For the lefties my wife and I have been thrilled with her PK380... sure its not the biggest on the block but she can shoot it well, it fits her, and she is comfortable with it. Besides she is a pretty damn good shoot.

https://www.dieselbombers.com/bad-la...gun-pk380.html

If you are going to save and get a quality gun look at SIG as well thats what I carry on and off duty and love it.

CZ-82 for $230. I am a lefty as well and the 82 works great for me. The safety and mag release are both ambidextrous. The slide release is made more for right handed people but it's not that bad. Double stack mag carries 12 rounds. I would say I have average hands and it fits me pretty well.

Shoots a 9mmx18mm Makarov round. A little less powerful than a 9mm luger but I doubt most people will notice. Most Cabelas and big stores will have it. Or else you could buy online and stock up for good prices. They are a used police pistol from the Czech Republic. I really like mine and everyone else I have talked to really likes theirs.


1911s are cool and all, but they are overrated.

Czech CZ-82 9x18 Pistol

Re: Looking at pistols
 

A 1911 is only gonna hold 8 or 9 rounds unless you get a double stack model and you better have big hands. A CZ is good I have a CZ75BD that I carry. I just love that gun! I carry a XD9 in summer months. My wife carries a Taurus 38spl+p revolver.
To the OP, save your money and take your time. Shoot your friends handguns and go find a range that will let you rent and shoot any you can get a hold of. It is your gun, so it has to fit you, function for you, and you have to be confident in it. If your buying for personal protection, is there really a price you could put on your life, you might want to put fit and function above a price tag.

Just my $0.02. Good luck finding the one!

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charter arms makes a left handed .38 snub nose revolver its called the southpaw. just an option for your sis..

The CZ 75 is an EXCELLENT gun, I have one for self-defense, I always have it cocked-n-locked:w2::w2:

And that boys and girls, is our SCARY thought for the day.... :w2: :w2:

I think I might have my sister talked into a 4th gen G26 baby glock. We are going to Sportsmans Warehouse on Wednesday to check out their selection of handguns. Hopefully they have a G26 that she can check out. She also likes the style of the XDs.

I have a large collection of guns from 22LR to 50 BMG:jump:

Yes I know. Miami is a good place for you....lol

FLORIDA is great, you can have almost any weapons:jump:

Re: Looking at pistols
 

Best thing about Florida is they honor my Alabama ccw permit.

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Because you need them.

You invest in a .416 Barret yet? Supposed to be one bad dude. Shoots flatter and stays super-sonic a lot further than the .50 BMG.

http://airbornecombatengineer.typepa...vs50bmgace.jpg

I have plenty of 50 BMG BULLETS, BRASS, PRIMERS, I even have some SPECIAL DIES that will form 300 WIN MAG & 7mm REM MAG brass in a 50 BMG brass bullet{I will load the 50 BMG brass bullet with #9 bird-shot} I was told that those special bullets are very accurate:jump:

I'm confused here, explain that a little better...

OK, I can put 300 winchester magnum brass & 7 MM remington magnum brass in my SPECIAL DIES & have those brass shaped into a 50 BMG bullet that is hollow, then I fill that brass 50 BMG bullet will #9 bird-shot, then you can put the brass 50 BMG bullet on a 50 BMG brass, & you have a 50 BMG round ready to fire:humm:

Thats insane! LOL I would love to see that.

It's alot of work, the hardest part is getting a lathe to trim the the bottom of the bullet(the base where it say R P 7MM REMINGTON MAG) to a size of .512:argh: But can you think of hitting a target & having all those #9 bird shot, fly out of that brass bullet:scare2: I bet it'll look like a small shotgun blast:w2::w2: I bought these rare dies, incase the GOVERNMENT do away with 50 BMG ammo

:offtopic: Hey guys. While this is interesting, it has nothing to do with pistols. Can we get back on track please?

wow...

Sorry... :D

What more can I say, If I carry a gun, "I want the gun to have a frame mounted safety":yeah:

i personally enjoy my rock island 1911 A1 cheap and effective. however im looking at a "judge" to keep around the house and when running around the farm and also a para or other better equiped 1911 4" carry style pistols

I've owned a few pistols over the years. For many of those years, you couldn't convince me that there was anything other than a 1911. Then I eventually tried out a Glock, and I can't say it wasn't a decent pistol. It was a model 30, so it was a decent carry piece being compact and what not. For the past year or so however, I've been absolutely satisfied with my XD45; it's ambidextrous, which to me is a plus in the event that I would be limited to my non-dominant hand for operation. It's a 4" service model, so it's not the "best" for ccw carry, but I haven't had any issues.

For carry, If you want a short barrel, I have a COLT OFFICERS 45, If you want a short barrel with more rounds I have a PARA ORDNANCE P-12 45:tu:

Well, I went into Sportsmans Warehouse and our local farm/ranch store(CAL Ranch) that also sells guns and checked out a 3rd gen Glock 19, Springfield XD 9mm, Springfield XD .40 S&W, and a Springfield 1911. Here's my thoughts on each just based on my handling of them at the stores today.

The Glock was almost too big for my grip and while it was nice and light, I just don't know how well I would do actually shooting it. The small mag release on it was kind of difficult for me to get too but not too bad. An extended mag release would fix that. I think that if I were to get one of the new 4th gens that come with a couple different backstraps, I could get it to fit right, but for right now, I'm going to pass on a Glock. I definitely will be purchasing one in the future though. :tu:

The Springfield 1911 was just like a basic GI version but it had a 4" barrel and checkered wood grips. It fit my hand perfect except for the fact that I couldn't hit the mag release at all without moving my grip on the gun. It was the heaviest gun of the 3 being a .45. Unfortunately, price of ammo and not being able to operate the mag release without full hand movement on the gun eliminated this one from current consideration. :sad: Maybe when I'm older and my hands grow a bit more, I'll get one.

I checked out the XD 9mm at both Sportsmans and CAL Ranch. I also checked out an XD .40. Both felt great. They fit my hand and grip perfect. I could tell the 3 oz weight difference right off from the Glock but it was definitely lighter than the 1911. I am 99% sure that I will be buying an XD but not sure whether it will be a 9mm or .40 S&W. The guy that I chatted with at CAL Ranch almost has me convinced on a .40 with the fact that when we had the last gun and ammo scare that pretty much "the only pistol round left on the shelf was .40 S&W because nobody shoots it." He said that his personal carry gun is an XD .40 and it is with him at all times except for when he's at work. This guy knew his stuff and we talked about pretty much anything gun related for over an hour. Anyway, I know a couple people that have .40s and I'm going to ask them if I can shoot one to see if like it and can handle it. Everybody's said that its snappier so I want to try it before making my final decision. .40 S&W ammo isn't much more expansive than 9mm so that's not a big deciding factor here. What do you guys think would be better for just and all round gun, 9mm or .40? Another thing that I like about the XD, is that you get some extras with it. And the number 1 thing I liked most was that it was the cheapest ringing in at $480 plus tax if I buy it at CAL Ranch. :jump:

So let me know what you guys think. Thanks.

9mm or .40, comes down to personal preference. Terminally, 9mm and .40 are pretty similar, so whatever is going to cost you less to run would probably be the best bet.

remember that the road less traveled is less traveled for a reason.....

that being said if the 1911 was a 4" then it wasn't just a basic GI version as those are 5". the 4" is the Combat Commander "style" and the Officers Model "style" has a 3.5" barrel and a shorter grip.

IMHO 9mm and 40cal are good rounds, i'm just not keen on trusting my life and my family's life to their knock down force. i carry a G30 Glock, sub-compact 45ACP.

the only advantage of the 9mm/40cal/10mm is capacity vs gun size. that is why you need to carry a spare mag loaded, and make sure your shot placement is where you want it. shot placement is everything.

FWIW when KelTec releases their PMR30 i think i MIGHT have to get one for EDC. 30+1 of 22mag. being a KelTec, fully loaded it will weigh 1 pound 4 ounces. my G30 loaded is 2 pounds 2 ounces. 31 rounds of low recoil 22mag ammo can do excessive damage. won't have NEAR the knockdown power of even a 9mm BUT that is where shot placement comes into play.

I definitely plan on working on shot placement and taking some training course as I have previously stated so if I can get proficient with a .40, when we have another moment when there is limited ammo on the store shelf, i.e. .40 S&W, then I'll take it. The guy had said that "most people couldn't handle it" meaning people in government agencies that basically the only time they shot their guns was once a year to qualify so they went to 9mm. From what I hear and read, .40 seems to be the number 1 used LE guns/ammo. I really might just do a 9mm just because its cheaper all around but I definitely want to shoot a .40 first.

And what I meant was to say was that the 1911 I checked out was basically a no frills gun. So it was "like" a GI version, it just had the 4". I didn't mean to say it "was" a GI, just that it was "like" a GI. My bad. Fingers don't seem to type as fast as the sentence forms in my head.

i'd much rather carry a 4" 1911 over a 5" 1911 but i do CCW my full size Rock Island 1911A1 and i am 6ft 185lbs, not the biggest guy, the good side is that the single stack mags are easier to carry than the double stacks that i use with the G30. or you can go with a G21 full size 45ACP. i carry one of those too depending on my wardrobe..... i try to carry and train with all of my pistols to be comfortable with any of them at any time.

you also have to look at if it is going to be carried every day to get one that is going to be comfortable. remember a heavier gun will have less recoil and will allow faster followup shots on a target, a lighter gun will have more felt recoil and there will be more time between followup shots.

i guess it all depends on the situation. i have a variety of guns and use them as the situation sees fit,

Keltec P-11 9mm for DEEP concealment IWB
S&W SW40VGE 40cal for comfortable EDC OWB
Glock 30 45ACP IWB for DEEP conceal and OWB
Glock 21 45ACP OWB <----kind of on the heavy side
1911A1 45ACP OWB <----- heaviest of them all
Colt Trooper MKIII 357mag Shoulder Holster cold weather "under the coat" gun

i have had a Keltec P32 and P3AT, while they are compact they aren't "practical" as a primary gun in my opinion. definitely something i would wear on each ankle as some backup guns but i wouldn't rely heavily on them....

i wouldn't mind an Officers Model or Combat Commander style 10mm 1911....

also look at what holsters are available and what clothing changes may need to be made when carrying concealed. luckily we have an open carry law here in GA so i open carry as much as i can.

I'd like to get a 1911 but if it doesn't fit my hand then there's no point in buying one. I think the XD will work good. Its not too heavy and not too light. Everyone that I've talked to that has one, loves it. It'll be a while until I can by another handgun so right now I'm trying to find one that can cover everything. There seems to be quite a few holster options for it and aftermarket accessories are coming about for them too. I'm not positive, and its something I'll be checking on before buying my gun, is whether ID has an open carry law. I believe we do and if so, I won't have to change my wardrobe too much. Come winter will be easy to CC since I wear I big Carhartt coat that you could hide a tank under.

Don't forget to check out gunbroker & auction arms

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to go with an XD .40 4" Service model. I shot a Ruger .40 today and it would take some getting used to but its not too bad. Easily controllable with practice and training. Plan is Wednesday, going to take a trip back to Sportsmans and CAL Ranch with my sister and also going to check out a gun shop that just opened up in June or July that I hear is, for the most part, cheaper than everyone else in town and quite knowledgeable. If they are, I'll save my money and at the end of the month, go in a buy or if its not much cheaper(or more expensive) than CAL Ranch, I'm just going to put one on layaway there. You guys have been a lot of help and I think I'm going to be happy with my Springfield XD 40. Just wondering, does anyone know of a 9mm conversion for these? I just thought that it might be useful for going to the range and not have to shoot the more expensive .40 ammo.

i don't know about XD's but i do know that there are aftermarket manufactures that make 40 to 9mm conversions for Glocks, so i assume that their might be the same aftermarket support for the XD's.

Lone Wolf makes a kit for Glocks, you might want to check and see if they offer anything for XD's

http://www.lonewolfdist.com/

I checked it out when I was seriously checking out the glocks, and they don't have anything for anything but glocks. Sucks that the glock didn't fit my hand right. I was looking forward to having fun with the 33 round magazine :gunner:

yeah those 33 rd mags are cool but go on you tube and do a search for glock 18 and watch the video where in full auto a guys shoots 298 rounds in about a min, the last mag is one you'll really love...:rocking::rocking::rocking:

I've seen that. That mag would definitely be pretty awesome. :rocking: Found a 32 round mag for a 9mm XD but it had more bad reviews than good so I'm not going to waste $30 on it.

Re: Looking at pistols
 

Those are made buy promag. Promag is junk don't waste your money.

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Yep, that's what I've heard.

Don't forget, putting 13 rounds of .40 in that XD is going to make it feel quite different. Same goes for all the other pistols. You can't judge a pistol on feel by checking it out empty. :pca1: