OT: Side Arm Purchase

[Shelby Crane]

Me -



I think he was trying to say his instructor wanted to show very large / small weapons.

 

[Don Pertz]

1911 model handguns, contrary to to some beliefs, are the SAFEST handgun to carry. They actually have three safeties,a grip safety which must be squeezed, a slide safety that has to be released and a transfer bar type trigger safety that requires the trigger to travel a certain distance before the gun will fire. You could drop this gun while cocked and locked and it will not fire. It won't go off in the holster because of the grip required to fire it.

 

[Josh Langel]

My two side arms...



[Broken External Image]:

 

[Josh Langel]

Me...



I just got my Florida CCW permit and I dont recall ANY size limits.

 

[Greg Bosin]

I have the Taurus PT-111 9mm also. While it is compact and light I'm not impressed with the accuracy. Good enough for personal defense but not for target shooting. I've been thinking about trading this one in for something different.



Nelson, I don't know if you were looking for a laugh or trying to make a point for gun control advocates? I hope you were not looking for a laugh.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

Mud,



Lets see, hammers back and magazines in the weapon... are your REALLY ready or what??? LOL

 

[Johnny O]

I have the Taurus PT-111 9mm also. While it is compact and light I'm not impressed with the accuracy. Good enough for personal defense but not for target shooting.

Yeah, mine ends up hitting a little higher than where you're aiming.

 

[Kevin Palmer]

The shorter the barrel the more severe the error when it comes to location on the target.



There is a fine line between the barrel being long enough or too long in some cases when it comes to concealment. But,,,, on the flip side, if the barrel is too short, for the inexperience shooter it is more difficult to shoot accurately.

 

[Jacob Dryer]

So is 3" too short for inexperience?



I appreciate all the input, I haven't even gone looking for real yet, just gather info.

 

[TomT]

For standard personal protection, 3" is fine. If your anticipating confronting a horde of zombies, then you may want something bigger.

 

[Shelby Crane]

If your anticipating confronting a horde of zombies, then you may want something bigger.

Why else would you purchase a weapon?

 

[WXMotorSports DecalsPartsAccs]

This is a great thread as I'm in the market for my first handgun as well. The gun range offers test firing of their fire arms as well as a gun safety/shooting course.

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

Jacob, my wife has a Taurus 38 wheel gun, and I have a Ruger .45 auto. The things you want to think about is this, is the weapon comfortable in your hands, and can you work the action. When buying a gun for my wife, she wanted one of the "cool looking" autos. I took the gun she was looking at and told her to work the action. She couldn't. So that is why she has a wheel gun. My Ruger is a very nice pistol. A couple of my Army buddies were in Pa a couple of months ago and are Law Enforment in thier states and were impressed by the feel of it. They also liked the .45 cal. Take your time and find a gun that feels right in your hand. The cal. doesn't matter. 9mm are cheaper than .357mag, etc. So if you are going to be doing alot of target practice, go with the cheaper ammo. You can get protection grade ammo for just about any cal. out there. And if you want you significant other to shoot it, you need to make sure she can work it also.

 

[TomT]

For zombies:

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[Johnny O]

For zombies any gun is fine, you just need silver bullets. Or is that for vampires?

 

[shawn stonbraker 2]

Johnny, that is for Warewolves. You would need wood or garlic bullets for Vampires.

 

[Gavin Allan]

semi-automatic?

revolver?



hmmmmm..........

 

[Josh Langel]

Lets see, hammers back and magazines in the weapon... are your REALLY ready or what??? LOL

Coastie...



I just pulled them from their holsters to take photos.



Yes, I am locked and loaded. What's the point of an unloaded gun for selfdefense?

 

[Josh Langel]

Also, coastie..



The 1911 is safer when it is cocked and locked... if not and you have bullet in the chamber, then the safety may not work properly.



The 380 is cocked because in the holster the band w/ the snap goes inbetween the hammer and gun.

 

[Jacob Dryer]

We just got back from Bass Pro Shop, figured they were a good place to go and get some more information without feeling pressured into anything. The guy showed us a couple guns and gave me some more info and recommendations on where to go in the area to shoot and get a feel.



We both held the Taurus Millennium and it fit pretty well in my wifes hands and didn't feel out of place in mine. Downside to BPS is that they don't carry any sub-compacts and only had 2 compacts, since they are for "hunting" and not personal protection.



Hopefully in the next few weeks we will be able to get to one of the local ranges and fire a few rounds out of some different guns to get a better feel.