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Posted: 6/14/2009 10:50:11 PM EDT
I had lunch with a friend today, he has not in the past been a "gun guy"
Always had a shotgun and maybe a 22 around the house- but he has decided he wants to have a handgun at the house for his wife, and he wants to get another handgun for carry I explained that he (and his wife needed to get some training- and he agrees) I was not sure what direction to point him in his selection for the two weapons One thought is to suggest a 4" 38/357 for his home (he said his wife will attend a training class, but could not see here actually carrying) also I know my wife is much more comfortable with a revolver. And maybe a Springfield XD 9mm or .40 sub compact for his carry weapon ( I know a Glock is a great weapon, or Smith M&P - but feel like the grip safety would be a good idea for a new shooter- and while my personal choice is a 1911, don't know if it would be a good choice for a first time carry weapon) My other thought, would be a full size XD for home (as his wife would be new to shooting- just let her learn on a semi from the start) and the XD sup compact for carry- both in the same caliber What would you tell him? |
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Buy her a .38 lady smith, and him either a glock .40 or a kimber ftw if he gets both.
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and him either a glock .40 or a kimber ftw if he gets both. One will blow up, the other won't function properly. Atleast say a Glock 21 and a Dan wesson/springfield/colt. |
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Glock 17 for him, Glock 19 for her. Both 9mm so they don't have to stock different calibers. Also Glock 17 mags will fit in the 19. IMHO
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and him either a glock .40 or a kimber ftw if he gets both. One will blow up, the other won't function properly. Atleast say a Glock 21 and a Dan wesson/springfield/colt. Hey now. I reject your reality and submit my own. |
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Glock or M&P. Whichever fits better. Grip safety is completely unnecessary.
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I would dual wield a pair of Deagle 50's if I was him..
Since I am not, have them go to a range and shoot several types if possible. Let them each pick what they feel comfortable shooting. |
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Glock 17 for him, Glock 19 for her. Both 9mm so they don't have to stock different calibers. Also Glock 17 mags will fit in the 19. IMHO This. ...and add a couple AA .22 conversions. ETA:...and training. |
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Shotgun or carbine for home, whatever makes him fap for carry.
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I would dual wield a pair of Deagle 50's if I was him.. Since I am not, have them go to a range and shoot several types if possible. Let them each pick what they feel comfortable shooting. This. Personally I detest the XD. Don't care for Glocks either. I'm an MP fan. Have them get whatever fits them best. |
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Tell them both to try out a bunch of different ones and choose the ones they like best. Give them some guidelines about which makers produce quality (as in durable and reliable) weapons and let them take it from there.
Any other answer is bullshit. |
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1911 is not a good idea for a first gun (to carry), I don't think. Something more simple and user-independent, like an XD or Glock would be good for him. The XD45 (Tactical or Compact) with the compact grip would be good for carry, and have excellent accuracy. It would also have all the stopping power he needs. As said, for her, a S&W Lady would be good. Whatever's comfortable for both of them.
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I am shocked you guys are suggesting his wife use a grenade as a personal defense weapon.
Bunch of misogynists. |
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As always they should go to the funstore and try out as many guns as they can. At least let them handle them if not actually fire them.
A lot of people suggest a small revolver for women... new female shooters don't like small revolvers for long, they tend to have much more notable recoil and noise. I would suggest two matching compact polymer frame 9mm pistols. Cheaper to train with, she can shoot either one, light for carry and concealable etc etc. I would pick between the Glock, XD, and M&P... let her in on the decision, because she is going to be more apt to train with it if she is. |
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Buy her a .38 lady smith, and him either a glock 21[/img] When people ask me about their first handgun I tell them to get a Glock, when they want their second handgun, I tell them a Sig. Women and .38's just seem to do really well. |
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Quoted: Two 7.5" AR pistols. With Miculek comps. That's actually probably not a bad idea for her at home if she doesn't want to carry. |
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Buy her a .38 lady smith, and him either a glock 21[/url] When people ask me about their first handgun I tell them to get a Glock, when they want their second handgun, I tell them a Sig. Women and .38's just seem to do really well. Even for a guy 38 is nothing to laugh at, its about placement and getting people started. A gun someone will carry is better than one they won't. Agreed glocks have many good parts kits available, and can readily get mags not like hk, sigs are good I would own one. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Two 7.5" AR pistols. With Miculek comps. That's actually probably not a bad idea for her at home if she doesn't want to carry. If you're ever in WI drop me a line and I will let you shoot my SBR indoors. 1 round should change your mind. The reason I was being facetious was that no matter what the OP suggests to his friend, he'll see some shiny bauble at the gunstore for $200 and buy that instead. 99% of the time. |
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Buy her a .38 lady smith, and him either a glock 21[/url] When people ask me about their first handgun I tell them to get a Glock, when they want their second handgun, I tell them a Sig. Women and .38's just seem to do really well. Even for a guy 38 is nothing to laugh at, its about placement and getting people started. A gun someone will carry is better than one they won't. Agreed glocks have many good parts kits available, and can readily get mags not like hk, sigs are good I would own one. No disagreement. I carry a snub nose .38. Women seem to just love holding it more than the others. Nickel makes them giddy. |
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I recommend a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolver with four inch barrel.
They want two handguns? Then get two of the S&W Model 10's. |
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What would you tell him? Buy a Glock 17 and a Glock 19. Then get training. |
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Tell them both to try as many different models as they can get their hands on. Let them find what works best for them.
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A 4 inch revolver for the house and a two inch revolver for carry.
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They should find a range that rents guns and shoot many different models until finding what works best FOR THEM.
Yeah, that's crazy talk. ETA: Damn my OCD spelling and grammar checking ways. |
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Thanks for the responses
With the exception of "get a handgun, and get training "- I will not actually "tell him" anything Just looking at suggestions Revolver and Semi Auto or two Semi Auto Then as it comes down to - what works/feels best to them - as long as it is a proven product from a quality company Thanks |
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Tell them both to try out a bunch of different ones and choose the ones they like best. Give them some guidelines about which makers produce quality (as in durable and reliable) weapons and let them take it from there. Any other answer is bullshit. Yep. Don't decide which one is best for them. Let them try out different kinds - revolver vs semi-auto - .380 vs .38 vs .40 vs 9mm vs .45. They might end up with the same caliber but different guns. |
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Start with a Glock 19 and if they like it they can get a second. If he finds it a bit large fr carry he can add a Glock 26 or if they decide they would like a bigger gun for HD use they can get a Glock 17. Alternately, if either fo them don't like the Glock they can then try a revolver or other auto.
My benchmark is the Glock 19 myself |
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XD's for victory and beyond! Yes the grip safety is a bonus for a new shooter.But really go to fun shop and handle a bunch.
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Tell them both to try out a bunch of different ones and choose the ones they like best. Give them some guidelines about which makers produce quality (as in durable and reliable) weapons and let them take it from there. Any other answer is bullshit. +1 Why does everyone automatically recommend a little mouse gun for a woman? |
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Before either purchases anything they should attend a basic pistol class. You don't need to bring your own gun to one of these; the instructors have a variety (at least we did years ago back when I was certified to teach it).
Then they should go to a range that has pistols for rent so they can try out different models to see what they like. After that they should select which one(s) they would like to purchase. Finally, get away from "woman = .38" mentality. The only revolver I own is a .44 magnum and it's for deer hunting. My CCW piece is a Sig P245. |
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38 Special six-gun, about a 4 inch barrel. I'd avoid a compact 38. Too much recoil.
The larger 38 might seem old fashioned but it'll be easy for the wife to use, low recoil, and is dead nutz reliable. Edit: Only if she is comfortable with it. I think revolvers are better for beginners but if the grip isn't comfortable for her, better to have something comfortable. JMO |
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What would you tell him? I have several guns (revolvers and semi-autos)..............wanna come shooting with me and try some of them? Aloha, Mark |
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Two Glock 9mm's. A 26 and 19 or two 19's. This has been the easiest caliber to find and one of the least expensive. Glock is the best price, reliability, availability and functionality I've found. I've owned Kimber and Glock and would choose Glock as a combat pistol any day of the week. aaaaaaaaannnd 9mm/Glock basher go......
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One glock in 9mm, most likely subcompact 26, and a 1911. I would never recommend a 1911 to a beginner. To reliably run a 1911 you have to know an awful lot about the platform, what makes it tick, and how to maintain it. These are not things that a newbie is going to know, and there aren't exactly a lot of good resources out there to teach it. New shooters need low maintenance, high reliability weapons that are easy to support and easy to customize with things like aftermarket sights. That pretty much means Glocks. |
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Take him to a range with a multitude of rentals...
Unless it's a "fun-gun" like a cowboy, plinker, or just a collector I would never buy a "utility" gun without shooting it first. The more the better. |
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Thanks for the responses With the exception of "get a handgun, and get training "- I will not actually "tell him" anything Just looking at suggestions Revolver and Semi Auto or two Semi Auto Then as it comes down to - what works/feels best to them - as long as it is a proven product from a quality company Thanks What "feels" best to them may be a pretty horrible idea. For instance: A buddy of mine who is a police officer only recently bought a handgun for the home after a situation where he was in need of one and his issue weapon was still locked up at the department. His wife, you see, didn't like guns so he didn't bring his duty weapon home. Then all of a sudden one day some nefarious characters started some shit and it didn't dawn on him that he was completely unarmed until he was already in the middle of it. So he finally listened to what I had been telling him for YEARS and bought a handgun! ...only he bought a Taurus 1911. My response upon hearing about this: "Holy fucking hell....what is wrong with you, man?" He liked 1911's, you see (because he used one in the military one time and thought it was neat) and so he bought one that was in his price range. How well do you think it worked out of the box? (Remembering that we're dealing with an unholy union of Taurus and 1911, here...) He would have been much better off with a G19 that was very similar to the G22 he carries on duty and that would be cheaper to practice with, but noooo... Don't jump up and down screaming or anything, but do try to steer them to the more reliable options on the market. |
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Let my daughter and wife shoot 2" 38 special. They were a little put off by recoil. Shot my 9mmXDsc they loved it. Practice is the most important thing. After 50 rounds with the revolver and 50 with the xd they chose the autoloader with some emphasis on some safety advantages to an autoloader.Once you go with an autoloader XD, M&P, Or Glock are great guns. Taking it a step further, they decided to get a pistol with a decocker after shooting and handling one of mine. Safety , reliability and user friendliness won the day for my wife and daughter and son in law. JMHO.
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I recommend a .38 caliber Smith & Wesson Model 10 revolver with four inch barrel. They want two handguns? Then get two of the S&W Model 10's. +1 in all honesty 90% of all "non gun" people would be best served by a Smith and Wesson 10 or 64 |
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