bad reviews. I definitely will be shooting before buying. How do you like the Bodyguard. I will be concealing

If a snub nosed revolver is what ya want then look at the S&W,ruger,charter arms.All good weapons.Just that snubbys require more control than a larger weapon due to short radious.The laser is a good choice for seeing where you are aiming and as an aid in sighting and trigger followthrough.It is hard to beat in concealing as it can be put in a pocket or even fired through a pocket.A small snub nose is hard to beat in your line of work.It can be easily concealed and with quality SD ammo is more than enough

How about the Smith & Wesson M&P SHIELD .40 S&W

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Originally Posted by jagator31

I really liked the looks of the bodyguard but read some bad reviews. I definitely will be shooting before buying. How do you like the Bodyguard. I will be concealing

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It depends...if you're talking about the revolver, I haven't heard anything bad about them, but, smaller firearm, more difficult to shoot...I have the semi auto...they did have some problems with the earlier serial number autos.....neither one of them are firearms that you put thousands of rounds through, at least I wouldn't...saying that, I have approx. 400 rds. through, and it ate everything it got fed. Not a 50 yd. firearm, unless your an expert, but both the Bodyguards are good from 15-20 yds. I wouldn't be shooting any +p rounds through them..not sure about the revolver, but I wouldn't in the auto. I trust it to go bang. As far as the laser, nice toy, but kind of useless in a defense situation, but I still like the firearm. Carries well, either one, in Desantis front pocket holster. Definitely not a firefight firearm, but it does the trick for me, for defensive situations. Try as many as you can.

I do kind of like the Ruger SP101 in stainless, kind of a grainy trigger, but not too bad.......also like Colt and S&W wheel guns. If I had to change my carry, I'd probably be looking for a Sig stainless P226 SAS. It's been so hot and dry in this part of the country, that my money tree is shriveling.

I'd take a long hard look at the Ruger P345. It's provides 9 rounds or serious firepower in an easy to conceal package for a reasonable price. I've got one and it's an exelllent choice, in my opinion, for personal protection. It's proven itself to be totally reliable and simple to maintain. What more could you ask ?

I would also consider the Ruger SR9c or SR9.