Self defense pistol recommendations.

[Bigjay73]

The one you shoot best! I'm a pretty good shot, Glocks are great, but dont fit my hand as well as other brands. Find a range with pistol rentals, shoot some Glocks, M&PS, Springfield etc and find one that fits best. Stay away from +P until you feel comfortable with less powerful rounds. 9mm all the way, it will stop any threat and has manageable recoil. Move up to .45 and 10mm after getting good with a 9mm. Compact if you are going to CCW, full size if its a nightstand/ truck/ open carry gun.

 

[Wildabeest]

I like my Sig P365 SAS.

That thing has the weirdest sight ever. I never could get used to it to get it on target quickly. Sold it.

 

[cgasner1]

I’m packing my micro sig 1911 tonight in a 9mm. If I had it to do over I’d still but this gun just in a 380 or .22 I’d wager you start poking holes in mf’ers they aren’t gonna be much trouble after that. Im not a pistol guy I like I can have one in the pipe and the hammer de cocked for my own safety

 

[elkduds]

38/357 7 0r 8 shot double action revolver. Simple and intuitive, won't let you down. All you need for self defense in your vehicle. 38+p is plenty for self defense against humans at gunfight range. Handle double action revolvers and semiauto pistols, you'll likely have a natural preference. Smith and Wesson, Ruger, even modern Taurus will meet your wheelgun needs. I own multiple auto pistols, prefer revolvers for outdoors carry and practice.

 

[F250]

Glock .40 or 10mm. Shot many injured deer with 9mm and .40. I don’t have any confidence in 9mm. Glocks just plain work.

 

[300stw]

pedalled my glocks , wont do that again, never liked the triggers, went to a cz p10c, ported barrel , really good trigger, i shoot it a few days a week, its in the console or in a holster behind my bino harness,
carry 148 hard cast doing over 1100 fps, from lost river ammo co.

 

[mtmuley]

See post 14. mtmuley

 

[Redmt]

Glock. 9mm. mtmuley

What he said

 

[Redmt]

That seems small for a guy like me with big hands. mtmuley

We have a 43 and a 43x. Make sure you can hang on to it without a bunch of figiting and fooling. I can barely hold the 43 and even the 43x I have fingers left over on the grip.

 

[LopeHunter]

Walther P99. 9mm. TruGlow tritium sights. Store with a 2nd magazine for home use but only carry with the one magazine. Early generation of the P99 so has the non-standard rail thus did not modify for installing a laser as had strong preference for a particular holster brand for carry which would not fit the P99 if modified the rail.

My spouse carries a Kahr K9 9mm with tritium sights and laser in a modified purse rather than a holster. Carries with one magazine and has a second for home use.

I goat hunted above Yellowstone and carried bear spray as I think the P99 was going to be 8 pounds all-in so left it at home. I also was not convinced the 9mm was the cartridge to bet my life on.

 

[El Jason]

If you don’t plan on carrying it concealed all the time, I’d take a 43 right out of the equation. A 43X, 45 or 48 are going to be your huckleberry. 9 mm, get some good hollow point ammo, shoot the heck out of it.

 

[Carl]

See post 14. mtmuley

Indeed. Pick the size that suits you.

 

[Dan O]

I have zero experience with pistols, but feel I should probably invest in one since I am spending more than half the year on the road and often in very remote areas. At home I have firearms for self defense, but they are not convenient while I am on the road with limited space.

95% of the time it will be stored in the front seat of the pickup up or with me while in the slide in. I guess there may be limited times I will have it with me in the field, but not that important in my decision.

It's just me and a dog for the most part, so not concerned with other people in the tight area if situations require force.

Anyway, any suggestions? I just need something for "just in case" in a situation that will likely never occur. I won't be putting a boxes of ammo every month for enjoyment, just an emergency tool. Not looking for the most expensive, cool pistol on the market, just a dependable self defense weapon.

thanks for any thoughts.....

Since you do not have much experience with pistols and do not want to practice much, The sensible answer is get a double action revolver. Caliber most practical is the 357 magnum. You can use 38 spec or 38 +P ammunition or up to Buffalo Bore 180 grain loads. Since Ruger is questionable for future production I would suggest S&W 686+ 2 1/2 inch or 4 inch 7 shot. It is a little heavier than the Model 66 and will last a life time shooting heavy loads.

Everyone raves about the semi auto whether Glock, Sig, S&W or Colt. It takes serious training to learn the proper safe use and knowledge to keep them running in a bad situation. When my agency switched from revolver to semi autos we were instructed by a factory S&W instructor. It consisted of 3 days training and 1000 rounds of ammunition. Some people think that's excessive and unnecessary. But remember you are training to save your ass when a bad day suddenly pops up. Its cool to have a semi auto 15 round gun but that's just the start. You need to identify a jam, double stack, bad primer or failure to go back into battery. Can you fire it when you have contact with your aggressor? Do you understand the tap & rack procedure. It my experience this is part of being proficient with your handgun. A revolver is much easier to learn and is still very effective.

Just some food for thought and remember the spray and pray shooter will probably come in second place. Accuracy trumps volume.

 

[Caseknife]

S&W mod 60 3" .357

 

[rjthehunter]

S&W m&p shield for defense against 2 legged beings, then m&p 2.0 10mm for the 4 legged variants.

The s&w is more comfortable in my hand than the glocks are. Both good reliable guns though.

 

[brockel]

The one you can throw the hardest

 

[GlockZ]

Since you have said you have very little experience with pistols, may I suggest you find a LGS or range that offers training and take those classes in order familarize yourself with pistols? As for pistols, 9mm is the predominant cartridge right now and there are plenty to chose from, Springfield Armory, Glock, Smith & Wesson, H&K, Sig Sauer among others all make great pistols. I suggest spending time to find the one that fits you and your needs best.Then go to the range and practice, and if you can find self-defense courses near you, take those as well.

 

[Wolfshead]

Please, do yourself a favor and go to s few gun shops and handle as many different ones you can.
I am so glad I did that with mine as they have different “feels” and fits.
One that I really wanted to get felt so awkward in my hands that it was uncomfortable to point and aim.
Personally, I finally settled on a S&W Shield Plus. It just fit and felt right in my hand and it showed on the range.
Please go handle some and make a decision then.

 

[MTLabrador]

Since you do not have much experience with pistols and do not want to practice much, The sensible answer is get a double action revolver. Caliber most practical is the 357 magnum. You can use 38 spec or 38 +P ammunition or up to Buffalo Bore 180 grain loads. Since Ruger is questionable for future production I would suggest S&W 686+ 2 1/2 inch or 4 inch 7 shot. It is a little heavier than the Model 66 and will last a life time shooting heavy loads.

Everyone raves about the semi auto whether Glock, Sig, S&W or Colt. It takes serious training to learn the proper safe use and knowledge to keep them running in a bad situation. When my agency switched from revolver to semi autos we were instructed by a factory S&W instructor. It consisted of 3 days training and 1000 rounds of ammunition. Some people think that's excessive and unnecessary. But remember you are training to save your ass when a bad day suddenly pops up. Its cool to have a semi auto 15 round gun but that's just the start. You need to identify a jam, double stack, bad primer or failure to go back into battery. Can you fire it when you have contact with your aggressor? Do you understand the tap & rack procedure. It my experience this is part of being proficient with your handgun. A revolver is much easier to learn and is still very effective.

Just some food for thought and remember the spray and pray shooter will probably come in second place. Accuracy trumps volume.

I love revolvers, but when starting from the ground up I think it’s way easier to start with a good striker fired or SAO semiauto. I teach people to shoot often at work, sometimes people who have little to no prior experience with firearms, all with Glocks or M&Ps. I bet the average shooter would need to put a lot more time in to shoot a double action revolver to the same level as a good semiauto. I can see how re-training a bunch of guys who learned on revolvers would be difficult though.

I also have a soft spot for the .357, but a shorter barreled .357 isn’t gaining much over a good hot 9mm load other than a whole lot of extra recoil and noise.