From Between the Loops in San Antonio

First and foremost, welcome to TGT from another military retiree (USAF 1981-2006) and San Antonian!

Inasmuch as I find it the same old stuff, I would recommend you and your wife attend the next SAXET Gun Show at the San Antonio Event Center, 410 and Potranco, the first weekend of every month. There you will be able to look and handle a variety of pistols that will help you narrow down your choices. I have found many times my initial desire for a handgun diminishes once I've actually held it. Either the ergonomics are not to me liking, or I find the balance off (i.e. too nose heavy for my tastes). It's a lot easier (and cheaper) to learn that lesson via a gun show than go to a shop and ask to handle a much smaller selection of firearms.

Once you've done your research (i.e. online reviews of guns you are considering) and narrowed down your list, check local ranges to see if they have that model as a rental. Many have more popular pistols available, but if it's something a bit more rare then ask to see if someone on here may have one and will bring it to a range for you to try. Just a suggestion, but if that happens I would consider it good manners to bring ammo for the gun and offer to pay for the person's range fees. That would be mighty Texan of ya!

As mentioned, there are a lot of opinions on what works best for carry. I have no problem with a full-sized Springfield XDM-45 Competition Series that is basically the same dimensions of a M1911 (just a bit wider as it's a double stack and holds 13 rounds vs 7) but I know many who prefer .380s such as the Ruger LCP. Different strokes for different folks, but I subscribe to the mantra of never shooting a large caliber man with a small caliber bullet!

Welcome to TGT, Jack.

As for your question, majormadmax did a great job of answering it and this:

EZ-E said:

Pistols are like women, theres always lots of options but you know you've got the right one when your holding it.

Click to expand...

...puts it a little more poetically while being just as on-the-nose.

All the research in the world doesn't substitute for picking up the firearm. There will be many that you intellectually understand are perfectly fine weapons BUT something about them seems off. When that happens, don't question it. Just put that piece back down and put it out of your mind.

I generally advise people to not buy anything that doesn't make you immediately think to yourself "Y'know, that just feels right" the first time you pick it up.

This sounds like just emotional, feel-good bovine excrement but, in practice, it works.

So, go to some gun shows and lay your hands on everything. Come to a meet-up and shoot everything people offer you. You'll figure out what you like in short order.

Hello from another retired military guy living outside San Antonio in New Braunfels (but still working in my second life).

IMO, the best deal going for us are Glock Blue Label guns. You can get them in town, but I prefer to go to GT Distributors in Austin.

www.gtdist.com

You will NOT go wrong with either a new G19 or G45. Both are 9MM. Either will sell for $398.20 + tax.

There are a lot of other great choices out there, but there are a lot of reasons the Glock is prolific worldwide. And for the BL price, you have zero to lose...if you don’t like it, you can sell it for what you bought it for in a week.

FYI, you can buy two Glocks at Blue Label prices per year.

Ohhhh....almost forgot to add the trigger pull & feel.

I EDC a Sig 938...single action. The trigger is very similar to a 1911.
My range toy is a CZ75B Omega ...double action with a Cajun Gunworks trigger. Also a PMR30 striker fire.

I went to the range today with my neighbor & he just got a S&W SVE .40 cal...striker fire. He said he put some kind of trigger kit in it. I shot it & thought the trigger was horrible. It felt like a revolver but worse. You could feel the trigger cocking the gun is the best way to describe it. My PMR30 that is striker fire is very similar to the single action on a 1911. Very little trigger creep then the trigger breaks.

When shooting the S&W because of how much force you had to use to pull the trigger, you naturally would shoot low & to the left. You had to force your self to control the roll of your wrist to keep straight.

Just to note, do NOT check trigger pull at gun shows!

All good responses and all much appreciated. I have a couple LTC menfolk in the immediate area who are more than willing to take me under their advisement, pay their range fees and buy the beer for the after action reports. The entire gun culture and volume of information is a very heady mixture. I like the suggestion "Don't buy what don't feel good (right away)" Makes sense to me. Thanks for the welcome mat and handgun chat. Time for mattress culture now.