One gun; compact or not?

[Spray-n-pray]

Everyone has only one gun.............





At first.

 

[TapRackNGo]

Glock 19

This. Can't go wrong and they can be found at your price point.

 

[RBid]

That would be ideal. However, not many people I know are working to develop those skills.

I am of the belief that recommending training is a better idea than recommending a thumb safety as a means of protecting a person from being shot by their own weapon.

 

[Netspirit]

I am of the belief that recommending training is a better idea than recommending a thumb safety as a means of protecting a person from being shot by their own weapon.

It does not have to be one vs. the other, both can work very well. The extra tactical advantage of the weapon not being familiar to the bad guy is not the primary reason for having the external safety - it provides extra protection from various accidents in addition to the trigger guard and medium/heavy trigger pull weight.

 

[RBid]

It does not have to be one vs. the other, both can work very well. The extra tactical advantage of the weapon not being familiar to the bad guy is not the primary reason for having the external safety - it provides extra protection from various accidents in addition to the trigger guard and medium/heavy trigger pull weight.

I appreciate the benefits of thumb safeties, and am not anti-thumb safety. I am pro-training. I strongly discourage mechanical solutions for training gaps.

 

[clearconscience]

Agreed. When i started carrying i had to have a gun with a safety just for my own peace of mind.
But like the others said it's about training and your mindset.

Just remember the golden rule, a gun is always loaded and ready to fire.

The more you carry and manipulate the firearm the more comfortable you get and more confident in the piece.

Just don't do somethin stuoid like practice drawing with a loaded gun, and unloaded for that matter in a place where someone could die

 

[Floridian]

I would think about an M&P 9c. Good balance between easy to carry, shoots accurately and can hold 17 round mag if needed instead of the standard 12. Awesome gun in every way!

 

[Medic!]

Just One gun to fit all size needs? You can grow a gun. But you cant shrink one. I know glocks are very flexible platforms.
You can buy a Glock 26 and carry it for conceilment with 10 round mag. You can install a 19 barrel for volocity [a 17 barrel wont work]. The 19 barrel will stick out of the 26 slide a bit. Then load in a glock 17 magazine with spacer if you want a biger gun with more capacity. Poligonal barrels get good volocities and the FPS increase from 26 to 17 glock is only 62feet per second on average. So keeping the over 1'' shorter barrel wont hurt you much. And a 32 round mag fits in the 26,19, and 17 if you need more than 17 rounds in the 26 frame.
Barrel and mag options are simular for the 40 caliber glock 27 sub compact.
Barrel length aside. Many sub-compact handguns have optional high capacity options with spacers to fit the hand better and with all fingers on the grip.
All this is great. But why limit yourself to one handgun? You realy need 25 or so.

 

[Misterbill]

ANY handgun you buy with a short sight radius (length from front to rear sight) is going to be harder to shoot well with than a longer sight-radius gun. PERIOD. END OF STORY.

Sounds like you're a new shooter.

In THAT case, I'd advise a medium frame semi-automatic with a barrel length of 4" or so.

You CAN learn on a 1.5-inch snub-nosed revolver. That learning curve is exponentially more difficult and will take more rounds down range to get solid with than a longer sight-radiused gun.

I teach beginning shooters all the time.

For the naturals, it hardly makes a difference. For the OTHER 95% of the class, it makes a HUGE difference.

Ask any firearms trainer you know this question:

If you have to be tested on your marksmanship and speed and speed of draw, all while moving, what gun would you choose:

1. your favorite gun with a 2-inch barrel

2. your favorite gun with a 4-inch barrel

3. your favorite gun with a 5-6-inch barrel

I will bet you serious dollars that virtually EVERYONE will choose the longer barrel.

Compact vs. full-size is a question based upon the COMPROMISE of long vs. short, with the accent being on concealability. If your question is about ANY other factor, I go with the full-size option. If it's concealability, realize that your choice for a compact is inherently less accurate than a longer barrel.

I carry a compact Semi every day. But that's because it's more concealable than my full-sized guns, not because it's better.

 

[Nick Burkhardt]

Also... criminals aren't ninjas, SEALs, or Delta operators. They aren't trained. They are generally cowards, and are typically looking for easy targets.

This is the wisest statement so far.

 

[44s rock]

Glock 19

My first thought as well!

My wife liked mine so much, it is now her's! Although I carry either a Sig 226 or 290RS daily my G19 & 17 are never far away, along with two backup mags for each. The wife bennefits because the 17 mags work in the 19.