Often we are asked what do we suggest for firearms choice and this really boils down to a few things: These are the questions you should be asking yourself to really understand what your intentions are behind buying this firearm.
A. Is this a primary concealed carry firearm for you or someone else? Physical stature usually matters with selection.
B. Do you plan on concealing this firearm on your person? If not, size and weight might take a 2nd place to other considerations.
C. Size of your hand? Hand/Arm strength? Often very small pistols do not offer people with larger hands adequate griping space. This is especially true in .380 and smaller caliber pistols, but can be seen in some ultra small 9mm’s as well. Most common problem is people of both genders cannot rack the slide of some semi-auto pistols. I quite frequently see new owners struggle with their purchase.
D. How many bullets will make you feel comfortable? 5-20 is the most common range. Most Revolvers are between 5-8.
E. Is someone else going to be sharing this firearm as well? One gun for the family?
F. Do you expect to use this firearm as a home defense role as well? Larger in size, lights, larger magazine capacity, heavier
G. Do you expect this to be the firearm you shoot primarily at the gun range? Many people pick a small carry gun and then often find out its far from fun to shoot at the range. Often times people aren’t very accurate with it outside of 3-5 yards and that can be disappointing. Target guns are target guns and are purpose built for that task. Many target guns don’t make good carry guns, weight, sites, trigger weight, etc.
H. What is safest to carry? (see below)
I. Ammunition availability & Cost? (see below)
J. Lights, Lasers and Red Dots? (see below)
Now, that you’ve considered these questions, you need to realize most self defense situations occur at very close distances, 10 feet or under and likely never beyond 21 feet. In most instances, no one ever reloads, even criminals considering crime typically aren’t planning for a Commando raid, so consider what is in the firearm is what is going to be used.
What do we suggest and why?
Something you will carry, “ease of carrying”. The truth is we all have the best intentions and usually over periods of time, we realize “dang” this gun is heavy or its grinding into my private parts as I’m driving or eating dinner at a restaurant. What usually takes place next, besides from the most ardent of you. Many begin to leave the firearm at home and this is especially true if you don’t have more than 1 personal carry firearm.
So, size, weight, compactness, reliability, ergonomics are very key in this process. Likely more so than caliber selection as having a firearm of any caliber is better than no firearm at all. So, I suggest picking a gun that you will actually carry and not think it too obtrusive to abandon.
What is the perfect caliber? The biggest caliber you can manage, afford to train with-practice, in the best functional design for that caliber, which you will carry. All pistols are inferior to their rifle counterparts, only the largest and typically most unmanageable pistols offer the greatest levels of performance. However, there is something to be said about ease of use and shot placement which trumps bullet mass and overall energy. A eight shot .22LR revolver in most standards is considered a unwise choice in self-defense pistols. But if you placed a few shots or maybe even one against someone’s head the fight will most likely be over, but the same is true if it was a 9mm. In any situation shot placement is more important than general overall power of the firearm, until a point. .22LR generally are not considered reliable enough due to their rim-fire design, versus a center-fire cartridge. Firearms really being causing chaos when bullet velocity exceeds 2,000 ft per sec. Unfortunately, very few firearms achieve this and typically they have very small bullet mass, so larger cartridges are often preferred.
It probably sounds like I’m trying to run circles around you and trying to confuse you on this topic and the truth is I’m not. Firearms ownership is just as particular as people like to be in buying a car, a boat or motorcycle. Each has weighted advantages and disadvantages based on design.
Now, if I was a person buying a firearm that wants as simple as I can get, safe as I can get that mechanically has the least chance of failing, I would be purchase a revolver. I would most likely suggest a Ruger LCR in .327 Federal Magnum or 9mm. The .327 offers 6 shots and has the power of a 9mm +, while the 9mm offers the same power but does it with 5 shots. Both are equally light to carry and are simple to operate with outstanding double action only triggers. If you wanted a different caliber they make them in .357 Magnum, .38 Special, .22 Magnum and .22 LR. These pistols all offer covered hammers, which reduces chance of the firearm getting caught on a shirt, pants or inside a purse on a draw. Also, if someone tried to grab the firearm they couldn’t stop its function by blocking the hammer or pressing it against the frame. Lastly, no open space for lint, dirt or other obstructions to enter the mechanism. Self Defense, shooting isn’t target shooting and fine motor skills often are compromised, so attempting to cock a hammer can be a dangerous mistake as the trigger pull will be vastly lightened. Revolvers lend themselves to be more simplistic, no levers, safety’s, magazines to get hung up, possibly get dislodged, very little chance of malfunction. The greatest disadvantage of revolvers is generally no or low chance of reloading quickly unless you have really trained and prepared yourself. In today’s age, most revolvers have 50% of the ammunition capacity of most carry semi-automatics. While the revolver lends itself in small K frame size ease of carrying and often can be concealed better. Revolvers also generally are much safer than any striker fired firearm as their Double Action Triggers lend themselves to less chance of accidental discharge. Firearm truth: People get tired, people get neglectful, people drop guns accidentally and in these times and when holstering or un-holstering firearms accidents occur.
Now, if your vehemently opposed to a revolver, I suggest a semi-automatic pistol that offers double strike capability. These means, simply if the firearm fails to fire on the first pull it will re-strike on the next pull. The reality of life is ammunition can fail to go off on the first trigger squeeze. This is very common with reloads “non-factory ammo” and rim-fire cartridges, but it does happen with new ammo. I’ve had this happen many times and your speed of realizing it happened is key to staying in the fight. On, many instances a second strike allows the round to go off, but if it doesn’t you will be clearing the round to chamber a fresh round.
What brands do we suggest? Well, our suggestion is based solely on re-strike being important. That eliminates the most common firearm that many suggest “Glocks”. My choices would include Sig Sauer, Heckler and Koch, Grand Power, Beretta, CZ and IWI and even Taurus. (These are double action/single action or LEM style actions) There are many hundreds of firearms in this category of prices starting in the $300 plus and go way beyond $1,000.
My opinion & my choice for semi-auto carry: It would most likely be a HK Pistol. HK45C, P30SK, P2000SK. HK45 is a great choice but its quite large as so are the HK USP variants. Bear, in mind I own and have carried many brands and none have left me stranded. The closest I’ve ever came to date to having to use a firearm and I was carrying a Taurus M85UL .38. Special revolver and if it had came to it, I would have had to shoot 2 people with 5 shots. So, why HK? These pistols are quality, robust, accurate and last basically forever. I took my HK P30SK to the range and was shooting with another friend who routinely shoots a Glock, several hundred rounds per week. I handed him my HK P30SK, he never fired one just the same, he shot better groups instantly than his carry pistol with thousands of rounds through it. He was shocked. Yes, HKs cost more, but look at it this way, you won’t waste more time and money, chasing the right gun. I’ve bought probably 40 pistols before I figured this out for myself, don’t be me.
How to carry my firearm? Easily, one of the most concealable location is appendix carry. Its fast to access but also is very close to your own private parts and vital areas. I would never suggest carrying a striker fired gun in this area, any accident you could easily neuter yourself or end your own life. Only carry a DA/SA or revolver as it just will be safer for you overall. Holster options include, Inside the waist band, outside on your hip or 5’o’clock position or the small of your back. The disadvantage is the firearm will be easier to be spotted by someone else and any leaning forward motions or actions tend to expose firearms of any significant size. Some very small framed firearms can be carried inside the pocket, most are .380 or smaller in caliber to be able to achieve this. I do not recommend Kydex holsters, they are very uncomfortable, do not flex with your body, very hard. They are excellent at protecting exposed firearms on hips, belts but are painful inside the waist band or appendix. The most comfortable holsters are deer hide (1791 holster company) Fair Trade holsters, $60 each. These are very soft and supple but no leather holster that is soft offers super retention, so don’t do any headstands with your pistol tucked in your pants.
Home Defense and Carry Guns? Most advise don’t even think the two are the same. I’m not saying they cannot be but what happens often is people either purchase something very small for carry purposes and then realize training with it is burdensome, no fun to shoot and or lacks much capacity or the power they would want to protect their castle. I’m not saying sacrifices cannot be had its just not as common for someone to chose out of the gate a firearm that does both well. I would sooner say pick a pistol you definitely want to carry and consider a shotgun for your home as many can be had in the sub $300 range that are adequate for that role. Often, I see clients get a carry gun, then another pistol that is larger and then a shotgun or rifle and then a .22LR rifle or pistol. This is quite common, many say I’m only getting one and a few months later they are back to pick up their next treasure.
Firearm finish types: There is many types of finishes, all are good and purpose designed. My only advice is highly polished finishes can be very inherently difficult to rack a slide on a semiautomatic if its oily. I’m no different I like shiny guns but pulling the slide back can be trying even for someone with the strongest of fingers. This is especially true with a pistol that is short in barrel length that shoots a modest sized firearm cartridge, 9mm or larger typically.
Ammunition cost? Everything is inflated as of July 2021 in time ammo prices will subside but not likely ever slip back down to where they were in cost. The most common calibers, 9mm, 45 will likely see the best prices with .380, .40, .357/38 specials coming in next. The less common, 10mm, .327 Fed Mag and other more boutique cartridges stay higher in the price range. Range ammo is ammo you tend to train with and Self Defense ammo is the ammunition you carry for self defense purposes. In a perfect world they would be the same but since SD ammo tends to be more than $1 per round that typically doesn’t happen. My advice is to at minimum shoot a box of SD ammo to ensure reliability of it in your firearm and to see how it performs/prints on target in comparison to range ammo. Its not uncommon to see several inch shifts from varying ammo types, so you want to ensure if your sites if adjustable are setup for your SD ammo.
Lights, Lasers and Red Dots? Most people, 99% don’t walk around with Lights or Lasers typically affixed to their weapons. Can these items be helpful? Yes, but Laser Grips can be cost prohibitive, $200-$300 and a light requires an accessory rail and that often means you need a custom holster and now your carry gun just became larger and more unwieldy. Lasers and lights can be in combination but that still takes up or requires rail space on the front of a firearm. I personally recommend you just buying a nice powerful small LED flashlight. They can be used for many purposes and not strictly for firearm use. O-light makes many good one’s that are very powerful and are fully rechargeable with built in Li-Ion batteries and magnetic charging cords. Expect to pay at least $100+ for a good weapons light.
Common Revolver Choices for Carry: Ruger LCR .38 Special, S&W 642, 442 .38 Special
Most Common Semi-Autos for Carry I see purchased: Springfield Arms Hellcat, S&W Series pistols, Sig Sauer P365, Glock 43x, 48, 43, Canik and Taurus G2, G3 series pistols. There are many others but these seem to get more volume. These pistols typically sell for $600 or less.
Most Common Calibers: 9mm, .45 ACP, .380 ACP, .38 Special
Great Firearm Brands to consider: SIG, HK, Grand Power, Walther, Smith and Wesson (Revolvers), not a fan of the M&P Series guns, but they are dependable and many people buy them. I would say the best DA/SA, light recoiling guns you can probably get for the best price are Grand Power Pistols. I’m not saying that to sell guns I’m simply telling you what millions of people don’t know “YET”. Beretta PX4 Storm pistols use a similar rotating barrel feature but Grand Power triggers are amazing.
https://globalordnance.com/firearms/hand-guns/semi-auto-pistol/
Glock Transfers outside of the models mentioned above have really slowed down.