Armory Sponsor
| The Sig- Sauer is an excellent choice, I prefer a .45acp myself. I have a Sig P-220 another excellent Sig. If it's possible, see if you can find a range that rents handguns, and try a few, there are many very good handguns on the market right now, try as many as you can in diffrent calibers, 9mm,.40,.45acp, etc, see which one YOU like,which one fits your hands the best, and one that you're most comfortable with..You'll get alot of opinions on this board as far as handguns goes, I like .45's because they work well for me.. I've been shooting,loading, 45's for around 24 years, I feel more comfortable with a .45 than I do a 9mm. This is just MY personal preferance. I will say this, Sig makes a excellent handgun, in a variety of calibers and I don't think you could go wrong with one. All are very,very, reliable,accurate, well made, very easy to field strip, and very,very, easy to use. |
|
For defensive purposes many, including myself, feel that 9mm is towards the minimum. That beign said i wouldn't worry so much about the caliber and just think about what feels comfortable to you, so you'll shoot it a lot, and what you're likely to have at hand should you need it. Things like action type, sights, mag release, safety weight and size, and grip are individual preferences and can change a good bit as you get many rounds downrange. Don't worry so much about capacity if you don't hit a bad guy on the first couple of shots then shots 10-17 aren't liable to do much except miss. I wouldn't buy a handgun with the idea that this will be your ultimate defense tool, handguns suck for that. I'd suggest you just buy your first. Shoot it a lot and get something else. I like Sigs i have a P228 and glocks i have several and 1911s, but i don't like H&Ks. Not cause they aren't good guns i just don't like them. All this advice is based on you wanting a defensive handgun, if you want to hunt with it can't help you. If you want to punch paper then gets yourself a .22, as a matter of fact get one of those first, learn how to shoot a handgun and then get something bigger. |
You ask 10 different people, you'll probably get 10 different answers.  As has been suggested, try to shoot several different types of guns & calibers before you shell out hard-earned $$$. Or buy several, as many of us do. For those who belittle this or that caliber, I always ask: "Do you wish to be shot with one?" For serious social work, 9mm is the minimum. I avoid the .40 for personal bias, the CUP chamber pressure is too high given the alternatives. Be sure to check out the .357Sig caliber! I use that for my carry gun. My .o2 |
|
9mm is on the low end of defensive calibers, but only because something has to be. It's still a viable round with the right choice of bullets. I prefer .45 myself, but have a 9 due to it's compact nature, and the fact that I can have a reassuringly large supply of ammunition. Another benny of 9mm is that it is really cheap to shoot for a centerfire handgun. Cheap to shoot = More range time. More range time, and good quality ammo make up for the smaller rounds deficiencies. |
What he said. |
You'll never get any reasonable answer when it comes to the caliber wars and they have been going on for about 200 years so far.  The SiGs are great guns. Other really good guns to look at are the GLOCKS, the Springfield XD series, the Berettas, the Rugers and the Smiths. There are good Walthers and H&Ks, and Styers. There are great revolvers and semi-automatics. In fact, it is far harder to find a bad gun these days than a good one. |
| Try as many as you can and select whatever caliber you are most comfortable shooting and have the best accuracy with. Someone who has a "big bad" .45 and doesn't know how to use it properly is going to be worse off than someone who is comfortable and reliable with his weapon, no matter what caliber it is. I will say to choose your ammo carefully, no matter what caliber you choose, as it can make a big difference in defensive capability. Good luck. |
Armory Sponsor