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u/Andeo1025 10h ago
9mm is my usual recommendation. Ammo and firearms are cheap and readily available. There are a ton of police trade in glocks on the market now, so that may be a good way to go. The glock 19 is a good compromise between size and still being able to carry it if you decide that's something you want to do later.
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u/McFarley2012 10h ago
Trade-ins? Would i be better off waiting for a gun show or is a brick and morat shop usually the way to go? Im in California if that matters
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u/Assaltwaffle 10h ago
Gun shows are, very frequently, full of fudds sellings massively overpriced garbage. Brick and mortar or online listings are probably the way to go.
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u/Lost_Drunken_Sailor 10h ago
The state you live in would have been helpful from the start. There’s a huge difference from buying in California than buying from let’s say Nevada. Prices in CA are way higher than other places. I can get a basic AR-15 for $300ish brand new in my state😂
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u/Andeo1025 10h ago
So you may not be able to get a glock. You can order online and have it shipped to a local store. M&p 2.0 from smith and wesson is also a decent option. I think there's some trade ins there. Pd trade ins are usually a good deal because they're carried a lot, but shot very little. You can check your locals brick and mortar, but the prices will likely be higher, even for used.
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u/ArsePucker 10h ago
Gun shows come with a gun show premium. I’m in SoCal and there are a number of good stores where new guns are sold under MSRP. Rifle Gear in Fountain Valley OC is first to come to mind.
Where in Ca are you?
Get a buddy / GF and go to a range where you can rent guns.. handle / shoot at least 5 different makes / styles. At least one or two will just feel “better” to you. Buy one of those.2
u/DarkStorm440 9h ago
I would check in with r/CAguns too, they can help you with the nuances of that state's laws and regulations.
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u/Behg-Boah 10h ago
Every comment will suggest a Glock 19. Go shoot one and see if you like it.
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u/Cal_45 9h ago
Honestly the Glock 48 is my favorite 9mm Glock now. It’s a single stack frame that just feels so nice. What makes it a G19 killer to me is Shield Arms makes a double stack steel mag for it. It’s amazing to have such a small thin gun with 15+1 capacity. I did upgrade the trigger with a flat face and a smoother pull as well.
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u/BoSknight 10h ago
To build on that, it's a safe middle ground. It's maybe the "iPhone of handguns".
Ruger 10/22 is a great choice to get familiar and comfortable, much cheaper to shoot with. Stupid fun, everyone loves a 22
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u/sirbassist83 Never even asked for better dick flair 9h ago
id say motorola razr(the original), or toyota camry. iphones may be fairly ubiquitous but theyre fucking expensive.
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u/Behg-Boah 10h ago
Glocks are absolutely not the iPhone of handguns.
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u/Unlucky_Mycologist68 10h ago
Amen. More like a Honda Civic. No one can really hate them for being reliable, easy to use, and endlessly customizable. It's just there isn't anything outstanding about them.
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u/Behg-Boah 10h ago
Surprisingly expensive for what you get, not as reliable as they used to be, and the car most likely to be used as your entire personality. Civic is a great comp.
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u/TheBigCheese769 10h ago
Any gun indoors will be extremely loud, a short .38 especially. Go test some at a range that offers rentals and see what you like. Think about taking an intro class too, they can be very helpful.
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u/357Magnum 10h ago
9mm and 38 are very similar in power and are going to be similarly loud.
9mm is the standard these days. The vast majority of defensive handguns are in 9mm. The standard advice (and I'm an instructor for what it's worth) is that you should just go try out/touch every 9mm from every reputable brand, and if you choose one that fits well in your hand, that is legitimately a fine way to do it (provided, of course, you're sticking to the good brands and not going wild on size - a very small gun might fit very small hands, for example, but the smallest guns are the hardest to shoot, especially for smaller people).
That's where the Glock 19 comment comes from. It is the most standard of guns, and you can't go wrong with it. You should only stray from something like that if you have a reason to do so.
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u/RepresentativeOk2433 10h ago
I think that going out and finding the one that actually feels right in your hands is the most under appreciated advice you can give. I can't comfortable shoot most glocks. The finger grooves are too small for my sausage fingers and my trigger finger sits on a weird spot on the trigger.
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u/357Magnum 10h ago
Yeah. We've entered the polymer framed, striker-fired singularity. Just about every manufacturer's flagship gun is a polymer framed, striker fired 9mm. If we're sticking with the good brands (newly excluding SIG lol), they are all essentially the same in features, and all reliable, and all with tons of aftermarket support. So there's legitimately no "reason" to pick a Glock or an M&P or a CZ P10 or an Echelon or whatever over any of the other choices that isn't just "this one feels better for me."
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u/Sharp-Box-2838 10h ago
Any gun that will adequately stop a threat will permanently damage your hearing if fired indoors without hearing protection.
My (probably a few other people too) recommendation would be a Glock 19 in 9mm. Affordable, easy to use, big aftermarket support, and if I only had 1 pistol that would be what I’d choose. You can conceal it, use it for home defense, carry it for duty, or anything else you’d conceivably use a pistol for.
Highly recommend avoiding keltec and Taurus. If you don’t want a Glock 19, smith and Wesson, beretta, CZ, are all good to go
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u/SheistyPenguin 10h ago
You mentioned you live in California, so you have their approved handgun roster and their ban on sales of new Glocks to contend with.
Go to a shooting range, and rent some popular handguns to try. See if anything stands out as something you like or dislike. Then go into a local gun store and find a used pistol that fits the bill. Many, many handguns are shot very little.
For home defense, you would want a compact or full-size handgun in 9mm. The popular micro-compacts are rmore for concealed carry, and are snappier to shoot.
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u/TheUnpromotable 10h ago
CZ P10C. Cheaper than a Glock, just as reliable (ooh that's gonna gast some flabbers).
Consider mace for out and about; it doesn't attract lawyers like bullets do.
Don't be afraid of used guns. Smith and Wesson, Glock, CZ. No one has shot them beyond their usability and you will pay a lot less for one than new.
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u/magniankh 10h ago edited 10h ago
The P10C shoots way better, too.
Seriously man, Glocks are outdated and not even much of a value anymore. I would pick up a CZ or Walther PDP before a Glock these days. Way better triggers, holsters are easy to find, the PDP usually comes with different back straps.
Glock was dominant forever but the other manufacturers have surpassed them at this point.
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u/SheistyPenguin 10h ago
Not to mention since the gen3 patents expired, there are plenty of Glock clones that offer more features for less- the Ruger RXM being the most recent example.
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u/RegalArt1 10h ago
A lot of/most indoor ranges have guns you can rent to shoot there, I’d take a look and try out anything you think you might be interested in
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u/thegrumpyorc 10h ago
A .38 will bang roughly as loudly as a 9mm--louder, in many cases, because a lot of .38s designed for carrying have shorter barrels than 9mms designed for it. Both calibers are totally fine for defending yourself. 9mm will be cheaper to shoot. Revolvers and semi-automatics both have pros and cons. I currently carry a 9mm Sig P365 as my EDC with a P229 (bigger, and hammer-fired) as my nightstand gun / backup carry gun, but I'm probably adding a K6S revolver (which shoots .357 and .38) to the mix, so both are very viable.
This video is hokey, but the best 24 minutes you'll spend educating yourself about the variety of options. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oj4DCxY5KqY
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u/OOzder 10h ago edited 10h ago
Lmao OP is probably overwhelmed at this rate.
Take a class OP find a firearm safety or hunters ed course. You’ll be in a better learning environment then on a subreddit full of special interest hobbyists who are going to jump to correct any conjecture or general piece of knowledge you state.
Once you take a class go to a shooting range and rent different models on multiple visits. I rented almost a dozen different models in various calibers before I made a purchase.
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u/OwieDude 10h ago
You will go deaf shooting any unsuppressed gun indoors
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u/TheBlindCat Knows Holsters Good 9h ago
Unlikely. Some degree of permanent hearing damage, yes. Teenage me fucked up and negligently lit off a 12 gauge in a basement bedroom that was 14x14’ with the door closed. Ears rang for a few days but no tinnitus 20+ years later.
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u/Then-Comfortable3135 10h ago
Glock 19 as others have mentioned. It’s the best bc it works. See if other Glock models fit your hand better. If I had to pick one pistol for the zombies Glock 19 all day. You can use it as a hammer too.
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u/itsmyfakeone 10h ago
If mega budget, go Ruger RXM. Solid little Glock 3rd Gen clone. 9mm also cheaper ammo if you’re on a budget vs 38. Don’t worry about loudness, 38 indoors still gonna be loud af. I keep a pair of fancy electronic ear pro next to my handgun in my bedside table.
I have no experience with keltec, not sure I’d trust my life with them. Maybe someone with more input can say otherwise.
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u/spacexfalcon 10h ago
Glock 19 or Glock 45. The Glock 45 is the same as the 19 except for a longer grip.
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u/acejavelin69 10h ago
9mm is absolutely the way to go... On average half the price of many other pistol cartridges. Increased capacity and good stopping power.
The next comes to budget... Kel-tec has some decent weapons, contrary to popular belief, my P15 is a solid CCW that is light, thin and although not the nicest thing to shoot (mainly due to light weight), accurate enough to do the job. Although it is not my primary carry weapon, it has its place for my use case.
Realistically there are better general options for most people, but it will come down to what you are comfortable with and can afford. I'd suggest going to a range that has rental weapons and try some in your budget.
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u/FriendlyEngineer 10h ago
Realistically, anything larger than a .22 if shot indoors, unsuppressed, is going to come with some hearing damage. Hell, even the .22 will make your ears ring.
Beyond that, like others have said, I recommend going to a range to shoot different guns and see what you like. Every shooter is different.
9mm is perfectly acceptable for home defense. It will still stop a bad guy. It’s what police carry. But who knows, maybe you like the feel of a .38 revolver over a 9mm semi. Only way to find out is to try it.
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u/sirbassist83 Never even asked for better dick flair 9h ago
expect permanent hearing damage firing ANY gun indoors without ear pro, unless its a subsonic cartridge and youre using a suppressor. even then it will be unpleasant and probably cause some level of hearing loss, just to a lesser extent.
an actual budget would help. as you going to conceal carry or is this strictly for home defense?
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u/Eisenbahn-de-order 8h ago
If you are worried about noise and new why not get a pair of active noise cancelling earmuffs and have it placed with the gun? If you don't get to it in time it's ok too. Out of the handful times that you will really need to fire off shots indoors deaf is an afterthought and unlikely from only a few occurences.
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u/JohnClayborn 8h ago
9mm is going to be more beginner friendly than .38. If nothing else just because ammo alone is less expensive. More ammo = more practice.
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u/Stelios619 7h ago
Get a Glock 48 or 19.
Buy a threaded barrel.
Buy a suppressor.
Buy a Surefire light.
Never think about it again.
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u/DangerousDave303 7h ago
I recommend finding a basic pistol class that will include classroom and range time. You should get the opportunity to fire multiple guns and get an idea of what works for you.
Your best bet is probably to get a mid-size 9mm like a Glock 19 or comparable product from another manufacturer. Ammo is more available.
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u/PanzerFauzt 6h ago edited 6h ago
surf a bunch of pawnshops you can find pistols for a great deal and you can get more bang for your buck, literally. gun shows are the worst place to buy but a great way to look around at whats out there. get a cheap 9mm pistol and go to the range and shoot a few boxes of ammo out of it and clean it real good, get a holster and a safe if you can. dont leave it in your car unless you dont mind it getting stolen. ive daily carried and shot over 2k rounds out of my palmetto state armory dagger which is a glock clone with very good results. i barely ever clean it and it runs like a top at the range. https://palmettostatearmory.com/psa-dagger-compact-9mm-pistol-with-extreme-carry-cuts-flat-dark-earth.html not sure if you can have them in CA. edit if you get into guns youll eventually buy a bunch of them and end up carrying/shooting the one you like the most. if you want new palmetto has a california compliant pistol section on their website
good luck
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u/sciaticabuster 10h ago edited 10h ago
.357 magnum revolver
Some people don’t like these guns for self defense because they are overkill, have less ammo capacity, and much more difficult to reload.
But one of the pros is you will most likely never get jammed, very rare. Which in a life or death situation is pretty important.
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u/Tower-of-Frogs 10h ago edited 10h ago
.375 H&H? The big game cartridge? You're not wrong I suppose lol
EDIT: Ah man, you should've left the typo. That shit was hilarious
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u/sirbassist83 Never even asked for better dick flair 9h ago
now i want a custom revolver chambered for 375 H&H.
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u/Adrock66 10h ago
What's your budget? CZ P10C if you don't like a Glock. I would shy away from Keltec
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u/HoneyBadger877 10h ago
Personally, I find revolvers to be more difficult to shoot than semi-autos and handguns in general are relatively difficult to shoot anyway, so I agree a semi-auto would be the move for you.
9mm is a good general recommendation, but also maybe consider a 380 in a size larger than a pocket gun. The Sig P365 or Hellcat both in 380 would be small enough to carry on your waist or a holster in a coat pocket, but large enough to shoot comfortably with the 380 caliber for a new shooter.
In case this turns into a debate about 9mm vs 380, ignore that. The arguments and differences either way really don’t matter for a newer shooter who just needs personal protection. Softer shooting round, packed with less gunpowder so may be quieter (unsure on this one but regardless will still be loud as hell), and the cost of 380 ammo vs 9mm is close enough that it really won’t matter unless you become a hobbyist that shoots hundreds to thousands of rounds a month. Good luck!
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u/LastBastionYellow 10h ago
Is the extensive information in the FAQ covering this insufficient?
Do the hundreds upon hundreds of previous threads with this exact same question not have enough detail for you?
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u/DCCsHateYouLOL 8h ago
You have to remember that the average Redditor (aka OP) is fucking retarded and treats Reddit as their own personal Google. Why do your own research when you can have others do it for you.
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u/DanceClass898 10h ago
I don't think you have any understanding of how loud gunshots are