New to handguns - how many, what general categories should I think about?

[Carl]

Beauty....and well used...

[FrugalFannie]

I would say GET MORE TRAINING and buy 1 gun. If you cannot conceal carry then I would suggest the largest one you are comfortable with. GET TRAINED by an instructor who will help you select a firearm for your situation and that you shoot well. Then buy the gun and GET MORE TRAINING. Instead of buying 3 guns you can save a lot of money by buying 1 gun and then use that money for training and ammo.

[Cordovil]

I would say GET MORE TRAINING and buy 1 gun. If you cannot conceal carry then I would suggest the largest one you are comfortable with. GET TRAINED by an instructor who will help you select a firearm for your situation and that you shoot well. Then buy the gun and GET MORE TRAINING. Instead of buying 3 guns you can save a lot of money by buying 1 gun and then use that money for training and ammo.

Normally, I would agree with you.  But while I'm here in the People's Republik of NJ, I am forced to deal with very onerous (and IMO unconstitutional) gun laws that require me to apply for a special permit just to PURCHASE a handgun, and said permits expire after a maximum of 180 days.  The worst part is that part of the permit process is that I have to identify two non-family references and the NJ State Police call / write these references EVERY TIME I try to obtain a permit, requiring them to respond.  And I hate that for many reasons, not least of which it is unnerving and an inconvenience for those friends that have been decent enough to agree to serve as references for me (and this, in a very gun-non-friendly area).  And since I can obtain multiple handgun permits at a time (with only the need for the police to bother my references that one time) I made the decision to get all the handguns for the various purposes I will need all at once, and then of course practice with all of them later.

[BLACK SHIRT]

Normally, I would agree with you.  But while I'm here in the People's Republik of NJ, I am forced to deal with very onerous (and IMO unconstitutional) gun laws that require me to apply for a special permit just to PURCHASE a handgun, and said permits expire after a maximum of 180 days.  The worst part is that part of the permit process is that I have to identify two non-family references and the NJ State Police call / write these references EVERY TIME I try to obtain a permit, requiring them to respond.  And I hate that for many reasons, not least of which it is unnerving and an inconvenience for those friends that have been decent enough to agree to serve as references for me (and this, in a very gun-non-friendly area).  And since I can obtain multiple handgun permits at a time (with only the need for the police to bother my references that one time) I made the decision to get all the handguns for the various purposes I will need all at once, and then of course practice with all of them later.
[/quote

Wow, Thats terrible!!! I feel sorry for anyone in New Jersey.

[Davew223]

Machinisttx has brought up the most important issue and here is why.  He said to go try a bunch before you buy.  The reason this is so important is because the handgun needs to fit you.  Notice that I did not say fit your hand.  Different manufactures use different grip angles and the gun should fit your wrist angle when they are cammed  down to tendon lockout. This will give you a good site picture every time because you have a hard reference point. It will also give you faster split times between shots by mitigating the dip after recoil. This is not to say you can't learn a different grip angle, it's just better to have it fit.  If a glock works for you,  I would get the 34 over the 17. It is basically a 17 with a little longer barrel and longer site radius.

[Cordovil]

So, to wrap up this thread, here are the 5 handguns that I ended up purchasing with my 5 permits (yeah, I guess I have a thing for Rugers):

- Ruger LCR; 38 special.  Purpose: at-home carry; maybe would be a warm weather concealed carry option when/if I move to a state that respects the 2nd Amendment.

- Ruger GP100; 357/38 special.  Purpose: nightstand, bump-in-the-night gun -- I wanted a revolver because I had concerns about my ability to operate a semi-automatic pistol if woken up from a deep sleep at 3 a.m. needing to defense my family; also would be the gun I hand to a novice family member or trusted friend I needed to arm in a SHTF situation.

- Ruger GP100; 22LR.  Purpose: this was an unexpected purchase, but I enjoyed shooting the revolvers so much that I decided to pick up a 22LR revolver for training / target shooting; also, eventually this will be the gun that I use to teach my wife how to shoot, and it *may* end up being her go-to home defense gun (yes, it's not ideal, but if she's not comfortable with a larger caliber, it's better than a knife).

- Glock 19 Gen4; 9mm.  Purpose: this gun is going to mainly be used only at the range for now; I suspect that this will become my primary carry firearm once that right is available to me.

- Ruger 22/45 Mark III.  Purpose: this was just a "fun" purchase for the most part, that in retrospect I don't really "need"; I picked this up before I decided to get the GP100 22LR, thinking it would be my only 22LR; I will use it for target practice at the range, and in the back of my head I have dreams of one day tricking it out with a suppressor and using it to dispatch varmints on my little plot o'land out in the country.   



So . . . good, bad, or ugly, that's where I ended up.  Thanks to everyone who offered their opinions and advice - I really appreciated it! 

[Cordovil]

Update: Roughly a year later, I can say that I am happy with the handguns that I purchased, with one exception: my 22LR semi-automatic pistol (which happens to be a Ruger 22/45 Mark III).

There's nothing wrong with it and this isn't a knock against the Ruger 22/45 Mark III, but I found that I simply did not need a "22LR practice revolver" AND a "22LR practice semiautomatic pistol."  Between the two, I prefer my Ruger GP 100 22LR when I want to shoot 22LRs, and so I find that I have barely used my 22LR semiautomatic pistol.

Usually, when I'm at the range shooting handguns, I'll shoot (1) Glock 19, (2) GP 100 loaded with 38 special, (3) GP 100 22LR, and then (4) a small amount with my Ruger LCR in 38 special.

I've just found that I don't need a 22LR semiautomatic pistol for training purposes (tbh, I don't even really need the GP 100 22LR revolver, but having and shooting a 22LR is fun, and this is the first handgun that I'm going to have my wife shoot when she's ready to learn). 

So, that's my postmortem report.

[Smurf Hunter]

It depends why you practice I suppose.  Folks who do a lot of self defense training like .22lr conversions of the same pattern pistol for ergonomics.  They can practice racking slides, same point of aim from holster draw etc

If you are more interested in recreational target shooting, I see your point.

[JollyGreen]

Update: ......
So, that's my postmortem report.

Kick ass.  Congratulations.  Send that Mark III down the road and don't look back.  Sell it for ammo and get some good training. 

Cheers,
David

[Carl]

Kick ass.  Congratulations.  Send that Mark III down the road and don't look back.  Sell it for ammo and get some good training. 

Cheers,
David

I use a Ruger Mark 1 or a Browning Buckmark...each with red dot scope,and fair well with squirrels and bunnies ,as a GRUB GETTER,it is hard to beat when I don't carry one of my 22 rifles.