Scott Hearn
Well-Known Fanatic
Well I tell you what, there are a mess of revolvers I'd take bear hunting, but only one auto and it's a Glock so that pretty much tells me what I need to know.
is a revolver a good choice for a first time gun owner?
- Thread starter A34215
- Start date
dennishoddy
Moderator
Guide killed a coastal brown with a 9mm in Alaska. Don't need nuthin else.Definitely Deplorable said:
Scott Hearn
Well-Known Fanatic
Bullshit. He happened to be the most experienced brownie killer on the planet and he got real lucky too. I'm going strapped with a .375 H&H in brownie country! :hunter:dennishoddy said:
dennishoddy
Moderator
HAHA! I'm toting my Ruger Super Redhawk in .44 mag with 300 grain Elmer Kieth hard cast when I go back next year for a land tour. Unguided on the some of the Salmon streams to fly fish. Can of bear spray on the other side.Definitely Deplorable said:
JoeF
Well-Known Fanatic
Make sure the bear spray isn't expired, that way if you have deploy it the bear doesn't just appreciate the seasoning...
benny hill
.308
AND make sure to keep the last round for yourself in case the bear does'nt follow the skrip and only gets pissed off.
dennishoddy
Moderator
Nah, I have a .25 secamp to shoot my buddy in the kneecap if it gets to that stage, then I'll be running like hell!benny hill said:
michaelclm
Banned from the timer
The following makes some assumptions:
1. You're asking about a defensive handgun, whether for home defense or concealed carry.
2. You're willing to look past any preconceived ideas about what you should do if, in fact, you have any at all. The catch here is that you could already have gotten really bad advice and are asking here to either confirm or disprove it.
3. You're a true novice user, meaning you have no previous substantial experience carrying or training with handguns of any variety.
In nearly every instance, revolvers have crossed into the territory of curiosities and keepsakes. There are simply too many things, in too many applications, at which semi-autos excel over revolvers. If one has difficulty shooting a semi-auto effectively then he has, in nearly every example, an issue/issues that can be overcome with the proper training and practice for the problem at hand (read: train more but train correctly). Buying a revo to use until you can get better with a semi is a nonstarter, because you're not buying a fix, you're buying a crutch. Once you've squared yourself away with a primary defensive gun, then you can go get yourself a revolver.
As far as which caliber and gun, that's entirely up to you. Keep your emotions out of the buying process, though. What I mean by that is brand and caliber loyalty. I will say this regarding brands, though: If you're buying this gun as anything but a hobby piece, you probably shouldn't buy anything not a Glock or M&P. It can be a bitter pill for some, but nothing beats a high-capacity, double stack, striker-fired semi-auto handgun for a hard-use, duty or self defense gun, and Glocks & M&Ps trump everything else for new shooters. That's not to say you won't find another gun (CZ, etc.) easier for you to shoot well, it's only to say that you'd probably be an anomaly.
If anyone ever says anything stupid to you like, a .45 is superior to 9 & .40 because they don't make a .46, you don't need people like that in your life. A 9mm handgun loaded with modern, bonded self defense ammo will be sufficiently lethal if adjudicated properly. That part is squarely on you, the shooter. Essentially, get better not bigger.
Go to a range that rents firearms and fire no fewer than a few magazines through several models. As has been stated, good starting places are the G19 and M&P9. Buy a gun, a metric **** ton of ammo, and then go get training from well-respected, quality instructors on a training regimen that progresses you from your true base skill level (i.e., Only seek classes that challenge your current skill level, or "don't sign up for a hurdles clinic when you've just learned how to walk". If you do, you're going to be the unpopular kid for slowing down the class, and you're probably going to end up frustrated with your results.)
Good luck, and be safe.
1. You're asking about a defensive handgun, whether for home defense or concealed carry.
2. You're willing to look past any preconceived ideas about what you should do if, in fact, you have any at all. The catch here is that you could already have gotten really bad advice and are asking here to either confirm or disprove it.
3. You're a true novice user, meaning you have no previous substantial experience carrying or training with handguns of any variety.
In nearly every instance, revolvers have crossed into the territory of curiosities and keepsakes. There are simply too many things, in too many applications, at which semi-autos excel over revolvers. If one has difficulty shooting a semi-auto effectively then he has, in nearly every example, an issue/issues that can be overcome with the proper training and practice for the problem at hand (read: train more but train correctly). Buying a revo to use until you can get better with a semi is a nonstarter, because you're not buying a fix, you're buying a crutch. Once you've squared yourself away with a primary defensive gun, then you can go get yourself a revolver.
As far as which caliber and gun, that's entirely up to you. Keep your emotions out of the buying process, though. What I mean by that is brand and caliber loyalty. I will say this regarding brands, though: If you're buying this gun as anything but a hobby piece, you probably shouldn't buy anything not a Glock or M&P. It can be a bitter pill for some, but nothing beats a high-capacity, double stack, striker-fired semi-auto handgun for a hard-use, duty or self defense gun, and Glocks & M&Ps trump everything else for new shooters. That's not to say you won't find another gun (CZ, etc.) easier for you to shoot well, it's only to say that you'd probably be an anomaly.
If anyone ever says anything stupid to you like, a .45 is superior to 9 & .40 because they don't make a .46, you don't need people like that in your life. A 9mm handgun loaded with modern, bonded self defense ammo will be sufficiently lethal if adjudicated properly. That part is squarely on you, the shooter. Essentially, get better not bigger.
Go to a range that rents firearms and fire no fewer than a few magazines through several models. As has been stated, good starting places are the G19 and M&P9. Buy a gun, a metric **** ton of ammo, and then go get training from well-respected, quality instructors on a training regimen that progresses you from your true base skill level (i.e., Only seek classes that challenge your current skill level, or "don't sign up for a hurdles clinic when you've just learned how to walk". If you do, you're going to be the unpopular kid for slowing down the class, and you're probably going to end up frustrated with your results.)
Good luck, and be safe.
DD78
Well-Known Fanatic
I went through this process years ago when I turned 21.
I went into the gun shop, several of them, and told them that I had never owned a handgun before, and wanted to know what I should get as my first. All of them recommended a revolver.
After shopping around, I went against the advice I was given and chose a Ruger P90 45 ACP. The shop that sold it to me advised against that because it would be better to either get a revolver in 38 special, or get a semi auto 9mm. I asked why and he said that it would be far too powerful of a round for someone new. I ignored his advice and bought it anyway. I wound up developing a flinch from it that took me years to overcome.
When asked this same question today, I usually recommend a full sized 9mm and recount the story above. I remember the first time I shot a full sized 9mm like it was yesterday. I squeezed the trigger and couldn't believe how little it recoiled.
While a Glock is a fine handgun, a brand that I own a couple of, I would lean more towards recommending a semi auto with a safety. It's one additional layer of protection for a new shooter and it allows them to learn more about semi auto handguns. A decocker would be a nice feature as well.
A new shooters first reaction to picking up a handgun is to put their finger inside the trigger guard immediately upon picking it up. I've seen it happen almost every time an unloaded gun is handed to a noob. It happens even after they're told not to.
I went into the gun shop, several of them, and told them that I had never owned a handgun before, and wanted to know what I should get as my first. All of them recommended a revolver.
After shopping around, I went against the advice I was given and chose a Ruger P90 45 ACP. The shop that sold it to me advised against that because it would be better to either get a revolver in 38 special, or get a semi auto 9mm. I asked why and he said that it would be far too powerful of a round for someone new. I ignored his advice and bought it anyway. I wound up developing a flinch from it that took me years to overcome.
When asked this same question today, I usually recommend a full sized 9mm and recount the story above. I remember the first time I shot a full sized 9mm like it was yesterday. I squeezed the trigger and couldn't believe how little it recoiled.
While a Glock is a fine handgun, a brand that I own a couple of, I would lean more towards recommending a semi auto with a safety. It's one additional layer of protection for a new shooter and it allows them to learn more about semi auto handguns. A decocker would be a nice feature as well.
A new shooters first reaction to picking up a handgun is to put their finger inside the trigger guard immediately upon picking it up. I've seen it happen almost every time an unloaded gun is handed to a noob. It happens even after they're told not to.
jtischauser
I'm addicted to kicking ass
How does a .357 sig or a 10mm compare ballistic wise to a .357 mag or .44 mag? I'm talking brown bear stopping power. Cause I'm thinking to myself id rather have a high cap Glock on my hip in almost any circumstance but if I was hiking for miles in the bush and a bear was trying to use me to super size his fries having a compact mountain/pack wheelgun like a .44 or .357 might sound pretty appealing.
Scott Hearn
Well-Known Fanatic
.357 Sig was designed to duplicate the 125 grain .357 service loads that were/are so good. The problem is that the factories have downloaded it a little. It runs about identical to 9mm +P+ out of my guns. IDK about heavier bulet loadings in the Sig but a 158 to 180 in a .357 magnum is still formidable.Jesse Tischauser said:
10mm is about equivalent to .41 mag, but again the factories try to turn them into bunny farts. The original loading was stout. And that Glock I alluded to earlier fro carry in bear country? G40 with handloads was what I had in mind...
dennishoddy
Moderator
Well, a 10mm, 200 grain will run around 1300fps with aprox 700 fp of energy at the muzzle.
A buffalo bore +P+ pushing a 340 grain hard cast at 1478 fps will produce 1649 fp of energy at the muzzle.
I know which one I'll be carrying in my Super Redhawk.
Given the choice, I'd much prefer a 12ga pushing high velocity slugs.
A buffalo bore +P+ pushing a 340 grain hard cast at 1478 fps will produce 1649 fp of energy at the muzzle.
I know which one I'll be carrying in my Super Redhawk.
Given the choice, I'd much prefer a 12ga pushing high velocity slugs.
Scott Hearn
Well-Known Fanatic
Yep. Buffalo Bore and Underwood are about the only ones loading to the original specs in both those that Jesse asked about.
mike cyrwus
.223
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2010
- Messages
- 4,827
bad advice. You have no idea who or what the op is. they could be a 90 year old grandmother. Show me a pair of military that has a 90year old lady in it. heck, show me one military. Your experience in shooting and training with nothing but cardboard meanies is very obviousMitch Gibson said:
drmitchgibson
The white Morgan Freeman
This site is mostly populated by 90-year-old women with multiple generations of children in their wake. They come here for sound advice from reclusive gun nuts that operate so hard that they only shoot people, and no one ever sees them. Bout it bout it.
mike cyrwus
.223
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2010
- Messages
- 4,827
That's android talk, you scare me
dennishoddy
Moderator
Last I heard, androids are going up in flames........Gunnut 23 said:
mike cyrwus
.223
- Joined
- Sep 17, 2010
- Messages
- 4,827
Burk may like this post, but he has even less of an idea of what youre saying than I do.Mitch Gibson said:
poopgiggle
B Class Nobody
nvm
Burk Cornelius
Regular guy
I hardly ever know what Mitch or James are talking about.Gunnut 23 said:
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