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 Newbies and catch 22 gun selection 
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PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2009 4:31 pm 
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Will also say another hi for you Joel :D

Mostlyharmless did Zooey give you permission to use her picture. Those eyes................. :oops:


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PostPosted: Mon May 18, 2009 8:56 pm 
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I might as well throw in my loose change. I did lots of reading, cross-checking, & comparing Gun Digest, gun magazines, etc. (as well as lots of reading on this forum). That gave me a little background and some ideas. Next came Bill's range & rentals. My early ideas (and choices) changed and yours probably will too (one way to start a collection!!). I finally settled on 9mm and a mouse gun (32cal). I settled on 9mm so I could afford the regular practice most folks recommend if you're going to carry (practice with what you carry) and because I foolishly rented a 9mm M&P just to see what all the hoopla was about... and bought one within a month. So, I recommend you find what works (rent or borrow different guns), settle on what works AND THEN DON'T NEVER EVER BORROW, RENT, OR HANDLE ANYTHING ELSE (unless you want to start a collection!).

That's been my experience. Yours, of course, will be different. Good luck & good shooting. :wink:
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PostPosted: Tue May 19, 2009 7:41 am 
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Location: Twin Cities
There's actually a very simple formula:

* Large enough caliber for self defense
* Big enough to get a grip on
* Small enough to conceal
* Reliable enough to trust your life to
* Cheap enough to fit your budget (remember to include holster, extra mags, ammo and range time)
* Common enough to find a holster for
* Comfortable enough to shoot regularly
* Accurate enough when YOU shoot it

See? Simple! :)

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PostPosted: Tue May 19, 2009 7:41 am 
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Thanks Jon. I have the 32 and do NOT need any new kind of collection :wink:

My wife can't understand the things I have right now like how can 1 person play a dozen guitars through 4 amps at the same time etc etc etc.


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PostPosted: Mon May 25, 2009 7:53 pm 
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Saw John today and did some shooting in his back yard today - he says to say hi to you two also.


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 Post subject: Re: Newbies and catch 22 gun selection
PostPosted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 1:22 pm 
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Joined: Thu Mar 13, 2008 5:16 pm
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Location: Minneapolis
Quote:
If they have no clue, have no drive to really research or practice, but need a reliable defense handgun, then I will go out on a limb and suggest a 642 or SP101


That's the exact opposite of my experience and a considerable amount of opinion I trust. I do like my airweight, but it's not something I would recommend to a new shooter. A person needs a lot of firearm time before a flyweight, short barreled pistol will be confidence inspiring.

A 3" SP101 for a casual carrier makes much more sense to me. The weight and length, maybe, puts them ahead enough to be of value. The difference between my SP101 and 642 are night and day for me.

But to everybody's main point, unfortunately, there's no one perfect carry gun (or holster or carry style). You are going to end up spending your way to finding your carry gun just like the rest of us. Research can help shorten the path, but beware getting led off into the woods too. I guess it's something of an initiation. Guns aren't for the casual, and if you don't put in the effort to find what works for you, well, maybe it wasn't meant to be. *shrug*

I walked up hill both ways for a while and came to find a Kahr PM9 in the back pocket holster works pretty well for me. I'm also a big fan of the KelTec P3AT in a front pocket holster. But that's also based on drilling and gaming with a full size pistol to get into a place where I can honestly evaluate what I'm gaining and giving up with the smaller guns.

Good luck with your search!


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 Post subject: Re: Newbies and catch 22 gun selection
PostPosted: Wed Jul 29, 2009 3:04 pm 
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Location: Minneapolis MN
aczarnowski wrote:
Quote:
If they have no clue, have no drive to really research or practice, but need a reliable defense handgun, then I will go out on a limb and suggest a 642 or SP101


That's the exact opposite of my experience and a considerable amount of opinion I trust. I do like my airweight, but it's not something I would recommend to a new shooter. A person needs a lot of firearm time before a flyweight, short barreled pistol will be confidence inspiring.

A 3" SP101 for a casual carrier makes much more sense to me. The weight and length, maybe, puts them ahead enough to be of value. The difference between my SP101 and 642 are night and day for me.
Yup. And it really, really depends on how recoil- and weight-sensitive you are. I've shot a lot of recoil sensitivity out of my right hand, but it's taken some years. Others got issued better.

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