PPS or PPK for a 1st gun?

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97tbird

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I know that one must personally try them out, but some "theoretical" research doesn't hurt.

Criteria:

- DO want a semi-auto. Please no revolvers.
- suitable for newbie.
- use: Home defense only. (but might be CC later after gaining some experience)
- Prefer German made (I know, kinda silly.. PPS is, PPK is not)
- Small-ish, light-ish.
- reliable, and not too many safeties. (This might disqualify BOTH pps/ppk, if you guys think so, pls. advise)
- Price not truly a limiter, but best bang for the buck is always good.
- affordable ammunition is a plus.


Other thoughts:
PPK looks: best for me, but a foolish deciding factor, I guess. Also: is .380 "effective" enough? A girl I know owns one and she had problems wit the slide being too stiff and had to get it altered by a gunsmith...

Am I being silly about wanting the "Made in Germany" stamp on the PPS? Just feels better to look at it, though...(PPK is clearly made in USA (afaik) and PPS is imported from Germany)

Safeties:
H$K P2000sk really is inviting in this regard compared to the Walthers, but pricey! But it looks like it can be quicker to shoot. (It also has an LEM trigger option)
Con: magazines can be expensive.
Is an H&K that much better than a German-made Walther?
 
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I have a PPS and others. I only Carry it now due to the small size and the fact that New York neutered our magazine and added restrictions to capacity. Otherwise I would be carrying my Glock 19 like the vast majority of people I know.

The biggest issue I have with the PPS is the magazine release. I have been training a lot with it and then carried my Glock the other day and when dropping my magazine I reached for the paddle release instead of the usual place where most manufacturers put it. That can be a very bad thing in a life and death situation.

Consider a Glock in 9mm also.
 
Thanks!

I can understand that the German-style mag release can be a problem for an experienced user who's used to conventional style release, BUT considering that i have never owned a gun before, I am really not "used to" anything, so it would pose little/no problems for me, I am hoping....

The Glock 9mm seems rather thick compared to the PPS. It's one of the thinnest in its class I think. (hence the 's'). I am thinking a bit ahead, although for right now, that may not be very important but when/if I graduate to CC status, it might play a role?
 
I wonder if I am the only one that all this scares the H out of them. People walking around, people I don't know at all, with .380 weapons, wondering if they are effective enough. Totally scares the H out of me, makes me want to stay near home, which is not freedom like I used to have in my book.
 
As a first handgun you should consider only wheel guns. Like the Smith 442 air weight.

Semi's for a first timer (unless you have a serious handgun mentor) will mean you will buy the wrong one. Been there done that and seen that. And for self defense you want something 100% reliable. That won't happen with a semi unless you have put a lot of lead down range.

Once you have shot a number of semi's can you go to a store and pick one which will fill your needs.

I would look at Beretta's, Glocks,and Smiths for openers.

I am speaking as a pistol instructor. But again..just an opinion.
 
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Your priorities are: German made, thin, looks good. Not sure what any of these have to do with home defense. .380 would not be most people's choice for an HD pistol if one can choose from scratch. And why choose a pistol with 7/8 round capacity? And why choose a pistol with a non-conventional mag release? Yes you can learn it but when you decide on a bigger pistol for HD and this one for carry you have 2 different operating systems.

If thin and small are non-negotiable at least look at the Glock 42/43 pistols. If you're serious about home defense seriously look at pistols with 2x the capacity of these. Keep in mind smaller pistols take more practice and the felt recoil is higher.

Buy the Walther to admire and appreciate the Made in Germany stamp and (CC someday) then buy something that makes sense as a home defense weapon, take some classes and shoot the snot out of whatever you get.
 
Yeah, plenty of fear to go around for all of us.
But that's the point of these crazy immigration policies.
 
I tend to shy away from the PPk and PPS because of past issues, but I think it would be a good idea to consider the Glock 42 (.380) or Glock 43 (9mm).
 
IMO, the default benchmark pistol is the Glock 19. Develop reasons to not buy one before you buy something else.

The smaller the gun, more recoil you will feel relative to a larger gun firing the same round. In other words, the PPK will not be a fun gun to shoot at the range compared to the Glock and since you're new, you'll want to shoot quite a bit to get proficient.

Glocks are made it Austria which is close to Germany if that matters to you.

The PPK is a cool pistol no doubt but not my first choice for your first and only pistol. Many folks have separate night stand pistols and CC pistols.
 
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Originally Posted By: goodtimes
I wonder if I am the only one that all this scares the H out of them. People walking around, people I don't know at all, with .380 weapons, wondering if they are effective enough. Totally scares the H out of me, makes me want to stay near home, which is not freedom like I used to have in my book.


Part of it being "effective" is how humane it stops the threat. 18 small caliber rounds are harder to patch up than 1-2 large caliber rounds
Part of the "effectiveness" stems from the FBI standards, and the arguments they stir up

None of us have had freedom like we used to have. Before 86 people could buy new automatic rifles. And real fireworks. And the food had trans fats. And there weren't terrorists like they are now. But people were carrying, concealed or not, and have been for much longer than your idea of the freedom you used to have.

My two bits on the subject would be to try a lcp. In 9mm. You may come to like it more. An lcr if you are going to abide by the recommendation for a revolver.
 
Originally Posted By: goodtimes
I wonder if I am the only one that all this scares the H out of them. People walking around, people I don't know at all, with .380 weapons, wondering if they are effective enough. Totally scares the H out of me, makes me want to stay near home, which is not freedom like I used to have in my book.


Sounds like the liberal media has effectively brainwashed you.

In MANY states besides CA millions of people carry concealed and crime rates are very low. I live here in MO and I know lots of folks that carry concealed and you know what, I feel very comfortable. Criminals don't like armed areas, that's why they target "gun free" zones.

I bet the folks that were at that San Bernadino area hearing gunshots probably wished they had something to protect themselves.

Since concealed carry permits have become more mainstream in the USA, crime has dropped significantly. Is it 100% attributable to CCW holders, no, but it is not 0%.
 
I have to ask a couple of questions:

You say newbie... Have you shot or had any training at all? Have some trusted individual to teach you?

Strongly suggest taking a basic pistol class with a rental if not...

Secondly, If this is going to be a home defense weapon, why is small a criteria? Longer sight radius is easier to shoot accurately, concealment is not an issue for a nightstand gun (unless you have a very small night stand). Any single pistol for all purposes is going to be a compromise, but compromise it toward the primary role IMO.

A 380 would not be my first choice of defense caliber.

You might take a look at:

http://www.corneredcat.com/contents/ (Yes it is directed at females, but theres good stuff in there for any first timer)

http://www.mouseguns.com/semis.htm
 
http://www.waltherarms.com/handguns/pps/

My vote is for the PPS.

Your criteria is flawed. German? 1st gun? home defense? ccw? looks good... thats 5 guns and not just one ;-)

Get a 22lr and master the fundamentals.
Home defense... can't screw up with a 357 revolver...
Carry.. any single stack 380, 9, 40, 45 semi that is comfortable to carry and will be carried, that has a reliability reputation.

Country of origin shouldn't be a requirement.
 
Originally Posted By: 97tbird
I know that one must personally try them out, but some "theoretical" research doesn't hurt.

Criteria:

- DO want a semi-auto. Please no revolvers.
- suitable for newbie.
- use: Home defense only. (but might be CC later after gaining some experience)
- Prefer German made (I know, kinda silly.. PPS is, PPK is not)
- Small-ish, light-ish.
- reliable, and not too many safeties. (This might disqualify BOTH pps/ppk, if you guys think so, pls. advise)
- Price not truly a limiter, but best bang for the buck is always good.
- affordable ammunition is a plus.


Other thoughts:
PPK looks: best for me, but a foolish deciding factor, I guess. Also: is .380 "effective" enough? A girl I know owns one and she had problems wit the slide being too stiff and had to get it altered by a gunsmith...

Am I being silly about wanting the "Made in Germany" stamp on the PPS? Just feels better to look at it, though...(PPK is clearly made in USA (afaik) and PPS is imported from Germany)

Safeties:
H$K P2000sk really is inviting in this regard compared to the Walthers, but pricey! But it looks like it can be quicker to shoot. (It also has an LEM trigger option)
Con: magazines can be expensive.
Is an H&K that much better than a German-made Walther?


Both are great guns.

You will need to go put each of them in your hand and see which fits better. If you can rent both at a local range and see which one you like better.

Also there are other gun makers than Walther, why limit yourself?
 
Thanks for all the comments.

Yes I do have a mentor and have fired a few guns at a range.
Mentor will guide me through selection process and training etc before actual purchase. (Mentor is military SF trained)

I never said looks are a deciding factor. If you read my OP again, you will see I myself said it is a silly criteria, but I just said that the "ppk looks good, to me, BUT that's not a factor".
I wouldn't consider PPS if looks were a factor
smile.gif
to me personally it looks more on the ugly side.

German made? well, I just have trust in GENERAL, when things are made in Germany due to good QC etc., but it's not like I MUST MUST MUST have one - a preference, I guess.
 
Nothing wrong with looks being a deciding factor. The Beretta is a lot better looking than a Glock.
 
Originally Posted By: stchman
Originally Posted By: goodtimes
I wonder if I am the only one that all this scares the H out of them. People walking around, people I don't know at all, with .380 weapons, wondering if they are effective enough. Totally scares the H out of me, makes me want to stay near home, which is not freedom like I used to have in my book.


Sounds like the liberal media has effectively brainwashed you.

In MANY states besides CA millions of people carry concealed and crime rates are very low. I live here in MO and I know lots of folks that carry concealed and you know what, I feel very comfortable. Criminals don't like armed areas, that's why they target "gun free" zones.

I bet the folks that were at that San Bernadino area hearing gunshots probably wished they had something to protect themselves.

Since concealed carry permits have become more mainstream in the USA, crime has dropped significantly. Is it 100% attributable to CCW holders, no, but it is not 0%.

I don't get brain washed. That's an excuse. I know what I know. Now I worry about strangers all over, everywhere, with a killing machine on them, before I was not. Who knows what state of mind they are in. My freedom has been taken away and there is no doubt about that.
 
OK. With all due respect, I am sure there's enough such topics to discuss the matters than concern your fears in the same section or off topic general section, but can we please keep THIS thread on topic of gun selection only?
Thanks in advance.
 
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