Can anyone recommend a good pistol?

[nikimcbee]

This was my alarmclock yesterday.
I heard a knock at the door at 4pm (I work nights) , which I ignored. A few minutes later, I heard a banging on the wall (I live in a duplex), so I thought the neighbours were putting up a pichure on the wall or something like that.
The next words I hear: "This is the Eugene Po-lice, we know you're in there, come out with your hands up. We want to talk to you! "
WTF! I got up and looked out the bedroom window. I could see the top of a bald guy's head with sun glasses, banging on the neighbour's window!

I ran to the front window to look (sheepishly) outside to see what is going on. Police were surrounding the house, yelling at my neighbour to come out! At this point I decided I better get dressed and brush my teeth. To make a long story short, if he didn't come out, they were going to send the police dog in after him!

The police came back over to my door and asked if they could search my garage for anybody that may have jumped the fence and would hide in there.

fortunately, nobody. I had search in there earlier. (very sheepishly)

After a few minutes he appeared. Then.... "If there is anyone else in there, come out now, or we are sending in the dog!"

Silence. "okay, we are coming in with the dog!" I could hear some crashing around in the living room as the dog began to search. I ran back into the bedroom to listen to what was going on. No sooner, had I got into my bedroom, I could hear barking, screaming, and yelling. Guess what, the dog found somebody! Appearntly he was hiding under the bed.

My neighbour had been robbing cars at the local mall and the police followed him home on a tip. My neighbour was high on meth and was wanted by the police anyway.

Now, he (the neighbour) has some really scummy friends that would come over, so...

I figure Mr. SKS isn't going to do, can anybody recommend a good self defence pistol?

I'm thinking about getting my concealed carry permit also.

Any ideas?

[Platapus]

This will be an impossible question to answer as there are wide and diverse opinions on the matter.

Under the right circumstances a .22 can kill just as well as a .500.

I would highly recommend reading: In the Gravest Extreme: The Role of the Firearm in Personal Protection by Massad F. Ayoob. You can buy it from Amazon for about 12 bucks. Anyone who is interested in owning a handgun for personal protection needs to read this book.

Second, I would find a good range that offers the appropriate types of training for using handguns for home defense. Depending on the state you are in, this training may be mandatory for your ccw. Ask the instructors for advice on a appropriate type of handgun for your purposes. Also get advice on the proper ammo as ammo types vary widely.

Third, get with your insurance agent and make sure you have a liability umbrella. As Mr. Ayoob describes in his book, even a justified self-defense shooting may end up in a civil case (weird but it does happen).

Fourth, look over your budget. A good quality handgun is not cheap. Also expect to burn through one or two thousand rounds for practice at a minimum. FBI statistics show that untrained shooters will often miss a moving target at 7 feet and have missed a stationary target at 21 feet (the distance most self-defense shootings occur). You will find this out when you start going to a range. Looking at how often people miss the targets should put the fear into you.

Choosing to own and carry a handgun for self-defense is not a decision to be taken lightly.

Good luck with it.

[Yahoshua]

9mm, .40 S&W and .45 ACP are going to be your primary calibers of choice.

Glock, Springfield XD, 1911-A1, Taurus PT92, Taurus PT111, and the Taurus 24/7 are all excellent semi-automatic sidearms. Since your primary problem will be people who are high on drugs or home-invasion my suggestion would be to go with a .40 or .45 caliber sidearm.

As far as revolvers go you can't go wrong with S&W.

[bradclark1]

Get a Ruger 22/45 Mk III .22 if you can afford the $300 bucks or buy used. One of the best pistols around and will do what you need it to do. You really don't need anything bigger for what you want and the ammo is cheap enough that you can have fun becoming proficient in it.

[Hakahura]

This baby looks lethal

[MothBalls]

Visit some gun shops, call some shooting ranges. There are some ranges that have demo weapons and charge a fee for you to fire them. Some work with local shops and have an inventory of demo weapons. They may not have the exact one, but check the differences between revolvers and semi-autos.

Each type has certain strengths, best to see what works for you. Example, revolvers are easier to maintain but slower to fire and reload. Semi-autos are nice but much more complex. Maintainability is very important, you need to clean it every time you fire it. In the shop have them take it apart and show you how many parts it has.

Look in the shops to see what you might want. Then go to the range and test fire some different weapons.

Common mistakes people make when buying;

Too large. Bigger isn't better if you can't hit anything with it.
If you are going to carry it, get something you can hide 100%.
Think about where you'll keep it in the house, securely.
Think about the style of trigger lock you'll use. All locks don't work on all weapons. A trigger lock is a 100% essential item to have, and a cleaning kit.
Getting the right ammo makes a difference.

Can't stress this enough. Practice and training. Take a class, get some training, fire it often. Get comfortable with it and don't be intimidated by it. You want to practice so much that drawing, firing, and reloading become second nature. Practice with the scenario you'll most likely use. Removing the trigger lock, turn off the safety, then fire, something like that.

[Kaleun Volk]

Mr. SKS would do nicely, however if you do not want to send stray ammunition on through to other people's houses, I would reccomend something smaller. Magnum Research Baby Eagle 9mm is a fine handgun, made by those legendary folks over in Israel.... Some might try to tout about the ".45" but 1911's are costly and fairly large. they are hella reliable but of you are not accustomed to larger weapons I would not reccomend one... PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE!!!!! IF YOU CANNOT USE A WEAPON PROPERLY YOU ARE MORE DANGER TO YOURSELF AND LOVEDONES THAN TO THOSE WISHING TO HURT YOU!!!!!!!!!


And always practice FIREARM SAFETY,
-Volk

[Onkel Neal]

Originally Posted by MothBalls

Visit some gun shops, call some shooting ranges. There are some ranges that have demo weapons and charge a fee for you to fire them. Some work with local shops and have an inventory of demo weapons. They may not have the exact one, but check the differences between revolvers and semi-autos.

Each type has certain strengths, best to see what works for you. Example, revolvers are easier to maintain but slower to fire and reload. Semi-autos are nice but much more complex. Maintainability is very important, you need to clean it every time you fire it. In the shop have them take it apart and show you how many parts it has.

Look in the shops to see what you might want. Then go to the range and test fire some different weapons.

Common mistakes people make when buying;

Too large. Bigger isn't better if you can't hit anything with it.
If you are going to carry it, get something you can hide 100%.
Think about where you'll keep it in the house, securely.
Think about the style of trigger lock you'll use. All locks don't work on all weapons. A trigger lock is a 100% essential item to have, and a cleaning kit.
Getting the right ammo makes a difference.

Can't stress this enough. Practice and training. Take a class, get some training, fire it often. Get comfortable with it and don't be intimidated by it. You want to practice so much that drawing, firing, and reloading become second nature. Practice with the scenario you'll most likely use. Removing the trigger lock, turn off the safety, then fire, something like that.

I agree with all of the above.


You might also consider moving!




Can't go wrong with a .357 Mag, 4" bl. It will kill dead, no doubt. It's easy to load and shoot, and very accurate. You can use .38 Special rounds for target practice. I have one of these, a very sweet gun.





You have kid in the house so you NEED a trigger lock. No question.


Not sure why you think you need a CCL, have you or anyone you know been mugged? It's a lot of trouble carrying a weapon around in public.

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by Hakahura

This baby looks lethal

...if I fill it with HF or HNO3?

In all seriousness, I don't really like pistols. I have a black powder .44 colt navy, but that's not practical for home defense. I work with 3 people that have their concealed carry permit . So I hear all about the pros/cons/legal issues. I haven't hit that level of paranoia yet, where I need to carry a weapon at all times, but I'm rapidlly approaching it.

I'm leaning towards a .40 or .45, but I don't really want to pony up the money to buy a good gun.

[nikimcbee]

Originally Posted by nikimcbee

...if I fill it with HF or HNO3?

.

Speaking of acid... http://www.metacafe.com/watch/650550...ny_experiment/

Been there, done that. Although, whoever did this video is absolutely retarded for not wearing acid rated gloves.

[TLAM Strike]

I would recomend a shotgun rather than a pistol unless your a great shot and if someone does break in to your house you don't need to aim perfictly.

But if you a dead set on a pistol I would recomend a revolver over a semi-auto for home defense since as prevously stated are low matenace, don't jam and in the event of misfire are self clearing. You can also get "clips" for revolvers that hold all the rounds together for easyer loading if you are worried about reload time.

[les green01]

for home i still relie on both of my 44 blackpowers for conceal i use the 1911 just remember if you do have to shoot go for a chest shot

[Hylander_1314]

Try this link: http://www.coltsmfg.com/cmci/saarmy.44-40.asp

They have been very popular with lawmen for over 100 years. Must be a good piece then. I prefer my M-1 Carbine myself though, or the old Mossberg street howitzer.

[silentrunner]

I would say an FN Five-Seven

or as Officerpuppy said... http://www.protozoic.com/content/ima...5/wildey18.jpg

[Platapus]

mmmmm FN five seven <drool>