A good snubby is all thats needed.

RugerSR9C

hands down the best choice for your circumstances

I own one of each. I've owned my M&P 340, .357 for a few years. I just bought my M&P 9 compact 2.0. It's hard to say which is better. I love them both. My 9mm is my new conceal carry gun. Replacing my 1911, 45. My .357 lives in my truck. They both shoot real nice and they compliment each other. It's hard to say which one you should buy. They're both fine guns. Since you've owned a 9mm before, it would be easy leaning in that direction. But, you can never go wrong with a revolver

Another option is the Ruger Security 9

My .02 cents if money is an issue look at the SCCY CPX-2 small compact double action only trigger, come with 2 10 round magazines Cost $199 -$230. I just picked up a Shield 2.0 with laser in a case with flashlight and knife for $399 but the regular shield was $349.

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Max
USCG Ret.

Once you make a decision try this for regular range practice: Using a paper plate @ three, five & seven yards empty your CCW into the plate as fast as possible, combat reload and repeat. Slow down slightly as distance increases. Your goal is to keep all your rounds on the plate. Good luck and pls let us know what you decide.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

If strictly a carry gun, choose a 2.0 shield in your caliber. If you'd like to carry AND shoot at the range frequently, get a compact. If you'd like an enjoyable range gun that you can also carry, get a full size. I own the shield and full size. I love carrying the full size but when I want comfort and strictly carry I carry the shield. If I had to travel and be in and out of vehicles all day, shield. If it was more relaxed or I wanted the gun I hands down over, my 2.0 fs would fit the bill. Honestly, if I had bought the 4" compact 2.0 I bet I still would have gotten the shield...

To pick just one, I'd go compact. Good at Range, Home defense and OWB carry. I love revolvers but just don't shoot them as well as semi's. Plus, I certainly can't reload one in a hurry.

I don’t think you can go wrong with a 9c 2.0. I bought one a couple of weeks ago off gunbroker. The gun was $340. All in with insured shipping and transfer fee I was just over $400. I’ve had the gun to the range 3 times and have about 500 rounds through it. It’s a very good gun. It almost has me wanting to trade my Glocks in. Good luck & let us know your decision.

There is a massive volume of great advice here, but it is a testimonial as to why Baskin Robbins exists.

For me, it is easy to switch between a semi-auto and a revolver. The key to proficiency is practice, and if money is an issue, reloading is a priority for practice ammo. Revolvers mean you can retrieve 99.9% of your brass, while you have to chase brass with a semi-auto. Anticipate a Dillon Square Deal B is in your future.

Personally, I am not fond of Tupperware pistols, and I do not own any yet. If I were to go that route, I would join GSSF with a 2 year membership and buy a 17 or 19 from a Blue Label dealer for $410-425. It appears to very reliable and easy to owner maintain and modify.

Being a 1911 and revolver guy, I would prefer a 1911 or a used K or L frame Smith in 38 or 357. Model 15s appear to be available for about $350 on GunBroker.

Either way, look at either a 38/357 of a 9mm. That seems to be the current affordable ammo route, and both have a proven self defense track record.

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Judge control not gun control!

Forget revolvers all together in this case. The M2.0 Compact in 4" barrel in .40S&W is the way to go. More capacity and more holster options. Not to mention you can get it with three dot night sights, which is also the way to go.

Otherwise, the Glock 23.

The ultimate is a Glock 32, in 357sig.

I would avoid the 9mm. Besides one, maybe two more rounds, the .40 outperforms it on every front.

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Yes. What they said. I forgot about police trade-ins. Steal of a deal.

$300 for one in very good condition.

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They are beat hands down by something like an M&P Shield.

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From my 32 years in the field, you should probably reconsider that thought . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

Opinions are like noses, everyone has one, and here's mine. I collect, shoot, and love S&W revolvers. So for someone with limited funds, who wants only one gun, for carry, range, and home protection, I recommend without reservation the:
S&W M&P Shield 9mm.




The Shield 9mm is relatively inexpensive to buy, small enough for carry but not too small, accurate, excellent reliability, and in a relatively inexpensive defense cartridge.

Thanks for considering my humble recommendation.

God bless,
Birdgun

All recommendations above are good choices. No CZ love, 85 b combat 9mm. Have to shop for one. Double stack, single or double action, adjustable sights, ambi safety, deadly accurate and has enough 1911 profile to satisfy . 550 to 600$. Great pistol.

My favorite pistol is still on sale at CDNN

$365 for a M&P40C with night sights

its not the 2.0...... its the latest version before release of the larger 2.0 with an much improved trigger

I have the +2 mag and have 12+1 of 40...... great firepower, and easily CCW

I have had multiple sigs, kahrs, cz's, Bersa, ..... this one is my go to

i am thinking about getting a second

This thread got me to thinking of my father. We were a "limited finances" family and Dad hunted and fished his entire life . He owned one pistol (WWII Walther P38) and one shotgun (Sears 16 ga. bolt action) . He used the shotgun to hunt everything...Bob White, rabbits, squirrels , ducks, crows and with slugs and buckshot , deer and hogs. My friends dad's usually had a gun cabinet full of shotguns and rifles...So I asked him " Why do you only have one gun ?" He looked at me and said
" If you know how to use it , you only need one gun ". I guess being poor teaches you how to use that one gun.
He bought me my first gun , a Western Auto ,bolt action , single shot .410. He would give me 1 shell when we went hunting and say " Make it count !" , I didn't get another unless I bagged a squirrel, rabbit ....once I downed a crow after Dad missed it....Oh Yeah, was I proud! He didn't miss shots often.

If all you got is one gun....then learn to use it, everything will be OK .
Thanks Dad.

Gary

Care to explain why in the context of civilian personal defense?

The biggest issue is everyone feels the need to tell you what the best gun is. Often it’s the one they use and carry. I am guilty of this as well. The difference is some people become snobs about it, you have the Glock guy, the Sig guy, the 1911 guy, the smith and Wesson guy and so on. Often their field of vision becomes fixated on that one brand or model. To them there is only one choice. While I love my smiths when the next thing that comes along that I shoot better and am more comfortable with I will switch to that and in the safe will go my 2.0 C. I started with limited finances, I had $200 to buy a gun and a box of ammo in 1998 right after my 21st birthday. I went to the sporting goods store and was being coerced into doing some financing, but as a struggling college student who was paying his way through college I declined and told them of my situation. The guy went to the back and brought me out a smith and Wesson sigma 40. It was a limited edition with laser engraving that they had used as a rental for a couple of months. I walked out of there with 1 box of ammo and the gun for $203. Every week when I got paid I set aside $10 for a box of ammo. And every 2 weeks I went to shoot. Everyone who’s ever shot an early sigma with the 10lb trigger can tell you how bad it is. Having never really shot I just assumed all were like that. I learned to be proficient with it. I dry fire practiced for hours every day. Within a few months I was getting really good. That was my only gun for about 10 years as life happened, marriage, kids, car payments, house payments. Only 1 thing stayed true. A box of ammo every week. Once I worked my way up I worked up to new guns. I still have the 98 edition, although my dad keeps it with him for use on the farm.

Go to a couple of stores, tell them your budget, let them know you’re not afraid of used, they may have something nobody else wants that would be perfect for you. Spend your money on ammo and practice and it will be ok. When finances improve move on.



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My experience is that the opposite is true . . .

Enclosed hammer revolver: Put these in those holes, close cylinder, point, pull trigger.

Semi: Put these in that thing. Shove that thing in there. Make sure it locks in. Pull back on this and let it snap forward. If that thing is back, press this lever to make it go down. Make sure this thing is on/off. Press this other lever to make that move. The first trigger pull may be different than all the rest. Make sure you're holding it firmly enough that it won't malfunction. Point, pull trigger . . .

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Wisdom comes thru fear . . .

The trigger pull is what is challenging and takes more time to master. DAO long heavy pull is harder to keep on target than a nice auto trigger


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At least for me, if you cant do accurate double taps with your pistol of choice...... its a bit of a problem.... some can do it.... most cant with Kahr

I definitly couldnt

After you shoot another gun that has a short reset, (almost every other semi auto pistol......)
at least for me... made me run away from Kahr

The newer M&Ps are being shipped with a much better trigger than original..... but remember, almost every trigger needs a smoothing time.... after 200 dry fires, the improvement is noticable. Much of the initial "gritiness" is gone

With the Kahr....... the company recommends at least 200 rounds before it becomes more reliable........ NONE of my M&Ps had a problem, round one, 50, or 500.

ALL of my Kahrs bobbled rounds during breakin

I love revolvers, have shot them for years and still do. To me very few pistols look near as good as a classic revolver. But I've found them to be more difficult to conceal comfortably due to their weight and the bulky cylinders. Reloading a revolver under duress is more difficult and a little slower even with a speed loader than it is to drop an empty mag and insert a loaded one into a pistol. Sure you have to make sure the magazine is locked in and you have to rack the slide but with sufficient training is that really more complicated than making sure your rounds are inserted all the way into the chambers and closing a cylinder on a revolver?

Some argue that pistols are more complicated mechanically and therefore more prone to breakage than a pistol. I disagree. I believe modern pistols made by any of the well known manufactures are every bit as reliable as their revolver counterparts. The thing that breaks most often in either of them are springs. I've had people tell me that revolvers don't jamb like a pistol. Well I'm here to tell you that I've had rounds back out of the cylinder of a revolver locking it up tight. I also had a .22 target pistol with a cylinder gap that was so tight that carbon build up would lock it up after firing several cylinders full of dirty burning ammo.

So IMO a modern compact "Tupperware" pistol that is liter, has a flatter profile and larger ammo capacity tops a revolver for EDC.

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Life Member B.A.S.S., NAFC

Some of the most popular options these days in compact/sub compacts are: S&W M&P Shield, M&P Compact,
Glock 43,26,19.
Ruger Lc9, Sr9, Sr9c,
Beretta 92Compact.
38 special snub revolvers
All Great choices imo

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S&W BG380, S&W 915 9mm