What would you recommend to newer shooter as their first centerfire handgun. It would be mostly range gun and bedroom/home defense gun. I use to advise female friends to polymer striker-fired 9mm (glock19 size) but I'm coming to conclusion that this maybe a mistake. Most have difficulty racking the slide despite all the "tricks and techniques" described, most also won't practice with it enough to become familiar with it. While my male friends who are not gun enthusiast can rack the slide of pistols without issues, they also tend not to practice as often as they should to become familiar with said firearm. They basically take the initial handgun safety course and maybe hit the range once or twice a year.

So given the above situation, I'm re-thinking that maybe a 4" barrel midsize 357mag revolver(GP100/SW686) would be best for them. Loaded with mild 38spec for practice and maybe 38+p for self defense.


What are your guys thoughts?

Everyone is different.

Take new shooter to the range and see if they can handle the Glock (or similar). Gauge the new shooter's interest/ability/enthusiasm and let that be your guide.

Revolvers are so intuitive it's hard not to understand how to use one. Also, no shell casing flying, no slide moving, and can anticipate shot from hammer drop.

Depends on the person, but the learning curve of safe use and handling is certainly shorter with revolvers. Autos may be easier to hit with for many.

If I could have only one CF, the one the OP describes seems about right for my use.

A long gun might be a better option, but if that is off the table then it seems to me that in a bedroom/home defense situation, it is unlikely that racking the slide is going to come into play. Grab a pistol with a round already in chamber and fire away. If 10/12/15/17 shots doesn't resolve the situation, I doubt another mag is going to help. It is possible that the shooter might need to clear a malfunction, but unless the malfunction occurs in the first 5 shots, she is still ahead of the game with a pistol, and it is a much easier trigger pull.

If at the range if she can't rack the slide on a pistol, take someone along who can. My $.02, consider the source!

Ideally, a pre-82 S&W Combat Masterpiece or Target Masterpiece.

If you can find a grip which accommodates a particular shooter's hands, revolvers are a good option. The Ruger GP/SP series are a little better in this regard. If you can find a old 4" K frame 38, those are good too. Service stocks with a grip adapter for small hands, goodyears for folks with bigger mitts.

Perfect

I do not agree with this statement

I just don't recommend revolvers for new defensive shooters. For sport shooters, they're fine, but for defense, they just come with too much baggage.

If you don't have the hand strength to cycle a slide, then a DA trigger action is going to be a big challenge also...Too hard to rack the slide, choose a different pistol (something like Shield EZ).
Recoil management in a semi-auto is much better. Grip shapes tend to be better (and more grip shapes to choose from).
For carry revolvers are typically a touch too heavy, or too light. Too heavy and they tend to get left home. Too light, and they can't handle the recoil.
Revolvers also have very a short sight radius, coupled with a long, heavy, trigger pull which tends to pull those sights off target.

I would only recommend a revolver after the auto pistol options have been exhausted.

Regardless of perceived attribution of efficiency, effectiveness, or other assigned value. A person should have a gun that they like. Well not the end all of pertinent consideration, it should not be discounted.

????

For defense, I assume we're talkin about small, short barreled revolvers.

The OP asked about a range/bedroom/home defense handgun. And specifically mentioned a 4" GP100/S&W586.

Well put.

We know that it is not the tool, but the operator that makes the difference. If you're dealing with someone who whines about not being able to rack the slide on a Glock, then they won't handle a revolver any better. Tell them to make up their mind as to whether they want to live or die - cause it is their choice.

It is tempting to chase down the perfect weapon for someone who doesn't take their defense seriously. But I've come to the conclusion that it is a waste of time. IMHO of course.

Auto loaders are a much better option

Oh man you said it.

How many people have we all seen who buy a handgun, take it out shooting one time, and think they're good. That's maddening, but it happens ALL the time.

I have seen a novice shooter who shoot a Smith M60 better than a full sized auto like a G17. I think it boils down to less opportunity to flinch with the long DA trigger.

Although autos are usually a better solution, for some who are not really gun people even something like a Glock or M&P without a safety has a more ‘confusing’ manual of arms than a DA revolver.

It really boils down to the individual and not the firearm. Some people just get along with revolvers better and vice versa. Both have been successful employed for over 100 years so I would go with what the individual feels most comfortable with.

But it COULD be good. For them.
A great majority simply think owning a pistol/revolver and sometimes even carrying it is enough.

Few are ready to hit anything intentionally. Especially another human being.

The S&W Model 10 is a fine start. Plenty of good ones out there and good .38 loads too.

Unfortunately, I find most pistols are much harder to rack the slide on than the trigger pull of a double action revolver such as on GP100 or SW 686. Also this is not a carry conceal handgun. So no 12oz 1 7/8" 357mag shooting full mag loads. It would be a home defense and range gun.

I don't think women or elderly people who have difficulty racking the slide of pistol as bunch of whiners and complainers. I think they have legitimate concerns. Yes, one could have fully loaded striker fired polymer gun ready to go, but what I have discovered with my wife is that lack of practice had her not only struggling with racking the slide but now she started limp wrist the handgun causing it to jam about the third round.

I also discover she sometime did not grip the handgun strongly enough to deactivated the grip safety. Also happened to another lady friend. So I'm a little leery of the Shield EZ but it is something I will definitely check out for her. I shot a Shield in 40SW and that thing had some pretty go flip on the recoil. Hoping the 9mm isn't as bad.

Now that I've read all these posts, I think the answer might be that perhaps they shouldn't own a handgun if they're not going to practice and become familiar with it?

How about the ones you can't even convince to buy a handgun? I've given up on them.

A 4” K frame is pretty hard to screw up and not understand how it works.
Good enough to load, holster, and put in the nightstand. If she’ll shoot it more than once a year, might think about something else, but most women (and most men) won’t.....

In every generation since the '36 Patterson, some folks got to live out their lives in relative tranquility because they had one or another revolver handy when trouble came calling. I'd wager very few were steely-eyed, deadly pistoleros to whom the gun was an extension of their soul.

What they did have was basic familiarity with a firearm, the determination to fight back and the resolve to do it. Some people will attain that basic familiarity faster and more comfortably with a double action revolver. Almost anybody can learn to run it safely and shoot it well enough to discourage a miscreant inside your home or a couple of car lengths. That's all some want from a defensive handgun and if it works for them, so be it. High achievers will master it and probably move on from it. I think of the defensive revolver as a stepping stone, not a wrong turn.

The only thing I'd do different is change from GP100/686 to S&W 10 or 64. They are slightly smaller, and have fixed sights. Double action on the GP100 feels odd to me, but I rarely shoot them.

I’d recommend a shooter try both a 9mm DAO and a double action .357/38 with .38s. Let them decide which is more comfortable.

This, although I'd say a DA/SA with a decocker only is also a decent option. The main problem I see with polymer striker guns, especially glocks, is that, when held to loose, they tend to FTE. And yes, you even see this in a lot of bodycam footage on the internet. Most of the malfunctions in those videos are induced by limpwristing the gun during a stressful situation.

Take these things on a case by case basis.

For some, they may be most comfortable with a revolver and the manner in which it is very easy to check the condition of the status of on board ammunition, along with ease of loading/unloading.

For others the rather simple nature of most of the modern polymer, striker fired 9mms, that lack a manual external safety, are quite attractive, once they find one that they can get a decent grip on.

The environment in which the handgun will be stored plays a factor. Do they have kids? Exactly what condition do they intend to keep the handgun in?

These things need to be viewed on a case by case, individual basis, rather than making a blanket recommendation.

For many, a Glock 19 will be great. Point and shoot. For others a Model 15 .38 may be a better choice.

Most can learn to rack the slide. If not, move on from there. And frankly, having two revolvers would be a better choice than one in this day and age of packs of ferals. A pair of 3" GP100s loaded with wadcutters would be a solid recommendation, if a woman does not want a standard capacity auto.

My wife is not a handgun enthusiast at all. she could care less. There are .38s strategically placed for her here and there. It really probably won't make much of a difference in 90+% of the outcomes what I grab, but it might for her, so the tools are set up with her in mind.

She has her own 442, It used to belong to an NYPD detective, and now she carries it wherever she wants, along with a Combat Masterpiece. (which I borrow frequently).

I would rather she have a few .38s around than a Glock she is not familiar with, when it comes to using under pressure. But that is only one case.

Like I said, case by case basis.

That I don't mind...
Buying a handgun is a commitment on many levels. If someone is unwilling to make that commitment, I respect that. What I have less patience for is people who half ass things.

"If you don't have the hand strength to cycle a slide, then a DA trigger action is going to be a big challenge also."

My mom could easily pull the double action trigger on her Ruger Speed Six till about a year before she passed away at the age of 84. She had never had the strength (or, at least, not after age 50) to rack the slide on an automatic.

Precisely. Well said.

Not really a true statement. Seeings how the most common of arms in possession of the populace was not a revolver or rifle, it was a shotgun. Double duty for food on the table and self defense.

Phil Spangenberger

Although the rifle and six-gun usually take the bows for winning the West, it was the double-barreled shotgun as much as any firearm that was responsible for bringing civilization to the frontier. Many of the early pioneers invested everything they had, in order to make the overland trek out West, leaving little money for weaponry. The best and certainly one of the most economical and versatile firearms for hunting and defense in a wild, hostile land was the twin-barreled scattergun. Whether muzzle loader or breech-loading cartridge gun, many thousands of shotguns from a variety of makers and countries were the mainstay of settlers, lawmen, express companies, Native Americans, soldiers, ranchers and hunters. Gunmen like Indian Territory lawman Heck Thomas and gambler John H. “Doc” Holiday also used scatterguns. Virtually everyone, good or bad, who needed a weapon recognized the value of the old side by side.

Thanks TRH.

Agreed!

And you can practice ball and dummy with them to work on their trigger technique.

Mike

So you're saying that some people, from every generation since that Patterson, didn't successfully defend themselves with revolvers?

BINGO

As someone mentioned already, for most of the 19th, 20th Century, and beyond, lots of Americans have acquired handguns, learned their basic function, maybe shot them a couple of times, kept them loaded in a sock drawer, and have used them to thwart crimes against them in their homes. So long as you know how to safely handle it, it's an advantage to have one in most cases, vs not having one.

It's a personal thing, but a revolver is a very good platform to learn the "basics" of handgun shooting. Once that is mastered (to what ever degree) then you can go the the auto's and their separate issues that a revolver does not have.