What's a good starter handgun?

[BDawg]

A friend who competitively shoots shotguns once told me that if I were to get a gun that a glock is the way to go. He said they have safety's on both sides which would be nice for us since I'm left-handed and the wife is right.

Is this true? Do other guns come with double safetys?

 

[Jumpem]

Tominator, I read that article, among others, and was aware that it was mostly the ammunition's fault. There have been many of these problems, although 100 accidents out of thousands of Glock's is a small percentage. I would simply not want to take the risk, or even know that there is a .001% chance of it happening. They are decent guns, but I prefer H&K's.

BDawg, Glock's have no active safties(ie: one that you can set manually). There are three internal safeties, including the trigger safety.

 

[Fireman]

I think the Ruger P-89 had safeties on both sides.
Some nicer indoor ranges allow you to rent guns at a small charge, 5 or 10 bucks for a single session. I reccomend this as cheap way to see what really feels good in your hand when you actually FIRE the weapon and not just hold it in a gun shop. There can be huge differences. I personally own the H&K USP in 40 caliber. This weapon has NEVER misfired or jammed and I have fired at least 2000 rounds through it.
Rock solid and reliable, thats what you need. jm.02

 

[ForeverSilky]

thanks for the advice. I think I'll go to the local range when I'm ready and get familiarized with the different types of handguns and lots of training.

 

[Tominator]

BDawg
Although the Glocks have multiple safties, they are still prone to 'accidental discharge' due to their design. Too many people do not practise keeping the finger off the trigger until ready to fire. The mindset to do this takes considerable training. The design lends itself to unintentional discharge as well. I have a Model 21 btw. They are not for the average shooter.

Jumpem
The Glock series has undergone many changes as have most handguns. None are failsafe and 99% of all catasthrophic failures can be attributed to the ammunition. To single out the Glock is just not looking at a complete picture.

Fireman
An H&K under $400? Where?
I would pick the H&K over any Glock or Ruger, but I can buy 2 Glocks for the price of one H&K USP.

For the occasional shooter, I'll recommend a Ruger GP100 in .357 magnum. As someone stated you can use .38 Special ammo for practice. Imho, revolvers are far less prone to misfire or be sensitive to the ammo used. They are easier to shoot accurately given equal practice. Women espicially are turned off by the supposed complexity of a Semi-Automatic.

One more thing...Join the NRA!