Selecting Your First Handgun
Howdy all, my name is Darrell Barnard, Lead instructor at Oregon’s Indoor Shooting Range, and co-owner of Durabull Family Security Training & Education, with my bride, Mellissa Barnard. I’ve been shooting most of my life, with over 30 years of hand gunning experience. I’ve learned a lot, and continue learning about shooting, from different experiences throughout my life, including training under various instructors. I find that so many things, aside of shooting go into building the skillset. One of the greatest mistakes I’ve made (repeatedly) has been buying the handguns that didn’t fit, sure, they were inexpensive, cool, popular, or I hung my brain up on “good advice” from the gun counter guy, as to the brand that I just had to have, in order to secure my life. This is why selecting your first handgun is so important.
As we mature in our wisdom, we often find that we spend a lot of money and time on things that aren’t what works quite right for us, for one reason, or another. I want to help People find that right fit for them. One major reason for the best fitting handgun is simple, if it shakes your hand when you “shake it’s hand”, you will be more inclined to learn, train, and practice with that handgun. When you come see me and ask my advice as to what handgun I think you should purchase, I’m not going to pick one for you, you have to figure that out for yourself. I believe in teaching my customers and students how to do just that.
—–Here are a few things that I feel are extremely important items to focus on——
What is your budget?
$500-$600 +/- $100 seems to be the average range for a dependable defense handgun.
Are you looking for a self defense, plinking, target, or hunting handgun?
Although a revolver is dependable, simple, and an iconic piece, a 45 APC is iconic as well, round count will be a better choice for self defense, also caliber is an important factor in self defense. Size is important, a smaller person can actually operate a mid or full size handgun more efficiently than a sub-compact or lightweight revolver. How many bad guys do we hear about who are doing bad things to others, with a revolver, or sub compact.
What caliber are you looking at getting into?
.380, 9mm, .40, 10mm, .45 APC are all good rounds, however .380 does not have the best penetration, to effectively stop a threat, also, most .380 pistols don’t have high capacity, .45 APC is a great threat stopper, yet low capacity magazines, 10mm is a very effective round, yet still not as high of a capacity as 9mm or .40 ca. In my opinion, 9mm is literally the best bang for your buck.
Are you open to only one brand, or open to finding that handgun which functions well in your hands and is dependable?
I personally prefer Sig Sauer and Springfield, because they fit my hand well, however, not all of them fit my hand correctly, even though I’m not a huge Glock fan, the 43x feels good in my hand, and they’re a dependable firearm.
Grip
Grip, in my opinion, is the most important factor of your first handgun, there are some who may disagree. Here is my reasoning, if you don’t have a proper grip, your trigger engagement will take more effort than necessary, when learning to shoot. Essentially, grip and trigger are equally important for comfort and the perfect shot.
Target Acquisition
Good target acquisition is very important there are different sights which make that reality, plain old school black front and rear, three dot white, “U” rear/dot front, white rear/florescent or fiber optic front, the list of styles is long, don’t let that overwhelm you. I am a strong proponent of “iron sights”, however, I am not against red or green dot optic sights, of which there are also a number of good optics which are normally red, or green, dot, circle, or reticle style. The reason I bring up optics is that it’s not a bad idea to purchase a handgun with an optic cut slide.
Selection and Using Expertise
Last, but not least, finding a gun range, such as Oregon’s Indoor Shooting Range, with a large variety of rental handguns to try before you buy, and a knowledgeable staff, as well as instructors will assist you in your adventure into responsible, enjoyable firearms ownership as well as effective operation and a really fun hobby.
I truly hope to be able to help you buy that perfect (for you) first handgun, as well as other handguns down the road of life. Learn, Train, Shoot, have Fun.
– Darrell Barnard