Hi. Since I was little, my father and I have enjoyed shooting together. He bought me a Ruger 22/45 pistol for plinking a few years ago, which I've enjoyed shooting a lot. I joined the Army about a year ago and now I'm just about ready to finally move all of my stuff out of my parents' house, and my dad has offered to give me one of his Glocks, a 1st generation 9mm Glock 17 that still shoots wonderfully.

So I've already got a good gun to practice form with, and a gun that I love shooting in just-for-fun competitions with family and friends. Now I want a pistol for self defense, but I'm not really sure what to get.

Right now I'm thinking about either a glock 37 (.45 GAP) a glock 21 (.45 ACP) or some kind of 1911. The .45 GAP isn't as hot of a load as ACP, but the model 37 is correspondingly lighter and has a smaller grip. My main worry about the 37 is that I'm afraid since the .45 GAP cartridge is only a few years old, it will cost an arm and a leg to shoot.

Those are the guns that are in my head right now, but I'm pretty open to suggestion here; my only requirements for a self defense weapon are that it has to be semi-auto, RELIABLE, and I'm looking for something with good stopping power.

Welcome to the forum! I hope you like it here.
Glocks are great weapons. Ive owned one and they eat everything! The GAP is in fact just about the same as far as energy and velocity as the ACP, with a slight edge in velocity going to the GAP. The advantage to the GAP is the shorter shell allowing smaller grip frames. Your right about availibility. You can go to Wal Mart and buy .45acp ammo, but you will have to go to your local gun shop and pick up your GAP ammo. The GAP ammo for something like Hydra Shok or somthing similars cost will be very close to the same loaded ammo for the ACP. Plinking ammo will be cheaper for the ACP, though, with many more ammo makers producing it. Kahr arms also makes great carry auto loaders. They are one of the best out there and they are made in USA. I believe that they came out with a .45ACP this year as well. In the past they came in 9mm and 40S&W. Dont count out those wheelguns! The .357Magnum is a time proven man stopper and you cant beat the reliability of a revolver. The 1911 guns made by Smith&Wesson with the scandium frames are nice. They will probably be the lightest for carry in the single stack 1911 style family.

If you've already got a G17.... just save your money for more ammo/practice.

Welcome to the forum.

Hmm.. I've been counting out revolvers because I'm really not too familiar with them honestly. My dad has a snubnosed Ruger .357 Magnum, and he used to use that for his home defense weapon.. He went to a shooting school called Front Sight for a 4 day defensive pistol class, and ever since he's been hooked on glocks. Now he's got a G22 in .40 with a surefire light in the drawer next to his bed...

I do kind of like revolvers even though I've only put maybe 500 rounds through them in my entire life, but that was all before I actually started learning how to shoot accurately(I'm by no means great, but I can hold my own).. How different is shooting a revolver from shooting an autoloader?

I suppose I could pick up a .22 Revolver and use the G17 (with its fantastic 17+1 capacity) for defense. I really doubt I'd need any more than that for defense, but a bigger round wouldn't hurt.

If you practice, you don't need any more than a 9mm. Practice alot and get to where you can hit about anything you shoot at with the first shot, and the extra 17 won't even be needed. The 9mm is plenty to stop a man with. I agree with Mike in that you should just spend the money on ammo and use the Glock for your defense gun.

Well, with some autos you need to concern yourself with grip and style to help avoid limp wristing them. Sometimes (ive never had this problem with a Glock) an auto will missfeed if you dont hold them properly. With the revolver you dont have to worry about cylcling. The trigger on a Glock feels alot different than the trigger on most revolvers, with it being striker fired versus hammer. Depending on what kind of revolver you shoot, be it DAO (double action only), DA/SA (double action/single action) or SAO (single action only), that will determine what their trigger is like. Some of the DAO revolvers have long trigger travel and if that is stiff, it can affect how you shoot. For carry revolvers, DAO is probably your best bet because you can bob the hammer and help keep it anti snag. Even if its DA/SA in a personal protection situation you be shooting DA. With a nice hunting revolver, its nice to be able to cock a revolver in single action so that you can use the lighter trigger pull thats produced in that method. DA is usually much stiffer to pull than SA. Guns like most Smith&Wessons with the hammer exposed are DA/SA. Ruger revolvers like their BlackHawks, and Single Sixes are SAO, so in order to fire them they must be hand cocked. But, just like Gismo and MikeG stated, I would just sick with what you are used to for personal defense. Glocks are probably the best autos for the money on the planet, and 9mm is cheap and plentiful. A nice .22 revolver would be fun. Ive been looking at the Single Six convertable with both .22 long rifle and .22 magnum cylinders.

Cool, thanks for the input everyone. I think I'll save the money and stick with my G17 for defense, and maybe pick up another pistol for plinking. I'm actually leaning towards a .22 SAO revolver; I've had the chance to shoot one before and I liked it a lot.

The Glock 17 is a good self defense gun. For a carry gun the small G19 or the G26 works well. I have been using a G26 since they came out. The CorBon 115 grain gives 1260 fps in the G26 and about 1350 in the G17. Thats near what you get from a short 357 mag.

I'm actually leaning towards a .22 SAO revolver; I've had the chance to shoot one before and I liked it a lot.Having a .22 is a great way to learn handgun shooting at affordable prices. Also, the .22 is very accurate so any bloopers in your shooting will most likely be the cause of the shooter. Before you purchase that SAO revolver, give the modern SA/DA revolver a try, it may just surprise you. Would suggest a .22 SA/DA revolver with adjustable sights and 4" or longer barrel. Very accurate, quick to load and unload, and user friendly.

Dearly love my cowboy SA clones however they are not nearly as accurate at 25 yard shooting and slow to load and unload.

If you prefer semi-autos, go with the adjustable sights. Only slightly more expensive and well worth the extra cost. Ruger offers many models that are accurate, reliable, and affordable.

Cool, thanks for the input everyone. I think I'll save the money and stick with my G17 for defense, and maybe pick up another pistol for plinking. I'm actually leaning towards a .22 SAO revolver; I've had the chance to shoot one before and I liked it a lot.

Apache, It doesn't really matter if you buy new or used. If you find a gun that is used in really good condition at a good price go for it. I got a Ruger Vaquero that way. a few years ago A guy bought it fired a few round through it and sold it to the gun store I use to go to. I got it practically new in the box gun with all the paper work real cheap as used. I still have it and love shooting it.

Apache, you COULD use your Glock for defense, but what I'm hearing is that you want to buy ANOTHER gun. And here we are, confusing the issue. Friends don't talk friends out of buying guns, they just make suggestions. So here's mine.....Either a 22 or a good used 357 will serve you well, teach you more about marksmanship, will NOT throw your empties into the weeds, and can be just as cheap to shoot as a 9mm, if not cheaper. I love my autos but revolvers are my first love, and I still carry one on duty. I'd get a 357 over a 38 just for the flexibility and the added strength, then you can decide what to shoot thru it. The 9mm and the 38 are vastly improved as defensive calibers these days, and either would serve you well.

But then again, if you want a 45, go for it. I happen to prefer the 40 caliber, a few more rounds and far more choices. Just remember you get what you pay for, and beware of anything that seems like Too good of a deal. Make haste slowly, shoot before you buy if at all possible, and think about reloading to save........oh wait, that never happens. But for the same money, you shoot more, become a better shot, and a man among men. How's that for justification?

Keep us posted. We're fellow shooters, comrades-in-arms, and nosy bastids. Whatever you decide, the mo triggah time, the mo bettah!

Papajohn

I think Glocks are good, even though I've never shot one...they just have a reputation ya know?

but I think its worth picking up an XD 4" .45 and see how it feels. rent one at the range if its an option.
Glock and XD have different grip angles, and many people strongly prefer one over the other. since you haven't shot a lot of handguns, its to your advantage to test drive as many as possible before buying a new piece.

plus the XD .45 is getting rave reviews. If i ever get a .45 it'll be an XD...to be my XD9 subcompact's big brother :)

9mm will do the job you need IF you can put it in the X, under pressure when you absolutely HAVE to.

bigger calibres aren't a lot of help if you can hit the vital under the kind of pressure you have in a survival situation

9mm is available ALL over the world! Important if you are shipped out somewhere far away

9mm is the most affordable in the quantites you will need to get sufficient practice to HIT that X when you absolutely have to.

Get some professional training and learn what practice drills you might use to keep your skills up. Shooting stationary targets while standing still is just a beginning

suggest GetofftheX.com ;)

9mm will do the job you need IF you can put it in the X, under pressure when you absolutely HAVE to.

bigger calibres aren't a lot of help if you can hit the vital under the kind of pressure you have in a survival situation

9mm is available ALL over the world! Important if you are shipped out somewhere far away

9mm is the most affordable in the quantites you will need to get sufficient practice to HIT that X when you absolutely have to.

Get some professional training and learn what practice drills you might use to keep your skills up. Shooting stationary targets while standing still is just a beginning

suggest GetofftheX.com ;)

Thanks for the link! That's a really interesting website.

About the training thing.. I've got army training, which means I'm pretty decent with an M-16/M-4 series rifle, but I don't have any combat training with a pistol. My dad went to front sight, near las vegas, which is (from my understanding) like a gun nut's vacation resort. He spent a week there and took a 4-day defensive handgun course which he said was extremely fun and helpful, and he's taught me a couple things about aiming, shot placement, drawing/presenting from a holster (concealed or otherwise), but adrenaline in combat does really change everything. I'd like to go to frontsight, but they charge like $1600 for the course that my dad took and that's a little more than I can afford right now...

I'll definitely check out that site some more today and see if I can pick up any tips.