What's up guys? This is Chris here and today I want to go over a topic which I know we've touched on before, but I wanted to have it all in one easy to absorb video because I've had an enormous amount of questions and messages on this topic the past couple of weeks. So I wanted to go over five home defense pistols for beginners. Now these are going to be guns that are going to be super reliable, able to use in multiple situations. They're going to be easy to shoot, they're going to have all the features you need right out of the box and they're going to be fairly affordable as well. I want something that appeals to the common person or the expert in any facet of your firearms journey. These guns are going to work for you. Now, a couple of caveats. There is an enormous amount of firearms that could fit into this criteria and I would recommend that if you don't like any of these five to go to your local gun store and just try a bunch and see what works for you.
My Recommendation
I would even recommend that if you're choosing one of these five, because all of them will have different grip angles and fields when you're going to shoot the gun. So I also want to mention that all these guns are awesome and whatever order I put them in is just personal preference. These are my opinions and they're educated, but they're my opinion. Now before we get into the video, I do want to mention X, my Twitter honest law underscore at X. So if you really like the content over here, we can even post spicier content over there. So we're going to leave the link in the description below and I would really appreciate it if all of you would just go over there and give me a follow.
5. Canik TP9 Variants
Alright, let's get right into it with number five and we are going to be talking about the can SFX rival, but pretty much any of the TP nine series can be substituted for this.
This is just one of my personal favorites. This is a lot of gun for the money, so this is a long slide, five inch, nine millimeter with a striker fired trigger. There's no safety on this. There's no double single action or anything like that for anybody to get confused. Striker fired pistols are really easy for people to use right off the bat because it's just load the magazine, rack the slide, pull the trigger and the gun works. Now this gun obviously comes with a light rail. That is going to be a feature that is paramount in this video because you have to see what you're shooting at before you shoot. It is absolutely a must. This isn't call of duty. You don't want to ever accidentally shoot something you're not supposed to, so make sure you have ID on target and that's easier to do with a weapon light because you can have both hands on the gun.
The light is attached to the weapon, so if you freak out and you drop your light, you still have it on the gun. Now it doesn't substitute for a handheld light, but in a home defense situation you either have a light switch or you're probably in an engagement, so it's good to have a weapon light. Now the full five inches allows good velocity, good penetration, and good expansion for most of your hollow point rounds. So nine millimeter is going to get good ballistics out of this. We have really good sight out of the factory, but we also have an included optics mount that comes in it. That's awesome. And as far as new shooters, honestly, a lot of people say learn iron sights first, and it's a little bit of blasphemy to say otherwise, but I would recommend if you're a new shooter and you just want to get good right away, that's the best to go.
If you're going to be afraid, you're going to be scared in the situation, you're going to be target focused anyway. If Michael Myers or Freddy comes into your house with a big freaking kitchen knife, you're going to be looking at him, not the iron sights, and there's no way your brain's not going to, so you can superimpose the dot and make Freddy have a bad fucking day. It has a really good trigger on it. Almost 1911 quality as you can see right here, very soft, nice and easy break, and then a very quick reset so you can get those fast follow-up shots. As far as beginners go, one of the things you guys are not going to be good at right off the bat is shooting handguns because shooting handguns is very difficult, so a bigger handgun is going to be easier to shoot, it's going to be easier to get a hold of and a gun with a lighter trigger, although it sounds counterintuitive maybe to a beginner, it's going to be easier for you to shoot because you are not going to be used to the fundamentals yet and it's just going to be easier to get the job done with something with a preco striker trigger like this.
Cannock, at least that's been my experience with training new shooters. Your opinions may vary, but I really like the can because it's really affordable. You can get these from 500 to around $700, completely tricked out with awesome triggers and awesome accessories, capable of light and capable of accepting 16 plus one 18 plus one or even bigger. So capacity is not going to be an issue. Nine millimeters also a phenomenal cartridge for beginners because it's really affordable and you could buy a big case of it and go out and shoot it. A experienced shooter with a shitty gun is always going to be way more effective than a novice shooter with a great gun. It's all about your skills and it's less about the tool and with cheap ammunition, you can shoot all day and you can make this gun a part of you, which is important because if you're going to be stressed, the decision-making skills and stuff are going to take up most of your brain and you're going to just have to have the skills and hopefully your body does what it's trained to do and hopefully you've trained it to do that.
Now, if big hands, small hands, the gun has adjustable backstraps, all you have to do is push this pin out and you can change different ones. There's guns with mag wells, there's guns without, so you can get the feature set that you're looking for and you can get the color you're looking for. This one's all blacked out, but they come in FDE, silver and all kinds of cool stuff, so I definitely would recommend the can and it's one of the first guns I recommend to new shooters. It's a big gun, so you're probably not going to want to carry it, but this is a home defense video and in home defense, the bigger the pistol, the better, the more capacity, the more velocity, the easier to shoot than it is in it.
4. Walter PDP- Personal favorite
Number four, one of my personal favorites, the Walter PDP. Now this is the all new steel frame, but you don't have to have the one the cool kids have. The polymer one works amazing. I have five of them. Trust me, I love the gun. Another gun with a preco striker trigger from a different company, the company that really pioneered it with the P 99 Walter is one of my favorite gun companies because almost all their guns are completely reliable and unbelievably accurate.
Now this one here is going to be a little bit more expensive, but the polymer frame ones start at around 500 to 700. Just like mechanics. What do you get out of the Walter? Well, you get an amazing trigger in its own right and you get a different set of features. This one's got front slide serrations. This one has its own optics mounting system, and then we have adjustable sites. We also have a picket rail for that light that we talked about, how important it is, and the steel frame ones have removable grips, but the polymer frame ones have that removable backstrap system that the Cannock had. Now, the reason why the Walter is one step higher than the can in my personal opinion, is just because I've never had a reliability issue with the PDP series. Now I've shot maybe five or seven ish thousand rounds through these.
I think we've had at least five on the channel. We've done thousand round review of and I would trust this gun with my life, no question. Now we have had a couple models in the history of the can that have had some issues, obviously not in the last few years, but considering that the Walter has been completely spotless, I would rate it just a little bit higher add to the fact that I personally like the grip of the PDPA little bit better. It's a little bit more aggressive, a little bit more ergonomic, and I think the magazines and magazine well work a little bit better and it's a little bit smoother. I just personally like the shooting experience of the PD DP slightly better, although they are both very similar guns. The cannon can come in a steel frame, the Walter can. If you want to go steel frame for home defense, that's great.
It soaks up more recoil. If you want to go polymer frame, that's going to be better for a little bit more universal gun if you want to carry it around, if you want a little bit lighter transitioning guns, so that's going to be up to you and they offer both, which is awesome. Big trigger guard on the PDP as well as the mechanic. So if you have glove hands, you live in a coal place, you can use that. Although I don't know why you'd be using gloves in your house. Maybe you're not paying your heating bill. I'm not here to judge. I think the PDP is absolutely one of the best guns for beginners overall. If you're looking for a carry gun, they make smaller versions of this as well if they do accept that larger magazines, so it's a great starter pistol because if you want to get into concealed carry after home defense, you can just buy a smaller version and all the magazines and parts are universal. So is the grip angle and the trigger's the same and everything in number three, the m and p line from Smith and Wesson
3. Most reliable guns on the planet
Obviously works. Now I know there is a freaking ton of these, but I couldn't pick one model, so you're getting all of them Essentially. My personal favorite is going to be the spec here, but it's also the bougie one and I have expensive taste, $500 m and p works just as good as this. One of the most reliable guns on the planet comes packed with features. Optics rail, this one comes with a comp and a threaded barrel, although they have long slide five inch ones, they have four inch ones, they have three and a half inch ones. You can even get the SHIELD series, which is a micro nine, and all of them have the same format and all of them have the same reliability, extremely accurate optics. Mounting system, race sites out of the factory. You can get 'em with Kote jobs. But what I really like out of the m and p series is they have one of my favorite grips ever.
Very aggressive texture on this. So keep in mind if you don't like aggressive texture, maybe go with something like the can. If you like a more aggressive grip, the m and p is here for you, and that is why I love them because it sticks in your hand, it gives you that extra recoil control. This one definitely has more recoil control than the can it in my personal opinion. I can shoot m and ps very, very quickly, which is why I personally carry a Shield Plus on a daily basis, which is probably the best recommendation I can give. Not only that, but the m and p is a little bit above the other two just because of its availability. These are available literally everywhere. Holsters magazines, parts accessories are available everywhere. They're the second most popular gun in the market besides the Glock, and they're pretty close in popularity at this point used by military and law enforcement all around the world, and they have an extremely reliable and durable reputation, and all of them I've had on the channel have been excellent overall.
You can't go wrong with an m and p. They start out at $500 as well, and they can work their way up all the way to a thousand with their premium model like this guy. But again, you don't need the bougie one. You can go with one of the cheaper ones, which you're seeing filler of right now. They work just as well and the bad guy won't know the difference. Now, these also have magazine compatibility across their model. So if you get the 3.6 inch compact or if you get the full size, the five inch mags will work in the smaller ones as well, which is very, very cool. So if you're a beginner, you can start on one platform and go from there. Most people generally buy one handgun and then they end up loving it and buying a lot more. So I'm trying to pick guns that you don't have to change.
Ergonomics and grip angle and all that stuff. If you want to get a smaller or larger gun, this gun is also a nine millimeter like the other two. However, the m and p is also offered in several other calibers including 10 millimeter. So if you want to go big or go home, you can always go that route, but it's going to take a little bit more recoil control. The round's going to be a little bit more, but you get a hell of a lot of stopping power 10 millimeters used for bears, so take that for what it is.
2. Glock 34: best gun in Glock's
Number two, the Glock 34. I mean when I put this video up, I'm sure a lot of you already knew at least this gun would be on here because I put it on several of my other home defense videos, and I do believe the Glock 34 is the best gun in Glock's lineup for home defense.
You have the nine millimeter capacity capable of taking the 17 plus one mags that the Glock 17 takes. These magazines will also go on the Glock 19 or the 26, the smaller variance. This one has a five and a quarter inch barrel giving you even more velocity and penetration and expansion. Theoretically, depending on what bullet you use, you get a long site radius. So if you don't want to opt for the dot, which it has a dot mounting system on it and the plates come in the box ready to go, which is great, you don't want to order a plate. If you're a beginner, you can use the iron sites very effectively and get what you need done. The recoil control on the 34 is better than any of the other Glocks because it's a nine millimeter with not a lot of recoil has a long barrel and long dust cover that helps mitigate that recoil.
These are very shootable. I would say that the Glock has some advantages over the previous guns. Number one, it's probably the most popular gun ever produced. So if you're looking for holsters magazines, accessories, everywhere you go that sells guns has Glocks. The downside of Glock is it's a little bit dated by comparison to some of the features of the guns previously. So if you're looking for a better trigger, the chaotic, the PDP and the m and p all have a better trigger and a better feature set for the money than the Glock does. But what does the Glock have? Well, it's been used by basically every serious military and law enforcement across the world, and it's arguably the most reliable handgun on earth. So if you're less concerned about features and trigger control, you're less concerned about shooting as fast as possible and you just want the gun to go off all the time.
A stock clock is your freaking friend. These things have been through torture tests that would make other guns cringe, and the Glock is still here and kicking, and there's a reason why these things have been popular for 50 years. They're simple, they're easy. Again, all these are striker fired Palmer frame pistols, so they're light. All you do is insert the magazine, rack the slide, pull the trigger, and the bad guy goes away as long as you do your part. Simple, easy but extremely effective. That's how Glock's made its name, and it's still doing it because it still works. Now, I do some honorable mentions, but I actually have a different home defense video coming out in a couple of weeks that'll cover some of these honorable mentions. So you're going to have to just wait and see.
1. CZ P 10: Best for Beginners
So we're just going to go straight to number one, and I think this is probably the best home defense gun for beginners because of all of the features that the other guns have. This one has, but it's a lot lower in cost, and this is the CZ P 10 F.
Now, this is the forgotten darling of the gun community. These were extremely popular about five or six years ago, and then basically completely fell off the map as you see here, as configured, this costs me $425. Now, this has upgraded sites with gripp texture on it from Talen grips, and I have a light. So everything you would ever need for a home defense handgun also light enough to carry. These things are only around 24 ounces, I think with a four and a half inch barrel. Very low tracking on the slide, very low bore axis, and then you can get really high on the grip and the grip feels really good. You can get a really aggressive grip on the CZs that makes it a very low recoil impulse, which is great for new shooters because you don't want them to shy away. There's a reason why all these are full-sized nine millimeters because if you're a beginner, you don't want to have to deal with flinch.
You don't want to have to make the shooting experience uncomfortable. You want it to be as fun as possible. The more you're out in the range and the better you get, the better you're going to be. Again, I can't stress enough. The gun doesn't matter as much as you matter, your ability to hit the target, your ability to make decisions when the time comes is more important, and you can do that if you had a lot of practice and you practice more if the gun is fun. And the cz P 10 F is not only fun because of the low recall impulse and because of the cost of it. I mean the gun in itself is only three to $400 in a lot of places, which gives you a lot of money for ammunition, but also the trigger on it is incredible as well as you can see here, very light pole and a very short reset allowing for fast follow-up shots and just a good damn time on the range.
I think this is probably the best budget gun on the market because it's not really a budget gun. It is a premium offering that for some reason is under $400, but I think it's probably the best home defense gun for beginners. Not only could you use this as a multi-use gun because of the four and a half inch barrel, but the gun comes with a 19 plus one capacity. So if you miss on the first five, you got 15 more to go. I'm just kidding. Make sure to track where you're shooting, but it's always good to have more capacity. You never know if it's going to be one person, five people or I guess 20 people, but if there is 20 people, you got one for each. Now, just like the other four guns, we did a full thousand round review of the cz P 10 F.
So if you are interested in that, you can find 'em on our channel and all of these pass with flying colors. All of these went a thousand rounds with no failure, so they're all in, at least my testing are going to be more than reliable enough for home defense. All of them are accurate out to a hundred yards as well. So if you're picking between the five of these, don't just pick number one. Pick whichever one is in your budget, pick whichever one feels the best in your hands, and maybe pick the one that you think looks the coolest because all of them are going to work great. It's going to be up to you and your personal preferences. Whether you go with Walter Kanick Smith and Wesson Glock, it makes no difference. Just pick the one that's right for you. All of 'em are going to work. Just get out there, buy a case of ammo, go shoot it, have a good time, and help protect your fellow man. If you like this video, please like and subscribe. Please tip out your local homeless shelters and remember to recycle. I'll check you later.
YouTube Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JF1ClyBig8E
Credit: Honest Outlaw
For more information, check this How To Buy A Home Defense Handgun