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So, things are getting weird, to be put it mildly. This guy is working on, making plans, etc., to take care of business, for the family, close and extended. Most of the work is not in the field of firearms (e.g., land, finance, business, et al.), but there are some, like this one.

A reoccurring thought I've had is to acquire a quantity of handguns to arm part of a family, legally and effectively. As I'm (or rather one of my legal entities) is dealer licensed, I can acquire whatever needed with no problem, for whomever should require a piece.

The parameters would be:

  • Totally reliable under most conditions.
  • In a common caliber (e.g., .380 ACP/9☓17㎜ Corto, 9☓19㎜ Luger, .40 S&W, .38 Special, .357 Magnum, .44 Magnum, .45 ACP, et al.)
  • Usable by people of various skill levels; novice to experienced. Totally newbies, those who dabble, gun nuts, hunters, former LEOs, and combat veterans. And all points in between.
  • Both men and women, ranging in age from barely the age of majority to senior citizens.
  • Reasonable price-wise as these are to be bought quantity.
Those considered thus far:

  • Police trade-in Glocks. Man alive, there some deals on these, not the least which via AIM Surplus. Say what you will about the Austrian plastic-fantastics, they work, and work damn well.
  • Police trade-in revolvers (mainly S&Ws, but some Rugers). In the same vein, I see, albeit less so now, plenty of serviceable .38 Specials on the used market. Load up, point, and click simple.
  • Steel, police trade-in, automatics. I've been seeing Beretta 92s, of various flavors, on the used market. Heavier than the combat Tupperware, but serviceable, solid pieces.
  • Inexpensive snubbies. As with the aforementioned, inexperience, easy to pack and shoot. Armscor and Taurus are a couple examples.
  • A little farther afield, the MasterPiece Arms Mac-10s. Still relatively affordable and one can really lay down a carpet of lead with 30+ rounds on tap.
However, I am open to options. Thank you friends and best wishes to you and your household.
 
Thanks friends for the replies. This guy is thinking of money matters, land acquisitions, developing water sources, and all the mundane stuff. Good to have some others thinking about the shooting irons.

Glocks, OK, this is a good idea. Carried them plenty and shot crapton over the years. My favorite they are not, but they are a damn solid piece.

No idea on the Springfields. I think one of my relation packs one, but that recollection is from like a decade do. I guess I am getting old. :s0112:
 
I started in 2005 carrying a Gen3 G22. Most everyone shot them ok, but I'll always say that if your introduction to .40 is a Glock, it may not be pleasant. Some smaller shooters had slide velocity problems.

I then went to the HK USP 45. Awesome gun. Saw some people have problems remembering to decock or remembering to deactivate the safety. Biggest issue was parts.

Then came the M&P. It was a hard pill to swallow since the HKs were so nice. I saw it as a dressed up Sigma until I went to a week long course on the M&P. With the grip inserts and true ambidextrous controls, it was super adaptable to any shooter we had. The gun shoots soft and handles recoil well, even in 40. An M&P40 is as controllable as a G17. I now have over 12k rounds through mine without a single malfunction. Lots of parts available and holster support is very good.
 
Based upon the requirements laid out, I'd be looking at Glocks 17's and 19's...

In the Glock world, my personal preference would be the G19... G30's are nice too...

Or the M&P line of polymer semiauto's...

One type, everyone trained on the same manual of arms...
 
Canik TP9SF's.

Inexpensive, accurate, excellent trigger, run & run.

Good to go out of the box, mags + holster. Caveat with the holster, still...good to go rite out of the box.

Several grip adjuster pads as well.

They are full size, so wouldn't be handy where a compact / subcompact would be wanted or warranted.

No safety.

Retail seems around $350/$360 currently. No idea on dealer pricing.

Have a bunch...

Edit: looks like they have a DA/SA as well now (TP9DA). No experience with them, but may be worth a look see if considering arming less experienced folks.
 
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As much as it pains me to type this... I'd say the Glock models 17 or 19...
Lots of them are out there for sale and there are parts galore.

I really do prefer the revolver idea...but as least where I live you just don't see 'em as often for sale any more.

I also second the idea of some .22LR handguns as well...or maybe if he goes the Glock route , a few conversion kits to go with the pistols.
Andy
 
I agree that the idea of a Carbine* of some sort might be a better idea , given the area and lifestyle of the folks involved.
* A Carbine of the M4 type or say Winchester 94 / Marlin 336 might not be bad either....
Andy
 
Canik TP9SF's.

Inexpensive, accurate, excellent trigger, run & run.

Good to go out of the box, mags + holster. Caveat with the holster, still...good to go rite out of the box.

Several grip adjuster pads as well.

They are full size, so wouldn't be handy where a compact / subcompact would be wanted or warranted.

No safety.

Retail seems around $350/$360 currently. No idea on dealer pricing.

Have a bunch...

Edit: looks like they have a DA/SA as well now (TP9DA). No experience with them, but may be worth a look see if considering arming less experienced folks.


I would agree with this because I love my Canik. But I would go Glock because spare parts will be easier to find in the situation that was laid out for us.

@CountryGent have you looked into the 80%'s? Not sure if they make sense for you since you have your dealer's license.
 
I've been thinking a lot about this question this morning and I've come to the conclusion: it depends.

There are a lot of factors at play here. Is this for personal defense or for a more unified defense during a time of conflict? How and where will these be deployed? Will everyone be open carrying said sidearm or are these more to put in homes/vehicles? What does initial and ongoing training look like? The answers change from scenario to scenario. For instance, if these are personal defense items to be carried openly or as nightstand guns, I'd say a 4" revolver, equipped with night sights, in stainless (for maintenance purposes) would be a nice all around choice. Like the Ruger GP100 with the SP101 as an alternate if the GP100 was too heavy for the shooter. If these are for arming an organized body that could face an organized resistance, then the Glock platform (or similar) would be a good option due to capacity, interchangeable magazines, etc. However, not everyone may be able to cycle the slide if the populace has a wide range of ages and abilities. Then again, if it was for an organized fighting force, I'd probably skip handguns all together initially and, as suggested, focus on carbines. I would make my carbine choice dependent on which way I wanted to go with sidearms and I would choose the same ammo for both. If I was looking at Glocks as sidearms, I'd go with something like the Ruger PCC in 9mm with the Glock mag block installed. This would allow you to use not only the same ammo, but the same magazines between rifle and sidearm. If I was considering a revolver as a sidearm, I'd look at something like a lever gun as a carbine. Run .38 special +P in both if your combat/defense scenario could be indoors and .357 in both if it would all be outdoors.

In any scenario, due to skill and physical ability differences, I would likely have a mix of Glocks and revolvers for those that couldn't handle the Glocks for sidearms. If everyone is concealed carrying these, I would have similar choices but in smaller models. For more frail combatants, lightweight handguns are not a good idea. More mass absorbs the recoil better.

Failing everything else, I would look at what similar sized police departments have employed and follow their lead.

And we haven't even discussed the potential of 22s and shotguns yet!
 

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