which one for an only handgun?

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boomer92266

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I have a friend near me that finally got his permit and is wanting to get a handgun for carry. he has narrowed it down to two models and I thought i would ask here to see which ya'll would prefer and why. he is on a fixed income and had to save for a while and sold his p95 to be able to get this gun. so he can't put more with what he has to get anything else as he has saved over a year and sold his other gun to do this. the shop near here has offered him these guns at these prices which include 1 box ammo and my friends choice of a tagua iwb or owb holster. the guns are a ruger security 9 for $285 and a ruger lcr 9mm revolver for $425. since i have a lcr i told him all i could about it but i know nothing about the security 9. he wants to know about accuracy, durability, and carry ease. both guns fit him well and he can't seem to make his mind up, he has $500 to spend and no more, also he won't order online as he wants to get whats available in store and these are the only ones near here that he likes. and he has a lot of 9mm ammo put back so thats why he also went with a 9mm gun. i posted on the revolver forum too as the choice is between a pistol and revolver, so between the two which would you go with and why? thanks for any help.
 

s4s4u

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If he wants to stick with the 9mm, I'd get the pistol. I love revolvers, but not in 9mm. For concealed carry I'd go with a smaller pistol like the LC9 or American Compact.
 

dogtag69

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Tell him to get the security 9 I have a few hand guns but I carry the security 9 because it is accurate and reliable and 16 rounds is plenty I like this gun.
 
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Since that is his two choices and also 9mm, I'd go with the Security 9 but I need to clarify I know nothing about either of those specific handguns. I would suspect over the long haul it will be easier to carry the security 9 but he needs to know that if he is not familiar with semi-autos there is a bit of a learning curve.
 

rammerjammer

Blackhawk
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Ruger SR9c can play the role of carry gun with a 10 round mag and home defense gun with the 17 round mag + grip adapter.

By far one of the best out of the box triggers in production.
 

Mike J

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I have no experience with either gun mentioned in the OP but if it were me I would pick the Security 9. For me it is easier to shoot accurately & quickly with a compact sized 9mm than a snub nosed revolver. Of course to be honest I tend to prefer semi-autos to revolvers. Some of this will depend on your friends preferences & how deeply they want to conceal.
 

ADP3

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I'd be a bit cautious about committing to any Ruger polymer framed auto as a one and only handgun. They make decent guns but they also change designs too often to suit me and don't support repair and parts replacement forever. I know it's not one of the choices offered but I'd save my pennies and wait for a decent SP101 either new or used. If he's set on a 9mm I'd go with a Glock instead of a polymer Ruger just for the sake of parts availability and upgrade options.

Best Regards,
ADP3
 

s4s4u

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rammerjammer said:
Ruger SR9c can play the role of carry gun with a 10 round mag and home defense gun with the 17 round mag + grip adapter.

By far one of the best out of the box triggers in production.

Same could be said for the American compact. Love that trigger
 

RSIno1

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9mm carry for $500 - Glock 19 or 26 usually on sale for $499 new $100 or so less used. ebay a $10-20 holster and $15 for a box of ammo.
 

rangerbob

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I have 45 S&W, 20 Ruger, 11 Sig Sauer, 3 Colt, and a few other handguns. My everyday carry choices are a S&W 340 M&P 357 and a SCCY CPX2. I choose the SCCY because I think it is the best value in a small 9mm pocket pistol. It has functioned flawlessly with WW NATO ammo as well as WW Forged steel cased ammo. I realize that it is not one of the choices mentioned in the thread, but it is affordable and carries a lifetime warranty and made in Florida by Americans. I have sold many SCCY's to my CC clients with zero complaints. I had a gentleman in my CC class last week with a brand new Taurus that he said he got right. We never got through the first magazine of ammo as it would not feed the rounds from the magazine. While the SCCY does not hold 17 rounds, it does hold twice as many as the LCR without the use of moon clips. If I was on a fixed income, I would certainly consider the SCCY. Bob!!
 

blammer

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ADP3 has a valid point on parts. I like Rugers and pocket carry an LC9 and EC9 in rotation and own a few more Rugers. (FYI, OP: LC9 and EC9 are compact so they would be too small for what OP wants and reaaaally long learning curve from revolvers).

Though Ruger's send-in service still exists to replace parts for guns they no longer produce (P95 is one I own) and is by many accounts excellent (I've not had to use it), after a while they no longer sell parts directly to customers. Rather, they keep parts to service guns that are sent in. I've heard rumors that you MIGHT con them into sending you an easily user replaced part (like recoil spring assemblies) if you are nice and can convincingly cry over the phone.

I've had no problems (other than minor break-in-solved ones) with my Rugers, but I am more 'comfortable' (minor insecurity issues?) to want to keep spare parts around. So I'd advise the OP to spend some money after he's tested out his new pistol to get as many parts as he can for the gun he buys, starting with the most frequently replaced (like springs, recoil springs #1), until he runs over budget. Especially if it's going to be his only gun for a while. Or, if he hits the lottery, buy a few extra pistols for spares (I've done that as well) :)
 

boomer92266

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sorry i haven't had a chance to update, he finally went and got a security 9. he liked the extra rds if he ever needed them, since we have been having trouble from a cougar here recently. he has put about 200rds thru it and it has been flawless, i shot it and liked it so much that i went today and got one. it feels great and hope to shoot mine in a day or so.
 

Mike J

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Thanks for the update boomer. I'm glad to hear he likes his new pistol.
 
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I always hear the complaint about "no longer supported and can't get parts" putting aside that most manufacturers including Ruger will do what ever they can to fix a broken gun, how often do you hear of any of these guns actually breaking? I can honestly say, after putting 10's of thousands of rounds through various semi-autos I have never had one break or start malfunctioning.
 

s4s4u

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blume357 said:
I always hear the complaint about "no longer supported and can't get parts" putting aside that most manufacturers including Ruger will do what ever they can to fix a broken gun, how often do you hear of any of these guns actually breaking? I can honestly say, after putting 10's of thousands of rounds through various semi-autos I have never had one break or start malfunctioning.

What he said ^^^
 

ADP3

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blume357 said:
I always hear the complaint about "no longer supported and can't get parts" putting aside that most manufacturers including Ruger will do what ever they can to fix a broken gun, how often do you hear of any of these guns actually breaking? I can honestly say, after putting 10's of thousands of rounds through various semi-autos I have never had one break or start malfunctioning.


You've obviously never met Murphy. I have a long acquaintance with him. Broken slide stops, safeties, extractors and ejectors on Colt 1911's, broken strikers on Glocks, broken extractors on Ruger MKII's, broken magazine catches on S&W #39's, broken recoil spring assemblies on S&W SD9VE's and these are multiple breaks using standard pressure ammo on carefully maintained, never abused guns. I'm not a competitive shooter either. Heck, I had the firing pin on a Bicentennial Security Six break. I won't go into the other revolver breakages. These breakages don't include lost parts while disassembling for cleaning or parts replaced due to wear. If Murphy hasn't paid you a visit yet consider yourself lucky, but he is always out there and you'll get a visit sooner or later and always at the least opportune time. :)

Best Regards,
ADP3
 
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