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What gun would you recommend for my use case?

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?

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38 comments
  • You seem to be prioritizing recoil management, accuracy, and capacity greatly over concealability. If you really intended to CC regularly, I would recommend de-emphasizing most other aspects in favor of size. Since that isn't the case, and since an M&P 2.0 is considered an acceptable size, I'd like to throw the CZ-75B into the ring.

    Recoil management

    More gun weight generally translates into easier recoil management, and the CZ-75B is metal framed which gives it weight.

    Accuracy

    The CZ-75B is a double-action/single-action. Some people like it, some people don't. You should try it in person. The double action is something of a learning curve, but once you surmount it, the single action pulls are very good for followup shots.

    Capacity

    It is a 16+1 pistol. Which more than meets the requirement.

    If this pistol does seem too large, I would also recommend looking at the CZ P-07, which is a little bit smaller and lighter with a polymor construction, with an eye towards the CC market. It does retain the double action-single action trigger.

    To re-emphasize, these suggestions are coming from seeing that your list of desires is somewhat at odds between ability to CC and the rest of the list. For a truly CC pistol I'd recommend something like an LCP, LC9, or Glock 43. However, those suggestions completely fly in the face of the rest of your list. In my experience the smaller the better for CC, and the majority of people I know who go with a larger firearm tend to carry it less and less over time. A gun small enough to be easily carried and that can be consistently carried is more useful than one that might shoot better but is sitting in a drawer.

38 comments