How To Choose The Best First Handgun

When picking out anything for the first time, it can be a little stressful. In today’s world, there are so many variations and options to choose from that it would be easy to spend all day either at the store or staring at the computer screen with an open tab titled “Amazon”. 

Still, some items definitely take a little more investigating when picking out. For example, deciding between cars is much different than choosing between red or blue sneakers. It also becomes even harder when you are buying said object for the first time. That is especially true when that object is a handgun. 

So what makes a good first handgun? Well, there are plenty of factors: 

What will it be used for?

 There are plenty of uses for a handgun. They can be used for target shooting, home and/or self-defense, hunting, etcetera. So when deciding on what handgun to buy, try and find the best gun for the purpose intended. 

For example, a 9mm pistol is great for self-defense being a smaller caliber gun, but a 45 caliber maybe something preferred for target shooting. Then again, someone may prefer the larger caliber weapon for self-defense, so in the end, it is up to the buyer’s preference. 

What size caliber bullets?

Similar to the intended use of the weapon, the caliber size is at the discretion of the consumer. Nevertheless, it is still an important topic to think about when purchasing a handgun. 

Larger caliber bullets would obviously do more damage. So if knocking down a possible home intruder for the count would make it easier to sleep at night, a 45 would be a better purchase than the aforementioned 9mm discussed. 

Revolver or a magazine?

Handguns can be categorized into two groups: a revolver or an automatic. Revolvers do not have magazines and have to be manually loaded. They have a cylinder that typically maxes out at six bullets. On the other side of things, an automatic weapon can usually hold up to 14 bullets in a magazine. 

That may make the decision seem easy, but some may think a revolver is more dependable than an automatic. There is a decreased likelihood of jamming a revolver due to the simplicity that lies with that type of weapon. 

How much are you willing to spend? 

Money is valuable. No matter how obvious that statement is, it is true. So when deciding what handgun should be someone’s first, the price can play a very big role. It could even be the determining factor in the end. 

For instance, a Heckler & Koch USP Compact 9mm pistol is priced up to $900. At the same time, there is the Springfield Armory XD-3 Subcompact that sells for $350. If the buyer wants to spend up, by all means, but some people are unable to drop almost $1000 on a handgun. So at the end of the day, the best first handgun is the one that the consumer finds most appealing. They do say the buyer knows best, right?