What handgun should you have for hard times? Handguns tend to be a deeply personal thing, and people tend to be emotionally attached to their favorites. We all have different priorities and different levels of training and experience, so it can be difficult to talk about handgun selection, particularly online, without talking past one another.
I have been seriously training in defensive handgunning for over 20 years. Back when I was a sworn law enforcement officer, I was a certified LE firearms instructor in my state. I average at least one professional training class per year. I teach NRA classes to new people. At one time I held an IDPA expert classification, but I stopped competing years ago due to time constraints.
There are many people who are much faster shooters than me. There are people who are more knowledgeable and people who are better instructors. You may be one of them. I don’t know, so take this for what it is worth.
A Word about Theory
In his seminal book Survival Guns, the late Mel Tappan opined that you should have two sets of firearms: a “working” set for hunting and wildlife management and a separate set for defensive purposes. I don’t disagree with Mr. Tappan when it comes to rifles and shotguns. If you can afford to, it makes good sense to have both a social shotgun (or several) as well as a hunting shotgun or two. These are usually set up very differently, with among other things vastly different barrel lengths. A 28” barrel is perfect for bringing down birds on the wing or taking squirrels while a gun with an 18” barrel and an extended magazine tube is a fine tool for close-range defensive applications.
Similarly, my idea of a hunting rifle is a bolt action rig with a variable power scope chambered in a .30 caliber magnum cartridge or maybe one of the 7mm magnums. It will need to shoot sub-MOA, but it need only hold 3-4 rounds. A defensive rifle on the other hand should be semi-automatic and accept large capacity detachable magazines (at least 20 rounds). It should have a red dot scope or a low power variable optic (LPVO). It must have backup iron sites—your supply of batteries won’t last indefinitely. It should be chambered in 5.56 NATO. 5.56 ammunition is ubiquitous, and the smaller cartridge means you can carry a lot of it. This is not to say you cannot shoot an intruder with a 28” double barrel, harvest a squirrel with a riot gun, neutralize a hostile with a bolt action deer rifle, or kill an elk with an AR-15, but none of those is ideal.
But when it comes to handguns, I personally don’t see a lot of use for a utility handgun. Handgun hunting is a niche hobby for people who like to challenge themselves, much like bow hunting. There is nothing you can do with a pistol chambered in .22 LR that a rifle won’t do better in terms of harvesting small game or controlling predators. So, my view is that you don’t need two sets of handguns.
So which handgun should you choose? Here are some considerations.
Reliability: The one factor that trumps all else.
In my opinion, and in the opinion of every trainer I have ever sat under, the overwhelmingly most important quality of a defensive handgun is reliability. If the gun is not 100% reliable, then you should sell or trade it away. This is simply non-negotiable.
I keep a small notebook for each of my defensive handguns. I write the make, model, and serial number on the cover, and each time I fire the handgun, I write down the date, the type of ammo, the round count, and any issues I experienced. I also keep a running total of rounds through the gun. This lets me keep track of when maintenance items like replacing the recoil spring come due, but more importantly it keeps me honest about whether the gun is reliable. If it hangs up a few times with some dubious ammo, then I will stop using that ammo. But if the gun won’t run with good quality ammo, then I need to either resolve that issue (e.g. replace a spring or broken extractor) or get rid of that gun.
A few years ago, I purchased a new in-the-box Colt Delta Elite at a local gun shop. Delta Elites are chambered in 10mm Auto, which is not an inexpensive caliber to shoot. I really wanted that pistol to work. I put about 700 rounds through it, trying several brands of commercial ammunition as well as hand loads. I even tried buying some high-end aftermarket magazines. But the pistol never once went 50 rounds without a malfunction.
I sold it at a loss and moved on. It did not run reliably, and therefore it was of no use to me. I went back to the Glock 20 I already had, which continues to run like a sewing machine. No matter how cool you think your gun is or how much you like it for some other reason, if it does not function 100% with quality ammo, you need to sell or trade it and get a different handgun.
Ergonomics
Next, let me address the subject of ergonomics. I find that many people who are inexperienced with firearms want to choose a handgun primarily based on “how it feels in the hand.” This is intuitive, and it seems like a way to differentiate between guns if you don’t know another way to do so, but it is not very useful. Judging a pistol by the feel of the grip while standing at the gun counter tells you very little.
I find that evaluating gun fit and ergonomics is very hard to do without firing the handgun in question. You can learn a lot under recoil. For example, I have very large hands. I find that bigger and blockier guns with more surface to hang on to are easier to shoot faster and more accurately than some of the more svelte models. I can shoot an H&K USP 45 faster than I can an HK45, all else being equal. The USP is large and blocky compared to the refined, curvy frame of the HK45. I only learned this by shooting them both with a timer. Other factors like inadvertently hitting the magazine release under recoil or pressing down on the slide stop with your thumb while shooting so the slide does not lock back when the pistol is empty can only be discovered on the range.
Depending on where you live, you may have access to a commercial shooting range with a rental program that will allow you to test fire a great many guns. Barring that, if you have a friend who owns an example of the pistol you are considering it is likely he will let you shoot his pistol if you buy the ammo.
Ergonomics is less important than reliability, but I have a seen a situation where a shooter with small hands simply could not reach the trigger well enough to press it straight to the rear without twisting the pistol in the process. The pistol was a Sig P229. I handed him my Glock 22, which he had never fired before, and his shooting immediately improved. The shooter in question was a full-time professional law enforcement officer who trained regularly. Ergonomics is not important except when it is.
Caliber
Cartridge selection is a hotly-debated topic and probably always will be. Part of the problem is that truly scientific inquiry as to which cartridge is the most, or at least sufficiently, effective is not possible. We cannot simply line up a few thousand people and shoot them under controlled circumstances to see what works. There is much anecdotal evidence from various real-world shootings, but there are numerous confounding factors such as clothing, drug use, shot placement, and the target’s emotional state.
What is clear is that handguns are not particularly deadly compared to rifles. Most academic research on the subject is thinly-veil gun control advocacy, and the research usually fails to distinguish between rifles and handguns. However, I have it on good authority from people I respect that something like 80% of people shot with handguns survive if they have prompt access to modern medical care. Of course, most of those shootings involved untrained shooters with low-quality equipment and ball ammo. A trained shooter using good quality jacket hollow point ammo can probably expect a higher mortality rate. But the point is that we don’t have meaningful data to establish which pistol cartridge is better for defensive purposes, thus the unending debate.
Personally, I like the .45 ACP. It shoots big, heavy bullets, and they make big holes. It also acquitted itself well in the hands of American soldiers in two world wars. Most days I carry a pistol chambered in .45 ACP. It is most often an H&K USP 45 or an HK45 Compact. The 10mm Auto is the most powerful of the major commercial pistol cartridges. The Glock 20 or Sig 220 make fine woods guns, and either will serve the user well in a deadly force encounter. I like both 10mm Auto and .45 ACP and own multiple handguns chambered in each, but neither would be my choice for a collapse or grid down situation.
At this point, the 9mm NATO (a/k/a 9mm Parabellum, 9mm Luger, and 9×19) is the consensus choice in the United States. It has come to dominate the American handgun market, and the ammunition is ubiquitous. The major federal law enforcement agencies, including the Border Patrol, Secret Service, and FBI, have gone to 9mm. It is the default choice of the U.S. military, and local law enforcement agencies are adopting it at a brisk pace, replacing their 40 S&W guns with pistols chambered for 9mm. It is also the cartridge that most handguns being sold today are chambered in. Many new gun owners have been created during the COVID-19 crisis, and most of them bought 9mm handguns. 9mm is simply the dominant cartridge in terms of popularity.
This may not be well-advised, but it is reality. And a vital principle of survival is to deal with the world as it is, not as you want it to be. In my view, once you have limited your options to pistols which are reliable and which work for your physiology, the next most important thing for a prepper is logistics. While you may not expect to shoot large volumes of handgun rounds in a grid-down scenario or other collapse, availability of ammo beyond your own stores has to be a consideration.
If I had to defend myself in a deadly force encounter using nothing but a handgun, my first choice would be one of my H&K USP 45s. But if I ever have to get out of Dodge and make for my retreat, each member of my family who is old enough to carry one will be wearing a pistol chambered in 9mm NATO, and that is what will be stored at the retreat. By standardizing on the country’s most popular handgun cartridge, we are improving our odds of keeping those pistols running in a crisis.
Brand and Action Type
Revolvers
At this point, semi-automatic pistols pretty much rule the roost. When I was a boy, revolvers were still very popular because many semi-autos simply were not reliable—particularly with hollow point ammunition. I think it is advisable to train with a double action revolver, so you can make good hits with one if you ever need to. Learning to operate a long, double action trigger takes a bit of work, but once learned it is a skill you will always have. If you have the chance to secure a used S&W model 10 or similar, it may be wise to do so. But in my view, this is largely just for training and familiarization. 38 S&W Special ammunition used to be extremely common, but it is now a specialty item and rather expensive. If you are going to shoot much of it, you are well-advised to load your own.
Other than training, the main practical use I see for revolvers at this point is for defense against large bears if you are hiking, camping, hunting, or fishing where they roam. A large frame revolver can handle a much more powerful cartridge than any of the common semi-autos (I am discounting the Desert Eagle and the .44 Auto Mag, as these are simply too large and heavy to be practical—you might as well carry a rifle). My armory includes two revolvers chambered in 44 Remington Magnum as well as a Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan in .454 Casull.
Small, five-shot, snub-nose revolvers such as the S&W J frame line (e.g. the model 36) also remain popular. I like these a lot when I need a handgun to carry in my pocket as a backup or in deep concealment. They are reliable and I have had bad experiences with very small semi-autos not running reliably. There are, however, some serious limitations to these small revolvers. First, the only hold five rounds, which in today’s environment is very serious limitation. Second, they are very hard to shoot accurately without a lot of practice. These small guns don’t weigh much (particularly the air weight versions such as the popular S&W 442), and they have a long, heavy double action trigger. It is possible to learn to shot them accurately at speed, but they are not a good choice for the novice shooter or anyone not willing to practice extensively.
Semi-Automatic Pistols
I suggest you otherwise limit yourself to semi-auto pistols. There are many modern designs that are extremely reliable. The increased ammunition capacity is most welcome, and lighter trigger with shorter travel make them easier for most people to shoot.
Striker-Fired Semi Automatics
Striker-fired pistols, as exemplified by the Glock pistol which popularized the concept, dominate the market at the moment. These seem to always have polymer frames, which makes them less expensive to manufacture than all-steel guns. Striker triggers can be made quite light and crisp if desired. I frequently hear people referring to a handgun having a “good” trigger and what they mean is the lightest, most crisp trigger possible. I do not regard that as optimal for a defensive handgun. You need a certain margin for safety while still keeping it manageable.
I think the standard, 5.5 pound Glock trigger is quite reasonable and about right for most people. I advise against installing after-market trigger parts for any purpose other than perhaps a dedicated competition gun. The aftermarket trigger parts tend to make the pistol less reliable, and you don’t want an ultralight trigger for a gun you are going to carry. Learn to shoot a regular factory trigger. Otherwise you will always be dependent on your modified pistol. If faced with an in extremis situation, you want to be able to fight with whatever gun you might happen to pick up.
In addition to Glock, the H&K VP9 is an excellent striker-fired pistol. My example is a pleasure to shoot, and if you are concerned with an ergonomic grip, it is excellent in that area. Many people like the trigger better than the Glock. The Sig P320 has become popular as well. I am a bit skeptical of the design and build quality of Sig’s more recent products, but many people seem to like these pistols, and the big army adopted a version of it. There are endless variations, and the design is modular, so you can swap out different frame sizes with the same trigger module. I do not recommend the S&W M&P line. There have been some widely reported problems with them, and in my view the quality is dubious. Walther and FN both have striker-fired offerings as well, and those have their fans. If you buy one, and it works reliably, then it is probably fine. I will note that these less popular pistols are hard to find good holsters for.
All that said, Glock is absolutely the gold standard. It is used by most law enforcement agencies at the federal and state level, and I am advised that the U.S. special operations community overwhelmingly uses the Glock 19. Law enforcement and the military often have different requirements than citizens in general or preppers in particular when it comes to firearms, but in this case I agree with their choice. If Glock is the gold standard for a striker-fired pistol, then the Glock 19 is the most refined form. It is widely popular and for good reason. It is extremely reliable and easy for most people to carry and shoot. It also durable an easy to maintain. If I could only have one handgun, it would be a Glock 19.
(To be concluded tomorrow, in Part 2.)