First handgun recommendations for a college student living off campus?

[bn12gg]

Slightly off topic but I would think long and hard over how you intend to secure your gun in a rather student active apartment complex. Student apartments generally have far more activity than your parent's home. In my experience theft runs high around a university. I'm a prof myself fwiw. Good luck with a gun choice. Just me but I love my Smith and Wesson M37 Airweight loaded with 38 wadcutters.

.02. David.

[tony pasley]

First find a range that offers a basic handgun safety course, they usually supply handgun for shooting, Second find a place you can rent different models to try. You will have a lot better knowledge of what you need and want than you can get on line.

[cw308]

If your thinking of buying a used revolver , revolvers have problems also . Timing & endshake . The problem with cleaning revolvers is the cylinder face , cone an cleaning the barrel an 5 or 6 cylinders . I have 3 revolvers 3 autos , I like them all . The easiest is a auto , auto's are just as reliable as revolvers . Auto's are all designed for defence tested with round nose bullets , problem comes when shooting hollow point bullets , some autos are finicky with them. First gun I would go between a 4" S&W 357 or a Colt Combat Commander 45ACP You should always buy what you could afford. Don't go off half cocked . Buy the gun you really want , save up alittle more , no need to rush. Keep it in a secured area when your not carrying . It's a very dangerous tool , treat it that way . Be Safe , hope I helped in some way .

Chris

[Guilty]

Before I give a recommendation on what I think would be a good 1st handgun choice, please consider buying a handgun safe for when you're not carrying on your body - there is nothing worse that coming home to find that your handgun has been stolen. Dean safe has quite a few good handgun safes to choose from, I prefer the simplex type locks for ease-of-use and reliability.
As far as handgun options, consider the weight, comfort, conceal-ability, and reliability these things do make a difference. I think 9mm is the best caliber for HD, CC and range and any of these with a quality holster would make a exceptional 1st handgun, especially for conceal carry:
Glock 19 23.65 oz
S&W M&P 9C 24.7 oz
S&W M&P 9 Shield 20.8 oz
HK VP9 25.56 oz. (this is my favorite)
HK VP9 SK 23.07 oz.
Whatever you choose, get out and practice as often as possible, be safe and enjoy.

[Kreyzhorse]

Ruger SP 101 in .357. A snub nose is the quintessential carry gun and very straight forward. As far as .357, you,will most likely only want to load and shoot it with .38 specials but it gives you options and is two guns for the price of one.

[Kvon2]

I would still lean towards a semi auto.

You said you would clean it after you shoot it, and that is a good thing. If you clean it well and leave it for a while, you shouldn't need to clean it all that often. At least not often enough to make it a pain.

My grandfather had a SW 659 that day for probably close to if not more than 20 years without being shot or cleaned. He gave it to me for my 21st birthday, I gave it a good cleaning and it has been flawless for the past 4 years.

[TheGunGeek]

The Beretta PX4 compact is highly rated, upgradeable, and safe with the DA/SA design & manual safety.

A semi-autos, especially a carry pistol should be wiped down/relubed once a month. A revolver seems to be able to sustain less maintenance and still function due to the simpler design, however when carrying all guns will be exposed to more elements and should be cared for.

[TheGunGeek]

Originally Posted by jstert

ruger sr22 is handy, reliable, fun and cheap to feed, and a soft enough shooter that most girls would enjoy it on a unique date to a pistol range. if you find a young lady who enjoys shooting dates together you may have a keeper. when you graduate and can afford more guns you will still always have a need for this rimfire plinker.

Agreed, the Ruger SR22 is a good beginner pistol, and is easy on the wallet for practice.

[Nathan]

As much as I like a good revolver, I think I would recommend an semi-auto for these reasons:

1) price: a good semi-auto will run $300-$600. A good revolver starts at $450.

2) capacity: Revolvers hold about 6. Semi-auto's hold 13 plus in the type you are considering.

3) price to shoot: revolvers of the type you want are 38/357. 38's will cost ~$16 a box where 9mm can be had for $10 per box. That's almost double the shooting for your money.

While a Ruger, M&P, XD9, etc are under your budget, have you really considered ammo, range bag, ear muffs, safety glasses, decent cleaning kit, decent holster...? That is roughly $400 + the gun to get going.


Last, consider a thumb safety. Lots of experts will boo hoo this, but a thumb safety is an excellent measure against handling/holstering ND's. Ask anybody with a Glock-leg.

[peacefulgary]

1.) it’s my understanding that revolvers can sustain neglect very well and fire regardless of how it was cared for. Though I plan on cleaning my gun whenever I’m done shooting it, how well does your typical modern day semi-auto deal with not being shot or cleaned regularly? Being a university student, I’m not exactly gonna be able to shoot every week. I don’t know how often I’ll be able to, but I want to rest assured that it’ll work when I need it to.

Both revolvers and auto-loaders can literally sit for decades and still function fine when needed to fire.
The biggest problem I've seen with long term neglect is with the ammo.
Brass will eventually tarnish green.
That can cause feeding problems with an auto, and ejection problems with a revolver...but that takes a long time to occur.

Steel cased ammo could rust if the humidity is enough.

Aluminum cases over long periods of time...I don't know.

2.) I’m familiar with the whole concept of limp wristing. Don’t hold the pistol properly and it jams. But this raises a question. If you’re in a close up confrontation with someone and you’re under stress, adrenaline pumping with a possibly shaky hand, perhaps just barely able to draw, would there be any issues with firing, or are most modern autos immune to this issue?

Well..."limp wristing" really only affects the second shot...so make the first one count!

Actually, consider this:

With a revolver you have that heavy double-action trigger pull to deal with.
If you have a shaky hand that can barely draw the revolver...would you have enough control and grip to pull the heavy trigger of the revolver.
You might not.

But with an auto, with a round chambered, especially an auto with a light trigger...if you can draw it then you can almost certainly fire the chambered round.
It might not cycle the slide and chamber a second round, but you are almost guaranteed that first shot with an auto that has one chambered.

[peacefulgary]

You also said this...

I’m looking for a multi purpose (CC, HD, range) first handgun.

Forget about all steel 4" revolvers when it comes to concealed carry.

YES, it can be done (I concealed carried a Ruger GP100 4" for about a year), but it was not easy!

A Ruger GP100 4" weighs 40 oz empty!!!
That's more than if you were carrying three 12 oz sodas on your hip!

It's just too darn big and heavy to lug around every day.
And for only 6 shots!

Nobody deserves that kind of abuse.
Avoid anything over 29 oz empty.



I think you should go with a single-stack compact or sub-compact 9mm auto-loader (or a smallish double-stack).
You can't go wrong with any of the well established makers (Ruger, S&W, Springfield XD, Glock, Sig, Beretta, FN, CZ, Walther, etc...).

Striker-fired, hammer-fired, SA/DA, DAO, safe action....whatever...don't get caught up in the internet drama.
They all work.

[briandg]

Double action revolver is best, imo. 38 special. Full sized 'police' style.
You've been showered with information.

This revolver is something that you can count on. Load it, set it down.

No safety, no empty chamber, you lift it up and bull the trigger. You can't forget a step, can't leave an empty chamber, limp wrist, loosen the magazine, etc. You have six rounds of powerful ammo. Reloading takes skill, that's a drawback.

My suggestion.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

As I said - everyone is suggesting everything, so the overall responses are really not that helpful.

As several have said - DON'T BUY A GUN NOW! Unless you are in extreme threat - wait just the small amount of time it takes to go get some intro experience and training on quality semis and revolvers.

[lee n. field]

Originally Posted by StainedClassKing

I’m a soon to be 21 year old college junior living in an apartment near my university. As per usual for newbies, I’m looking for a multi purpose (CC, HD, range) first handgun.

Originally Posted by StainedClassKing

I’m thinking maybe $600 max.

Wow, someone with a realistic gun budget. Usually when I see questions like this is phrased as "What gun for $X?", where X is really too low to get much worthwhile. More money gets you more and better options.

Glock 19. Or equivalent doublestack compact plastic frame 9mm from one of the other major manufacturers (S&W M&P, XD, Ruger. Walther or CZ? Others?). You want something with decent quality, reliable, with a good warranty and a company that can fix it for you if something goes wrong and will cover shipping it in to them.

Run with that for a while, and you'll have a good idea if you need or want to move on to something else.

It's not a bad choice, but these days you kind of have to have a good reason to go with a revolver.

I’ve considered used revolvers too, perhaps an old police Model 10/64. My experience with firearms is limited to firing a .22 rifle and .22 revolver. Even though I’m in a very gun friendly state (no license needed to carry concealed or open), I come from a family of Democrats, my grandfather being the only gun owner in the family.

Anyway, I’ll probably go to a range to try out a few, but I’ll assume most of you will mention Glocks

"Thou hast said it."

or some kind of revolver. Despite my limited experience, I’ve done my homework online and know more than the typical newcomer about the mechanics and such.

The more I go on, the less I trust "the innernet", especially social media, for good advice. (Holster advice is particularly untrustworthy, I find. "I like my Derpa!")

Regardless, I have a couple of questions.

1.) it’s my understanding that revolvers can sustain neglect very well and fire regardless of how it was cared for. Though I plan on cleaning my gun whenever I’m done shooting it, how well does your typical modern day semi-auto deal with not being shot or cleaned regularly? Being a university student, I’m not exactly gonna be able to shoot every week. I don’t know how often I’ll be able to, but I want to rest assured that it’ll work when I need it to.

Yes, and no. I've had the cylinder axis get gunky on my snubbies, and need cleaning. Still worked, but you could tell.

2.) I’m familiar with the whole concept of limp wristing. Don’t hold the pistol properly and it jams. But this raises a question. If you’re in a close up confrontation with someone and you’re under stress, adrenaline pumping with a possibly shaky hand, perhaps just barely able to draw, would there be any issues with firing, or are most modern autos immune to this issue?

You'll probably be OK.

All this IMHO & YMMV (standard Internet disclaimers).

[Powermwt]

You do not say where you are from or which state you go to college... that may affect what you buy if new!

Here is a list from California and it goes from this to not being able to buy until you are 21.

https://www.oag.ca.gov/firearms/certguns

So with that out of the way my first three handguns were revolvers in the .22 and .357 range, however the choice on all aspects of the handgun is best found with renting at a local range (which has been noted already).

Under federal law I don't think you can buy a handgun from a dealer under 21... there are some exceptions for private party transfers. States have their own requirements. I'm not sure you can even rent a handgun until you turn 21.

So, we can give you basic advise but other than point you to rent and see how you like different caliber and handgun types I will not give specific recommendations.

[ATN082268]

Originally Posted by StainedClassKing

I’m a soon to be 21 year old college junior living in an apartment near my university. As per usual for newbies, I’m looking for a multi purpose (CC, HD, range) first handgun. My experience with firearms is limited to firing a .22 rifle and .22 revolver. Even though I’m in a very gun friendly state (no license needed to carry concealed or open), I come from a family of Democrats, my grandfather being the only gun owner in the family.

Anyway, I’ll probably go to a range to try out a few, but I’ll assume most of you will mention Glocks or some kind of revolver. Despite my limited experience, I’ve done my homework online and know more than the typical newcomer about the mechanics and such.

Regardless, I have a couple of questions.

1.) it’s my understanding that revolvers can sustain neglect very well and fire regardless of how it was cared for. Though I plan on cleaning my gun whenever I’m done shooting it, how well does your typical modern day semi-auto deal with not being shot or cleaned regularly? Being a university student, I’m not exactly gonna be able to shoot every week. I don’t know how often I’ll be able to, but I want to rest assured that it’ll work when I need it to.

2.) I’m familiar with the whole concept of limp wristing. Don’t hold the pistol properly and it jams. But this raises a question. If you’re in a close up confrontation with someone and you’re under stress, adrenaline pumping with a possibly shaky hand, perhaps just barely able to draw, would there be any issues with firing, or are most modern autos immune to this issue?

I'm not sure about your university but you may not be able to conceal carry on campus. I don't know your schedule or social life but if you're spending a large portion of your time on a campus that doesn't allow concealed carry, you might consider just a home defense gun, which may or may not be a handgun. If you live near campus, you probably have a somewhat higher crime rate which can be a problem if you can't conceal carry on campus with getting to and from your apartment safely and securing your weapon for when you're not there. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend a 9mm like the Glock 19 or something similar from a reputable manufacturer as a first handgun for CC, HD and range duties.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

We are starting to get a touch silly. I had to delete some.

To summarize:

1. Learn how to use the gun - that's more important than minor nuances in modern firearms.
2. Be aware of local laws, safe storage and school policies
3. Recommendations for a Glub and Watson 8.75 DAO semi, because the poster has one or read about it - try them out first as recommended by many.

If you want it for HD, SD, CCW and Competition - find a good range and train up a bit.

So with that, I'll close it with a Glock 19, SW M&P, SW or Ruger 38/357 in a manageable size, with training and you are set.