New to TGO....researching my first gun!

[Guest BPatterson]

What's up guys? I'm a car guy that was referred over here from Octane Forums. I've never owned a gun in my life, and am looking to purchase my first handgun. I just want something small, easy to carry, and affordable. I just started looking at guns, and it looks like .380's are about the size I'm looking for.

Glad to be here, and hope to learn as much as I can!

[Guest pfries]

Welcome to the forum,

I would suggest heading to a range with gun rentals in your area and trying as many on for size as you can before making a decision.

There are also a number of 9mm compact models similar in size.

[Guest BPatterson]

That's one thing I've definitely decided on doing. Like I said, I've never owned a gun before, so I had no idea about the ranges renting guns. I've been told the best way to figure out what I want is to get my hands on as many guns as possible, and just see how they feel.

[peejman]

Agreed, find a local range with rentals available. Try lots of guns. Try some you don't think you'll like. Carrying one is not something to be taken lightly. Be sure it's what you want to do.

[Guest pfries]

It is all very personal, I own a few .32 and .380's, in my time I have found the smaller the gun the more particular I am.

It seems that a full size handgun is easier to pick up and shoot well in comparison to a compact gun. That being said the smaller the gun I am looking for the more time I spend picking it out.

Happy shooting and shopping

[DWARREN123]

Howdy and Welcome to TGO

Guns and Leather in Greenbrier does gun rentals.

Many small 9mm's are the size of 380's these days and may be something to think about.

Tennessee Gun Country in Clarksville does not rent guns but have some very helpful folks and good prices when you do make a choice.

Just handle as many different brands/models as you can and fire them if possible to be able to make a intelligent choice.

Be safe and have fun.

[Ramjo]

Welcome to the forum.

[JReedEsq]

Check out the Glock 26, the Kahr PM9 and Smith & Wesson M&P9c. I own a .380 but I really wouldn't want to have a .380 as my only handgun. The ammo is pricy and can be hard to find. For a first gun I suggest getting a caliber that is cheap and available so you'll practice more. Welcome to the forum.

Edited October 19, 2011 by JReedEsq

[Guest BPatterson]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I definitely appreciate them, so keep them coming. I guess I should clarify a little bit more about what I'm wanting a gun for. I'm a firefighter, but work a second job on my days off in Nashville, and sometimes it has me in some questionable areas. I would also like to be able to carry it with me in my car, as I'm in it quite a bit alone. And also of course to have at home. The first few reasons are why I would prefer to have something smaller, so it's easier to conceal and carry.

[MphsTiger1981]

Welcome from Memphis, "Tennessee's Official Home of Questionable Areas"...

[Guest tnfireman]

Welcome to the forum. All the above is good advice.

[Caster]

As uncool and unmanly as this may sound, I promise it's not: Go take a professional training course. There are many from simple to very high level operator courses. I promise you that you will not have your man card revoked, and you will not regret it. Quite the contrary actually.

[zapfbroad]

+1 caster. Nothing unmanly about learning how to do something better. Regardless of your current competency attending some formalized training will learn you something. Everyday you fire a gun you learn something about yourself if you pay attention.

sent via EPIC4G SyndicateRomFrozen 1.2

[Mike.357]

take a NRA basic pistol course and take a HCP class. You probably know, but in case you don't you can't carry a loaded gun in your car or on your person here without it.

[Guest nj.piney]

welcome

[Sean]

Hey B. Welcome over. Alot of great info over here. Good luck in finding your next obsession.

[TGO David]

Brian, glad to see you over here. I'd second the comment made earlier about visiting a range that rents various handguns and give a few a spin. Guns and Leather in Greenbrier would be my recommendation based on proximity to your home base.

That being said, for discrete pocket carry my two Go-To firearms of choice are my Smith & Wesson J-Frame revolver (Model 442) and my Kahr PM9 which is a small 9mm semi-automatic. I would feel comfortable with either of these as my "going out to get a gallon of milk" companion. That said, if I were routinely in areas of questionable repute, I would probably step up toward a compact full-size 9mm of some sort just to increase capacity and ease of reloading.

With the right holster, you can conceal damn near anything and do so comfortably.

[Jonnin]

What's up guys? I'm a car guy that was referred over here from Octane Forums. I've never owned a gun in my life, and am looking to purchase my first handgun. I just want something small, easy to carry, and affordable. I just started looking at guns, and it looks like .380's are about the size I'm looking for.

Glad to be here, and hope to learn as much as I can!

380 ammo is pricy. The 9x18 caliber is the exact same thing, but 1/3 the price (if you are willing to order online), and the guns are well made and inexpensive. A makarov or cz82 would be a great first handgun, for $400 or so you could have the gun, 1000 rounds of ammo, and probably a holster, extra mags, and other random accessories, cleaning rod or whatnot. My favorite 380 is the sig p238 but its expensive. Next up would be a bersa, those are very nice.

[Guest bkelm18]

Welcome. Good luck on your search.

[Guest BPatterson]

Thanks again for the warm welcome guys. I've been recommended to look at many different guns, and that's great!!! Just the looking alone has allowed me to learn a little more about what I want and like, and I haven't even picked one up yet!

On my screen right now are the Bersa Thunder .380 CC and the Ruger LCP .380. The Bersa is almost twice the weight of the Ruger, but holds one more shell. I also like the look of the Bersa better, and believe I would like the feel of having a little more weight in my hand. When holding a gun, is it easier to control a lighter weight gun, or one with a little more weight on it?

[quietguy]

Welcome.

I find a heavier gun a little easier to aim, but know several people who experience the opposite.

Lightweight is easier to carry, but a good holster will make a huge difference.

Heavier guns are generally more controllable for followup shots, but dual-stage recoil springs and some other enhancements can help make up for a lack of mass.

[Guest pfries]

More weight generaly = les felt recoil, in the smaller calibers that will not be that great as the recoil is not that bad. However the actual muzzle flip (rise of the muzzle after a shot) will be reduced in a heavier gun allowing for faster follow up shots.

[Guest BPatterson]

Excellent info! Thanks for answering my questions thus far! If there's something I could search on here, or if there's a stick somewhere I could read, or another forum I should be posting in, by all means, direct me towards it. I don't wanna be "that guy". lol

[JReedEsq]

More weight generaly = les felt recoil, in the smaller calibers that will not be that great as the recoil is not that bad. However the actual muzzle flip (rise of the muzzle after a shot) will be reduced in a heavier gun allowing for faster follow up shots.

+1; IMHO the pocket .380 models have substantially more recoil than something like a Glock 26 or Smith & Wesson M&P9c. My Glock 26 actually shoots much more like a regular gun than my pocket .380. As a result, I feel more comfortable with it and carry it much more often. With a few holster options, it's actually super easy to conceal.

[Jonnin]

Thanks again for the warm welcome guys. I've been recommended to look at many different guns, and that's great!!! Just the looking alone has allowed me to learn a little more about what I want and like, and I haven't even picked one up yet! On my screen right now are the Bersa Thunder .380 CC and the Ruger LCP .380. The Bersa is almost twice the weight of the Ruger, but holds one more shell. I also like the look of the Bersa better, and believe I would like the feel of having a little more weight in my hand. When holding a gun, is it easier to control a lighter weight gun, or one with a little more weight on it?

The LCP is a DAO (double action only --- which is a dumb name created from history). The first guns were single action: you cocked the hammer and the trigger released it. Later double actions allowed either the same, or the shooter could pull the trigger a long way with a lot of force to pull the hammer back with the trigger. DAO guns ONLY have this type of pull, every time you pull the trigger it lifts the hammer and drops it. This makes for a long, hard trigger pull. The bersa is a double action, but it is also a semi auto. So, every time the slide comes back from the recoil of the fired round, it cocks the hammer for you. So the first time you shoot it in a session, you thumb the trigger back or use the long "double action" pull to lift the hammer. The follow up shots work like a single action, a light short trigger pull drops the already cocked hammer. The bersa is likely to be easier to control: the shorter single action follow up shots mean you will not "pull" the gun off target in the process of using the trigger, the heavy build will prevent recoil from pulling your shots off target, and the combined effect will be the ability to shoot defensively (rapidly, or double taps, at a shortish range) very cleanly. The LCP will take a lot more muscle to control and more skill to keep it on target and very strong fingers to fire it rapidly. The sig is single action only, a very short and light trigger pull lets you empty the gun faster and if it fits your hands, it is very easy to control, something about it has very light recoil (good/bad designs can reduce or increase recoil). The sig is my favorite, but all these (and their relatives from kel tec, walther, and so on) have their fans. The important thing to take away here is how the different trigger designs (there are 6 or 7 of them if you include tradmark names for the same exact things) change the feel and shootability of the gun.

If you want lower recoil, get a heavier gun, and not the DAO. DAO does not have any recoil "converted" into the hammer spring, which is part of the way recoil is absorbed in a semi auto. Also a double stack, with a wider grip, will spread the recoil out rather than punish one narrow strip in the seat of your hand. 380 is less than half as potent as 9mm BUT the energy of the cartridge is a very small part of the recoil equation. I have shot a wimpy litle .25 that had more recoil than most of my 9mms (mine are large & steel though!). The micro 9mms are brutal with a defense load, worse than my 44 mag shooting a bullet twice as heavy.

Edited October 20, 2011 by Jonnin