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

[Sean]

If I was closer Brian Id let you shoot my Bersa .380. Unless you want to travel?

[UncleJak]

Greetings!

[Guest bkelm18]

Just my own personal opinion, I wouldn't get a .380 for a first handgun. Ammo is relatively expensive and at times hard to find. Recoil can be a little on the harsh side (depending on the gun) and are usually not very pleasant to shoot (just my own experience). If you're looking for that size, there a several sub-compact 9mm's out there that are easily concealed (Glock, Springfield Armory, S&W). Even a S&W 442 .38 Special revolver is roughly the same size, albeit a bit thicker obviously. I carry a full size S&W M&P9 everyday, so you'd be surprised what you can conceal with a good holster and belt.

[VolunteerGuns]

Buds has a sweet deal on Kahr CW series. I just picked up a new CW45 for 381 shipped!

Its quite a bit smaller than my XD sub. They also have it in 9mm, and are offering a free extra mag with purchase!

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Edited October 21, 2011 by adamween

[Jonnin]

Just my own personal opinion, I wouldn't get a .380 for a first handgun. Ammo is relatively expensive and at times hard to find. Recoil can be a little on the harsh side (depending on the gun) and are usually not very pleasant to shoot (just my own experience). If you're looking for that size, there a several sub-compact 9mm's out there that are easily concealed (Glock, Springfield Armory, S&W). Even a S&W 442 .38 Special revolver is roughly the same size, albeit a bit thicker obviously. I carry a full size S&W M&P9 everyday, so you'd be surprised what you can conceal with a good holster and belt.

The small 9mms usually have worse recoil than any 380 --- virtually identical size and weight with twice the energy?? Gun design is the key for any caliber, unfortunately a number of popular small guns were not engineered to ease the recoil factor, making several of the small 380s and most of the small 9s rather unpleasent. A cz83 380 has less recoil than any of the glocks short of the giant 1911 sized models, while any of the kel tec copy pistols has more.

[ironsniper1]

Welcome to TGO! I'm in the same boat s you searching for my first gun as well! Goodluck with your search!

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[TGO David]

Brian, you're a big enough guy and have done enough physical labor in your life (wrenching on your cars, firefighting, etc.) that you're not going to have to worry about recoil on anything but the most potent of handgun calibers. Trust me on this.

I'd skip the .380 unless physical size is a limiting factor on how you intend to carry it (i.e. in your back pocket) and go with either a sub-compact 9mm or a .38spl revolver. You're welcome to shoot anything I have at the range sometime, but I imagine you'll end up buying before we could get together.

FWIW, I have a Bersa .380 and while there is nothing particularly wrong with it, there is nothing particularly right about it either IMO. It's heavy and too large for the round it carries, and it suffers from less than stellar magazine capacity. There are too many other handguns of the same general size that carry more rounds and more potent rounds for me to use it as anything other than a subject of derision. I'd skip it and look at the LCP or better yet the LC9 if you like Ruger's sub-compact size and shape.

[lacon]

Brian,

Did you know that as a firefighter you qualify to buy a Glock at their LE price? I don't know exactly what it amounts to, so I won't guess here, but it is a decent discount. You can check with a Glock distributor or dealer for info if you think you might like a 26 for instance. I have some Glocks, but I'm not a hard-core Glock fan. Something about an exposed hammer appeals to me.

[Guest BPatterson]

Thanks for the heads up!