looking to by my first handgun next year.

First you have to find a store that actually has hand guns on the shelves. It seems to be a daunting task. The Sportsman's Warehouse in Silverdale (now called something else) has about 6-8 pistols, very little ammo and no reloading dies etc. It's almost as though they are going out of business. Big 5 has zero hand guns. You'd think they'd restock.
It's like one of those movies where the guy wakes up and no one remembers something except him. In this case hand guns.

It must be a conspiracy

Hi, yes its true that ammo has recently become hard to get. Just keep looking and asking, try to make friends with the guy at walmart:tard:. LOL. I have people say that they prefer 9mm and .45 because they are more readily available so that equals more suplus (yeah right) really what it means is that there is more people with those caliber firearms, so less ammo to go around. I prefer 9mm, I look at my ability to be accurate with a round and its ability to subdue an assailant. With the right 9mm round I feel I am much more lethal than a .45 (depending on placement, If you need to stop somone instantly you need to shoot them in the head or with a shotgun). .45 is great and I love it, but being a pilot and always looking at kenetic energy and its absorbtion I find 9mm to be more deadly if not a bigger hole. If you can penetrate to organs and destroy that tissue it will slow a person faster than muscle damage. I feel 9mm is superior in this respect, but only with the right hollow point round. Otherwise the bullet goes through and very little energy is pushed into the body. The .45 is much heavier (good) but has a large surface area and moves slow, (bad, poor penetration) the average .45 round only penetrates 2-3in. of muscle. A 9mm will penetrate up to 6 with the right defense load. This means to me I am affecting critical organs not just the muscle. This is My opinion. Im sure all the .45 guys are holding there ribs with laughter....who cares? Its all about what YOU can do the with gun and ammo. Not what they can do sitting in a drawer. All ammo for defense purposes should at least be a hollow point. An assailant is most likely to blead to death if he/she dies at all from a gun shot wound to the abdomin. You are unlikely to score a head shot in a real situation. All these things being said im getting to this point. A bullet will not stop a man right away, It takes time for that round to take affect. Firearms and there training should always be a supplement to physical defense training. I cannot emphasize this enough, your weapon is thiers if you cant keep it. As for a pistol. I dont think you can go wrong with, hk, sig, walther, colt ,springfield, cz or any reputable manufacturer. Just make sure YOU like it. Dont buy it because the sales man likes it (usually more$$$) and a 1,000$ pistol will work just as reliably as a 500.00 pistol if cared for properly. wow that was a long first post. lol. I like my firearms. good luck

Hi, yes its true that ammo has recently become hard to get. Just keep looking and asking, try to make friends with the guy at walmart:tard:. LOL. I have people say that they prefer 9mm and .45 because they are more readily available so that equals more suplus (yeah right) really what it means is that there is more people with those caliber firearms, so less ammo to go around. I prefer 9mm, I look at my ability to be accurate with a round and its ability to subdue an assailant. With the right 9mm round I feel I am much more lethal than a .45 (depending on placement, If you need to stop somone instantly you need to shoot them in the head or with a shotgun). .45 is great and I love it, but being a pilot and always looking at kenetic energy and its absorbtion I find 9mm to be more deadly if not a bigger hole. If you can penetrate to organs and destroy that tissue it will slow a person faster than muscle damage. I feel 9mm is superior in this respect, but only with the right hollow point round. Otherwise the bullet goes through and very little energy is pushed into the body. The .45 is much heavier (good) but has a large surface area and moves slow, (bad, poor penetration) the average .45 round only penetrates 2-3in. of muscle. A 9mm will penetrate up to 6 with the right defense load. This means to me I am affecting critical organs not just the muscle. This is My opinion. Im sure all the .45 guys are holding there ribs with laughter....who cares? Its all about what YOU can do the with gun and ammo. Not what they can do sitting in a drawer. All ammo for defense purposes should at least be a hollow point. An assailant is most likely to blead to death if he/she dies at all from a gun shot wound to the abdomin. You are unlikely to score a head shot in a real situation. All these things being said im getting to this point. A bullet will not stop a man right away, It takes time for that round to take affect. Firearms and there training should always be a supplement to physical defense training. I cannot emphasize this enough, your weapon is thiers if you cant keep it. As for a pistol. I dont think you can go wrong with, hk, sig, walther, colt ,springfield, cz or any reputable manufacturer. Just make sure YOU like it. Dont buy it because the sales man likes it (usually more$$$) and a 1,000$ pistol will work just as reliably as a 500.00 pistol if cared for properly. wow that was a long first post. lol. I like my firearms. good luck

Go glock or go home

Hope this helps...

Something to consider, forget caliber. Couple questions to ask your self before purchasing a firearm, (pistol or rifle)
-What is the intended use; concealed carry, self defence, home defence, range gun, competition shooting... etc etc
-are you prepared to become intimetly familiar with the firearm, use and function
-what is your price range, can you afford the time, use, and maintenece costs

Any caliber can be deadly, even the meager .22LR, it all comes to shot placement.

On the points above, if the intended use is a carry role you need to find something to fit your style of clothing and body shape but also small, light and comfortable enough to carry everyday. The gun is worthless if it is sitting at your house and you are out because it is uncomfortable to carry all day everyday. If it is strictly home defence then make it as big as you can reliably be consistenly accurate with. Plinking/range gun lower caliber =less cost, (.22lr a lot cheaper although not as fun as .45 acp)
To buy use and own a gun makes it part of you, you need to know everything about it to utilize it to its potential. How to strip, clean, reassemble, shoot, and store it all goes to how the gun performs. 95% of inaccurate shooting is the shooter (my guestimated stat but one I am comfortable stating)
Now price, the initial purchase is the biggest part to overcome, a lot of people say you get what you pay for, but I dissagree. My taurus 85 shoots just as good for a 200$ gun as a more expensive colt. A kel tec pf9 can be just as accurate and reliable as a kahr pm9, it all comes down to the person behind the gun. If you want a specific gun because it is just cool, that's ok. Think about the firearms POU (philociphy of use, Nutnfancy's term youtube check him out) what do you intend the gun to do. Just my 2 cents good luck

Lefdrgn said:

Something to consider, forget caliber. Couple questions to ask your self before purchasing a firearm, (pistol or rifle)
-What is the intended use; concealed carry, self defence, home defence, range gun, competition shooting... etc etc
-are you prepared to become intimetly familiar with the firearm, use and function
-what is your price range, can you afford the time, use, and maintenece costs

Any caliber can be deadly, even the meager .22LR, it all comes to shot placement.

On the points above, if the intended use is a carry role you need to find something to fit your style of clothing and body shape but also small, light and comfortable enough to carry everyday. The gun is worthless if it is sitting at your house and you are out because it is uncomfortable to carry all day everyday. If it is strictly home defence then make it as big as you can reliably be consistenly accurate with. Plinking/range gun lower caliber =less cost, (.22lr a lot cheaper although not as fun as .45 acp)
To buy use and own a gun makes it part of you, you need to know everything about it to utilize it to its potential. How to strip, clean, reassemble, shoot, and store it all goes to how the gun performs. 95% of inaccurate shooting is the shooter (my guestimated stat but one I am comfortable stating)
Now price, the initial purchase is the biggest part to overcome, a lot of people say you get what you pay for, but I dissagree. My taurus 85 shoots just as good for a 200$ gun as a more expensive colt. A kel tec pf9 can be just as accurate and reliable as a kahr pm9, it all comes down to the person behind the gun. If you want a specific gun because it is just cool, that's ok. Think about the firearms POU (philociphy of use, Nutnfancy's term youtube check him out) what do you intend the gun to do. Just my 2 cents good luck

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What he said
Good advice

Kolat said:

Go glock or go home

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**** yeah, and 10mm on top of that! :rock:

Kolat said:

Go glock or go home

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Fanbois.

It's too bad you are not around Seattle/Tacoma.
Bullseye has an indoor shooting range and a whole slug of guns you can rent and try.
It's how I fell for the CZ 75 B 40sw that I have.
Maybe there's one like it in your area, or you could make a trip over here.
Pretty sure you have to be 21 or have someone with you that is

If I could have found one I would have bought the stainless version of this when I bought my S&W 360
The Bulldog from Charter Arms

GregM said:

Pretty sure you have to be 21 or have someone with you that is

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The following is not legal advice: To own a handgun before you're 21, you must leave it in custody of your parents/guardian unless you're being supervised in the act of sporting activities or target practice.

That being said, January isn't all that far off and getting advice beforehand is useful.

Regarding Taurus being disfavored, it appears to be like the difference between Ford and Kia. Sure, they can both break down, but one is more reliable than the other. There are a lot of happy Taurus owners out there and they're much quieter than unhappy owners. As they say: You makes your choices and you takes your chances.

Do yourself a big favor. Take your CHL class before you buy. Lots of times, other students and instructors will have guns you can fondle. Then decide while one you like.

best way I found to decide on what you want is to try different ones out. most indoor ranges have different guns you can try out and see if you like them or not.

I tried about 20 different ones and out of all of those I ended up liking only 3 lol

check out Sams gun range on Airport road, off 128th st in Everett. Good selection