Handgun Newbie - Quick Question

[jpeyton]

I'm interested in getting my first handgun, not for protection, just to take to the range for target practice.

I'm looking at handguns and seeing a few different calibers available for the models I want:

9x19mm
.40 S&W
.45 ACP
.45 GAP
.357 SIG

What are the pros and cons for each caliber (or is there a website that lists them)?

Thanks!

 

[BoberFett]

The "experts" will argue all day about which round is best. Worry less about the round and more about finding a gun that feels right to you. I got a really good deal on a Sig P226 which happened to be .40, so that's what I used. A friend of mine has an awesome Kimber in a .45. Both excellent guns, just different feels to them.

 

[harobikes333]

if its just target practice get whatever cal. that has the cheapest ammo. o and acc. is important too... you may want to bs with some guys that have owned alot guns..

 

[GagHalfrunt]

If all you're doing is target practice you want a .22 and nothing else. Ammo is dirt cheap, the guns are inexpensive and you can fire one all day without noticing the recoil.

 

[gooseman]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
If all you're doing is target practice you want a .22 and nothing else. Ammo is dirt cheap, the guns are inexpensive and you can fire one all day without noticing the recoil.

He's right. And 9mm would be next in line.

 

[Nebor]

Originally posted by: gooseman

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
If all you're doing is target practice you want a .22 and nothing else. Ammo is dirt cheap, the guns are inexpensive and you can fire one all day without noticing the recoil.

He's right. And 9mm would be next in line.

Yup, I agree with the above posters.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
If all you're doing is target practice you want a .22 and nothing else. Ammo is dirt cheap, the guns are inexpensive and you can fire one all day without noticing the recoil.

This is true.. but a 9mm is so much more rewarding to have around. You may not buy it for protection, but in the future, having one around isn't that horrible of an idea.

.45 GAP and .357 SIG are not very common calibers so you are going to pay more, and run the risk of the caliber getting even less popular. You really cant go wrong with 40 S&W and 45 ACP in the long run, but for now its cheaper and easier to practice with a 9mm.

 

[jpeyton]

Sounds good guys; it really is for target practice only, I'm not going to carry it with me anywhere else. I don't see a .22 option for the handguns I'm looking at so 9x19mm it is.

Bober, I hear you about the 'feel' of the gun, but as I said before the models I'm looking at come in multiple calibers.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: gooseman

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
If all you're doing is target practice you want a .22 and nothing else. Ammo is dirt cheap, the guns are inexpensive and you can fire one all day without noticing the recoil.

He's right. And 9mm would be next in line.

But even cheap 9mm ammo is nearly 10 times the price of .22 rimfire. You can fire off an entire brick of 500 rounds of .22 for the same price as a box of 50 9mm.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Sounds good guys; it really is for target practice only, I'm not going to carry it with me anywhere else. I don't see a .22 option for the handguns I'm looking at so 9x19mm it is.

Bober, I hear you about the 'feel' of the gun, but as I said before the models I'm looking at come in multiple calibers.

Which models in particular are you looking at?

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Sounds good guys; it really is for target practice only, I'm not going to carry it with me anywhere else. I don't see a .22 option for the handguns I'm looking at so 9x19mm it is.

Bober, I hear you about the 'feel' of the gun, but as I said before the models I'm looking at come in multiple calibers.

Which models in particular are you looking at?

Glock 17 and Springfield XD Tactical.

 

[Gibsons]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: gooseman

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
If all you're doing is target practice you want a .22 and nothing else. Ammo is dirt cheap, the guns are inexpensive and you can fire one all day without noticing the recoil.

He's right. And 9mm would be next in line.

But even cheap 9mm ammo is nearly 10 times the price of .22 rimfire. You can fire off an entire brick of 500 rounds of .22 for the same price as a box of 50 9mm.

If you're just plinking it's really hard to argue against a .22.

But we don't know what the OPs intent for the gun is.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

My feeling is that if you only have one gun, and have ANY interest in using it for self-defense, 9mm is the best choice. You can get 100-round Winchester value packs for $11.96 at Wal-Mart, yet it's a perfectly respectable self-defense caliber with JHP ammo (especially in +P).

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Sounds good guys; it really is for target practice only, I'm not going to carry it with me anywhere else. I don't see a .22 option for the handguns I'm looking at so 9x19mm it is.

Bober, I hear you about the 'feel' of the gun, but as I said before the models I'm looking at come in multiple calibers.

Which models in particular are you looking at?

You need to look at entirely different models when considering .22's as they're rimfires. The models that come in 9mm, 40S&W, .45ACP etc do not come in .22 and models that come in .22 are not chambered for the common "self-defense" calibers. If you're looking for that style of gun check out the S&W 22A or the Walther P-22. I don't think Glock has a .22, but Sig has a really nice model called the Mosquito. Looks like their other pistols.

 

[concernedsophist]

For just target practice get a .22. For any other use the .40S&W can't be beat; it has the recoil of a 9mm and the balistics of a .45.

 

[Eeezee]

Why isn't a .22 good enough for self-defense? I don't know anything about guns, but if it breaks the skin and hurts like hell, wouldn't that be enough?

 

[Gibsons]

Originally posted by: Eeezee
Why isn't a .22 good enough for self-defense? I don't know anything about guns, but if it breaks the skin and hurts like hell, wouldn't that be enough?

Because hurting like hell is probably not going to stop the bad guy from doing whatever it was you were trying to stop them from doing. You really need to knock them down/incapacitate or even kill them. Or else you shouldn't pull the trigger.

 

[GagHalfrunt]

Originally posted by: Gibsons

Originally posted by: Eeezee
Why isn't a .22 good enough for self-defense? I don't know anything about guns, but if it breaks the skin and hurts like hell, wouldn't that be enough?

Because hurting like hell is probably not going to stop the bad guy from doing whatever it was you were trying to stop them from doing. You really need to knock them down/incapacitate or even kill them. Or else you shouldn't pull the trigger.

Yeah, breaking the skin and giving them a boo-boo will just make them more angry. If you're in a situation where you need to shoot somebody you need to stop them, not give them even more reason to do whatever they were doing to you in the first place.

 

[91TTZ]

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: Gibsons

Originally posted by: Eeezee
Why isn't a .22 good enough for self-defense? I don't know anything about guns, but if it breaks the skin and hurts like hell, wouldn't that be enough?

Because hurting like hell is probably not going to stop the bad guy from doing whatever it was you were trying to stop them from doing. You really need to knock them down/incapacitate or even kill them. Or else you shouldn't pull the trigger.

Yeah, breaking the skin and giving them a boo-boo will just make them more angry. If you're in a situation where you need to shoot somebody you need to stop them, not give them even more reason to do whatever they were doing to you in the first place.

Believe it or not, the .22 is a pretty lethal round. I think more people are killed by .22's than any other round.

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: gooseman

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
If all you're doing is target practice you want a .22 and nothing else. Ammo is dirt cheap, the guns are inexpensive and you can fire one all day without noticing the recoil.

He's right. And 9mm would be next in line.

Thats what I bought, though I'm now looking at one that fires either .22 or 9mm with a quick barrel change.

 

[TallBill]

Well I personally own a Glock 19, and an XD-45 ACP, and love both weapons.

 

[TallBill]

Originally posted by: Brutuskend

Originally posted by: gooseman

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
If all you're doing is target practice you want a .22 and nothing else. Ammo is dirt cheap, the guns are inexpensive and you can fire one all day without noticing the recoil.

He's right. And 9mm would be next in line.

Thats what I bought, though I'm now looking at one that fires either .22 or 9mm with a quick barrel change.

http://www.topglock.com/catalog/barrels_advantagearms.htm

Glock 17 + kit = $700

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: TallBill

Originally posted by: Brutuskend

Originally posted by: gooseman

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt
If all you're doing is target practice you want a .22 and nothing else. Ammo is dirt cheap, the guns are inexpensive and you can fire one all day without noticing the recoil.

He's right. And 9mm would be next in line.

Thats what I bought, though I'm now looking at one that fires either .22 or 9mm with a quick barrel change.

http://www.topglock.com/catalog/barrels_advantagearms.htm

Glock 17 + kit = $700

Yup, thats the one.

But cheaper.

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: Gibsons

Originally posted by: Eeezee
Why isn't a .22 good enough for self-defense? I don't know anything about guns, but if it breaks the skin and hurts like hell, wouldn't that be enough?

Because hurting like hell is probably not going to stop the bad guy from doing whatever it was you were trying to stop them from doing. You really need to knock them down/incapacitate or even kill them. Or else you shouldn't pull the trigger.

Yeah, breaking the skin and giving them a boo-boo will just make them more angry. If you're in a situation where you need to shoot somebody you need to stop them, not give them even more reason to do whatever they were doing to you in the first place.

Believe it or not, the .22 is a pretty lethal round. I think more people are killed by .22's than any other round.

Thats because the round usually will not penetrate BOTH sides of the scull, so it ends up bouncing around in there and scrambling things.

 

[Zugzwang152]

Originally posted by: Brutuskend

Originally posted by: 91TTZ

Originally posted by: GagHalfrunt

Originally posted by: Gibsons

Originally posted by: Eeezee
Why isn't a .22 good enough for self-defense? I don't know anything about guns, but if it breaks the skin and hurts like hell, wouldn't that be enough?

Because hurting like hell is probably not going to stop the bad guy from doing whatever it was you were trying to stop them from doing. You really need to knock them down/incapacitate or even kill them. Or else you shouldn't pull the trigger.

Yeah, breaking the skin and giving them a boo-boo will just make them more angry. If you're in a situation where you need to shoot somebody you need to stop them, not give them even more reason to do whatever they were doing to you in the first place.

Believe it or not, the .22 is a pretty lethal round. I think more people are killed by .22's than any other round.

Thats because the round usually will not penetrate BOTH sides of the scull, so it ends up bouncing around in there and scrambling things.

So you have a better chance of surviving if it punctures both sides? Methinks that if a bullet that goes through your brain you're gonna die anyway