TomR

If anyone who will be using the gun is left-handed, the Mossberg is a better choice. The safety on top is equally convenient for right and left-handed shooters. The same is not true of the Remington.

Save yourself a lot of time and money. Find a gunshop/range that will let you try different guns. For example, I believe Coal Creek Armory in Knoxville (I'm not associated with them) charges $15 to rent a lane at the range for as long as you want to use it and $15 to try all of their guns in a single caliber. It's expensive to buy a gun and then decide you don't like it. I speak from personal experience.

If your snubbie punishes you when you shoot it, you may not shoot it enough to get really proficient. If standard pressure .38 special ammo is too much, look for something else.

I was seriously considering buying an SR9 but ended up buying a Springfield XD(m) 9mm. 80-90% of the reviews of the SR9's thought that they were wonderful. The rest thought they were crap because of FTF and/or FTE. In a self defense gun, reliability is everything. Reviews of the XD and XD(m) were consistently positive re reliability.

It's hard to go wrong with a new or used Ruger .22 target pistol. They are reliable and not all that expensive.

I was planning on buying a Springfield xd9 but ended up buying a new XD(m) 9mm for $430 plus shipping on GunBroker. Just couldn't resist the price.

You can tell a lot about a company from the service they provide their customers. My Ruger LCP was recalled. Although I was not happy about the need for the recall, Ruger handled it very well. When I contacted customer service, they were friendly and did everything possible to make the recall go smoothly. Ruger sent a box with packing instructions, contacted UPS to pick up the LCP at my home, and had the gun returned to me in 7 days. They not only fixed the problem associated with the recall, but made all current updates to the gun and included a new magazine to boot. This is the way you develop brand loyalty.

I purchased a Springfield XD(m) 9mm this week and had questions about the use of +P and +P+ ammo that were not addressed in the online manual. I received the following from Springfield customer support. "Due to the fact that our entire line of XD pistols feature fully supported and ramped barrels, using +P and +P+ ammunition will not damage your gun. However, we do recommend that you make sure the ammunition is American made and is in new condition (not repackaged or reloaded.) Due to the increased power of +P and +P+ ammunition, the cycling of your XD may be affected by this different ammunition. If you are planning to use +P or +P+ ammunition, we recommend that you fire it extensively at the range before relying on it for concealed carry or self defense. It is important to ensure that it will run reliable in your XD. Although +P or +P+ ammunition will not damage your XD, a steady diet of this higher power ammunition may decrease the service life of the barrel and/or firearm." Less than 24 hour turnaround on my inquiry.