Best Handgun For Beginners & Home Defense

You don’t know what to buy for your home defense or first pistol ? We will cover all important points such as calibers, ammo types, sizes, ergonomics, safety, and price.Then, we’ll give you some more information about our suggestions.

This topic is also covered in our video course Gun Noob To Gun Slinger. You will be competent with the handguns in just 2 hours.

What We Found When We Tested The Best Handguns for Beginners & Home Defense

This article is a Meta-Analysis based on Pew Pew Tactical’s experience with hundreds and thousands of handguns over the years.

In the How To Choose section, we first selected our criteria for “beginner’s” handguns.

• 9mm
• Full Size or Compact Size
• Striker-Fired
• Around $500

Then we asked the editors and authors to tell us which handguns they thought were the best for beginners that met our criteria, and had at least 2,500 test rounds. You’ll find that some have even more rounds than that.

Best Beginner Home Defense Handguns

Glock 19, Gen 5.

Glock is a name that everyone and their mother has heard.

It’s a polymer pistol, which is kind of boring. But it’s ultra-reliable. This would be the only pistol I’d take into a dangerous situation if I could choose.

Many people share the same opinion…that’s the reason why the Glock 19,, is the best-selling 9mm pistol in the world. It’s the perfect all-rounder. The new Gen 5 Glocks have arrived. Gen 3 is also fine for those in states with handgun restrictions, such as California. I would recommend the full-sized Glock 17, if you do not plan to conceal carry. We have already fired over 10,000 rounds through this gun.

If you want something smaller or are looking for a concealed carry weapon, then the Glock 19 is a great option.

Check out the large (but very effective) serrations on this slide. If you have trouble gripping it to rack, the problem isn’t with the slide! There are a few different barrel and grip lengths available…but we chose the most popular combination of a full-size with a barrel of 4.5 inches and a compact barrel of 4 inches.

Sean has shot more than 5,000 rounds with this pistol and used it as his duty gun as a peace officer prior to joining Pew Pew Tactical.

If you have large hands like Sean, your fingers may hit the slide-lock and prevent you from getting 100% of your slide-lock back on empty magazines. We’re seeing threaded barrels now and we have had great success so far with the suppressed compact model.

Runner-up Beginner Handgun – Smith & Wesson M&P9 M2.0

M&P 2. is the latest version of this venerable M&P. This is usually in the top three of any list of best 9mm pistols.

The FDE version is what I have… Here is a comparison between my Glock 17 full-size and my 1.0. The original version had a great trigger, but was not as solid. The M2.0 fixes that problem and adds an aggressive texture while still retaining the ability to change out the palm swells according to your grip.

The model I have is the one with the safety, but it’s very easy to remove the safety and replace the inserts (which makes it look exactly like the version without the safety). You can pick either option to test if you are in agreement with my safety thoughts. It’s a great gun for beginners and is very reliable. Glock has a better reputation, but is still beaten by it.

Smith & Wesson M&P Shield EZ is the easiest to rack and load.

The 9mm version, is very concealable. It packs a punch with our favourite caliber. The EZ series has a lower shooting capacity of 8+1. Compare that to the 15+1 capacity of the Glock 19. You can also watch our YouTube video to see how the pistols differ in terms of racking and firing.

 

The HK VP9 is the best beginner handgun for those who want a higher-end gun.

HK’s VP9 can be a good alternative if your preference is for a polymer gun but you don’t like the Glock feel or look. If you want something a bit more fancy. The price of the Glock pistol has dropped to just a little bit above Glock prices. The VP9, chambered in 9mm and with a barrel length of 4.09 inches, is a striking-fired model measuring 7.34 in. in total. The gun weighs around 25 ounces. The VP9 comes with a variety of backstraps, and side panels can be swapped out to suit a wide range of paw shapes. Also, it is a proven and reliable product. The standard model’s magazine release is located under the trigger. This model, however, has a different location. The B model will have a standard magazine release location.

Best Beginner Revolver – Smith & Wesson 686+

The revolver that you have been waiting for…the S&W 686+. The + indicates that it can hold seven rounds, instead of the 6 rounds you are used to seeing in revolvers. The 4-inch barrel is the perfect length for me. It’s not too short to be difficult to fire, but it’s also not too long.

Why revolvers? They’re dead, plain and simple. There are no magazines, and you can simply pull the trigger to move to the next round if the first one fails. It can also fire.357 Magnum, which is more powerful than.38 Special. This is the.38 Special… very manageable with the barrel. Ideal for training and recoil sensitive people. ,Here’s the.357 magnum…more powerful, but not bad at all with a good handle.

What to Look for When Choosing a Handgun for Beginners

9mm Caliber

You’ll find that many popular calibers are recommended as a starter pistol, including 9mm and the larger.45 ACP. We recommend a 9mm as a beginner’s handgun.

Why?

Comparing other calibers, the 9mm is cheaper and easier to obtain. The smaller size of the weapon means that it has a milder recoil, and magazines with a higher capacity (usually 15+). This is me with one of my favorite handguns, the Glock 19.

Not bad…right?

The majority of police departments use 9mm and the FBI switched back to 9mm when they found that the current.40 S&W round was causing excessive wear and tear on pistols, and could not be controlled by certain agents.

Hollow Point Ammo for Self-Defense

Hollow point bullets are recommended for home defense because of their stopping power and ability to stop through drywall.

Fit

Fit is the key to choosing the best handgun. We recommend a handgun with a barrel that is close to 5 inches. A full-sized pistol is easier to use because it has more mass that can absorb the recoil. It also has a larger grip area and a greater sight radius between the front sight and rear sight. You can also try the compact size if you are thinking about concealed carry and do not want to buy another gun. It’s a small loss in sight, but you gain some space for gripping which is very helpful when concealing. You don’t want your pinkie to be left hanging.

Safety

We recommend that you do not use an external safety.

WHAT?

In a self defense situation, it is possible to forget the safety in the heat. It eliminates a few options, such as the 1911, which is a bit complicated and finicky to be used by a beginner.

Sights

Tritium night vision is a must-have for self-defense situations that occur in low light. Each of our pistols comes with a night-sight model. They will look just like white dot sights when they are used during the day. You can also purchase aftermarket sights from your gunsmith and have them installed.

Take Action

For home defense and beginners, we recommend a handgun with a striker-fired mechanism because the trigger pull is almost identical each time (at the very least when compared with a dual-action). The back of the slide should be flat with no hammer exposed. Double-action guns such as the Beretta 92FS fire a heavy shot because you have to cock back the hammer.

What is the difference between and revolvers?

They are reliable and easy to fix when they malfunction (just use pre. We’ll also include one of our favorites, which comes with seven rounds of.38 Special and.357 Magnum goodness.

Price

Prices for striker-fired guns are similar and hover around the range of $500. There may also be some specials at your local firearms store… but these are great starting prices.

The cost of night sights is likely to be between $50 and $100 higher.

Best Handgun Accessories

You shouldn’t use night vision without checking your target. We recommend using a light which attaches directly to the rail. We don’t recommend them because of their low ammunition capacity (5 or 6, compared to our recommendation of 15+).

We recommend the Streamlight –1 HL, which is a great light at a good price. The gun has survived being dropped thousands of times and shooting for days in heavy rain. There are cheaper lights around, but you should not cut corners on lights.

The Surefire® X300 is the perfect light for those who want the very best.

In our Best pistol lights post, we discuss all of these and more. I also like to have a lot of grip on my gun. Talon Grip are the ideal non-permanent solutions. You’ll also need ear and eye protection.

Pew Pew Tactical has spec’d and sourced its own, which we believe to be the pinnacle in comfort and protection…enter ShellShock Protect.

The Premium Combo is a great upgrade kit that includes electronic ear protection. It amplifies the sounds you want to listen to (like talking people) while blocking out gunshots. Includes ballistic eyeglasses with interchangeable lenses.

Final Thoughts

• 9mm
• Hollowpoint defensive ammo
• Full-size frame
• Striker Fired
• Night Sights
• Rail mounted light
• Feel the Glock 17, 19, M&P9 and PDP

There are undoubtedly a gazillion pistols I haven’t mentioned… but the specs above are what Pew Pew Tactical suggests.

Have you got a self defense pistol? Learn to be a crack shooter. Are you ready to take our Beginner Handgun course? Are you unsure if pistols will be the right choice for you? Visit our Best Home Defense Guns article to learn more about the pros and cons between Handguns, Shotguns, and Rifles.

The latest updates

April 14th, 2024 Added additional information about each option and How We Test.

October 26th, 2023 Removed old categories, cleaned up the list and added new galleries.