Buying a semi-auto carry pistol advice

[doddg]

Before or after he found out you were leaning toward a Taurus because of price?

I would have bought the Springfield if he had of warned me off the Taurus.

 

[doddg]

SHORT VERSION:
It doesn't matter what pistol you get. It doesn't even matter if the gun feels good in your hand or not.

The only two things that matter are picking a pistol that is reliable (ANY of the popular products from ANY of the major makers is sufficient), and getting some training in real combative shooting. Everything else is fluff.

LONG VERSION:
You will get a lot of advice, and hear a lot of chatter about picking a gun that "fits your hand" or that "feels comfortable". This is basically a bandaid - the theory behind this gun meme is that you will be 'naturally on target' with a gun that is super ergonomic IE, a shortcut in training (these people think you wont have to shoot as much or as often to 'get good'). All such shortcuts in training as logical fallacies that SEEM good in print media and on the interweb gun forums, but they don't play out in real life. Any instructor worth their salt will have just about anyone shooting sufficiently well with any old pistol. The fundamentals of shooting stay the same, whether you are shooting a Glock for the first time, or a 5'0" female learning to shoot the "HUGE/OVER BULKY" M9 in the military.

End of the day, your Colt Mustang and a refresher course are sufficient for a civilians defensive needs. If you want to update your carry piece, go ahead - it's cheap insurance against the worst case scenario... Just make sure you keep up to date in your combative shooting.

1. Your logic is impeccable.
2. I don't care about "feel" and the like.
3. It is a tool to be used in extreme emergency and reliability is the only thing important, everything else being equal.
4. That's why I love revolvers.
5. Your advice about a course: priceless!

 

[doddg]

Buy the shield. You cant beat it especially for the price you get one within the next few days. Mine just came in and i have $299 in it total.. Just filled out the $75 rebate. You cant get a junk high point for $225. I have a handful of glocks and i really like my wifes 43 but for less than half of what i paid for the 43 the shield is as good of a gun. Honestly i would stay away from Taurus, Keltec. Ive taken a few classes at a reputable training institute and they said the same thing on here a few guys have. Basically of all the guns that go threw their classes they see way more problems out of Taurus than any others.. Keltecs are in the same boat.. Ive heard other trainers say the same thing.

1. When I take it to the range, I will not tolerate any FTF.

 

[doddg]

I have been researching other 9mm guns to be open to an opportunity in the future. Saw an interesting 9mm from Turkey that looked interesting, but the seller indicated he was selling it b/c of girlfriend wanting it gone, yet he has posted many guns for sale over the years, so the profile didn't add up for me.
I bought my Taurus PT709 Slim b/c it was the closest thing in size to my Colt Mustang .380 of everything I looked at when at Marksman Shooting Sports that I talked about earlier.
I still haven't made it to the range yet b/c too busy with painting at my son's house while he was on honeymoon.
I was so wiped after working 5-6 hours a day that I could hardly walk between my chair and the kitchen table.
I'm going out of town again next week, so unless I can get away today after church it will be yet another week before I can test it out.
I can't wait to find out if the Taurus is as bad as some have suggested.
I bought some good shells (don't remember brand), so I'd better not have any FTF, or it's gone as a cc.
Also, since I bought the Groupon from Tim's Shooting Gallery, I'm excited about renting another 9 (or two) and trying them out.

 

[doddg]

There is a Shield for sale here at the site with a holster and I have a notion to get it just for the S/W name.
I didn't want to pay $280 (but comes with holster) since many claim having that in it while some claimed having $225-$250 in theirs.
That would mean I would want to buy it for at least $50 less than that or $200ish used at least.
But, no one is selling theirs for less than $280 that I can see.
Also, Marksman Shooting sold one with 3 holsters and more for $280, and that was at the shop, not a private sale!!!
I think I'll contact him about buying it.

Oh my: the Shield was a 45 (I thought the Shield was only a 9 mm.
What a nub!

Addendum: I found the 9mm Shield.
It said the thread was closed, but didn't say SOLD.
I sent him a pm if he still has it for sale.

 

[Magnum314]

Staying strickly within the list you created...only the Shield, Kahr, or your Colt.

 

[Tyler-The-Piker]

I'll be the first to say it. You should've saved up for a Glock 43. I suspect you'll continue in your pursuit and you'll upgrade more than once and imho if you ever try a Glock 43 (or even the 42) along the way you will find it fits most of your needs and its of the utmost quality.

 

[mcapo]

I think that we have seen that the game (thrill of the hunt) is more important than the trophy. Nothing wrong with that. I'm always looking for my next one about the time the last purchase hits the safe...

 

[doddg]

Where did this old summer thread come from?
Someone must have found it and responded thinking it was my "new" processing about the same subject: carry 9mms.

 

[gmcttr]

...Someone must have found it and responded thinking it was my "new" processing about the same subject: carry 9mms.

Nope. Just Tyler-The-Piker reminding you that he said "You should've saved up for a Glock 43" back on 6-25-2017.

 

[doddg]

Nope. Just Tyler-The-Piker reminding you that he said "You should've saved up for a Glock 43" back on 6-25-2017.

1. Ah, I am a little slow on that uptake.
2. I'm sure there could be lots of those reminders as I progress through this journey.

 

[HodgeStyle]

Personally, i would take the S&W .40 all day. I carry the 9mm S&W sd9ve. Its a great gun and good for the money in my opinion. Easy takedown for cleaning and a breeze to shoot.

 

[doddg]

Personally, i would take the S&W .40 all day. I carry the 9mm S&W sd9ve. Its a great gun and good for the money in my opinion. Easy takedown for cleaning and a breeze to shoot.

1. I heard the .40 was "snappier" than the .45, but there are some great prices on them since apparently, they have fallen out of grace.
I have never shot one, but in talking to several people, they said I would be happier with the .45. I had a Shield .45, but sold it b/c it was too big for my kind of carry and I didn't want to feed .45 ammo costs.
2. I has a SD9VE and it was great: got a fantastic buy on it with 5 magazines and it was pristine, just the kind of seller you want to buy from.
3. I bought it to experience a bigger 9mm than my Shield 9, but I didn't need both, so I sold it after a couple of range visits.
4. I have rented and shot all the big 9mms, and the one that got my attention was the old Beretta 92FS.
5. I loved the wide grip and through a heads-up here ordered an ex-service revolver that were $239 (on special down form $279), and I paid more to get an "excellent" instead of "good" one. (hopefully that wasn't just talk).

 

[Fordtough25]

1. I heard the .40 was "snappier" than the .45, but there are some great prices on them since apparently, they have fallen out of grace.
I have never shot one, but in talking to several people, they said I would be happier with the .45. I had a Shield .45, but sold it b/c it was too big for my kind of carry and I didn't want to feed .45 ammo costs.
2. I has a SD9VE and it was great: got a fantastic buy on it with 5 magazines and it was pristine, just the kind of seller you want to buy from.
3. I bought it to experience a bigger 9mm than my Shield 9, but I didn't need both, so I sold it after a couple of range visits.
4. I have rented and shot all the big 9mms, and the one that got my attention was the old Beretta 92FS.
5. I loved the wide grip and through a heads-up here ordered an ex-service revolver that were $239 (on special down form $279), and I paid more to get an "excellent" instead of "good" one. (hopefully that wasn't just talk).

I would skip the .40 as all handgun calibers suck and shot placement is key, the 40 is snappier than 9mm or 45 and there's no benefit to the average user. Get the Beretta and reward yourself, for a full size handgun they're superb and quite accurate/reliable.