I previously talked about sizing and how to check the length of pull in part one. I wanted to expand on this topic to include other issues. When you are deciding on a pistol, first determine what you are going to use it for. Let’s focus on defensive use.
There is a dizzying variety of sizes and styles of pistols available, but for each change there is always a trade off. If you are going to carry a firearm concealed, then a large pistol is heavy, uncomfortable, and harder to conceal. Micro pistols are easy to conceal, light, and the most comfortable, but have small capacity, a very short sight radius, and often a short length of pull (discussed in part 1).
When you choose a gun, caliber will help drive the rest of the purchase. You want to choose a round that has enough power and penetration to get the job done, while still being able to control the recoil for good follow up shots during rapid fire. Balance that with the number of rounds the firearm carries and how much you can afford in long term costs of practice ammo. You may go with a 5.7 or a .357 sig for performance, and then not be able to afford to shoot it.
9mm has become the most popular choice of carry caliber by far. I have seen this trend change over the years, so don’t get hung up on what is the popular choice of the day. Determine WHY and then decide if that is what should drive your choice.
Capacity will also drive some of the decision as various designs determine how many rounds that particular handgun will hold. You may decide that a revolver with 5 rounds is fine for you, or even a derringer with 2. You may also be on the other side of the scales and demand 17 rounds or more.
After thinking about a variety of potential problems, accuracy rates, multiple attackers, and terminal performance, lets say your minimum comfort level rides around 10 or more rounds of 9mm or better caliber. That means that you need to stay away from micro guns, and look at mid to large frame semi-autos.
Now decide what you want for weight, and that will split the steel frames and the polymers. So will how you carry it and if the firearm will be subject to weather, body sweat and salts, humidity, and temperature.
Sight Radius. The distance between the front and rear sights. The longer the slide, the longer you can make the sight radius and the easier it will be to line up the sights and keep them that way. We call this point-ability. This also adds to weight and is harder to conceal.
Are you going to add a light and other accessories? (red dot sight “RDS”, laser, etc. If so, you will want a rail for the light and/or laser. If you are going to add a RDS, then you can either have the slide milled, or look at RDS ready models with interchangeable plates for different models. This will also drive your holster options. Always make sure the holster is available before you buy a gun or “upgraded accessories”.
Having a hammer on your pistol allows you to cock the hammer for a lighter single action trigger, or maybe even carry it cocked and locked. (side note, I just realized I need to just have a glossary of terms rather than defining as I go. Look for that in the future. It also means that you will have a different trigger weight between your first and subsequent shots if not cocked into single action first. Hammers can catch on clothing and other items as well as (again) making it harder to conceal. Without it though, you won’t be able to make that cool cocking sound letting the bad guys know that you really mean it this time.
So lets say you have great eyes and have decided on a mid frame, 9mm, polymer, striker fired pistol with a mounted light and standard iron night sights. You are almost there. Now you have to decide on grip length, if you want an external manual safety, do you care where it is manufactured, quality and finally, the price.
Feel the trigger (discussed in another blog), can you change the magazine without pinching your hand. Can you rack the slide?
In this hypothetical purchase, you find that the length of pull is correct, it fits your hand, you can reach and manipulate the controls, change magazines, the sights are clear and easy to see, the light is bright and the holster fits the gun and your draw style. The pistol is a quality brand with good customer service and aftermarket support. Now you can make the purchase confident that you have only one hurdle left. Explaining it to your other half…
Great content! Super high-quality! Keep it up! 🙂