Not sure what pistol to get for your first gun or home defense?
We’ll cover important decision points such as caliber, ammo, size, ergonomics, price, and safety.
And then end it with some of our personal suggestions.
Best Beginner Handguns
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Table of Contents
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Caliber
You ready?
In our previous caliber article, you saw the popular 9mm and .45 ACP cartridges as well as some different types of bullets such as the full metal jacket (FMJ) and hollow points.
Now, we drill down and recommend getting a 9mm for your beginner handgun.
Why?
The 9mm is easy to find and cheap when compared to other calibers (~20 cents for a 9mm FMJ and ~40 cents for a .45 ACP round). It’s smaller size means it has mild recoil and higher capacity magazines (usually 15+).
Plus, the majority of police forces use 9mm and the FBI recently returned to the 9mm after finding that the current .40 S&W rounds were causing excessive wear on pistols and were less easily controlled by female agents.
Ammo
For home defense purposes, we recommend hollow point bullets for their stopping power.
Ouch…that’s gotta hurt! Two of the most popular are Speer Gold Dot and Federal Hydrashok. We cover everything in our Ammo & Reloading section.
Handgun Size
The most important thing about choosing the best handgun is fit.
We recommend getting a “full size” handgun which means close to 5″ barrels. Having a full sized handgun makes it easier to shoot since there’s more mass to absorb recoil, a larger area to grip, and a longer sight radius from the front sight to the rear sight.
But…if you think you might do concealed carry in the future and don’t want to get another gun…you can try out the compact size too.
You lose a little sight radius but free up some grip space which helps a lot in concealing. But you don’t want to go so small that your pinkie is left hanging.
Here are all of Glock’s 9mm handguns, but other manufacturer’s sizes will be roughly the same.
Safety
Here, we recommend a lack of an external safety. We believe that the mind is the best safety and that in the heat of the moment during a self-defense situation, you might forget to disengage the safety.
This takes out a couple of possibilities including the venerable 1911 which we think is a little too complicated and finicky for the beginner shooter.
Sights
Easy, get the night sights since most self-defense encounters occur in dimly lit locations. There are usually night sight models for each of our recommended pistols. Or you can always purchase aftermarket sights and have your gunsmith install them.
Action
We recommend a striker fired handgun for the beginner and home defense since the trigger pull is nearly identical every time (at least when compared to a double action). An easy way to tell if a handgun is a striker is that the back of the slide is flat and has no exposed hammer.
Double action pistols such as most Sig Sauer’s and the Beretta 92FS have a heavy first shot since you are cocking back the hammer.
What about revolvers?
We love them for their reliability and ease of dealing with malfunctions (just press again), but we don’t like their low ammo capacity (5 or 6 compared to 15+ for our recommendations).
But we’ll be including one of our favorites that packs in 7 rounds of .38 special or .357 magnum goodness.
This leaves us with what many call the “plastic fantastic.”
So far with our discussion of caliber, size, safety, and action, we have the possible candidates that have had enough history that we can fully recommend them.
1. Glock 17 (Full) or Glock 19 (Compact), Gen 4
Everyone and their mom has heard of Glock.
It is a polymer, kind of boring, but ultra reliable. If I had the choice of only taking a random pistol into a situation…this would be it.
The newest Gen 5 Glock is out but you can still find lots of Gen 4 models that have much better traction on the grip and also adjustable grip inserts. Makes it much easier to make it fit your hand.
If you don’t plan on concealed carrying…I would opt for the Glock 17 full-size.
If you are going to go the CCW route…try out the Glock 19.
Make sure you can get all your fingers on the grip.
What’s your take on the compact and full-size 9mm Glocks?
2. Smith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0
The newest version of the venerable M&P (military and police). If there’s a list of best 9mm handguns, this usually makes the top 3.
The original version was rock solid but had a not-so-great trigger.
The M2.0 takes care of that and also adds a more aggressive texturing.
3. Springfield XD Mod 2, Service Model
The newest version of the Springfield XD. Another striker-fired reliable gun that got updated with more aggressive texturing and the favorite stock trigger in my opinion. A little mushy but in a good way.
The Service Model means it has a compact barrel but full-size grip. Best of both worlds for some!
Plus it has a grip safety which means your hand needs to be firmly on it to fire. I’m ok with this kind of safety since it is more passive compared to an actual switch you need to flip when you unholster.
However, lack of adjustable backstraps means you gotta like how it feels in the store since you won’t be changing it.
4. Smith & Wesson Model 686+
Here’s the revolver you’ve been waiting for…the S&W Model 686+. The + means it holds 7 rounds instead of the standard 6 rounds you’ve come to expect from revolvers.
I like the 4″ barrel since it’s the Goldilocks length. Not so short that it’s difficult to control in firing, but not so long that it’s unwieldy.
Plus it will shoot both .38 Special and the more powerful .357 Magnum rounds.
Honorable Mentions
Yes, I might not have included some that you think should have made it. Here are some others that were very close to making my top list. If you find they fit your hand better than the ones I recommended…go for it!
Finally, some Handguns Perfect for Women from the viewpoint of an accomplished female shooter.
Ergonomics & Trigger
How the handgun feels in your hand is probably the most important.
I have pretty big hands and like the chunkier and different grip angle of the Glock. While my buddy with smaller hands likes the feel of the Smith & Wesson M&P. Also, keep in mind that the latest Glock & M&P versions have removable grip inserts that can customize the ergonomics even more.
The triggers all have a slightly different feel too even though they are all striker fired. For a home defense gun, we recommend not altering the trigger. After some use the trigger will smooth out a little but pretty much what you feel at the store is what you get.
We recommend trying out all three guns for yourself at the range or gun store after re-reading our grip/stance and trigger pull articles.
Price
The prices are all pretty similar for the striker fired pistols. You’ll also be able to find some sales going on at your local gun store. But these are good starting prices.
Night sights will probably be $50-100 more to buy and add them.
- Glock 17/19: ~$499
- S&W M&P 9: ~$539
- XDm: ~$499
Accessories
Again, most encounters happen in dimly lit areas/times, and you wouldn’t want to shoot with just night sights without verifying your target. So we use and recommend a light that attaches to the rail.
The one we use is the Streamlight TLR-2s (~$250) which comes with a laser and strobe function. It’s survived thousands of rounds, being dropped on the ground numerous times, and full days of shooting in heavy rain.
For the more budget minded customer, the most basic Streamlight TLR-1 (~$110) with just the light will do just as well. You might see some cheaper lights here or there, but we recommend that lights are not the place to cheap out on.
And for the person who wants the best of the best light only…the Surefire X300 ($200).
We go over all these lights and more in our Best Pistol Lights article.
I’m also a fan of lots of grip on your gun. Talon Grips ($17) is the perfect non-permanent solution.
Conclusion
- 9mm
- Hollowpoint defensive ammo
- Full-size frame
- Striker fired
- Night sights
- Rail mounted light
- Try out the feel of the Glock 17/19, M&P9, & XD
Of course, there’s a bazillion pistols that I left out…but the above specs are what we at Pew Pew Tactical recommend.
Already got a self-defense pistol? Learn how to become a crack shot.
Or ready to check out our Beginner Handgun Course?
Let us know in the comments what pistol you picked!
The M&P 2.0 is usually around $400 or less.
Retire USMC in ’89 and haven’t fired a handgun since. At age 70 I moved from California to Arizona so I wanted a basic 9mm so I went with Walther Creed 9mm. Have range rounds, varmit rounds and hollow points. These cover all my needs for practice, desert hiking/jeeping (not a fan of rattlesnakes) and home defense. Cheep at $299 but serves me well til I get more specialized weapons. GySgt USMC retired.
My first pistol was the G19. It was okay but not perfection by any means. I’ve also carried the Sig p320 for about 6 months. Didn’t care for the bulky slide, or the super high bore height. I shot M&Ps, XD’s, Fn 509, and all were just okay. Then I got my hands on the CZ p10c and the rest is history. I now own 2 identical p10c’s. One for training and the other to carry. They shoot flat, feel amazing in the hand, and most importantly are relatively cheap. They also have the best out of box trigger in… Read more »
I’ve owned and/or extensively shot all the models mentioned I shoot competitively, am an instructor, and a law enforcement officer. The mentioned models are solid performers however, the lack of the CZ line of pistols is glaring. The P01, P10c, and P07 are all vastly better options then the aforementioned. While the Glock, Springfield, and M&P are popular, they don’t hold a candle to CZ models’ accuracy recoil management, and reliability. Once you shoot CZ, you don’t go back.
First time gun owner at age 63. Never thought I would ever own a gun but with this changing world I just ordered the Glock 17, with light/laser. Hollow points. A 12 ga shotgun with light. 2 Taser Pulse guns with light/laser – 15ft range. (Concealed permit difficult in this CA city) 2 hours personal training for me and the wife and 400 rounds for initial practice.
Date night will include dinner and the range at least once a month from now on.