Choosing a Defensive Handgun

“CHOSING A DEVENSIVE HANDGUN”

There are as many varied opinions on how to choose a handgun for defensive/personal combative purposes as there are on whose got the best major league ball team. I suggest that before the process even begins that you get your mind in the fight then move on to a weapon.

In saying that lets look at what a defensive handgun needs do or be capable of doing. It has to be as close as to 100 percent reliable as mechanically possible, it has to deliver a projectile of sufficient weight and speed to penetrate deep enough to reach vital organs, and it has to contain as many rounds of ammunition as you can get. Now it must also properly fit your hand, have only as much recoil as you can control and shoot well, ammunition needs to be widely available, and accurate enough to hit an 8 inch paper plate at 25 meters.

There are many great pistols on the market today, some are old reliable designs and some are new and un-proven. I urge you to go to a range rent different pistols and try them out. Some of the brands I recommend are Sig Sauer, Glock, Beretta as well as Heckler and Koch. These four brands have over the years proven them selves time and time again in personal and military combat. You will find people out there that will tell you that this gun or that gun is the best; most of this is pure personal speculation or experience.

I do not advocate anyone specific gun, each one that you pick up will have their own little peculiarities that will have to be over come. Anyone that says they do not, well reach over and press the delete key on them. It just isn’t true because everyone has different size hands, sensitivity to recoil, body shape and personal levels of income. As far as safety in the different manufactures; well safety is ultimately your responsibility, your willingness to seek appropriate training and develop a safe attitude. Stupidity and carelessness is rampid!!!

The following pistols that I recommend are listed due to personal experience/observation. They are not listed in any specific order.

Glock- mid level priced, extremely reliable and comes in an assortment of calibers and sizes. I personally choose the Glock 19 or Glock 17. Utterly reliable with no external levers to manipulate in order to shoot, holds plenty of ammunition, and light weight polymer frame construction.

Sig Sauer – A little more expensive and requires a bit more training to operate under pressure. It has a de-cocker on it so getting used to it takes a bit more training. The Sig P228/P229/P226 is my choices due to availability in an array of calibers and reliability. The new guns have a stainless steel slide and usually an aluminum alloy frame and are pretty light weight.

Beretta- Again available in a variety of calibers and reliable. I chose the M9 or 92F Series. They have proven themselves worthy in law enforcement and military service (current U.S. issue for our military).

Heckler and Koch- a little bit more cost involved here and I am not sure why but I do like the HK Compact guns for personal carry. They are a well made gun! I do not choose the full size pistols due to their size and bulk just personal opinion there.

As for caliber, well this will sure raise a few eye brows. I carry all 9MM guns for the following reasons.

Ammunition availability and cost ($87.00 per 1000 compared to $190.00 per 1000 for 40 or .357 SIG and $220.00 per 1000 for 45 ACP). This allows me to shoot more often and stay trained. 9MM is available almost any where.

Low recoil allows me to shoot faster and more accurately and reduce wear on my guns.

Magazine capacity is high; usually 15 to 17 rounds in the gun and 20 and 32 round magazines are available.

Shot placement is more important than making big holes.

If you can and want to shoot bigger bullets nothing wrong with that.

For training or simply more information on defensive shooting please feel free to visit the web site WWW.FIREARMZ.NET or email ken@firearmz.net.