Pistol Recommendations

[Nick1994]

My grandmother has given me her Ruger LCR 38 SPL +P revolver. She's never shot it, bought it a couple years ago. She didn't want it anymore, tried convincing her to keep it but she doesn't want it. It's actually probably best she doesn't have it, her mobility isn't very good and I don't think she could get to it in the event she needed it. Her hands might not be strong enough to fire it and someone could easily take it out of her hands. She told me if I don't want it then to trade it in and get something I'd prefer. It's even got a pink holster

Anyways, I'd like to trade it in at a gun shop. I'm thinking some kind of a semi-auto pistol. I've shot a few before, a .45, a Walther P22 & my dad's Kel-Tec PMR-30. My intentions are to mostly keep it in the house for protection, I'll rarely carry it. Also take it out to the desert to shoot it.

There's a big gun shop about 2 blocks from my house and even though I've shot guns my entire life, they offer classes and I'd like to take one just to familiarize myself, can't be too safe I guess.

So, what do you guys recommend? I don't want to spend big bucks, I'd like to trade this one in and spend maybe $100-$200 extra. Also would like for ammo to be reasonably priced.

Thanks.

 

[spasm3]

Buy what you shoot well. I'd try to shoot some different guns before i bought. Try some glocks, m+p shield. A ruger p95 with a mec-gar magazine will give you 17 +1 rounds for a good price.

 

[CT8]

The Ruger is nice small revolver that fits into the front pocket, well it is a handy piece. As a general recommendation all of the plastic framed pistols in 9mm are very nice. Glock, Springfield XD, Smith and Wessons etc. Shopping is almost the best part.

 

[bioburner]

A simple revolver is pretty good piece to have IMO for home defense. I would get a box or two of shells and try it. You local shop may have rental guns if they have a range and get a feel of what may be your next step.

 

[LotI]

My LCR is my dog-walking gun. Fits in the front pocket and is light. Lighter than a 642 Smith.

Recoil is stout, though.

Comforting, not comfortable.

Dog walk

 

[CT8]

Originally Posted By: LotI
My LCR is my dog-walking gun. Fits in the front pocket and is light. Lighter than a 642 Smith.

Recoil is stout, though.

Comforting, not comfortable.

Dog walk
All light fire arms have high felt recoil. They are not for fun !!

 

[Killer223]

kimber micro 380.. live mine.

 

[fxrider]

keep it. get a new holster. I love a simple 38 revolver.

 

[SuperDave456]

Keep it, practice, and keep all your brass.
I've kept all my brass from a few decades of practice and I have several thousand .38 cases.
If you shoot a revolver you don't have to go chasing your brass.

Even if you don't reload (yet) keep your brass.
Trust me.

 

[Olas]

Hold every gun in your budget, and take the 3 or 5 most comfortable ones to the range.
Which ever you group best with is the one you take home.

 

[eaglegreen48]

For home protection, how about a 12ga shotgun? If you want to go with a pistol I'd go with a Glock 19 9mm

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Best purchase I made for conceal carry was the Ruger LCP. No holster needed and intended as the only item to accomodate my right front pocket of all my pants. No lint ever either, as long as you keep your hands out of that pocket.

Only adjustment I made was switching gun oils to Slip 2000EWL, so no runny oils in the bore, for it sits in my pocket nose-downward. Don;t even know that a gun exists there and it's really lightweight and shoots well, plus always goes bang.

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: Killer223
kimber micro 380.. live mine.


He said home defense recommendation, not a recommendation for a pile of junk mouse gun. .380 is not a proper recommendation for home defense.

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: fxrider
keep it. get a new holster. I love a simple 38 revolver.


This. You have constitutional carry in Arizona. Get a holster, start carrying it. That gun is worth $400. A gun shop will only give you $200-225 in trade value. Just keep it. It's a good gun.

For home defense, get a long gun. 20 or 12 gauge shotgun or semi-auto .223 rifle.

 

[Tom NJ]

For a home defense pistol I prefer a high capacity 9mm DA/SA, fully loaded, chambered in DA, and reachable from the bed (provided you don't have kids in the house). I also keep a 12 ga pump shotgun loaded with six rounds of 00 Buck, and a 357 magnum pistol, both in other locations in case confronted elsewhere or chased.

Be sure to try the CZ 75BD - holds 16+1 of 9mm, feels great in the hand, very accurate, and very reliable. They sell new for about $550.

 

[billt460]

Getting, keeping, and or carrying a firearm for self defense is a very serious matter. Before you make a decision on what type, or kind of gun to buy or keep, research actual home defense scenario's that have actually played out. The NRA publishes a list of them every month. Seeing what people actually used, along with the results they achieved, or failed to achieve with it, is far more beneficial than going to a website, and starting a self defense thread on "what to buy", with a bunch of well meaning guys, all of whom are none too happy to dish out advice based on limited to zero field experience.

Most all of these threads end up in the same place. And in the process do nothing but leave the guy who started them more confused than ever. You got what is basically a "free gun" from your grandma. There is a lot for you to learn and accomplish before you find out if it is the "right" gun for you to have to suit your needs. That takes much more knowledge, training, and practice. And as always that kind of education while readily available, takes both time, effort, and money to acquire. Getting a "free" gun dropped into your lap is only the start of it.

 

[EdwardC]

Before you shoot the LCR, since it's essentially completely new, you should see what the store will give you for it, especially if you're set on selling it and getting a different firearm.

As you can see above, it will be impossible to get a consensus on a recommendation. If you can't actually shoot all the guns you're interested in, at least spend some time in the store handling them. I think though, for a semiautomatic pistol, that most people would agree that 9mm is the way to go. It's by far the cheapest round to purchase (and you'll want to buy a lot to practice a lot), and there are a lot of quality self defense rounds available.

I did not take my own advice when I started, I picked up a Ruger 22 pistol, then a Glock 19 (which is my totally arbitrary recommendation). I didn't go around trying a lot of other guns. Arguably though, you can't really find the perfect gun after renting a gun and shooting one magazine. Glocks are reasonably safe investment and I got lucky that I am happy with it. A lot of that might be ignorance.

Good Luck!

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Originally Posted By: bubbatime
Originally Posted By: Killer223
kimber micro 380.. live mine.


He said home defense recommendation, not a recommendation for a pile of junk mouse gun. .380 is not a proper recommendation for home defense.


That's so full of baloney....... hahahahahaha

Learn how to aim that .380 properly - use the correct ammo and even my .32ACP puts down bad guys.

Enuf' of the B.S. Bubba.

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: Triple_Se7en
That's so full of baloney....... hahahahahaha

Learn how to aim that .380 properly - use the correct ammo and even my .32ACP puts down bad guys.

Enuf' of the B.S. Bubba.


So you think a micro 1911 style 6+1 .380, made by Kimber, is an acceptable home defense gun? I would consider it VERY marginal, at best. And that's being generous. But hey, I am willing to listen and learn if your knowledge, training, and experience level is greater than mine.

Let me further explain my position.

1) ANY micro 1911 is unsuitable for defensive use. Period. Ask all the firearms trainers in the country that actually spend any amount of time on the range, and 90% of them will tell you that these guns just dont work reliably. Kimber especially. Some work, most dont. I'm not sure why people waste their money on these. And yes, almost every time I'm on the range and see some guy tap, rack, and clear a jammed gun, its a micro 1911. Seen it with my own eyes hundreds of times.

2) 6+1 is not a smart choice for home defense. There are pistols that hold 12, 15, 18 rounds in their mags. Rifle mags hold 30. Why limit yourself with such a marginal capacity? Do you know if the bad guy will be an instant one shot stop? Do you know if the bad guy is bringing 4 or more friends to the party? Do you know if the bad guy will be wearing body armor? In my own personal experience, 50% of the home invasion suspects I have personally handcuffed have been wearing soft body armor.

3) Full size service pistols are more reliable on average than compact or micro pistols. Again, why limit yourself with a statistically less reliable firearm? Most folks are also more accurate with a full size pistol than a micro pistol.

4) Home defense firearms should have a flashlight mounted on them. PERIOD. And I mean PERIOD with a hundred exclamation points afterwards (!!!) As far as I am aware, there is no way to mount a flashlight to a Kimber Micro .380. A handheld light should be kept next to the gun as well for general use or navigation as needed.

5) .380 is an acceptable home defense caliber if that is all you have or can afford. Its acceptable if you have less hand strength and can't manage the recoil of a slightly more powerful 9MM. If the OP doesn't have any hand strength or limiting issues, he should not limit himself to a .380 for home defense.

6) .380 ammo is 40-60% more expensive than 9MM on average. That's 40-60% less training and familiarization than choosing a 9MM pistol.

7) I've said this a hundred times before and I'll say it again here. The best home defense gun is a long gun. More accurate, more powerful, and in the case of a rifle, more ammo before reloading. A 12 or 20 gauge shotgun (with a flash light), or semi-automatic .223 rifle (with a flashlight), . The long gun is the primary arm of smart home defenders. It should be backed up by a full size, high capacity service pistol (with a flashlight mounted), if the budget allows. Glock 17, M&P9 or similar.

You may not agree with everything I have written, and that's fine. I have thousands of hours of training, studying, learning, shooting and analyzing the art of defensive firearm use. If my 7 bullet points above are patently wrong, I'm willing to learn and be schooled. I never said .380 wont work, or won't kill people. I just implied that there are better options for HOME DEFENSE, where one doesn't need a super small concealable micro pistol.

 

[Killer223]

really a 380 won't kill you huh? how bout you come break into my house and find out?
a true home defense gun should be a shot gun. as well as close combat training.
plenty of people hate the 380. and that's fin. if you saw the size of my wife's hands, there is no other gun that fits as well, we have tried most of them, and that she is comfortable to shoot. even the micro is large for her hands. so a full size like what i usually carry would never work for her.
You might be surprised as to my training as well. I know that we carry at all times, and the micro is a great fit for her.
here in AZ you don't even need a CCW to carry concealed. even though we both have them.