What's up guys? This is Chris here and today have we got a mammoth video for you today. I'm going to try to help you pick the right handgun for you. Now that's going to be tough to do since I don't know you, but I am going to do my best. So today what I'm going to do is talk about the best things that you can look for when you're at the gun store to decide if the handgun you're looking for is actually the one you want. We're going to go over a bunch of different categories, features and a whole sa slew of different types of handguns to try to give you the best option and arm you with the best information. So when you go to the gun store, you're moderately prepared to make an informed decision so you don't have to make more than one purchase.
You can get the right handgun for you right now. Before we get into the video, I do want to mention our channel sponsor, which is Brown Ls. Brown Ls is a company I've been working with for a long time. They're an Iowa company and not only do I love them, but I love the people that work there. I really appreciate them supporting this video and a lot of our videos. If you are interested in anything you guys see on the channel from range gear to accessories to optics, you can get it over there at Brownell's. Now the first thing you're going to think about when you're trying to pick a handgun out is what you want it for. If you can figure out what you want to use it for, you can usually figure out a couple of important factors right away. So first off, if you're looking for home defense, if you're looking for shooting at the range or if you're looking for concealed carry, which are usually the three reasons why people buy a handgun, you're probably going to end up with a very different handgun if you choose one for home defense versus concealed carry.
I'll let you decide which one you want to do, but I would err on the side of a larger handgun for home defense and I would err on the side of a smaller handgun for concealed carry. And if you want to do both, that's absolutely fine, but I would probably find a happy medium. I would also consider which one you're going to be using it for more often. So if you're going to concealed carry every day and you're going to use it for home defense every night, for me personally, I would probably rather err on the side of a smaller gun so it's comfortable to carry all day so I don't leave it at home because even a small gun can be usable in a home defense scenario, whereas a larger gun oftentimes, especially depending on body type, cannot be carried very well. And you have to remember, for all the ladies out there, if you want to get a big handgun and carrot in your purse, there's a lot of risk to that as well, including theft or potentially children getting into those.
So I want to make sure that for this video at least we're talking about carrying on the body. Not only is it safer for those reasons, but it's also safer for you because if you're being attacked, you're usually not notified ahead of time and you're usually being surprised and you're going to want to have it on you ready to go. So for the sake of this video, I would err on the side of smaller guns for concealed carry. Now, once you figured out the size that you want, there's a whole slew of different things you have to worry about, and the first one we're going to talk about is price. You're going to have to decide before you go to the gun store how much you want to spend because there's good guns in every category, in every price tier from 300 all the way up to 5,000 if your budget is let's say $600.
Keep in mind that if you want a concealed carry system, that's exactly what it is. If you're buying a gun for concealed carry, you're going to have to pick up a holster. On average, those are 50 to a hundred dollars. You'd have to pick up at least a couple boxes of self-defense ammunition, and I would recommend picking up a couple hundred of range ammunition so you can practice with a gun and get good with it. So keep in mind that your budget, you're going to want to add in at least $200 on top of that for extra stuff you're going to need besides the firearm. So if you go into the gun store expecting to pay $500, your budget for a handgun is probably going to look more like 300. Now if you're interested in a very good handgun in those price points, we also have tons of very detailed top fives for the best handguns from 300, 400, 500, 7 50.
So if you're interested in looking for the best guns in those price tiers, reference those videos. Now, once you figured out what size of handgun you're sort of looking for, whether it be subcompact compact or full size, basically small, medium, large, and you figured out what price point, let's say somewhere around $600 since that's about the average handgun price, the third thing you're going to have to try to figure out is what caliber you wanted it. Now, personally, for home defense and for concealed carry, I recommend nine millimeter. The reason for that is it's sort of the middle of the road from the smaller calibers like 22, 32, 38, and then the larger calibers like 40, 45 and 10 millimeter kind of right in the middle with the best port for everybody. If you get what I'm trying to say, most law enforcement agencies use it. Almost every military uses it and most civilians use it because it's not only the most popular ammunition in the world, the most concealed carry ammunition is available for it, but the most gums are also made in nine millimeter.
And on top of that, it's usually the most affordable ammunition to shoot. So I usually err on that side. However, if you're looking for a little bit bigger or a little bit smaller, I also would recommend three 80 a CP and maybe the bodyguard or the Ruger series or the 45 a CP is always a good classic. Now that you know kind of what caliber you want, what size you want and what price you're looking for, now it's time to actually go to the gun store and start feeling 'em up. So when you go to the gun store, first off, go to a gun store where they allow you to fondle the gun and if they don't allow you to do that, make sure to remind them that there's plenty of other places that sell firearms besides the one that you're at. And if they don't allow you to touch the gun before you buy it, go somewhere else.
I mean, that is just my honest opinion. A lot of the big box stores, they don't allow you to rack the slide and run the trigger. And to be honest with you, you can go to a mom and pop store and not only does your money stay where you live, but you'll be able to get a better gun with better advice. Now when you pick up a handgun, let's say, and you're trying to figure out what feels good and what doesn't, the first couple of things I look for are going to be slide weight, trigger weight, texture, and trigger reach. So first thing I want to look for is can I rack the slide? Is it comfortable enough to rack? Because if you can't rack around of the chamber consistently, you're not going to want to shoot the gun. So if you have arthritis, if you have weaker hands, if you're smaller stature, they do make a lot of guns for that like the shield easy for example, a great way to go.
There are many others, including the Ruger Security three 80 that have really light racking systems that'll allow you to run the gun. Now, as far as trigger reach goes, I really look for that. I have big long hands, and if you have really big hands or really small hands, you're going to have to pay attention to this. You're going to have to pay attention to how the gun fits in your hand, not only how the grip feels and how much it fills up your hand, but where your trigger finger naturally wants to land on the trigger. That's actually really important when it comes to speed and accuracy for shooting the gun. So for me personally, I prefer the shield pluses over let's say something like the P 365 because they do have a little bit more trigger reach for me and their trigger actually breaks at a 90 degree angle instead of all the way back in the trigger guard, which allows me a more comfortable trigger break, which allows me to shoot it better.
My wife on the other hand, and a lot of smaller handed people, they prefer guns with a thinner grip or a trigger that breaks further to the rear because it allows them a more comfortable position for their hand when that trigger is going to break. And whatever that is for you is what it is for you. And if it feels difficult to pull the trigger or it feels overly difficult to rack the slide, I would recommend finding a new gun, maybe even a 22 to start off with because the gun that you can hit with is always better than the gun. You can't regardless of features, caliber or even reliability. This gun here, I like it a lot because it fits my hand really well for a very small concealed carry gun. It is in the caliber I want. It has the capacity I want, which we'll mention here in a second, but mainly the grip is very comfortable for me and it's the right texture for me.
If you carry inside the waistband, for example, the texture on your grip's going to matter a lot because it's going to interface with your big fat stomach when you're carrying it all the time. What I mean by interfacing is when you sit down, it's going to rub on you. When you get in and out of your car, it's going to rub on you and during the day it's going to be pushing in and you here and there, so you're going to want to make sure that there's no snag points on the gun that it feels uncomfortable not only when you're carrying it, but when you shoot it, you're going to want to make sure there's no sharp edges that dig in the web of your hand. You're going to want to make sure when you pick the gun up at the gun store, you're going to want to give it a really good squeeze like you're squeezing on your girlfriend's juicy booty and try to figure out if there's any snag points or any failures like the safety pushing in your hand.
For example, now that we figured out trigger reach, the grip size is very important as well. How it feels in your hand is going to really be up to you personally for me, something like a Walter PP feels really good in my hand because of the shape of the grip, whereas something like the Sig P three 20 absolutely doesn't. Now that's just personal preference and the only way you're going to figure that out is again find a good gun store that allows you to feel 'em up. Now as far as bear length goes, I think that's really dependent upon what you want to do with it. Barrel length between three and five inches can make a difference with ballistics, but as long as you pick the right concealed carry ammo, you still get solid expansion at three inches. The difference is going to really be suitability and sight radius where sight radius doesn't matter as much anymore because a lot of people are carrying a dot, but if you're going to go with iron sights instead of a red dot, which is another thing you are going to have to consider, which we'll talk about here in a second, the sight radius being shorter, it's going to allow a little more play in your sight picture and you're not going to be quite as accurate.
It's also going to be more snappy with a shorter barrel and it's also going to be more snappy the lighter the gun is. So the weight of the gun's going to matter a lot, and that's usually dependent on not only size but the material of the grip. So the grip itself usually comes in polymer aluminum or steel steel guns are usually either older guns or they are guns meant for competition or for home defense because they are heavier, whereas aluminum frame guns are usually lighter versions of the steel frame guns that came up before and more modern guns are almost always made with polymer because they get a little bit of flex, they're cheaper to make, which lowers the cost of the overall gun and then it also makes it lighter for you to carry as well. Another thing you're going to have to consider is whether you want a manual safety or not.
If you're a newer shooter and you want a manual safety, that is not a bad thing. And if you watch all these tactical timmies with camo gear on that hunt out in their backyard at night with airsoft guns, they'll tell you that safeties are just the worst thing in the world. But the reality is just like anything else, if you get used to it, it's good to go. I personally don't mind a manual safety. As a matter of fact, I carry 19 elevens all the time with manual safeties and I feel completely comfortable because I'm used to the battery of arms of switching off to safety. And if you operate it correctly and you use the right techniques, it's not a problem. So if you want a safety, there are many awesome guns that do that. There are shield pluses with safeties, 19 elevens with safeties, there are Beretta 90 twos with safeties.
So get the gun that works for you, and if you want a safety, by all means get one. It's better to carry a gun with a safety then not carry a gun because you don't want it. You just got to train with everything that you have and that's going to be a sticking point throughout this video. Whatever gun that you choose, make sure you buy enough ammunition to train with it and it's not just training on the range. Take it home, make sure it's pointed in a safe location with no ammunition in the gun point at a light switch and click it a bunch of times, do a lot of drive fire, do some gun handling and manipulation skills at the home for free and you'll be a better shooter. Now as far as features that I personally look for on handguns, one of the things I'm looking for is a dot mount.
If I want to add a dot and I'm looking for plates that come in the box, so guns that Smith and Wesson Glock for example, if you buy either of those two platforms, you're going to get a series of plates in the box that you can immediately add a dot. Whereas guns that I do like the PDP for example, you get either a coupon code or you have to go and buy one yourself and that's just kind of a pain in the ass. So it's kind of optic sort already instead of optics actually ready. Another thing I look for is solid sites out of the box because although I've changed a lot of sites in my lifetime, I don't really like to and it's kind of a pain in the ass to zero 'em in. So I usually prefer to get something with an HD site, usually like a fiber optic or maybe an HD site that's tritium like on this sig here.
Other features I really like are a grip that's comfortable and I really do prefer a smooth running slide with a smooth recoil spring. If a recall spring's way too tight and I pull on and I don't like it, I know that gun's going to dip down a lot under recoil for me, I prefer a looser recoil spring of my guns. So those are just a couple of things I look for. Not only is it easier to rack, especially under stress, but it's also for me easier to shoot. Now, some guns do come with red dots and some don't, and red dot mounting can be an interesting thing if you've never done it before, it's easy once you get used to it, but if you don't ever want to bother it, there are plenty of guns, but it come with red dots right out of the box.
This PDPX pro here came with this optic here, and I'm not saying this is the best optic or the one you should get, but there are plenty of guns out there that come with dots ready to go, and if they don't, you can also have the people at your gun store put them on for you. For example, shields is a store I go to a lot and they mount not only rifle scopes but red dots for free. And if your gun store doesn't do that and you want that service, I'm sure if you live in a big enough town you can find one that does. Now, magazine capacity is another thing that you might want to consider and most guns, at least to the polymer frame, winter nines, most of the popular guns have these very similar capacity usually based on how long the grip is.
The new micro nines like the shield plus they usually carry around 10 rounds like the 365 or maybe that FN reflex, whereas compact guns like the Glock 19 or this m and p compact here usually carry around 15 to 17. And then if you're looking at larger frame guns, like maybe the bread of 92, you're usually looking at 17 and above. And then for 45 a CP guns for example, like this mark 23, if you're getting a double stack, it's just bigger rounds, you get less capacity of usually around 12, let the rounds hit harder, and that's just something that you're going to have to consider. You want more oomph per round or do you want more rounds? That's an age old question and you're going to have to answer that for yourself. Now, a lot of these popular guns here, if you're looking for capacity, like for example, the m and Ps, the Glocks of the worlds, the PDPs, the mechanics, a lot of those guns, they make small subcompacts like the Shield Plus for example, that allows you to not only have that 10 round flush fit mag, but then you can buy 13, 15, 17 round mags and you could use that same gun for home defense, which is why guns like this have become so popular just because it really is sort of a do it all gun.
If you get a 365 xl, if you get a four inch shield, plus if you get a can SC elite, they're all tiny little one inch wide sub 25 ounce guns that you can carry all day that you can then take home, slap that big magazine in and feel really safe no matter what neighborhood you live in. So I can tell you that overall I would say that's probably the choice for most people. I think it's just dependent on what you want, what you're looking for, because there are lots of other systems. The Stryker fired polymer frame is what I would absolutely suggest for almost everybody, but double action does exist and I'm a big fan of the double action and here's the differences between those. So Stryker fired pistol basically for layman's use is just one trigger pull and that's it. And what I mean by that is no matter what order you pull the trigger, it's always going to have the same trigger pull.
There's not usually going to be any safeties or anything you have to disengage, you just rack around in the chamber, but when you pull it out of the holster and press the trigger, the gun goes off, whereas double action is a little bit different. This RETA 92 here is a double single action design with a decocker, which is good. It's not bad, it's just different and it's a little more complicated. So usually how you carry a gun like this is you would carry it with the safety off in the double action system. So when you put it in the holster, you have this long trigger pull to protect you from any NAES and discharges. When you draw the gun and fire the first round, it'll be that long double action pull and then the round will cycle, the hammer will stay back, and then you'll have a very crisp single action pull for your remaining shots.
Now, that's very good for experts, but it can be a bit of an issue. For newer shooters, it's safer to concealed carry, especially with a round on the chamber. However, again, you're going to have to get used to that long double action pull. Now the benefit of that is that if you do do that dry fire practice that I mentioned before, it's actually easier to do that on a double action. You don't have to keep racking the slide, you just keep pulling the trigger and that one inherently make you a better shooter. I mean, I've known this for years. I started doing that 15 years ago on a cz. I saw Jerry Mitchell doing it on a revolver and it worked out pretty well for him. Now finally, there's also a single action with a manual safety like your standard 1911, whereas the gun itself, even if you put the magazine in, you are going to have to rack the slide and then the hammer will be back.
Now you're going to want to carry it with the hammer back because it won't fire with the hammer forward like the strikers or the doubles, you're going to have to carry it with the hammer back with a manual safety on. Now, that's not an unsafe way to carry a gun. They've been doing it for over 115 years and it's been pretty good so far, but that's just something some people are comfortable with and some people aren't. So it's going to be up to you in your personal preference. Overall, I think we covered just about everything. Price, caliber, size, philosophy of use, polymer frames, all the features I can think of from sites to grips, and I feel like hopefully this video will help you choose the best handgun for you. If not, we have other videos on the subject, including videos on how to shoot better, including what's the best subcompacts, what's the best guns under are 500. All you have to do is go to my channel and there's tons of different videos on handguns. Just pick one and get started. If you like this video, please like and subscribe, please by Oklahoma shelters and remember to recycle. I'll check you later.
Credit: Honest Outlaw