Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns In a defensive gun what is your preferred trade off?

Barrel length.

Absolutely----in spades!! In fact we're in the golden age of all firearms, not just handguns-----you can buy a rifle at Walmart that is "guaranteed" by the manufacturer to be more accurate than most "custom" rifles were 50 years ago.
While we can agree that the quality of a new Smith or Colt won't match pre-War manufacture, they're both better than they were in the late 70's and 80's.

As for the rest of your comment------I agree.

……don't laugh…..I'm convinced that if I died while carrying a Ruger for self defense…..I'd spend eternity in a state of suspended embarrassment…..

Yeah I have had to shake my head at city dwelling deputy once. He went to put a deer down with a 40 cal. If I recall he used a mag full.

We asked him why he just didn't put one in the head. The light bulb went off.

Shootability, is number one. Accuracy is second. Size, while it must be reasonable as in no X frames or similar, is not a consideration for me. My three carry gun types are full sized 1911's, Sig 220's and a Glock 20. I shoot all of those better than other guns I've tried and have no problem concealing any of those. For fun, I may try a Glock 17 and/or 19.

I have to have reasonably shootability. I prefer to carry full size guns and frequently tote a G22. I did pick up a shield and find it nice when realistic clothing options dictate a reduced profile. I will not go smaller than a shield and hate the baby glocks. As far as caliber I will gladly carry a 9mm on or off duty but will not go any smaller.

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Probabaly the most unpleasant auto I have ever shot was a G33. Those baby glocks are just too small for my hands

Even with the shield I have to use the extended mag. To be comfortable

I'm with MM on this. Handling and shootablity when under heavy stress. If you need your carry gun, you are going to need it very badly. You must hit something/somebody right or you will be in real danger of being on the losing end of the confrontation.
If it isn't reliable, it is not even a consideration, let alone a compromising consideration.
No little guns for me. Much harder to shoot well when under stress. Everybody I've ever met who really needed a gun and had a little gun, switched to larger, full sized gun for CCW uses after the confrontation.
No Glocks either. I need to be able to shoot cheap, lead bulleted handloads and need a gun that can be used a club w/o coming apart. E

I'm betting you could cave some azzhole's skull in with a glock, and then just need to wash it off before shooting it.

work every time you pull the trigger is my first , second weight i want a pistol light enough i will carry all the time and not be temped to leave in the house or vehicle and third a pistol that hits where you place the sights, to hell with Caintucky Windage, because bullet placement is more important than Cal

You wouldn't cave it with the butt.

I don't mean actually in the water. But for example when we go canoeing and schit like that. LCR and the clip is where it be.



Travis

I tried pistol whipping a coyote to death with my Blackhawk this season.

Takes too long.




Travis

I carry an S&W 1911ES, it's reliable, accurate, concealable and shootable, no tradeoffs involved. I figure if I can't do it with the 15 rounds I carry, I made a bad tactical decision.

Depends how you carry, but for me, concealability isn't the issue, comfort is. I'm only about 160 lb soaking wet, but can condeal a full size Glock 20 or 21 easily, and often do. I carry a G19 almost every day though, partly because it's lighter and a lot more comfortable. I haven't found any reason to go smaller than the G19 for normal attire though.

Shootability is #1...has to have balance and shoot where I look.

Power is #2....while I have a lot of .22s, .32s, .380s and .38 Specials it is rare I would carry one other than a second or third stinger.

Concealability...I believe in dressing to the gun to achieve #1 and #2.

Comfort...is all mental.

Bob

I am still looking for the perfect gun myself! I don't have a clue to what is best. I personally just as a shooter like a consistent trigger pull from first shot to last, a short trigger reset, easily used sights 3 white dots maybe, and as little muzzle flip as is possible.

That is certainly conventional wisdom, but I'll disagree. The first thing is that the gun should be safe. I know a lot of people would say that's a given, but the same could be said about having one that works too. To wit...some guns that work aren't safe. The OP made a comment about a gun not fitting his hands, it happens. You take a very small gun like NAA mini 22's and in the hands of some folks, they're just not safe. Neither are some derringers. It's not ALL design some of it is hand size, dexterity with a particular weapon, etc. Some of it can't be trained either. So I have to put reliability second and then accuracy third. Concealability and "stopping power" could be interchangeable since you could conceivably have a gun that was very concealable yet just couldn't meet minimum standards as far as doing any good if you shot somebody. I personally would carry a .22 LR, but I'd draw the line at a Beretta Jetfire that only shot shorts.

I've got two VERY small guns that I'm unsure of. One is an aforementioned micro .22 that just doesn't seem quite safe when I shoot it. The other is an NAA Guardian that meets all the criteria but also doesn't quite feel right plus is a wicked kicking sumbitch.

Another thing is concealability is seasonal. My S&W M&P Compact is plenty concealable this time of year but when it warms up it will make you look like Wilt Chamberlain when he sees Halle Berry. Then it's time for the SIG 938 and a tradeoff of some firepower for some concealability.

If you have to beat something to death then it's best to pick up a stout shillalah and spare your gun. In two hundred years there will be all these Oriental guys collecting the guns that I used and I don't want them to have to pass on them because they're like them old Colt's with places on the butt where they beat nails into trees to tack up wanted posters. You need to think of your fellow man.

When selecting a beating gun, you need to first ask yourself what BGG would pick when defending his garage stash of warm Miller Light.