I have never owned a gun, but have shot occasionally here and there on a shooting range. I understand the basics of gun safety and can get around the day-to-day of gun ownership. My wife and I are thinking about doing a full on safety training + CC so that both can use this gun we are purchasing in case anything happens.
I have been eyeing a few guns here and there, but wanted to get your thoughts on what would you recommend in my situation:
- At least 12 bullets per mag as stock mag
- Lowest recoil possible
- Compact enough without it being an issue on accuracy (need something that is big enough to be accurate but small enough that I can CC from time to time, very occasionally)
- Easy enough for my wife to handle. She’s not into guns, but probably something that would throw her off is a lot of recoil
- Comfortable grip
The guns that I have tested up until now:
- Glock 19 Gen 5
- S&W M&P M2.0
Guns I am still considering:
- Sig Sauer P320
- Sig Sauer P365 XL
Any thoughts?
I was leaning towards a Glock 26 as you have more options in terms of how many rounds but didn’t know a 43x even existed lol. I think for my use case either a 26/43x or a 19 is enough. As I mentioned, the most important thing for me is accuracy and low recoil as I am barely going to carry this gun on a day to day basis. This is gonna be mostly sitting in a gun safe.
I know I earlier suggested other guns, but if you do go the Glock route, I would suggest the 19 over the 26, if it comes down between the two. Both can be CC’d but the 19 is more shootable. Although the 26 has a smaller barrel and grip, it is just as wide as the 19, so for practical carry terms it makes nearly as big of a print.
If you do go for a 19, you may perhaps find one used or for a good price, and take your excess budget towards getting an optics cut slide and optic. Or if you can find a 19 for sale already with one. You will still have to practice, but your accuracy and importantly, practical accuracy will improve faster.
A Glock 19 can also easily host a flashlight, which you might not use but it doesn’t hurt to have.
The thickness of the Glock 26 being the same as the 19 makes it a chunk to conceal. I’ve been doing this a long time. I’ve carried a 26, a 19, 43, 48, and 43x, and that’s just the glocks I’ve carried. The short grip of the 26 does not allow as much purchase on the gun as you get with the 43x. Much like the original 43 before the 43x, it is an extremely difficult gun to shoot well. You have this big focus on round count. The average defensive shooting involves 2-3 rounds shots fired. How many do you need? I carry 21, and quite frankly, that’s probably excessive.
They are all 9mm. Recoil is present but negligible, and the greatest hurdle in controlling it will be your own lack of skill. Practice practice practice.
Holsters and belts are critical. I have a box in the basement full of holsters. Some for guns that came and went, some that just didn’t perform. Let me take the guess work and trial and error out of it for you. Buy your holsters from Stealthgear. A ventcore mini for the 43x, and one of their owb mag carriers for a reload. For a belt, I recommend the blue alpha gear hybrid. Hanks if you want leather, but leather isn’t as adjustable as a cobra buckle.
I’m not typing all of this to flex. I genuinely want to save you some frustration down the road when you realize the things you thought mattered really didn’t matter, and now you have to spend a bunch of money to get the shit you should have bought the first time.
