For personal protection, not for hunting or target shooting. I’m going to enroll in a class at a local range so I will be properly trained, and won’t go shopping until after I have completed some training.
The areas I work in and the items I carry with me make me feel as though it is time to carry appropriate protection. I don’t particularly care if it is a small gun or something slightly larger. I will purchase ammunition that has the maximum stopping power possible- as allowed by NY State law, of course. ( From what I read, buying ammunition is quite difficult, but that is something I’ll deal with once I am actively shopping. )
Not overly worried about the whole background check aspect. I’ve been run by the F.B.I. several times due to working near the President of the United States and have been fingerprinted already 3 times. That whole part of this is a non-issue for me.
Two things - once you get trained, I would suggest target shooting for fun (if you can). You’ll keep your skills up and will become very comfortable with your gun. I think this is important because in the time of emergency, you don’t want it to feel unfamiliar.
Two, personally I would recommend a .357 revolver. You can buy .38 rounds (cheaper) for target practice, while the .357 rounds will take down any intruder.
I shot a .357 for a long time (mostly shooting .38s to practice.) That said, I recently got to shoot a good model 1911 .45ACP, and am wholeheartedly converted. I just picked mine up a couple of weeks ago.
For a no frills self-defense gun, Glock is probably the way to go. It’s got a nice mix of simplicity and reliability at an economical price. The only major caveat is that some people aren’t too fond of the grip angle. But as long as you find it comfortable, that’s likely to be your best bet.
Personally, I’m more of a Sig fan. But given your requirements, I can’t honestly recommend paying more to get a Sig.
Edit: Upon reading the other replies, I’d also have to agree with a .357 revolver working well. I’m biased toward semi-automatics, so it unfairly narrowed my thinking on the subject.
I like revolvers, but a semi-auto would be easier to carry concealed. 9mm, .40 and .45 caliber would all be excellent choices, with the .40 being a nice balance but not as popular as the other two. Glock, Heckler & Kock, and Ruger all make excellent handguns. Go about the concealed carry process above board, obviously.
The only correct answer is the one you’ve already given: the most stopping power you are comfortable carrying. My personal choice would be a Glock 23, which is a nice, compact semi-auto that carries 13+1 rounds of .40 S&W. Load it with Glasers mixed with Silvertips and you’re gtg.
A lot of it boils down to simple personal preference. Revolvers have an advantage of simplicity, which leads to a certain advantage of ruggedness and reliability. No matter how much you abuse a revolver it’s still going to fire (well, almost).
Revolvers have a disadvantage that they are slower to load. This probably isn’t an issue if you are going to carry it loaded, but it’s an issue if you use it for home defense and you keep it unloaded (recommended for safety reasons).
I’ve shot a glock before, and didn’t mind it. A well maintained glock is going to be reliable, so the reliability issue really isn’t that significant. I guess some folks don’t think they are comfortable, but I was fine with it.
I’m going to wholeheartedly second runner pat’s suggestion of going to a range where they rent different weapons for you to try out. You don’t really want a hand cannon. Sure, it may have more stopping power, but that doesn’t do you much good if the recoil is making you shoot over the bad guy’s head. You want something with decent stopping power, sure, but you want to be able to control it as well. Try out a few different guns and see which one you like. Make sure it is comfortable and make sure you can control it.
Also, I second the recommendation of going to the range often to practice.
I like a good .357 magnum for the reasons mentioned but partially because I like the look of a well-made revolver. However, .357 rounds can be intimidating to shoot for some people but you can load it with much lower powered .38 caliber rounds for practice. Glocks tend to be pretty easy to shoot especially in their common 9mm versions. Don’t let anyone talk you into getting something overly powerful. My father was a gun dealer and I have shot most everything under the sun. Something like a .44 magnum would be way too powerful and intimidating especially to target practice with often. A .357 magnum would be the upper limit of a self-defense handgun for me. I think that everything listed in this thread so far is a good choice but it depends on your personal preference so you just have to try a number of them out to see what you like.
I’m not a gun expert at all but I used to have a Sig P239 .40 cal (I also had a .357 Sig barrel for it but didn’t use it much, the ammo was pricey) and it was a great concealed carry gun, compact, reliable, and accurate. I’ve shot a couple Glocks of comparable size and enjoyed shooting the Sig more.
It sounds like you want to carry concealed - not just keep a gun in your home? Then you should investigate what it takes to get a CCL in your town before you go much further. NY is a “may issue” state, which means it’s completely up to the discretion of the licensing officer whether to give you a license. Just because you’ve passed various background checks doesn’t mean you’ll get one.
If he lives in Suffolk County… good luck. Check out the requirements for a self defense carry license on page 14 of this PDF from the SCPD about pistol licensing.
I think most people around here end up with a sportsman license, which only allows carry to/from the shooting range or gun shop.
Well, I tossed out a quick answer in a hurry, but other people have put out the much better one of “try many on.” You can rent guns at many indoor ranges, and it’s best to do that even once you’ve found a caliber or type that you like. I’ve been burned by buying a gun that felt like it balanced well in the store but just didn’t fit me at all when I went to shoot it.
On paper, a .40 seemed like it would be a good fit for me based on size and stopping power, but the recoil was a little too much for me, and too sharp. I wouldn’t have thought a .45 would be better, based on size alone, but it’s a much smoother recoil. The 1911 is made by many manufacturers, and you can have as much work done on it as you care to throw money at. There are a ton of aftermarket accessories available - I pretty much know a holster is going to fit without bringing it to the store to try it on.
It’s a common enough caliber that when ammo is generally available, there’s an assortment of bullet weights and powder charges to select from. All bets are off on finding ammo these days though, especially with such a popular caliber, which is one of the downsides.
My particular .45 is more concealable than my personal .357 is, but that’s because I have a smallish .45 and a largish .357. Things can go the other way. You are going to have to research the hell out of the legalities of carrying concealed in your state. I’m working on the paperwork right now, and it’s not easy in California.
Try out as many as you can before you choose. I thought I wanted a revolver and had a mild bias against semi-autos but after many trials at the shooting range ended up (to my mild surprise) preferring the Glock 23.
