RED OR BLUE Pill : Why must this be so difficult to choose !!

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Instead of learning world history calculus and graduating from pharmacy school. I wish I was taking courses on handguns, origins , ammunition’s , tactical gear etc. Feels like a making of Harry Potter movie. But seriously I’m a newbie or dare I say a 22lr’e ( I only say that because everything I look up seems to point to that being a starting point for newbies) and I just want to start off getting a handgun for home defense and indoor range shooting. I live in nj so concealed carry is out the door like my hairline was back in my 20s. I feel like I’ve researched one and then I see a video showing a comparison and knocking my original choice out the park. I’m still awaiting my firearm ID card so I can’t physically touch any guns at the store yet but I’ve been leaning toward the H&k vp9 , cz p (whatever) , glock 17,19 , sig , berreta and for big boys Mossberg or Remington. I guess my question to the group is are there any other brands I should be looking at that seem to fit my intended purpose so I can give them a fair shot as well. Where’s the Oracle when you need her
 
Rock Island makes some fine reproductions at a good price. I would second taking a look at Ruger. They have lots to offer. A good 9mm or .22 looks to be in your future, congrats and let us know what you get!
 
Are you considering revolvers at all? They're pricier than plastic pistols, but I'd prefer to be out shooting a revolver than a 9mm autoloader probably 9 times out of 10.
 
Welcome to the forum!

If, as I assume, procuring multiple handguns is a pain in NJ, what about choosing a platform that has multiple caliber conversion kits for a single frame? Glock and Beretta come to mind as very easy to switch between 9mm and .22, but Im sure there are others.

As far as shotguns, Im none too impressed with either of the new production offerings from Mossberg or Remington, but between those, the 870 still seems to be (somewhat) better built. Honestly, Id be looking at a clean, older pump gun from Remington, Ithaca, or Stevens myself.

Good luck!
 
I do plan on adding a revolver to the cache. What revolvers do you use?
Whooo boy, thats a loaded question on this site, as we have ALOT of hard core wheel gun fans- myself included!

That said, its certainly easier to find a good do-it-all auto, as revolvers tend to be more specialized. Probably the closest thing ever made to a "universal" revolver would be the excellent S&W K-frame such as the Model 10 and 19.
 
What works for you, works. Handle the major offerings and decide for yourself. You really can’t go wrong. I’m a Ruger fanboy. Others are dedicated to Glock. Or Smith, or Springfield, etc. The majors are really all good. Just get over the first gun jump. It almost doesn’t matter what you pick. With that first gun you will learn what the next one should be. And guns are a liquid asset. You can sell or trade one you don’t like. It isn’t a kidney.
 
There are any number of good answers to the OP's question.

If I were to be faced with some sort of massive armed invasion of my home, one my semiautomatic centerfire rifles or 12-gauge pump would be what I would want in my hand.

However, that's not very likely. What is likely is that you're at home sick from work, someone (or maybe a couple of someones) decides to burglarize your home, you are asleep when they knock on your door with their BS story to see if anyone is home, they break into your home, and there is an unexpected confrontation. This is what has happened with several of my friends and family members. It would have happened to me a couple of times, but I was actually at work instead.

Given the much more likely scenario for home defense, almost any of my many centerfire handguns would be suitable. Any normal service caliber, and probably the magnum sort of ones, would do fine.

I am personally fine with semiautos or revolvers for HD. A person entering your home for a burglary may or may not be armed. Their intent is to burgle, not to be involved in a gunfight. If they see you with a firearm, their proper professional decision is to flee the scene. Your smartest decision is probably to let them. If not, I am confident enough in my skills and training to believe I could take care of things with something like a six-shot 357 magnum.

I would also be comfortable with one of my Glocks or Berettas or CZ's or whatever. I don't shoot them quite as well, but I wouldn't feel bad about having something like a full 15-round magazine, either.

I personally prefer centerfire revolvers to centerfire semiautos for shooting at the range or plinking. None of my centerfire autos is as accurate FOR ME as my best centerfire revolvers. I have some very fine service pistols: Glock 22, Beretta 92 & 96, nice CZ clones, Walther PPQ, S&W M&P, Ruger P-series, Brownings, 1911's, etc. I can shoot them well: I am not a competition quality shooter, but I am better than the vast majority of those I see shooting at the range. However, those service pistols just can't compete FOR ME with my best revolvers: my S&W Model 10 and 28 and 625, my Ruger Blackhawks and Super Blackhawk, my Old-Model Taurus 66 and 689, my Astra Police Model... frankly I shoot even my Charter Arms snubbies about as well as my full-sized service pistols.

So there probably aren't many bad choices for HD. For the range or plinking, I personally believe that nice revolvers are probably better for most people, but that is purely subjective.

However, my belief is that for practice (at the range or plinking), 22lr's are extremely useful. The ammo cost and recoil is squat. They are my most accurate handguns. Unlike centerfire, the semiautos are probably cheaper, easier to find, and probably more accurate. I am a revolver guy, but my Buck Mark and Ruger Standard will outshoot my K22 and 6.5" Single Six on most days. It hurts me to say that. My K22 is a thing of beauty. :(

If I could only have one handgun, it would be a 4" medium-framed 38 or 357. If I were just starting out, that would probably be my first purchase. A good 22lr would be my second. If someone preferred a semiautomatic service pistol instead of the revolver, that is understandable. Any of the widely-issued ones should work just fine.
 
My standard advice: Get a .22lr (a standard target-oriented model, not a tacticool 2/3 scale model of a service weapon) and put about 5,000 rounds through it. Shooting .22lr is so pleasant and inexpensive, that may only take you a dozen range sessions. Then go figure out what service-caliber thing you might be interested in.

I didn't do that. I picked a gun that I thought was cool. It is kind of cool. And it's reliable. But I don't shoot it more than once every 3 years. I didn't understand what things would make a pistol shoot well for me. There's really no way to know that until you've learned to shoot. Start with that .22 (I'd suggest a Ruger Mk ___, or a Browning Buckmark [I have a Buckmark]) and learn to shoot.
 
Welcome to the forum!

If, as I assume, procuring multiple handguns is a pain in NJ, what about choosing a platform that has multiple caliber conversion kits for a single frame? Glock and Beretta come to mind as very easy to switch between 9mm and .22, but Im sure there are others.

As far as shotguns, Im none too impressed with either of the new production offerings from Mossberg or Remington, but between those, the 870 still seems to be (somewhat) better built. Honestly, Id be looking at a clean, older pump gun from Remington, Ithaca, or Stevens myself.

Good luck!
What throws you off about the newer shotguns ? And that was a good point in regard to switching between caliber kits.
 
My standard advice: Get a .22lr (a standard target-oriented model, not a tacticool 2/3 scale model of a service weapon) and put about 5,000 rounds through it. Shooting .22lr is so pleasant and inexpensive, that may only take you a dozen range sessions. Then go figure out what service-caliber thing you might be interested in.

I didn't do that. I picked a gun that I thought was cool. It is kind of cool. And it's reliable. But I don't shoot it more than once every 3 years. I didn't understand what things would make a pistol shoot well for me. There's really no way to know that until you've learned to shoot. Start with that .22 (I'd suggest a Ruger Mk ___, or a Browning Buckmark [I have a Buckmark]) and learn to shoot.
Great advice. I’m in it for the long haul so don’t mind taking the baby steps to get it done right
 
What works for you, works. Handle the major offerings and decide for yourself. You really can’t go wrong. I’m a Ruger fanboy. Others are dedicated to Glock. Or Smith, or Springfield, etc. The majors are really all good. Just get over the first gun jump. It almost doesn’t matter what you pick. With that first gun you will learn what the next one should be. And guns are a liquid asset. You can sell or trade one you don’t like. It isn’t a kidney.
Yeah that’s true. Didn’t think of that actually. I forget that I can try and sell it if we need to part ways to make way for another worthier option.
 
There are any number of good answers to the OP's question.

If I were to be faced with some sort of massive armed invasion of my home, one my semiautomatic centerfire rifles or 12-gauge pump would be what I would want in my hand.

However, that's not very likely. What is likely is that you're at home sick from work, someone (or maybe a couple of someones) decides to burglarize your home, you are asleep when they knock on your door with their BS story to see if anyone is home, they break into your home, and there is an unexpected confrontation. This is what has happened with several of my friends and family members. It would have happened to me a couple of times, but I was actually at work instead.

Given the much more likely scenario for home defense, almost any of my many centerfire handguns would be suitable. Any normal service caliber, and probably the magnum sort of ones, would do fine.

I am personally fine with semiautos or revolvers for HD. A person entering your home for a burglary may or may not be armed. Their intent is to burgle, not to be involved in a gunfight. If they see you with a firearm, their proper professional decision is to flee the scene. Your smartest decision is probably to let them. If not, I am confident enough in my skills and training to believe I could take care of things with something like a six-shot 357 magnum.

I would also be comfortable with one of my Glocks or Berettas or CZ's or whatever. I don't shoot them quite as well, but I wouldn't feel bad about having something like a full 15-round magazine, either.

I personally prefer centerfire revolvers to centerfire semiautos for shooting at the range or plinking. None of my centerfire autos is as accurate FOR ME as my best centerfire revolvers. I have some very fine service pistols: Glock 22, Beretta 92 & 96, nice CZ clones, Walther PPQ, S&W M&P, Ruger P-series, Brownings, 1911's, etc. I can shoot them well: I am not a competition quality shooter, but I am better than the vast majority of those I see shooting at the range. However, those service pistols just can't compete FOR ME with my best revolvers: my S&W Model 10 and 28 and 625, my Ruger Blackhawks and Super Blackhawk, my Old-Model Taurus 66 and 689, my Astra Police Model... frankly I shoot even my Charter Arms snubbies about as well as my full-sized service pistols.

So there probably aren't many bad choices for HD. For the range or plinking, I personally believe that nice revolvers are probably better for most people, but that is purely subjective.

However, my belief is that for practice (at the range or plinking), 22lr's are extremely useful. The ammo cost and recoil is squat. They are my most accurate handguns. Unlike centerfire, the semiautos are probably cheaper, easier to find, and probably more accurate. I am a revolver guy, but my Buck Mark and Ruger Standard will outshoot my K22 and 6.5" Single Six on most days. It hurts me to say that. My K22 is a thing of beauty. :(

If I could only have one handgun, it would be a 4" medium-framed 38 or 357. If I were just starting out, that would probably be my first purchase. A good 22lr would be my second. If someone preferred a semiautomatic service pistol instead of the revolver, that is understandable. Any of the widely-issued ones should work just fine.
Wow thanks for taking the time to write a well thought out response. Very in-depth an will definitely take that under advisement. Loved the line “proper professional decision” you should coin that an make a meme or shirt using that.
 
To me the most interesting question for a new shooter is whether to go down the red-dot/optical sight path right from the start. The conventional wisdom is to learn to shoot iron sights first and then add dots or optics. That's certainly how I was "raised."

I'm increasingly seeing young shooters who were "raised" with dots from the very beginning. Many of them seem to have an intrinsic feel for speed and confident accuracy that is uncanny. Consider whether you want to have a small dot dropped onto a .22lr pistol right from the beginning. One of the great things about .22lr target-style pistols is that they strip out a lot of the complicating factors (managing real recoil, dealing with a long trigger, etc.) that can interfere with learning the true core of shooting a pistol - pointing it at the target, holding it reasonably steady, pressing the trigger straight to the rear, and getting the sights to return automatically to the same point. A red-dot just knocks out one more complicating factor (gauging equal-height-equal-light front/rear alignment issues).
 
Funny
To me the most interesting question for a new shooter is whether to go down the red-dot/optical sight path right from the start. The conventional wisdom is to learn to shoot iron sights first and then add dots or optics. That's certainly how I was "raised."

I'm increasingly seeing young shooters who were "raised" with dots from the very beginning. Many of them seem to have an intrinsic feel for speed and confident accuracy that is uncanny. Consider whether you want to have a small dot dropped onto a .22lr pistol right from the beginning. One of the great things about .22lr target-style pistols is that they strip out a lot of the complicating factors (managing real recoil, dealing with a long trigger, etc.) that can interfere with learning the true core of shooting a pistol - pointing it at the target, holding it reasonably steady, pressing the trigger straight to the rear, and getting the sights to return automatically to the same point. A red-dot just knocks out one more complicating factor (gauging equal-height-equal-light front/rear alignment issues).
funny u mention that because I was wondering the same thing myself. I prolly will get a red dot out the gate and I am leaning toward the .22lr route
 
Funny

funny u mention that because I was wondering the same thing myself. I prolly will get a red dot out the gate and I am leaning toward the .22lr route

Heh. For once I was ahead of the curve. I put a Millett red dot on my Browning Buckmark almost 20 years ago (not sure the exact year, to be honest). Most of the guys I shot with at the time thought I was nuts. (Of course, overall I can't say they were wrong about that... :) )

Now, I'm honestly not sure whether that was a good idea in the long run. As a note, I only have irons on the handguns I carry for defense. Would I be a better shot with them if I'd put thousands of rounds through my .22 with iron sights instead of the red dot? No idea.
 
But 20 years ago, the only way to have red-dots stand up for the long haul on semi-autos was to mount them to the frame... which was easy with Buckmarks, but really hard with most service-type centerfire pistols.

Now the technology makes putting a dot on the slide of a service-type pistol very sensible and easy. After seeing how much more effective those little slide-riding windows make competitors in USPSA/IPSC games, and how rarely they malfunction or go out, I'm pretty sold on them. I expect to eventually retrofit my SD/HD guns with them, though I've just begun the journey of shooting pistols with dots.

If I were starting from scratch today, I think that's how I'd go. My daughter is getting close to the age where I will start teaching her to really shoot, and I'm currently leaning towards dots-from-day-one.
 
But 20 years ago, the only way to have red-dots stand up for the long haul on semi-autos was to mount them to the frame... which was easy with Buckmarks, but really hard with most service-type centerfire pistols.

Now the technology makes putting a dot on the slide of a service-type pistol very sensible and easy. After seeing how much more effective those little slide-riding windows make competitors in USPSA/IPSC games, and how rarely they malfunction or go out, I'm pretty sold on them. I expect to eventually retrofit my SD/HD guns with them, though I've just begun the journey of shooting pistols with dots.

If I were starting from scratch today, I think that's how I'd go. My daughter is getting close to the age where I will start teaching her to really shoot, and I'm currently leaning towards dots-from-day-one.

Good point. I saw in CZ's latest catalog that they're making some pistols with built-in mounting plates for optics. They even make irons that you can co-witness with some of the optic choices.
 
Yep. Lots come from the factory ready for dots, and there are now a lot of gunsmith shops where they've got the slide-milling down to a very efficient, fast-turnaround proposition. More importantly, the modern little dots are finally durable enough to take the beating of the slide reciprocation and come back for more. Useful lifetimes on these things are getting well into the tens of thousands of rounds.
 
Instead of learning world history calculus and graduating from pharmacy school. I wish I was taking courses on handguns, origins , ammunition’s , tactical gear etc. Feels like a making of Harry Potter movie. But seriously I’m a newbie or dare I say a 22lr’e ( I only say that because everything I look up seems to point to that being a starting point for newbies) and I just want to start off getting a handgun for home defense and indoor range shooting. I live in nj so concealed carry is out the door like my hairline was back in my 20s. I feel like I’ve researched one and then I see a video showing a comparison and knocking my original choice out the park. I’m still awaiting my firearm ID card so I can’t physically touch any guns at the store yet but I’ve been leaning toward the H&k vp9 , cz p (whatever) , glock 17,19 , sig , berreta and for big boys Mossberg or Remington. I guess my question to the group is are there any other brands I should be looking at that seem to fit my intended purpose so I can give them a fair shot as well. Where’s the Oracle when you need her

Don't over complicate things. When I'm selling a gun to a customer, particularly one not really familiar with shooting I start with the car analogy. It helps answer the question "What's a good gun?". You're already taking into consideration your intended purpose, so you're ahead of most newcomers I deal with. The premium names you're mentioning are fine, but you'll be paying a premium price for those makes. Ugaarguy makes the perfect point, which I was alluding to in another reply to you and that's test drive a few at a range that rents different guns and, as he said, buy what you shoot well. Not all guns are subjectively equal. In other words, for reasons of ergonomics and other design elements, you might do better with one or another make/model than a similar one.

Personally, I own several .22's, some even bought recently and I'm not what anyone would call a newbie to shooting. I love them as they're cheap to shoot, not annoyingly loud for an extended shooting session and quite accurate. I own Walthers, Rugers, S&W's, Colts, etc. and find them all dependable quality firearms. They work well and are reliable.
 
Don't over complicate things. When I'm selling a gun to a customer, particularly one not really familiar with shooting I start with the car analogy. It helps answer the question "What's a good gun?". You're already taking into consideration your intended purpose, so you're ahead of most newcomers I deal with. The premium names you're mentioning are fine, but you'll be paying a premium price for those makes. Ugaarguy makes the perfect point, which I was alluding to in another reply to you and that's test drive a few at a range that rents different guns and, as he said, buy what you shoot well. Not all guns are subjectively equal. In other words, for reasons of ergonomics and other design elements, you might do better with one or another make/model than a similar one.

Personally, I own several .22's, some even bought recently and I'm not what anyone would call a newbie to shooting. I love them as they're cheap to shoot, not annoyingly loud for an extended shooting session and quite accurate. I own Walthers, Rugers, S&W's, Colts, etc. and find them all dependable quality firearms. They work well and are reliable.

thanks for the suggestions, ill watch a few videos to get familiar until i get my id card
 
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