How To Choose A Handgun?

[Sojourner]

I think the best way to choose a gun is to fire a bunch of different options and find one that feels comfortable to you and your family. Gun ranges up here (in MN) offer rentals that you can try out on their range. I would be surprised if TX gun ranges don't have similar deals. They also offer training so you can learn how to efficiently handle your weapon. Then after you choose one, practice with it many times, and get training on safety and accuracy. If you are not comfortable with your gun, and know how to use it confidently, it is more likely that an intruder will use it against you than you will use it against an intruder.

The gun I have that I like best is a compensated Glock 9 mm. A .45 is probably better for immediately stopping someone, as ardillacid said, but I can't effectively handle the kick. "Compensated" means it has little vents cut into the barrel that cut down on the kick. I would suggest, if you go this route, that you get training for your wife as well.

And you can get longer clips that hold more bullets ... my hubbie has some that hold 30 rounds, I think. He keeps several loaded, just in case we are invaded. His belief is that the paranoid live longer ... not sure if that's true, but that is his working theory.

[eagle_eye222001]

The only way you are going to kill someone with a .22 is if you shoot them at point blank range in the center of the back of the head. Don't use a .22 for self defense. Only way that will work is if the intruder starts laughing so much they can't concentrate. Use something that at least has stopping power.

[Marie-Therese]

A well placed .22 shot to the abdomen can most certainly kill you...so can a shot to the chest involving the heart or lungs. Much more likely than a head shot at a moving target. A direct hit to any of the large vasculature can result in a massive bleed.

Just sayin'. A kill shot does not have to be a movie-style instantaneous drop. A reasonably well-trained shot can kill with just about anything. But I do agree that a .22 is a bad choice for home defense.

[CatherineM]

Head shots against an intruder aren't a good idea. The reason they teach cops to shoot in the chest is that it is a bigger target.

[Hassan]

[quote name='eagle_eye222001' date='20 August 2009 - 06:51 PM' timestamp='1250808681' post='1953425']
The only way you are going to kill someone with a .22 is if you shoot them at point blank range in the center of the back of the head. Don't use a .22 for self defense. Only way that will work is if the intruder starts laughing so much they can't concentrate. Use something that at least has stopping power.
[/quote]


You're a good guy, but you're fighting a loosing battle.

I think anyone who has been shot by this little number...

[img]http://www.investmentgradefirearms.com/images/M16.jpg[/img]


Will disagree that a .22 can't have stopping power.

[Hassan]

[quote name='eagle_eye222001' date='20 August 2009 - 06:51 PM' timestamp='1250808681' post='1953425']
The only way you are going to kill someone with a .22 is if you shoot them at point blank range in the center of the back of the head. Don't use a .22 for self defense. Only way that will work is if the intruder starts laughing so much they can't concentrate. Use something that at least has stopping power.
[/quote]


You're a good guy, but you're fighting a loosing battle.

I think anyone who has been shot by this little number...

[img]http://www.investmentgradefirearms.com/images/M16.jpg[/img]


Will disagree that a .22 can't have stopping power. I don't know a lot about guns, but I do remember being told by a First Sergent that the M16-A1 used a .22 caliber round. Although I don't remember how that could have possibly come up in the course of the conversation.

[eagle_eye222001]

So....your arguing that a .22 has stopping power?

[Hassan]

[quote name='eagle_eye222001' date='20 August 2009 - 07:44 PM' timestamp='1250811863' post='1953464']
So....your arguing that a .22 has stopping power?
[/quote]




I don't know, I don't know much about guns. I do know that the the M16-A1 (and I assume A2, A3, and A4) uses a .22 inch caliber. And I know quite a few people who have shot people with an M16. I know that most of the people who were fighting them were armed with Kalashnikovs, which has a larger caliber. The people I know are a alive today, many of the people with Kalashnikovs did not survive the confrontation.

(my point there is not to be sardonic. I'm saying that I don't know if any .22 gun has the same stopping power as an M16. I just know that simply because a gun is .22 doesn't mean that it is necessarily incapable of having "stopping power")

Edited August 20, 2009 by Hassan

[eagle_eye222001]

I was assuming a semi-automatic .22 . I've shot .22s before and honestly, while I am certain they can readily injure someone, I am certain that the intruder would be able to take the bullet and return fire.

An automatic .22....might be a different story, however I would be worried about only getting a few shots on the intruder and then have the intruder return fire with something much stronger that takes you out with one bullet.

[Hassan]

[quote name='eagle_eye222001' date='20 August 2009 - 07:58 PM' timestamp='1250812698' post='1953468']
I was assuming a semi-automatic .22 . I've shot .22s before and honestly, while I am certain they can readily injure someone, I am certain that the intruder would be able to take the bullet and return fire.

An automatic .22....might be a different story, however I would be worried about only getting a few shots on the intruder and then have the intruder return fire with something much stronger that takes you out with one bullet.
[/quote]


I don't believe that the modern M16 is automatic (it wasted too much ammunition in Vietnam when it was automatic). Although I think it can do a three shot burst. I think there are three options.

[Hassan]

My only point being that while I'm sure there is some difference between an M16 and the .22 little training rifles that you see being sold at Wal-Mart, I just don't think it's the number of times you get shot.

[eagle_eye222001]

I don't believe I disagreed with that point.

[Hassan]

[quote name='eagle_eye222001' date='20 August 2009 - 08:21 PM' timestamp='1250814118' post='1953481']
I don't believe I disagreed with that point.
[/quote]


Well you're hat looks stupid on you!





















(I'm not sure we're allowed to simply stop arguing )

[eagle_eye222001]

What???

We are.

[txdinghysailor]

[quote name='Groo the Wanderer' date='20 August 2009 - 02:49 PM' timestamp='1250790552' post='1953250']
Do to the rising rate of crime in our fair city where the mayor and council would rather spend money on football stadiums, I am seriously considering buying a gun for home protection. While I know a shotgun is quick and easy, I would rather not blow holes in my walls as well. I am a fairly good shot on Rainbow Six and Ghosr Recon, so I would rather get a handgun to start with. Plus it's hard to conceal a shotgun.

Seriously, though. I need something small enough to conceal, with a magazine large enough to take down 3 intruders, and a caliber that will stop 'em w/o killing the neighbor across the street if I miss my shot. Yes I will go to the range regularly....

suggestions? please include rationale for your choice.



Anti-gun nuts just go somewhere else please - I have no patience for a lecture on this right now. A guy walked into my neighbor's garage this week and tried to steal his Harley...while the wife was home.
[/quote]

A 45 is probably not the best choice if you haven't shot one before. If you're new to guns your best bet is probably a 9 mil, but with some good, high velocity, expanding ammo. that way you get much less recoil, and almost as much stopping power as a more powerful cartridge. The smaller caliber is also easier to shoot well. What do you want, a powerful gun that you can't control, or a slightly smaller caliber that you know you can hit your target with? A shotgun isn't the best because it's too hard to maneuver it in a confined space such as a house.