Looking to purchase my first handgun

Question
Hello Bob,

First of let me thank you for taking the time to help people with firearms questions. As a fellow expert for the site (culinary, and special dietary questions) I am glad to see others helping people by offering their knowledge.

I am looking to purchase between 1 and 3 handguns in the near future. I am an avid hunter, I usually hunt in the mountains of Virginia where I have seen more than my share of predators. I am also living in a town that I see becoming more and more unsafe everyday. I also usually get off work late at night in a part of my town that is notorious for violent crime. I have been shooting for many years, like I said I hunt, trap shoot, target practice with my fathers handgun (Taurus 9mm auto), and I am a concealed carry permit holder here in VA.

My question is: I am looking for a firearm with enough stopping power to handle any situation, including possibly having to fire on some one doped up that is concealable, and affordable. I am also looking for a sidearm to take hunting that would be capable of stopping a large predator such as a bear, cougar, or coyote any suggestions? At the same time I am looking for a firearm for my fiance who has a very small frame and even smaller, more delicate hands, can you recommend a firearm that would be simple to operate and conceal that would be appropriate for any situation that she may come across?

I know that it is quite difficult to find handguns of good quality while saving as much money as possible. Unfortunately I need to spend as little as possible. As many of us are experiencing, money is fairly tight right now.  

For myself I tend to favor a heavier firearm and have had experience firing a .50 cal Desert Eagle and did not have much trouble handling the size and recoil. I was thinking of a .40 caliber for a concealed carry sidearm since that is what many of our local law enforcement officers carry; and for the hunting sidearm I was thinking of a .45 caliber since it is a little more hefty and from my research will probably do better with a large animal full of adrenaline.

I would also like to start reloading my own ammunition, again for cost reasons. Can you recommend a reloading system that will hopefully be able to handle anything from pistol and rifle ammunition to shotgun slugs and small game shells?
Also can you recommend powder, primers, and projectiles for the firearms you recommend? As well as starter ammunition that I can reload after the rounds have been spent

Again thank you very much for your time!

Chef Glen L. Davis II
Virginia Chefs Association
American Culinary Federation

Answer
Hello Glen.

Regarding the cost of the guns, the best ways to save money are:

- Purchase new guns online and have them shipped to a local dealer. In most cases the shipping will not exceed $20 and the FFL transfer / background check fee will not exceed $25 if you take the time to find dealers with reasonable fees. These fees will be easily offset by the big price savings you can get by purchasing online, and in most cases you can avoid paying local taxes as well. Here are some sites to shop:

http://www.auctionarms.com/
http://www.gunbroker.com/
http://www.gunsamerica.com/
http://www.cdnninvestments.com/

- Buy brands and models that are known for good quality and reliability without being top of the line or expensive custom shop guns. For example Taurus, Ruger, and Beretta make pistols that are solid performers without the higher prices commonly seen on the slightly better but more expensive brands such as Sig Sauer, H&K, Para Ordnance, etc.

- Buy used guns locally from private party sellers or from dealers that offer factory reconditioned units which typically come from police trade-ins. Look in the newspaper, green sheets, trade magazines, or on bulletin boards at gun clubs and ranges. Make sure to inspect the guns carefully or ask someone to check them for you if you are not familiar with what to look for. I have seen some really bad condition issues out there so be careful, but most used guns are a pretty good bargain.

- Buy fewer guns that are versatile enough to fit several of your needs. You might have to compromise a bit but proper selection will save you some money. For example you could get a pistol with changeable barrels that will fire more than one caliber, such as a .40 S&W and .357 Sig combination.

Regarding your specific pistol requirements:

If you truly need a handgun that can handle "any" situation then you are going to need one of the most powerful handguns on the market such as a .44 Magnum or .500 S&W Magnum, although these guns tend to be much larger, less concealable, and somewhat expensive. The largest calibers are normally only needed for defense against major predators such as black and brown bears, wild hogs, mountain lions, humans concealed behind barricades or light armor, etc. If you can rule out those predators and you are primarily worried about the typical human threats then you can probably get by just fine with something ranging from a 9mm, .357 Magnum, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP. It will all depend on whether or not you want to use the same pistol for hunting, animal defense, and/or long distance shooting. In general I would consider one of the Taurus Tracker revolvers which are available in .357 Magnum or .44 Magnum but still reasonably light and inexpensive compared to similar guns. The 2" models are fine but you can get better long distance accuracy from a 4" barrel. The titanium models are much lighter but they cost a bit more.

In most cases the gun that you select for hunting will be a bit too large and heavy for concealment so you may want to get a .44 Magnum with a 4" or 6" barrel for hunting use and look at a 9mm or .357 Magnum for concealment and personal defense. You should easily be able to find a number of pistols to fit your wife's hands. I teach gun classes and have students including women and childern as young as 10 years old that often fire my Taurus Total Titanium 2" revolver in .357 Magnum and it fits their hands just fine. With 7 shots, ribber grips, and porting it is very pleasant to shoot but it will sure do the job on the target. It is pretty light too so reasonably easy to carry but it won't conceal as easy a slim frame semi-auto such as a mini Glock or a single-stack 9mm.

Regarding reloading: it is very fun to reload and it will save you money in the long run but it costs quite a bit to get everything that you need on the front end. The cost goes up significantly when you want to reload multiple calibers such as .357 Magnum and 9mm. You often need additional equipment to reload shotshells and this won't save you quite as much since shotgun shells are generally pretty cheap compared to pistol ammunition. I have found that the initial startup cost for pistol reloading can range from $400 to $700 depending on what you buy, and you typically save about $7 per box of 50 cartridges so you would need to reload 50-100 boxes (2500-5000 rounds) before you break even and start saving money. Some people will tell you that there are kits with everything for less than $200-$300 but once you add in all the components, tools, and accessories then it gets up there pretty fast and most of this stuff is not really optional. If you decide to invest and get started then I highly recommend the Dillon reloading presses and dies. They have a free catalog known as the Blue Press which you can call and have mailed out. Their equipment costs a little more than the entry level stuff but it is well worth it. You can buy a reloading manual from Speers, RCBS, Dillon, Hornady, Winchester, or many others that will give you detailed loading data and most of these companies will send you component catalogs for free. Your best bet is to visit a local gun shop that has some of this equipment on display and ask them to teach you the basics so you can decide if this is something you want to do.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

Bob