Yes I finally went to shoot a couple rounds out of my 1911 which is a .45 ACP and my S&W SD9VE just last Friday, Thank you for reminding me. The 9mm was fun to shoot but we had less time on our hands so my lady and I just tried it out with probably about 25 rounds of 9mm and 10 of the .45. I enjoy the 9mm, .45 has some kick for sure. Not that I won't like shooting it but the ammo is pretty pricey in comparison. One of the things I have yet to put down as a pro and con is the triggers. Since I haven't shot much in handguns, I'm less likely to have much to say about the triggers. Not much to compare to. If I had gone through several 100's of rounds of other 9mm guns, then perhaps. Sugarbug87 liked the 9mm a lot more than the .45 so maybe that will be her choice to make? Who knows. I'm interested in hearing what your significant others like to fire if they do.
My wife will shoot any of them, even her dads 44 with mag loads. She does have some issues with the double stacks, and even 45s due to hand size. She grew up around guns so she's into them just as much as I am, and has just as many pistols as I do. I started the pistol thing a bit later in life cause never was around any growing up. I may groan and gripe some when she says something about another pair of boots or shoes, but am nothing but encouragement if she says something about a new gun/pistol! She wanted a 10mm, but they're just too darn big for her hands! Maybe one day....
yes There is one near us we've been wanting to go to that does rent them. I was interested in their rentals as well. As Far as question 2... I'm not sure I have an answer. having read about 9mm and .40, the two are likely to be similar but 40 has more kinetic energy in the bullet so likely more recoil in turn. I will need to try them out to have a better answer for you.
Sorry but double stacks? The one ammo I am seeing in stores still in bulk is 10mm. They are new on my radar just like several rifle calibers. It gets difficult to decide when new calibers or lesser known if others don’t buy it as much due to sizes.
Double stack refers to magazines. Instead of cartridges being directly on top of each other, like your 1911, they're offset or stagered in the mag for higher capacity. This means a wider mag, and therefore wider grip, which can be an issue especially for folks with smaller hands. You mentioned recoil of a 40. A 10mm is a souped up 40, so even more recoil. Also a larger grip, since the cartridge is longer. Ammunition (type and caliber) availabilty is something I think about. Some calibers may be cool to have and sound good performance wise, but can you find the ammo? It's a bit of a catch 22, cause if a caliber is very popular, it may be easy to find the ammo during normal times, but when issues arise such as of late, everyone is trying to get that same ammo. It's a balance..and there is no such thing as having too much ammo.
Ok now this makes more sense as I have 5.56 mags and those are double stacked I believe, alternating as the mag holds 30. I agree no number of ammo is enough, buy it as low as possible.
No. Not yet. We do have to take a silly class to buy anything semi-auto though. Back in the late 90s we all had the clinton magazine size limits so my P94 in 40 cal has just a 10 round double stack mag.
Hm not that I know of. Just some mags for Glocks are long but I’m unaware of any that will fit my S&W model but I’m thinking this is obtainable unless they don’t make them for this model... one downside to the mags being so big is the weight. I’ve not held up a barrel or twin barrel mag holding 100 rnds but that’s gotta be heavy especially on an AR for example.
Ammo price is definitely something to think about if you plan on practicing semi-regularly. I could go thru 100 rounds in 20-30 minutes. Let Sugarbug87 make her own damm choice. She is the one that has to shoot it and if not comfortable with the grip, weight or kickback, she won't want to practice. Also if she plans to conceal, that can be huge. I bought a little Taurus .380 to wear with my work clothes (women have to be dressed better than men can get away with). Love my Sig239 - too bad they don't make them anymore. It's a single stack 9mm and has a DA/SA trigger. First pull takes more pounds, then after that it is light pulls. That first pull makes me think about steadiness and if I am ready to shoot (almost a safety type measure without being a disabling safety). I've shot .45, and can shoot it fine, just that recoil really hits me and I definitely would not have one in my stable. Really, at 7 feet (about the length you can get away with for a self-defense shot - maybe a bit more for females depending on the judicial system), any caliber is going to penetrate fairly well. Hollow points will do more damage as they are going thru mass - but is not the type you want to use for target practice.
FatBoy85, the rounds in the magazine...what I meant was some areas/states have put restrictions on capacity for handguns, like 7 or 10 rounds. A lot of pistols may hold 12, 14, 17 etc. So getting those mags before any future restrictions could happen is recommended in my opinion. Like bogieb said, let Sugarbug87 find something she likes. Try to help her make an informed choice, and hopefully whatever she chooses works out well. Here's a little secret though...if for some reason she decides the one she gets isn't working, she can go get another one! Keep or sell the first one, whatever floats your (her) boat. bogieb also brought up another good point....ammo price is definitely another consideration, which may or may not go along with the availability previously discusses. Havent bought .380 in a while, but at one time it was more expensive than several larger calibers.
Selling a gun in Washington is quite difficult. Not like the old days when you ran an ad in the paper like for a cord of wood.
Even better, means you get to keep it! I don't really believe in selling guns once they become part of the family...
Mags are very important, stock up. Also parts and kits for future builds, but not right now (prices are too high). Plan for the future. FatBoy85 mentioned "barrel" mags. These are referred to as drum magazines. Avoid them, they are not known to be reliable. You want reliability with these tools. The gimmicks are cool at the range, but why? The cost for a double snail drum mag for an AR would have allowed you to purchase more Magpul mags holding a higher collective number of rounds, and be completely reliable. The "big stick" magazines for Glocks are fine if you have a carbine or the like. Unwieldy when used with a standard handgun. I have a Pro-Mag 33 rnd mag for a Ruger SR9, it's reliable to only 26 rnds. It's a gimmick, strictly for the range and FTF/ FTE drills when I'm inclined.
Oh Of course, I wasn’t implying she wasn’t going to make her own choice. What we noticed was when we hit the sports store that I frequent and bought both my handguns at, they didn’t have much in the semi-auto area. That was pretty cleaned out. The time I got mine, they were ok in supply. That has dwindled among most of the stores I’ve seen anyways. So that in mind, we may not have many options at this time. Maybe a gun auction? I’m aware of a gun show in a couple weeks, I don’t know if it will be upheld or canceled. We’re definitely not in times that will be back to “normal” soon.
I’ve bought 30 round mags already but I didn’t know that they had an effective reliability at less than their capacity. Should I take some rounds out since I filled with 30? Nothing went wrong in reloading but they were cheap cheap. 9 bucks.
