DM2, you don't ask for much, do you? :smile:
Good questions though, as considering all the firearms at once can be overwhelming. You've done some reading. Good. You've identified a few points you favor. That's good, too.
Still, the field is so very wide open. Even in threads where someone asks for an opininion between two or three specific handguns, invariably many will post to consider a different type. So many guns, so many opinions, so many people... what is perfect for one can be atrocious for another.
So take my biases with a block of salt: I'll try to find a medium between my biases and your desires, but keep in mind my biases are MINE, and may not be appropriate for you.
I'm going to rearrange the order of points you brought up in a relative order based on my biased opinion. Keep in mind my biases will be totally opposite of the biases of others, including many more experienced shooters than me. At some point, you'll have to take the plunge and make an educated guess as to what you think your future biases will be. Here are some of mine:
I'm also looking for features that you think would be good for a newb. For instance, the idea of a grip safety (I think that's the proper term) sounds good to me but I don't think I want an actual lever or anything I have to remember to "switch" off before being able to pull the trigger.
IMO, you have listed in this paragraph two of the most important safety issues there are for one carrying a weapon for self protection.
1.
"I don't think I want an actual lever or anything I have to remember to "switch" off before being able to pull the trigger."
I've seen video of a clerk who pulled a gun in self defense while facing an armed robber. The clerk pulled his gun, pulled the trigger multiple times, but the gun never fired because the safety was still on. The clerk was shot and killed.
When faced with a life-or-death situation and the adrenaline dump that comes with it, fine-motor skills (those necessary to flip little switches) may significantly decrease, meaning you may be unable to hit the little switch to turn the safety off.
When that statement is made, generally there are about 4 dozen 1911 owners who will say disengaging the safety upon drawing is second nature, and there is NO WAY they can fail to do it right. The difference between them and you may be 100,000 draw strokes where they practiced turning the safety off, thereby creating ingrained muscle memory to do it even without thinking about it. You can get to that point someday if you wish, but if you are a newbie, I will say you are not there yet.
I believe you are wise to desire a first gun without a safety that needs to be flipped. Now, many dozens or hundreds who chose a first gun with a flippable safety read this forum and would disagree with that statement. That's fine, but a person with such a gun will need more training initally to master the draw stroke while flipping the safety off.
2.
"For instance, the idea of a grip safety (I think that's the proper term) sounds good to me" I also think this is a good decision for a newbie. I have a grip safety on a couple of my guns, one of which was my first gun once I got serious about carrying.
I have carried for a only a couple years. I have tried to be careful when handling the guns. In all that time, I have been careful with only a few exceptions: once when I dropped a gun, and twice when the trigger got caught on clothing when reholstering.
Getting the trigger caught on clothing was due to carelessness I believe, because the only two times it has happened to me were both in the same week. That leads me to believe I was being mentally lazy, preoccupied, or just plain careless.
However, the exact reason really doesn't matter. What matters is that, although I try very hard to be perfect, I cannot. Had I been carrying a Glock, I likely would have discharged two rounds somewhere near my right leg. But since I was carrying a gun with a grip safety, AND I had learned to reholster without pressing the grip safety, the gun did not fire.
That's a long way of saying for a newbie (which I was) or a slightly older newbie who cannot be perfect no matter how hard he tries (which I am now), the grip safety is a fantastic idea.
An additional point in favor of the grip safety is that it MAY keep a young child from firing the gun. They would either need to have a hand big enough to grasp the grip and pull the trigger, or they would need to have two hands in just the right places for the gun to fire. Possible, yes, but at least the grip safety MIGHT prevent a child from firing the gun if they found it laying around. A gun with no external safety is more likely to be able to be fired by a child who finds it.
Based on your two points mentioned above, I can only think of one firearm that meets those two points: the XD series.
Of course I'm biased because I own two XD's. I carry one daily, and reserve the other for my daughter to use for home defense.
When I began looking for a carry gun, my highest priorities were reliability, safety, and intuitive use (not having to flip a safety off). Although some will disagree, I believe the XD meets all three of those requirements.
Now for the rest of your points.
Something I saw recently in a thread on the Springfield XDM was the fact that it is not required to pull the trigger in order to "take down" the firearm. That's a good feature and one I'm now looking for in my firearm, but its something I never would have thought about simply because I have no knowledge of firearms. So please do not leave out something you think is basic because everything is basic for me.
I like the idea of not having to pull the trigger upon takedown, but that is only available on a few polymer guns, and the only polymer gun it is available on with a backstrap safety is the XDm. That's a big gun to carry. It can be done, but for some people it can be difficult.
Generally speaking, I've heard women have a more difficult time concealing handguns than men, so the size of the XDm might be a factor if you are considering a carry gun.
While not needing to pull the trigger on takedown is nice and a good safety feature, IMO it is not as critical as the backstrap safety or the lack of flippable safeties. Just try to ensure the gun isn't loaded upon takedown, and once you have checked 3 or more times, then point the gun in a safe location (or at a can of sand, or whatever), and then pull the trigger.
I would be willing to overlook this safety feature if a gun had the first two.
So, with that said, what I'm looking for in this thread is guidance on how to evaluate a firearm before purchasing and what are the features of a quality firearm. For example, what makes a firearm well balanced,
How does it feel in your hand when loaded? When fired?
or what materials are better than others.
For all the gun owners whose guns I have or will slight, remember, these are MY biases. :smile:
If you buy from a good manufacturer, you can expect good materials whether steel or polymer. A short list from which I will certainly accidentally leave some out: Glock, Sig, Kahr, Beretta, H&K, Springfield...
Guns, or guns made from materials I don't consider top-of-the-line (here's where I'll inflame some, I'm sure): Hi Points, Davis, Cobra, Jennings. I'm tired or I could come up with some more. To all you HiPoint users, if I was on a limited budget and that's all I could afford, yes, I'd carry one.
Also, how do I find out if parts are machined from solid pieces of steel or welded and which is better.
Lots of research. Maybe better left to your second gun purchase. I would suggest buying a gun from a manufacturer with a reputation of quality and reliability, and buying a model with the same reputation. There will always be more time for detailed study between slight differences of, say, a German-made Sig vs. an American made Sig.
While I am in the market for a semi-auto or "auto loader" as BikerRN likes to call them, I do not want to limit the thread to info on just semi-autos because others reading may need info on revolvers. Who knows, I may want one sometime in the future.
A couple revolvers to consider if you are interested in them:
1: A 642 (silver) or 442 (black) Smith and Wesson .38. Small 5-shot revolvers, but easy to conceal and simple to operate. The downside is they may not be quite as easy to conceal as a small auto, they hold less than autos, and for most they take longer to reload.
2: An SP-101 Ruger .357. Slightly bigger than the 442/642's, but the 101 shoots .357 and .38's. Shooting .357's will give more kick, but if you shoot .38's out of it, the 101 will likely have less recoil than the 442/642 due to the 101's mass.
All the revolvers mentioned have reputations of being reliable. Revolvers do have their good uses. I carry one as a backup to my auto.
Other revolvers: Smith & Wesson have made thousands of revolvers over the years, with dozens of different models. I couldn't begin to discuss all their models even if I knew them all. I only mention the 442/642 because they are new and the hammers are enclosed, meaning no lint can enter the gun through the hammer opening. This is a nice feature.
Taurus makes many revolvers, some that look almost identical to S&W. While some will disagree, I chose S&W because of what I had read of Taurus' poor customer service in past years.
Charter Arms, Rossi, etc. I'd still choose a S&W or a Ruger.
Thanks in advance for all the help and I look forward to reading your responses.
How about some bandaids and an ice-pack for all the heat I'll take for giving my biases and dissing others' guns? :wink:
So in a nutshell, I suggest you take a look at the Springfield Armory XD series. They make the following:
XD 9 tactical: standard size grip with 5" barrel. I wouldn't consider this for carry. Some do, but IMO the extra inch barrel adds nothing but perhaps a little difficult in concealing and drawing.
XD 9 service: standard fullsize 9mm with 4" barrel and full grip.
XD 9 subcompact: 3 " barrel, slightly shorter, and two mags--one short 13-rounder for easy concealment, and a longer 16-rounder that makes the grip the same size as the 9mm service grip.
The subcompact can ALMOST become a service (only lacking 1" on the barrel, but with the grip identical size), but the service can NEVER become a subcompact.
The 9mm ammo is cheaper than .40 and .45, plus the 9mm XD's hold more rounds than similar-sized XD's of other calibers.
If you think you may want to carry someday, I recommend looking at the subcompact since it's much easier to conceal on-body. Having said that, many people do conceal an XD service, or even larger handguns...
Springfield also makes:
XD .40 tactical
XD .40 service
XD .40 subcompact
Same general points as the 9mm, but the .40 XD's hold less rounds since the round is physically bigger.
The recoil is generally more which could lead to slower followup shots.
Ammo costs more than the 9mm.
Springfield also makes:
XD .45 tactical
XD .45 service
XD .45 compact Same general points as the 9mm subcompact. The .45 compact holds 10 with a short mag, but 13 with a long mag that makes the grip the same as the .45 service. The .45 compact is roughly the same size as the 9mm service. It's a bigger gun, has more recoil than the 9mm, and the ammo costs more.
Having said all that, and based on the points you mentioned as being important, I suggest looking at the XD 9 subcompact and the XD 9service.
So please do not leave out something you think is basic because everything is basic for me.
A couple benefits on the XD series that a newbie may find beneficial are:
1. The loaded-chamber indictor. If there is a bullet in the chamber of an XD, there is a small indicator on top of the slide that raises up. You can see it AND feel it. No "press checks" to verify whether a bullet is chambered, where you slightly pull back the slide and look in the chamber.
2. A striker indicator, which tells if the gun is cocked or not. This also can be seen AND felt.
Now that I've had my XD's a couple years, these two features aren't as important to me as they were when I first started carrying. Why? Because my guns are always loaded and always cocked, unless I'm in the process of firing or cleaning. But these two features helped me early on to tell the status of my weapon. They don't hurt a thing by having them, so they are not a negative even if I don't use them. I still like them. Even though I never unload my XD as indicated, seeing the loaded-chamber indictor removes any doubt I might have had.
Disclaimer: lots of good guns out there. On the last forum poll, I believe Glocks were first in popularity, then 1911's, then revolvers as a group, then XD's, with Sigs right close IIRC.
CONCLUSION/RECOMMENDATION
The only gun that meets all your criteria is the XDm. You can keep all your criteria and buy an XDm, and then work on concealing it since it's a large gun, or you could give up the one criteria of not pulling the trigger on takedown, and then examine the XD series.
I suggest starting your search by comparing the XD9 subcompact, the XD9 service, and then the XDm 9mm. See how they feel to you, and shoot them if you can.
If you like one of them, great. If not, you can continue your search.
Totally biased, I know--probably made a few enemies by dissing someone's gun, but those are some of my biases based on your criteria.