First Time Handgun Buyer

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Pookster6813
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First Time Handgun Buyer

Post by Pookster6813 »

Hello, I am a Ohio resident who has recently felt that my self security is a priority, I have completed a Concealed Carry Course and I am waiting for my county to process my application. I understand that a lot of people have different opinions on manufacturers and calibers but I have one major selling point that I hope you can understand as a first time buyer. I am on a strict fixed budget. So I would like to find a website or used seller who can point me in the right direction to get a 9mm 12 round as reasonable as possible. This firearm will be used only as a home security piece and I need reliable and cheap. Any suggestions? Again first time buyer. And I felt most comfortable with a 9mm handgun that's why it's my preference. Thank you in advance, GOD bless.
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Re: First Time Handgun Buyer

Post by JustaShooter »

You don't say what your budget is, but in 9mm inexpensive handguns with a capacity in the 12 round range, I'd probably be looking at a Ruger SR9.
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Re: First Time Handgun Buyer

Post by Javelin Man »

Keltec P11 0 round or Sccy would work well, both are 10 round but at least the Keltec and use a 12 round magazine by another manufacturer.

And another even more obvious answer would be the Taurus G2 P111 9mm. It holds 12 rounds if I remember correctly. I should look sometime, I own three. It currently goes for about $199 at Rural King.
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Re: First Time Handgun Buyer

Post by Aesinsp »

You'll have plenty of opinions here.
I'm a fan of the Smith and Wesson SD9VE(striker fired). 16 round mags(×2)
Generally speaking around 300$ + tax.
If you are near a Rural King store, they are hard to beat.
https://www.rkguns.com/handguns.html?caliber=7&limit=36" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Vance Outdoors in Columbus/Obetz/Hebron are also good to buy from.
https://www.vanceoutdoors.com/products2.cfm/ID/116856" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (289$)
It should really boil down to:
A) What can you afford(not the cheapest per say, RELIABILITY IS IMPERATIVE)?
B) What fits your hands?

Maybe check out Hickock45's 9mm handgun reviews on YouTube for an impartial opinion in any thing you seriously consider.

Reach out & ask away.
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Re: First Time Handgun Buyer

Post by WhyNot »

Hello, I am a Ohio resident... ... I have completed a Concealed Carry Course and I am waiting for my county to process my application.

...in the right direction to get a 9mm 12 round as reasonable as possible. This firearm will be used only as a home security piece and I need reliable and cheap. Any suggestions? Again first time buyer.
Hello, and welcome to the Forums :)

While you give a little background on getting your CHL in processing (good job :!: ) , you then switch priority to ....home use ONLY. I can also presume from the wording this will be your 1st handgun, and, therefore, will ALSO be subject to lawful carry CHL.

Your primary qualifier was and is CO$T. To that, all of us are with you hehe
. You did not include/exclude metal frame only or polymer etc.


I would suggest the Smith & Wesson M&P Shield in your caliber of choice 9mm. It's a 8shotter though. But, small enough to conceal e.g. CHL, still plenty of punch for the house. And a BIG takeaway IMHO is, pleasant to shoot for a longer range session

And as others suggest other S&W flavours, reasonable cost at approx. $300

Shameless plug, UNDER $250 (by a penny hehe) but does not state the usual 'free shipping'' that I've seen witha straight $300 deal (I think S&H is like, $25 +-)

https://palmettostatearmory.com/smith-w ... m-9mm.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I honestly have not yet met a person that cannot fire this pistol effectively and many ppl, straight out of the box bangbangbang hitting center target, no learning curve. YMMV

In any event again, welcome, let us know what you end up with!!
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Re: First Time Handgun Buyer

Post by carmen fovozzo »

Welcome to OFCC...The Shield 9MM is a great handgun...capacity is 9 rounds with the ext. mag...under $275.00...

I’m curious as to why you only need it for home security ?
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Re: First Time Handgun Buyer

Post by qmti »

JustaShooter wrote:You don't say what your budget is, but in 9mm inexpensive handguns with a capacity in the 12 round range, I'd probably be looking at a Ruger SR9.
I have a Ruger SR9 but I use it for home defense only. The M&P Shield is my carry gun, although it has less capacity than the SR9, it's lighter and more concealable. Both are excellent home/carry guns.
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Re: First Time Handgun Buyer

Post by willbird »

For a home defense gun IMHO the smaller CCW guns are tougher to shoot well, the sight radius (distance between front and rear sight) is shorter...and perceived recoil is sharper and more pronounced than with a full sized gun.

If you do some looking you can find that some mfg make a "full sized" gun, such as the Springfield XD line for example where the full sized magazine can be used in the compact version of the gun if you decide to add a CCW gun later. Sig and Glock do the same.

I'd encourage finding ranges that rent guns as well as sell guns too, and spend some trigger time with potential candidates before buying.

I really like Springflied XD pistols so I will point out that they re badged the original XD9 as the "defender series" and I see them in the low $300 range

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Re: First Time Handgun Buyer

Post by sodbuster95 »

willbird wrote:For a home defense gun IMHO the smaller CCW guns are tougher to shoot well, the sight radius (distance between front and rear sight) is shorter...and perceived recoil is sharper and more pronounced than with a full sized gun.
I'll echo Bill on this sentiment. If you aren't going to be carrying it concealed, a full-sized handgun will have a number of advantages.
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Re: First Time Handgun Buyer

Post by carmen fovozzo »

Just guessing but. Aren't most self-defense shootings in home at night in the dark ? If that's the case IMO bigger is not any advantage...like I said Just guessing.
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Re: First Time Handgun Buyer

Post by willbird »

carmen fovozzo wrote:Just guessing but. Aren't most self-defense shootings in home at night in the dark ? If that's the case IMO bigger is not any advantage...like I said Just guessing.
There is a lot of "stuff" wrapped up in firearms training with new shooters.

Traditionally new shooters were started out on bb guns or air rifles, then graduated to 22 rifles typically working from prone with sling, so sitting with sling, on to kneeling with sling, and finally offhand with no sling, and finally when they had a SOLID foundation of the fundamentals of trigger squeeze and sight alignment they were graduated to handguns. The shall issue CCW movement brought a LOT of new shooters/gun owners whose first gun was a center fire handgun of some sort.

This presents a VERY steep learning curve. Some 9mm single stack CCW oriented guns are as I said really tough to shoot well, even if you take pride in shooting difficult guns well :-). The Keltec PF9 comes to mind as a good example....taking a new shooter and handing them that gun as their first experience will be a real challenge to bring them to the point where they can make consistent groups of shots. In fact we might never get there...if we did it would be a struggle involving lots of dry fire mixed in with live fire. The PF9 narrow backstrap makes perceived recoil levels high. A DAO fly weight J frame or similar snubby is another way to make that first experience less positive.

Every single new shooter I trained in NRA Basis Pistol I started them out with a 22lr handgun.

Shooting an unknown person in the dark without identifying them has turned out poorly for both the person that got shot and the person who did the shooting ;-). Lots of folks do not like firearms mounted lights for tactical reasons.....but a bigger gun will typically offer a light rail that will allow mounting one.

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Re: First Time Handgun Buyer

Post by shootsome »

I didn't catch your location, if your in Northern Ohio Fin Feather Fur has had some good prices on S&W M&P, I've had good luck with several of them. https://www.finfeatherfur.com/wp-conten ... 31_WEB.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
The laser equipped shield solves the sight radius concerns, while offering other advantages, if a little smaller and lower capacity than optimal for a house gun.
Trying the link again:

https://www.finfeatherfur.com/wp-conten ... 31_WEB.pdf
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Re: First Time Handgun Buyer

Post by M-Quigley »

Javelin Man wrote:Keltec P11 0 round or Sccy would work well, both are 10 round but at least the Keltec and use a 12 round magazine by another manufacturer.

And another even more obvious answer would be the Taurus G2 P111 9mm. It holds 12 rounds if I remember correctly. I should look sometime, I own three. It currently goes for about $199 at Rural King.
You are correct, the magazine holds 12, and I think you still get an extra mag with it as well. Cheap and reliable is usually an oxymoron, and Taurus in the past hasn't had the best reputation for reliability and quality. :roll: The PT111 G2 however seems to be as reliable as handguns made from other manufacturers. Out of the several peaple I know who own one, only one experienced a malfunction, and it turned out he grabbed the wrong box of ammo and was using his wifes .380 instead of 9X19 ammo. :lol: I have one that so far has about 1600 trouble free rounds through it, all kinds of ammo ranging from 50 grain to 147 grain, both aluminum cased and brass. (have not shot steel cased ammo in it and don't intend to) I did a test fire at 5 yards alongside other brands, such as Glock G26, S&W M&P compact, and a Ruger compact, my group sizes were essentially all the same in my hands. (holes touching or almost touching) I also have tried it at up to 25 yds along with a friends G19, and both guns performed about the same (larger groups on both of course)

The downside to the PT111 G2 used to be that if someone did have one with a problem where they've had to use customer service, I've read online of CS times of weeks or months in the past. They supposedly have a new CS facility however, and the most recent reports I've read are very quick, about the same as S&W or Ruger. None of the people I personally know with one have yet to need CS however with this model of Taurus.

It does have an accessory rail if someone wants to mount a laser or light. The Pt111 G2 has been replaced with the G2C, the main difference being the G2C does not have the useless (IMHO) key locking system on the rail the PT111 G2 used to have. If you want to secure it you have to secure it the same way as any other handgun.

Another downside is if you ever want to resell it in the future, Taurus guns in general don't have the resale value that S&W or Ruger or some other manufacturer of more expensive handguns has. The good news is you don't pay a lot for it in the first place.

Unlike some american manufacturers, a new Taurus comes very oil soaked, (mine was literally dripping oil) so if you don't throughly clean it before first using it you might experience malfunctions.

So the bottom line is the G2C seems to be at this time the least expensive 9mm double stack handgun that should be reliable and that can potentially be practical for both CC and home use. It fits all the criteria mentioned in the OP. To get any cheaper you'd be in Jimemez and Hi Point terrority. They are however single stack magazines and large and heavy if you want the option of carrying them. As far as reliability, I've only tested out the Hi Point 45 version and the 45 I tested was reliable and extremely accurate, with very mild recoil. It's also huge, and the accessory rail is a propriorty system, only works with Hi Point accessories. :?: The 45 version hold 9 in the magazine. It might make a great home defense only handgun, but I don't know if the 9mm version is also reliable.
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Re: First Time Handgun Buyer

Post by Ohio_patriot »

If cost is a huge factor for you I’d look into used guns.

With Smith & Wesson coming out with the M&P 2.0 last year there have been a lot of used first generation M&P full size and shields ending up on store shelves. You’ll always be able to find used Glocks too.

And the new Shield 2.0 is usually under $400 before taxes.

My Father in Law and one of my best friends both carry a Taurus Millennium PT111 and I’ve shot with both and never seen them have a malfunction. While I don’t necessarily trust Taurus pistols, that seems to be their most reliable semi-auto. I think those have been replaced solely by the G2 models which from what I hear are just as reliable as the Millennium pistols.
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Re: First Time Handgun Buyer

Post by Brian D. »

Pookster hasn't logged back in here since making that single post. No harm in offering further advice though, I guess.
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