Hi everyone. With the possibility of my LTCH coming any day now (submitted January 25), I could use a little help selecting my first handgun. I'm kind of leaning towards a revolver for it's reputed reliability and ease of use, but as a gun newbie, I have some questions.
First questions are with regard to caliber selection. A good friend of mine recommended either .32 or .38 special for a revolver. After looking at S&W's, Ruger's, Taurus' and Colt's website (the last of which doesn't seem to have products listed), I couldn't find a single .32 that's still made. I've heard it's an accurate round, but I'm starting to wonder if it was a good suggestion at all. Anyone have any thoughts on that caliber? And as far as the .38 specials go, I understand that .357 mags can fire .38 special rounds but not the other way around; so, given that, is there any advantage for buying a .38 special revolver over a .357 mag?
Next questions have to do with used revolvers. MSRPs I'm seeing on revolvers online seem very high to me (e.g., in the 1000-1500 price range), so I was considering maybe looking into getting a used revolver to get a more manageable price. Would this be advisable over buying a new one? Or should I just suck it up and pay more to get a new one?
And lastly, does anyone have any suggestions for a particular model, either used or new, in any of the calibers mentioned above? Ideal price would be $400-600. I would like the option to carry this revolver for personal protection and I'm a smaller person, so something small-medium would be preferable.
Thanks in advance!
First questions are with regard to caliber selection. A good friend of mine recommended either .32 or .38 special for a revolver. After looking at S&W's, Ruger's, Taurus' and Colt's website (the last of which doesn't seem to have products listed), I couldn't find a single .32 that's still made. I've heard it's an accurate round, but I'm starting to wonder if it was a good suggestion at all. Anyone have any thoughts on that caliber? And as far as the .38 specials go, I understand that .357 mags can fire .38 special rounds but not the other way around; so, given that, is there any advantage for buying a .38 special revolver over a .357 mag?
Next questions have to do with used revolvers. MSRPs I'm seeing on revolvers online seem very high to me (e.g., in the 1000-1500 price range), so I was considering maybe looking into getting a used revolver to get a more manageable price. Would this be advisable over buying a new one? Or should I just suck it up and pay more to get a new one?
And lastly, does anyone have any suggestions for a particular model, either used or new, in any of the calibers mentioned above? Ideal price would be $400-600. I would like the option to carry this revolver for personal protection and I'm a smaller person, so something small-medium would be preferable.
Thanks in advance!