First you need to evaluate your primary use? Home defense? Plinking? Concealed? If you have a spouse, will she be using at well? If yes, then it needs to fit her needs as well. Children at home creates additional needs as well, keeping it secured from them yet easily accessible to you. In our situation I have a sigarms 45 which I wear on my hip at home, my wife started with a m&p 9mm, yet was too heavy for her to wear daily, so she recently opted for a smith & wesson 380 bodyguard/integrated laser sight she carries in a ankle holster and carries concealed with her ccw. The change to the 380 means she carries her protection much more consistently. We have a six yr old so when we are not carrying we have a full size safe they are secured in, we have taken him to the gun range to let him see that our guns are not toys or a video game, children they need constant reminders of it as well. I can't stress that if you have children in the house you must never leave your gun unattended. For home defense I recommend a 45 if you are familiar with handguns, less rounds available, 6-7 in most vs most 9mm hold 14-15, but the 45 does equate to better overall defense if you are a accurate shooter. For concealed either a compact 45 or 40 if your body frame can conceal it properly. Compacts have shorter barrels which allows for less range of accuracy yet is not a factor once you realize that a concealed gun is for close quarters and most use of concealed weapons occur when in close proximity of an assailant. I prefer sigarms myself but they do have a premium price attached to them. I suggest you go to a gun shop and try holding numerous handguns to see which feels most comfortable to you. Try to keep with a well known maker though... Name brand does mean better quality control. Your protection is worth the slight extra money you will pay for a name brand. Regardless of the gun you choose, training is important once you have it. You need both range and retrieval training. A gun you don't know how to get out safely and quickly doesn't help you. Do you carry it loaded or do you have to cycle a round in the chamber? Some guns have external hammer that can be more dangerous if carried loaded. The hammer could possibly snag on something and release before locking possibly causing an accidental discharge. Additionally you should remember that ever round you fire has a lawyer attached to it. So know the local laws for use of the weapon in a home defense and ccw situation. For home defense you are only allowed to protect yourself within the confines of your home once the bad guy steps out of your home you cannot legally shoot... Regardless of the legal use of a gun, you can expect a lawyer will be telling the bad guy or his family that they can sue you and they will try to persuade a jury that you were unjustified in the shoot. But it's better to be alive than dead... Wade Prior Army Ranger, Sniper, Sniper instructor, CQB instructor, SERE instructor
