Need advice on buying a pistol

I carried the gun in the picture above in my shirtpocket for years its about as handy as they come. I was living in Alaska then and belive me it shot more pounds of meat than my .300 win mag that was my Moose/Sheep/Cariboo gun!

I bought a $99 single shot 410 for snakes,shortened the barrel and stock. It's not street legal but it sure is easy to tote around.

I would suggest you get him a gift card from the bank - it's basically a pre-paid visa or mastercard that you put on how ever much you want to give. And then let him choose. Even better, if you have a local range, they often will let you rent a pistol to try on their range for a small fee. Let him try out several and find the one he wants.

But, since you asked for recommendations... here are a few of my favorits

For learning proper form and technique, for plinking and for varmits it's hard to beat a .22 caliber. I'm partial to Rugers, having had a GP 100 for almost 20 years. They have a nice little Mark III auto loader that's a tack driver. And if he prefers a revolver the security six is a wonderful single action revolver. I think every farm auto have a .22 of some type, especially if you plan to butcher your own animals. I'd get a rifle too - and the Ruger 10/22 in stainless would be my top choice.

For my first pistol, I went with the Ruger .357 GP100 in stainless steel. I went with .357, because you have the option of shooting .357 for more power, or .38 for a milder recoil. It's a great all around calibre. You can even get a lever action rifle that would be fine for deer at relatively close distances. There are snake loads availabe, and it's easy to reload if you want to do that. As for what brand/make, well as I said, I went with the Ruger GP100, which fit my hand well, and it's weight counters the recoil nicely. For my wife, or someone with smaller hands than mine (I'm 6'2" with long fingers) I would recommend the Ruger SP101 which is basically a scaled down GP 100. Both are good weapons with good accuracy (mine is a tack driver) that are straight forward to clean and use.

If your preference is SemiAuto pistol, I prefer a .45, but .40 would probably be fine too. I think the 9mm is pretty wimpy, but it has a mild recoil and some like it. Ruger makes several good semiautos, but personnaly I would buy either an HK SP .45 if you have large hands or a Sig Saur if you don't. These are double action semiautos. If you like single action only, it's hard to beat a 1911 style .45. Oh, and of course some people love the Glock pistols... I don't, I think they're ugly, but they shoot well.

So there you have it: Too many to choose from, and that's just amongst my favorites. There's at least 10x that many others out there. So your best bet is to get him a gift card and let him choose...preferably after he has the chance to actually shoot a few.

Best of luck...


P.S. Could you talk to my wife? She needs some suggestions for a good Christmas present for me and I like the way you think...

Some of y'all need to learn to shoot better.

Seriously, I've never had much problem hitting a snake with regular rounds. Calibers I carry? Let's see...22LR, 32mag, 38 S&W, 38spl, 9x18, 9x19, 357mag. More than one gun fits pretty well.

If one wants a frame that is almost universal fit, the best I can come up with is a S&W K frame, or one of the clones such as Taurus. There are few people who can't shoot a Model 66 Smith...

I generally carry a Sig Sauer or a .45 Glock. The Glock is a real workhorse and extremely rugged, relatively inexpensive and it shoots well. The Sig however is a different animal. It is everything the Glock is except it all metal of course. it is extremely well crafted and shoots as well as anything else I have. Just a joy to handle and shoot. It has been described as a "Professionals Weapon" and I can see why. Simple, no nonsense, excellent craftsmanship and a weapon you can trust your life to.

Kimber 1911's are a good choice too. I've got one but I still generally carry the Sig or Glock. I think I'm just more comfortable with them since I've shot them so much. I'm sure the Kimber will get there for me once I've got a couple of cases of ammo through it.

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Y'all have given me much to think about!

We do have a rifle...a .22 and a single barrel shotgun that was my Daddy's. If I have to shot something, the .22 is my preferred gun.

I will definitely get a gift card for him!

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