Thread: Gun advice needed

Originally Posted by Mike Blue

If you intend to shoot, then be smooth and accurate and lethal. Examine deep into yourself and learn to live with it. This is not something learned by one day, or even several, on the range. It's not something learned in any academy or basic training. This changes people and the herd will not think you are comfortable to be around. In the end, this is not about the object (pistol, rifle, tool) it's about human behavior. "A man's (or woman's) got to know his limitations..."

I don't have a gun, but I got that part covered already

Originally Posted by Hirlau

Thank you, HNSB
I just choked on my Oreo's and spit milk on my keyboard.
God Bless ya, if that's what you believe. So long as you carry something.

I choose to believe that based on compiled data from real shootings involving these pistols.
A single shot from the .45 with ball ammo stopped attackers about 60% of the time.
A single shot from the .380 with JHPs stopped attackers about 70% of the time.

Source: Stopping Power, A Practical Analysis of the Latest Handgun Ammunition

You can believe whatever you want, based on a "Book" by Evan Marshall. There are sources that do not consider his books the end-all on handgun caliber effectiveness. Evan is good at selling himself and therefore his books.
Shot placement has always been the "primary" factor in stopping a threat, not the caliber or bullet construction.
I don't expect you to discard your .380 for a .45 acp. , but your prior post, is "Bold" to say the least.
I'm not here to argue back and forth on the effectiveness of a .380 vs .45 acp. I can drift over to a gun forum and argue all day; it never leads to anything productive.
What's important is that the .380 is always with you and not what is quoted in Evan Marshall's book.

Back to the razor section for me, no hard feelings HNSB, I hope.

I am not a statistician, but Jimbo would probably argue that those numbers don't mean anything unless the sample groups are normalized.

For example, it might be that .380 is carried more by experienced shooters than .45. This could be because that is what that group typically get in their line of business. In that case, the difference in stopping % is probably more due to accurate placement than calibre per se.

My example was just something off the top of my head and I don't know much about guns anyway. I just wanted to highligh that before any conclusions are drawn, the statistical significance and context need to be established.

When it came to buying my wife a defensive handgun I chose the "Best" for her. Out of several handguns, she liked the feel of a friend's CCW .40 glock, but the recoil was a bit much for her. What does she have now? Baby Glock in 9mm with factory night sights, 3lb trigger, extended mag release. She is quite accurate with it. Lasers are cool and all, but not for me. Glocks may be ugly, but they go bang every time. She tried the Sig 380 but it didn't "fit". I was hoping she chose the Glock because of it's simplicity. The only "defensive" rounds keep around for the 9mm are 147gr JHP's & Black Talons...I bought some up when I heard about the "outlawing" of them WAY back when...

I ALWAYS carry my NAA Pug with night-site in .22mag. Laugh if you will, but I follow the #1 rule. Most of the time I have my 1911 with me, but have been known to carry a german single stack 9x18 Makarov with my loads in it...but the Pug is still with me.

I just picked up a Judge a few weeks ago and am getting more and more fond of it. Talk about a ultimate defensive weapon...just a little bulky. The #8 birdshot would not kill unless a foot or two from the muzzle, but I promise it would change a bad buys mind...much less the real defensive loads of 000 buckshot or custom defense rounds of discs & such. I have to say it is the ultimate traveling weapon for the glove box.

I have a feeling I am probably the smallest guy in the room right now, so I will chime in. I am 5.5 on a good day, in boots. I weigh in at 145 pounds. My hands have very short fingers, but a good width of palm. I simply CAN NOT comfortably carry a larger hand gun. It does not fit my hand, it does not fit concealed on my person. I will skip the carry debate, and stay on topic with gun choice. What I found to fit me best, that I enjoyed the most, was a Beretta Cheetah in .380
I have no intention of a gunfight. In an emergency, it will do what it needs to do. Fire a lethal round. Its up to ME to do what I need to do, and choose weather or not to draw. and to hit what I have chosen. (there is no decision to fire, that is made with the decision to draw)
I have held some other guns that I liked in the .380 Bersa, and a few Walthers were very nice indeed. Including the HK model 4 with the interchangeable barrels for shooting cal. from 22 through .380 Target practice with .22 is rather inexpensive!
I guess my point is, your choices are not limited to what is currently available and popular, but should CERTAINLY extend to high quality used items, that can be much more affordable for your (her) needs. I agree with her going to a range, and trying a few various models on for size. Her hands will be unique, and only SHE can decide what feels good for her.
WHERE she carries will also be important. If she will be purse carry, she should consider a wheel gun simply because the dirt, dust, and debris in a hand bag risks jamming a semi-auto, where a revolver is pretty tough to mess up.

I didn't read through this whole thread, tl;dr.

But to the OP, my old man recently purchased a Rohrbaugh 9mm and has been very happy with it. They are essentially custom made for only concealed carry and nothing else. You wouldn't want to shoot target practice with it (it's really really small) but for its intended purpose it works very well.

I carry anytime I leave the house. I have a good selection from wheelguns to autos to choose from. I would recommend the KelTec P3AT. The Ruger LCP is basically a facsimile of the P3AT (at a higher price). One thing of note though....After long range sessions with the P3AT the backstrap will sting the hand nicely. When I had mine (sold it and bought a Model 36 Smith) I carried ball ammo in it. Period. It fed and functioned perfectly everytime. Did not have to worry about HPs not feeding or hanging on a feed ramp etc. FMJ will penetrate and when you are carrying what some might consider a sub caliber gun, you want all the reach you can muster. I would never recommend pepper spray. I have been in the cross wind of pepper spray and the sprayer is effected nearly as much as the sprayee. If you friend is already a shooter then the basics should already be instilled about muzzle awareness, controlling the weapon during firing, sight picture etc. I have been shooting since 1982, I reload and cast all my own bullets. I have sent thousands of rounds down range. I am a dual service Vet and have fired/trained with multiple law enforcement agencies. I have been in harm's way. Having said all that (and I am not bragging by any means) I will say this.....Shot placement is key. SHOT PLACEMENT IS KEY!!! You can have the most powerful handgun in your holster and miss all day long. Conversely you can have an NAA mini revolver and kill someone dead as a stone. When I leave my house I usually have a J frame revolver (.32 S&W-L, .38 Special) on my person some where with a speed strip reload. I have short fat fingers and hands. I find the double stack Glocks to be a bit large for handling and controlling. I do have the G36 which is a single stack Glock in .45 ACP. It packs flat and is accurate. For your friend I suggest finding something that is comfortable to shoot, carry, and control. A handgun that is made by a reputable company, and is accurate for it's intended purpose. The largest caliber they are able to accurately fire and control. Your friend needs to practice Situational Awareness.....ie- head on a swivel. ALWAYS! Stay alert, stay alive. Col. Cooper called this condition Yellow. You may not be looking for trouble or in a bad area, but sometimes the cretins and scum will be in area you may not expect.(I always snicker when I hear people mention that they stay out of "bad areas". Your local Wal Mart can turn into a bad area in a milisecond) Shot placement is key. Shot placement is key. Have I mentioned that already?....

One thing that puzzels me a bit: what does the price matter?

I get that you don't spend thousands of dollars if hundreds of dollars suffice.
But in the end, you carry this gun on a daily basis, you trust your life to it, so you probably want to have a gun that is absilutely reliable and ergonomically suited for you.

So if that means it costs 600$ instead of 300... do you really care?
An unreliable gun is even worse than no gun, because you might just end up pointing a jammed chunk of metal at someone intent on harming you, whereas with no gun at least you'd be looking for cover or exit already.

Many times quality comes with the higher price tag MOST of the time...but within reason. Everyone has their own budget, but as you see below none of my pistols are "high dollar". I prefer night sights on my carry weapon. I don't have a lot of money, but I trust my life with each one of these except the Judge. It has promise, but I haven't put the 500 rounds thru it to "earn" that title. Here is what my wife and I carry from top to bottom:

Taurus PT1911, .45acp-My primary. Other than my Browning Buckmark, I have never had a pistol that felt so "right". I only use Wilson Combat magazines in this one. Average price with Night Sights is $600 IIRC

German Makarov, 9x18-My other primary. This is really a nice, small, & reliable pistol. Average price is somewhere around $375

Taurus 2 1/2" Judge, .410 or .45 LC- Showing a lot of promise, but bulky. Average price is somewhere around $500

Glock 26 w/ NS, 9mm-Wife's gun. Great gun after trigger work & extended mag release. Glocks are ugly, but IMO they are the best affordable pistol available...they go bang every time no matter if dirty or whatever you put it thru. Average price with factory Night Sights is approximately $575

NAA Pug w/ NS, .22 magnum - This one goes with me EVERYWHERE. Average price is $300. The most conceal-able firearm I know of. It's small in caliber, but I still follow the #1 rule due to it...have a gun.