I’ve written in the past about choosing a defensive handgun. Courtesy of James Rummel I’m directed to this short but fine write-up on selecting a defensive handgun.

A summary of points:

Caliber is important but not that important

Caliber matters, but only so much. All pistol rounds suck about the same, so it’s generally better to pick the one you can shoot best. One that when shooting you can control and get fast, accurate hits.

Gun Fit

The gun must fit you. KR Training has one of the best write-ups about this topic, and I consider Karl’s article a must-read before buying a gun.

Small Guns Are Expert Guns

That’s the phrasing of the article author, and while I wouldn’t necessarily state it the same way, he is right that a small gun should not be a newbie’s first choice. I made that mistake. My goal was for concealed carry, so I made “carry-ability” and “conceal-ability” a primary concern in my gun selection. It was a mistake because those guns are harder to shoot. If you’re learning how to shoot, it’s not wise to start with something hard to use. Better is to get a full-sized or near-full-sized (e.g. “service” model) gun and learn with that. A gun that allows you to get all of your hand on the grip (especially that pinky) leads to increased controlability. A bigger gun is a heavier gun, which will be more managable to shoot. A gun with a longer barrel means a longer sight radius and thus you’ll aim better and get more accurate hits.

If you are well-versed in handgun shooting, you can move on to a smaller gun. If you’re just starting out, do yourself a favor and start out with a larger-sized gun. Get your skills. Then you can purchase a smaller gun for carry. If money is an issue, don’t forget you can always sell the larger gun to help finance purchasing the smaller gun.

Reliability

A gun that doesn’t go bang when you need it to is useless.

Granted, all mechanical things can and will fail, but do yourself right in selecting a gun that has minimal chance of that. Do some homework before you buy.

Final Thought

The article said it best:

Whatever you get, invest in quality self defense instruction, and practice!